Over the coming season, our Lions Selector Panellists will be taking turns to pick their ideal Lions 2013 starting XV so we can see how they evolve based on form throughout the campaign. This week, it’s the turn of our Irish panellist Mark Jackson.
Welcome to the first Lions Departure Lounge. This first selection will be based on the summer tours just completed by the home nations, split into 3 categories. First Class (Test XV), Economy (Reserves/Midweek) and the Standby group. Lions tours and the selection process give birth to an enormous amount of debate, nationalistic tendencies and favouritism are higher than at any other time , and why not it’s a hell of a lot of fun for rugby fans the world over. In the monthly blog I will base my decisions on form and so many changes will be evident from now till May. So as in previous weeks let the debates begin
15. First Class - Leigh Halfpenny . Excellent series versus next year’s opponents. Counter Attacks well , safe under the high ball and sound goal kicker too . Rob Kearney just misses out on a sub par NZ tour but this position is one of closest to call , and no doubt will change a few times . Economy – Rob Kearney. Standby- Stuart Hogg
14. First Class – Alex Cuthbert. Another to shine on tour and one who continues on from his form in Six Nations. Economy- Tommy Bowe , fully fit and on form still for me the best winger in the Lions selection , interesting to see how his move home goes . Standby-Chris Ashton
13. First Class - Brian O’Driscoll. Still the yardstick, workrate unquestioned , searing pace no longer there but he has one more Lions tour in him , where he always excels. Economy- Scott Williams. Standby-Jonathan Joseph
12. First Class - Jonathan Davies. Good summer and 6 nations . Only picked him as Jamie Roberts isn’t fully fit but can cover both centre positions and have a feeling will be a vital member of squad. Economy- Jamie Roberts . Standby- Manu Tuilagi
11. First Class - George North . Like his wing partner good summer tour but is a marked man and one feels must improve certain aspects of his game but the Aussies will fear him and with class around him will be a force on tour . Economy – Ben Foden. Standby- Keith Earls
10. First Class - Jonny Sexton. For me miles ahead of the rest of the available 10s. Strong in defence, gets backlines moving better than others too , kicking from hand and from tee still to improve but still a cut above . Economy – Rhys Priestland, struggled a bit on tour but still improving. Standby- Dan Biggar –potential bolter , excellent season for Ospreys much better than Farrell .
9. First Class – Mike Phillips. Aggressive at the base brings forwards into game , needs to get pass away quicker but consensus choice I feel. Economy/Standby- Danny Care/Eoin Reddan/Ben Youngs Any number of scrumhalves will put their names forward , I would personally still like to see Dwayne Peel tour , still has best pure scrum half skills of any home nations player in that position .
8. First Class - Sean O’Brien. It’s my selection and I’ll cry if I want to , out of position?? Some might argue. With the selections either side of him would allow SOB to run amok down under. Economy – Dave Denton. Standby- Toby Falatau
7. First Class - Sam Warburton (Capt). Let’s hope his ailments heal up , this guy is a gem . Workrate is phenomenal, also my choice as skipper. Economy – Ross Rennie . Standby- Chris Robshaw
6. First Class - Stephen Ferris. I know he didn’t tour in the summer and weren’t Ireland the worse for it. Injury prone yes but an absolute beast of a player and when ready to play one who opponents really don’t want to see on the teamsheet. Just pips Lydiate for ball wrecking ability both in hand and defence. Economy – Dan Lydiate. Standby- Tom Johnson
5. First Class – Ian Evans. Resurgence last season for the big Ospreys Lock. POC will probably commandeer the Test jersey when fit but his injuries have been worrying . Economy- Paul O’Connell. Standby- Courtney Lawes
4. First Class - Richie Gray . At 6’10 and 20 stone he is certainly fleet of foot and allied with good ball skills and carrying is a sight to behold , an improvement in his rucking and mauling could turn him into a potential Lions legend . Economy – Luke Charteris. Standby - Ryan Jones
3. First Class - Adam Jones. Tackle count is lessening as the age creeps up but still the most consistent tight head scrummager, still an area of Aussie weakness. Economy – Dan Cole . Standby – Mike Ross
2. First Class – Rory Best . For me one of the most improved players in past few seasons . In all honesty never thought I would pick him for any club 3rds XV when he came on the scene but now a vital player for province and country . Economy- Ross Ford . Standby- Richardt Strauss
1. First Class - Cian Healy. Like the fullback selection stupidly close call, but Gethin Jenkins isn’t the same player as he was at World Cup , injuries are taking their toll, whereas Healy just keeps getting better , if he can manage to steer clear of serious injury , a mainstay for Ireland and Lion for a good few years to come . Economy – Gethin Jenkins. Standby- Alex Corbisiero.
There you have it folks , certain omissions probably stand out , Heaslip, Farrell,Hartley, etc etc at the moment this is the selection I would go with , now lets get the season rolling .
Mark Jackson (@markusjacksonus) is an Irishman living in London, a lover of this game we call Rugby along with Gaelic Football and NFL (All Hail The New York Giants), having played it for fun and money in many countries around the globe, am now earning a crust coaching, hopefully inspiring and passing along some knowledge gained to the next generation of players.
Now we have our four selections, as Chairman of the Panel I must now put them together to make the composite “HoR Lions XV”. This doesn’t mean I get to pick my own team, however. I can only use players named by the panellists, and I only get to make a choice if there is a tie for a certain position.
With that in mind, click here to see the first composite starting XV.
Next week, we’ll begin the second round of picks and see if our English panellist has seen anything to change his mind.
