The Lions Squad : The Big Winners and Losers

 by Andy McGeady

Back Three:

Big Winners: Rob Kearney, Sean Maitland.
Big Loser: Tim Visser, Simon Zebo

The third name called out by tour manager Andy Irvine at the Lions squad announcement was Rob Kearney. As one of the specialist full-backs in the squad Kearney's ability to play wing will certainly have helped him but considering he hasn't sparkled this season he can consider himself rather lucky. Sean Maitland is the slight shock among the wings; the cousin of the controversial Quade Cooper has been flying under the radar at Glasgow and has played just five tests for Scotland. There'll be wailing and gnashing of teeth at the omission of Simon Zebo but Tim Visser is the man who truly hasn't made this season count; an extraordinary finisher, at 25 the Dutchman might just have one more chance in him for the 2017 tour.

Centres:

Big Winner: Jonathan Davies
Big Loser: Billy Twelvetrees, Brad Barritt

O'Driscoll, Roberts and Tuilagi were probably always on the plane and it looks like Davies has made it based on his ability to open up a defence over somebody like Brad Barritt whose job it is to seal one shut. Billy "ThirtySix" Twelvetrees would have provided a genuine second receiver option at 12 and cover at 10, considering that Gatland has named only two fly halves and Farrell thus far in his young career has not been a man to make a back line sing.

Fly Halves:
Big Winner: Owen Farrell
Big Loser: Jonny Wilkinson

Asking Sexton and Farrell to be starter and sub for every game on the tour probably isn't realistic; Wilkinson probably has a ticket booked for Australia the moment the Top 14 season has concluded.

Scrum Halves:
Big Winners: Conor Murray, Ben Youngs
Big Losers: Danny Care, Greig Laidlaw

After Phillips this position was wide open with whoever one wanted to take being a matter of very personal coaching preference. Murray gets the nod as a potential Phillips 2.0 while Greig Laidlaw would have been a very interesting option to have in a match day squad as backup for both half positions as well as goalkicker.

Props:
Big Winners: Matt Stevens, Mako Vunipola, Gethin Jenkins
Big Losers: Mike Ross, Ryan Grant

On a tour without a true "bolter" Matt Stevens counts as the biggest outside bet to come in. After a two-year drug suspension in 2009 Stevens retired from international rugby in August 2012 and now finds himself in the Lions squad. Jenkins makes it as an exception to the no-French-based-players decree and Vunipola's lack of scrummaging experience has been discounted in favour of his impact in the loose. Mike Ross could well find himself in the late replacement role that John Hayes fulfilled on the 2009 tour.

Hookers:
Big Winner: Dylan Hartley
Big Loser: Rory Best

Hartley is an excellent scrummager but throughout his career has courted controversy with Warren Gatland himself calling him out before an England versus Wales Six Nations match in 2011. The stats from both the Ulster and Ireland lineouts have been troublesome over the last six months and this might have caught up with Best, no matter how excellent his work around the field has been. Will he be ahead of Matthew Rees on the standby list?

Locks:
Big Winners: Richie Gray, Geoff Parling
Big Losers: Donnacha Ryan, Jim Hamilton

It's hard to be anonymous when you're almost seven feet tall and over twenty stones but Gray, a once in a generation physical talent, managed that this season. Having obviously proven his fitness to Gatland after injury the giant Scot is lucky to make it. At 29 Geoff Parling is a latecomer as an England regular but has beaten Ryan, Hamilton and his England colleague Joe Launchbury onto the plane. If Nathan Hines were not playing in France he'd surely have been in the mix.

Back Rows:
Big Winners: Tom Croft, Dan Lydiate
Big Losers: Chris Robshaw, Kelly Brown, Tom Wood

Wood, Brown and Robshaw, the top three Six Nations tacklers, miss out in favour of Lydiate proving he's back to full fitness and Tom Croft's ability to cover blind side and second row. Croft is a hot and cold player and Gatland is banking on him being in the former form by June. Robshaw is genuinely unlucky; the English captain consistently gets through an extraordinary amount of work both in defence and attack for his country.

Andy McGeady (@andymcgeady) is a freelance journalist writing on sports, stats and analytics. He's been published in the Irish Examiner, the Irish Times, Balls.ie and The Journal (and now HoR!!!) Normally blogs at andymcgeady.com