Jerry Guscott says the Lions Test side would be dominated by Welshmen and Irishmen if it were picked today.
The Lions travel to Australia in two years’ time and, based on current form, Guscott says his starting team for the first international against the Wallabies would feature just two Englishmen and not a single Scot.
All that is likely to change by May 2013 but the former Lions and England centre’s thoughts make interesting reading.
Of his starting side, eight are Welsh and five Irish, with those two countries also making up the entire forward pack. Almost half the team were Lions in 2009, while Gethin Jenkins and Paul O’Connell are the only two to remain from 2005.
A third of the side hadn’t even played international rugby before the Lions left for South Africa two years ago, with Sean O’Brien and Sam Warburton winning their first caps in 2009, George North making his debut in 2010 and Manu Tuilagi and Rhys Priestland following suit in 2011.
There is no place for the likes of Chris Ashton or James Hook, while the omission of players coming towards the close of their international careers such as Brian O’Driscoll, Ronan O’Gara and Jonny Wilkinson means there isn’t a single survivor from the Lions’ last tour to Australia 10 seasons ago.
Jerry Guscott’s Lions XV
15 Ben Foden (England)
14 George North (Wales)
13 Manu Tuilagi (England)
12 Jamie Roberts (Wales)
11 Keith Earls (Ireland)
10 Rhys Priestland (Wales)
9 Mike Phillips (Wales)
1 Gethin Jenkins (Wales)
2 Rory Best (Ireland)
3 Adam Jones (Wales)
4 Luke Charteris (Wales)
5 Paul O'Connell (Ireland)
6 Sean O'Brien (Ireland)
7 Sam Warburton (Wales)
8 Jamie Heaslip (Ireland)
