Advertisement League of Ireland Horse Racing TV Listings GAA Fixtures The Video Review Sport meets news, current affairs, society & pop culture Rugby Weekly Extra Dive into all the news and analysis 3 times a week The Football Family Weekly insights from the week’s big talking points Advertisement More Stories Fin Smith and Finn Russell.INPHO AnalysisCombinations Battle for Lions 10 shirt will be fun as Irish options overlooked The make-up of the back five of the pack will be intriguing, with scope for 6/2 benches in Australia. 10.26am, 9 May 2025 Share options AT ONE STAGE last year, Jack Crowley must have had high hopes of featuring on this summer’s Lions tour. And at one stage in recent months, Sam Prendergast must have dared to dream. Starting at number 10 for Ireland puts you firmly in the shop window for a Lions tour but in the end, Andy Farrell left both of his frontline Irish out-halves out of his squad to tour Australia. As Farrell stressed many times yesterday, there is still scope for additional players to be added to the group before or during the Lions tour, so Prendergast and Crowley will be among the many players determined to be ready and in form if required. After all the debate about out-halves, Farrell has opted for Fin Smith, Finn Russell, and Marcus Smith. The Lions boss confirmed that he views Marcus Smith as both a fullback and an out-half, with that versatility making him an even more attractive proposition. 32-year-old Russell is the most experienced of the number 10s, but there is a wave of momentum behind 22-year-old Smith’s claim as a Test starter. Mature beyond his years, Northampton playmaker Smith is almost a blend of the skillsets that Prendergast and Crowley bring for Ireland. He combines Crowley’s defensive toughness, run threat, and ability to play on instinct with Prendergast’s eye for a pass, kicking from hand, and decision-making. Russell impressed off the bench for the Lions in their third Test against the Springboks back in 2021, showing he can do it at this level, and his delightful range of passing and kicking make him a danger to any defence. His tackling has been strong in the past, but dipped in Scotland colours this season. Marcus Smith is a game-breaker with his remarkable acceleration and he has worked hard to become a more complete out-half through his fine kicking game. Three of his four starts in this year’s Six Nations were at fullback. With Farrell leaving “wiggle room” to add more players to his 38-man squad before leaving for Australia, there is still the distinct prospect of someone like Owen Farrell entering this chat. Marcus Smith is seen as an option at 10 and 15.Billy Stickland / INPHO Billy Stickland / INPHO / INPHO At scrum-half, Jamison Gibson-Park is undoubtedly the favourite to start the Tests, but Alex Mitchell has come into excellent form. The Englishman isn’t as good a defender as Gibson-Park but brings similar creativity and cutting edge with the ball. Wales’ Tomos Williams is capable of moments of magic too. It will be intriguing to see what kind of Lions team the halfbacks end up steering when the first Test rolls around in 10 weeks. Andrew Porter, Ellis Genge, and Pierre Schoeman provide plenty of power as the three looseheads. Ireland’s Porter is seen as the leading contender for the number one shirt, but the ball-carrying prowess offered by Genge and Schoeman shouldn’t be discounted. Dan Sheehan will probably be the Test starter at hooker, with Ireland team-mate Rónan Kelleher and England’s Luke Cowan-Dickie bringing a level of physicality that saw them edge out the likes of Jamie George and Dewi Lake for squad selection. Advertisement Tadhg Furlong is back for his third Lions tour and will have designs on making it nine consecutive Test starts by the end of the series. England’s Will Stuart has been a rising force in the last year, while Scotland’s Zander Fagerson gets through serious work, yet Furlong is by far the most proven force at the highest level of the game. All in all, Farrell can be content that his front row options offer set-piece nous, punch in the carry and tackle, but also a welcome ability to catch and pass if that’s what the Lions want from them. Captain Maro Itoje is likely to be the main lineout caller in the Test team, although there are other second rows in the squad with experience in that set-piece role. Tadhg Beirne is Ireland’s lineout caller, James Ryan was previously in that position, Scott Cummings can call, and Ollie Chessum has recently started to do it with Leicester. It will be interesting to see who Farrell pairs with Itoje in the second row. Joe McCarthy is the one out-and-out tighthead lock in the squad, but Ryan has performed that role strongly for Ireland many times and Chessum sometimes does it for England. Itoje is also capable of scrummaging on the tighthead side. Tadhg Beirne and Maro Itoje.Billy Stickland / INPHO Billy Stickland / INPHO / INPHO Itoje and Beirne might be the two best locks in the squad, but Farrell and co. may feel they aren’t the most complementary pairing. Many coaches like to have a heavy lock in their starting pack. McCarthy is the only one over 