It’s one of the hottest debate topics egg-chasing has to offer.
Given we live in something of a green goldfish bowl on these Irish shores, there’s no harm getting input from elsewhere.
And so we have the HarpinOnRugby Lions Selector Panel, made up of one fan from each nation, with even the Irish panellist, this week’s contributor Mark Jackson, based abroad.
So the ‘Ken is done group wise with the champs out and the English and French seemingly turning a corner , still think there's a twist or two in the tale , with the very suspect open semi final draw once again going against the top seeds .
Anyway the 6 nations is upon us with it possibly being more open than in recent seasons with a seemingly resurgent England after their Kiwi triumph and France once more unearthing 3/4s from all corners and a few new monsters upfront . Wales if their regions are anything to go by will struggle , injuries robbing them of most of their second row option , Ireland can be really good or really bad there doesn't seem to be an in between, and the less said bout the state of Scottish rugby the better it seems , Italy will do what Italy do , one surprise and loads of yellow cards , cant see that changing .
Now to this months Lions XV , as the season progresses some people keep on delivering , some are up n down , some will disappear , some will come with a late charge , with rumours coming out of non 6 nations participants frowned upon , these next few weeks will give us the bulk of the squad Mr. Gatland will send down under . Here's hoping late-season injury recoveries i.e Ferris, Lydiate, Bowe especially are given chances to get a seat .
15. Rob Kearney ( seems like all he had was a rest , back on flying form )
14. Leigh Halfpenny ( switches position , playing well and if Bowe is out he can slip in on wing easily )
13. Brian O'Driscoll ( the magical mystery aka retirement tour continues for the yardstick of world centres)
12. Jonathan Davies ( consistent for a poor Scarlets side and a nice left peg developing too )
11. George North ( iffy position with no one putting hand up , hoping for re-emergence of real behemoth)
10. Jonathan Sexton ( playing well and miles ahead still of a poor set of underclassmen)
9. Danny Care ( consistent , snappy , snarling 9 playing behind a dominant pack )
8. Jamie Heaslip ( best of an avg set of options at moment , don't be surprised to see Sean O Brien given a shot at 8 )
7. Justin Tipuric ( good form , great Heineken Cup performances put him ahead of chasers )
6. Sean O Brien ( dynamic ball carrying sets him at 6 , he is not a 7 please please pick him where he is best suited 6/8 not 7 )
5. Courtney Lawes ( apparently the front runner for one of lock positions according to Lions management , needs more consistency but a serious talent )
4. Nathan Hines ( anyone paying attention to his performance should purr at a man of his size with the offloading skills allied with power and athleticism )
3. Dan Cole ( week in week out does his main job in the tight and continues to masquerade as a chunky turnover machine as well , needs to watch his penalty count though )
2. Rory Best ( solid if unspectacular , needs work on darts , is in as Mighty Mauss fell to injury )
1. Cian Healy ( has picked up his game at the right time , work-rate is phenomenal , scrummaging is improving and his ball carries are second to none for a prop )
16. Dylan Hartley 17. Gethin Jenkins 18. Adam Jones 19 Joe Launchbury 20 . Chris Robshaw
21. Mike Phillips 22. Freddie Burns 23. Manu Tuilagi
There ya have it folks , see you all next month for a few more changes due to the nature of the beast!
Enjoy the start of the 6N.
Mark
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.
Thanks Mark! His is selection brings to an end the fifth round of choices from the panel. Click here to see how the “HoR Composite Selection” stacks up. Next week we begin round six with the latest from our English panellist Rich Church-Keen.
