The announcement of the 37-man Lions squad to tour Australia in June has provided plenty of scope for discussion on the issue of some included and some omitted. It has been ever thus after the announcement of a Lions squad.
One aspect of the squad that has provoked a vigorous argument and more than a few very reasonable queries, is that the Welsh managed to get 10 players in the 37. They did not exactly set the scene alight this season. Hammered by England, they drew with Scotland (having allowed a match-winning position to slip), got a rather fortuitous win over France and then were far from impressive in beating Italy. In the European Cup, their two representatives in the quarter-finals were beaten comprehensively. The Lions coach, Graham Henry, is also the Welsh coach, and that should have helped the cause where there was little between players for some positions. Fortune in the form of the management committee certainly smiled on some Welsh players and frowned on others, notably some Irish.
Certainly the foot-and-mouth epidemic did not help the cause of some Irish players, but inactivity did not seem to do any harm to a few from other countries who have been chosen. I think the most unlucky of the Irish players omitted is David Wallace. An injury at the wrong time did not help him, but his form prior to that had been excellent. His lay-off was evident in the Munster v Stade Francais match, but surely time was on his side with the tour over a month away. Three Welsh back row forwards and three Welsh front row forwards are included. Contrast that with the inclusion of three Irish forwards: Keith Wood, Jeremy Davidson and Malcolm O'Kelly. Davidson has not been a first choice for Ireland this season and was also hampered by a wrist injury. But his pedigree was good and apparently his recent form for Castres has been impressive.
Peter Clohessy has played at tighthead and loosehead at international level, but apparently there was a belief that he is no longer effective on the tight side. Well perhaps, but is Darren Morris a better player? Clohessy also has the experience of the Australian scene. Not alone did he tour there with Ireland in 1994, he also had a season with Queensland.
John Hayes lost out to the experience of David Young on the tight side. Hayes is very unlucky. The view that the tour may have come a year too late for Clohessy seems to have been borne out. Young was in South Africa in 1997 but did not play in a Test.
The view that Denis Hickie's chances had receded after a less than impressive display for the Rest of Ireland against Munster came to pass. Up to a few weeks ago, Hickie was in most selections on the wing and rated well above Daffyd James. Certainly, on the close calls, the dice fell on each occasion for the Welsh. The selection of Jason Robinson has surely been made on potential rather than actual achievement. Admittedly a rugby league player of real quality and achievement, his union experience is limited in the extreme, and his appearances for England amount to half an hour as a replacement.
I believe that Ronan O'Gara earned his selection. He has played consistently well this season and has been a huge influence on Munster's achievements in the European Cup over the last two campaigns. He is the only current Munster player chosen for the tour. The selection of O'Gara, Jonny Wilkinson and Neil Jenkins as outhalves meant Gregor Townsend lost out. Townsend is a fine player but did not have a good European Cup before injury cost him international appearances for Scotland. Nor can we forget that Jenkins did not play at outhalf in South Africa in 1997, but at full back in all three Tests. The management have been at pains to stress that national affinity did not play any part in selection. There are always instances when close calls have to be made. In such circumstances, however, I believe national affinity does influence selection, however strong the desire may be for objectivity. The Welsh were the main winners in the close calls.
A Lions team has never lost a Test series to Australia, so there will be a lot of responsibility on the current squad. The team which toured Australia in 1888 was not representative of players from the four home countries, nor was there an international played on it. In those days the team was not known as the Lions. The side that went to Australia in 1899 did include players from all four home countries. They won the Test series 4-0.
That squad included several Irish players. Thereafter visits to Australia by Lions teams were always part of - and really secondary to - tours to New Zealand. This lasted until 1989, when the Lions toured Australia, but not New Zealand. The current Lions manager, Donal Lenihan, was on that tour, which the Lions won 2-1.
In 1904, a team from these islands toured Australia and New Zealand and won the Test series against Australia 3-0. In 1930, the Lions played just one Test against Australia en route from New Zealand and lost it 6-5. Then, in 1950, Karl Mullen's Lions beat the Australians 2-0 in the Test series, and Ronnie Dawson's 1959 Lions emulated that feat with a 2-0 Test series win, but on that occasion the visit to Australia was made en route to New Zealand.
Dawson captained the Lions in six Tests on that tour and set a record that Martin Johnson will equal if he plays in all three Tests.
The 1966 Lions won the Test series 2-0 against Australia, again en route to New Zealand. The 1971 Lions played two matches in Australia, but not a Test, and it was not until that 1989 tour that the Lions again played Australia. Thus the Lions played Australia 14 times, won 12 and lost just twice. So that is a record the current Lions must attempt to embellish.