120kg in this squad. Or maybe the Lions won’t overthink things and just pick Beirne with Itoje, the latter scrummaging on the right side of the second row. Cummings was one of the most surprising squad picks, mainly because he missed the Six Nations through injury and only recently returned to action with Glasgow. He was a little out of sight and out of mind, but the 28-year-old is a fine player. His Scotland forwards coach, John Dalziel, no doubt extolled his virtues in Lions selection meetings. Beirne and Chessum are both options at blindside flanker. While Beirne played all of this year’s Six Nations in the second row, he featured at number six for Ireland last autumn and in South Africa last summer. Farrell clearly likes that option. Having a lineout forward at blindside is something every forwards coach wants and the balance of the Lions team will be key. Even without the injured Caelan Doris – who Farrell confirmed won’t be make it back from shoulder surgery to play any part even as a late call-up – there are seriously dynamic back row options. Jack Conan is the one true number eight in the squad, making him an obvious contender to resume his Test starting role from 2021. Ben Earl has played at the back of the scrum for England and will be considered there again. At openside, there is majestic competition. Tom Curry, Josh van der Flier, Jac Morgan, Earl, and 20-year-old Henry Pollock could all be in the mix for the number seven shirt. The fact that Curry and Morgan can play at blindside means Farrell can squeeze a few of them into the same team, but it will be fascinating to follow this aspect of the tour. Pollock only has one cap for England, scoring two tries in half an hour against Wales at the end of the Six Nations. Yet he isn’t being brought along to make up the numbers. Farrell seems to share everyone’s excitement about the Northampton openside. Tom Curry started all three Tests in 2021 at openside.Dan Sheridan / INPHO Dan Sheridan / INPHO / INPHO The strength in this back five area of the Lions squad and the fact that there are 12 of them in total suggest that we might see 6/2 bench splits from the tourists. If they go that way, backs who can play more than one position – Tommy Freeman, Blair Kinghorn, Garry Ringrose, Marcus Smith, Elliot Daly – will be important. The Lions have named two proven midfield combinations in Scotland’s Sione Tuipulotu and Huw Jones, as well as Ireland’s Bundee Aki and Garry Ringrose. There are further outside centre options in Freeman and Daly, but it would be a surprise if the Test starters don’t come from the quartet of Tuipulotu, Jones, Aki, and Ringrose. There is a possible lack of options at inside centre as things stand, with only Aki and Tuipulotu playing there. Finn Russell might be asked to cover but he last started a game there for Scotland back in 2018. This two-man depth chart at number 12 is another reason it feels quite possible that Owen Farrell will end up on this tour. On the left wing, James Lowe will fight it out against Duhan van der Merwe. The Scotland wing can’t kick, pass, and make decisions like Lowe, but his astounding athleticism cannot be discounted. Van der Merwe is a three-Test Lion, although Lowe is obviously far from being an inexperienced international wing. Over on the right, Freeman is the favourite to start but Mack Hansen will probably feel that after an injury-hit season, he can be primed to come into his best form on this tour of his native Australia. Scotland right wing Darcy Graham may well be the most unlucky player to have missed out on squad selection. Englishman Daly can play across the back three, as can Scotland’s Blair Kinghorn, who appears to be in direct competition with Hugo Keenan for the number 15 shirt. As Farrell stressed, the Lions are also viewing Marcus Smith as a contender in this position. Blair Kinghorn and Hugo Keenan will compete at fullback.James Crombie / INPHO James Crombie / INPHO / INPHO Kinghorn is a thrilling attacking player who will deservedly have many supporters, although Keenan is a better defender and tends to make fewer errors. Both are strong kickers and, again, the difference in their skillsets is a positive for the Lions. Farrell will be feeling confident about the quality and flexibility in this squad, but as he pointed out repeatedly yesterday, plans will be altered by injury. Indeed, Farrell seemed almost as excited by the prospect of late call-ups having an impact on the tour as anything. There are a large number of the 38-man squad just returning or still on the way back from injuries – Ryan, Hansen, Tuipulotu, Jones, and Kinghorn, for example – while others have had troubled injury profiles in recent times. Farrell has always been one to embrace unexpected challenges and Lions tours tend to throw up plenty of those. Murray Kinsella Viewcomments Send Tip or Correction Embed this post To embed this post, copy the code below on your site Email “Battle for Lions 10 shirt will be fun as Irish options overlooked”. Recipient's Email Feedback on “Battle for Lions 10 shirt will be fun as Irish options overlooked”. 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