Record number of Irish in Lions squad

British & Irish Lions squad announcement: Paul O'Connell will lead a British & Irish Lions squad featuring a record 14 Irish representatives to South Africa next month. The 10-match tour, culminating in a three-match series against the Springboks, gets underway on May 30th.

With O'Connell and Ireland skipper Brian O'Driscoll the only genuine contenders for the captaincy role, the secondrow edged out the Leinster centre as coach Ian McGeechan, as he did in the past with Martin Johnson, looks to the engine room to provide leadership.

O'Connell becomes the eighth Irish captain of a Lions touring party in the post-war era and the 10th in all. It must be said, however, that Irish skippers have rarely tasted victory with only Willie John McBride, during the legendary 'Invincibles' 1974 tour of South Aftrica, leading the Lions to a series win.

Ireland's Grand Slam heroics have seen a remarkable 14 of Declan Kidney's players make the touring party.

In the backs the names of Rob Kearney, Luke Fitzgerald, Tommy Bowe, Brian O'Driscoll and Ronan O'Gara will have met with few dissenting voices among the selection committee while Keith Earls and Tomas O'Leary also make the grade.

Similarly, forwards O'Connell, Jamie Heaslip, David Wallace, Stephen Ferris, and Jerry Flannery were all expected to be named in the squad with Alan Quinlan and Donncha O'Callaghan winning what may have been marginal calls.

The previous Irish record was set in 2005 when Clive Woodward took an inflated squad of 45 players to face the All Blacks, 11 of whom hailed from these shores.

Ireland will have the greatest number of tourists with 14, closely followed by Wales 13, England eight and Scotland just two.

Apart from O'Driscoll, no other Six Nations captain has been included as Ryan Jones (Wales), Steve Borthwick (England) and Mike Blair (Scotland) have all been left at home. Other absentees include Jonny Wilkinson, Danny Cipriani, Gavin Henson, James Hook, and Tom Croft.

Delon Armitage, who caught the eye during the Six Nations campaign, couldn't force his way into the reckoning.

"To get where we are today and the announcement of the 37 players who will travel to South Africa has taken a lot of thought and work," McGeechan said today.

"Over the last six months the Lions coaching staff has attended countless matches, analysed endless games and taken the counsel of national and domestic coaches. Naturally there were some tough decisions and there will be disappointed players but I am confident that this is a very strong and capable squad.

"Its composition reflects the form shown in the Six Nations and domestic rugby and has a balanced blend of experience and youth."

Lions manager Gerald Davies, who made the announcement, said: "Being selected as a Lion is a huge honour for a player and marks a major highlight in his career. I congratulate each of the players on their selection and look forward to a successful and rewarding tour to South Africa.

"We now have a short space of time in which to prepare for the tour and build a team that is capable of taking on the world champions."

The Lions will leave for South Africa on May 24th, the day after a Heineken Cup final that will, of course, feature either Munster or Leinster.

British & Irish Lions Squad

Backs: Lee Byrne (Wales), Rob Kearney(Ireland), Shane Williams (Wales), Leigh Halfpenny (Wales), Ugo Monye (England), Luke Fitzgerald(Ireland), Tommy Bowe(Ireland), Tom Shanklin (Wales), Jamie Roberts (Wales), Brian O'Driscoll(Ireland), Keith Earls(Ireland), Riki Flutey (England), Ronan O'Gara(Ireland), Stephen Jones (Wales), Mike Phillips (Wales), Harry Ellis (England), Tomas O'Leary(Ireland).

Forwards: Jamie Heaslip(Ireland), Andy Powell (Wales), David Wallace(Ireland), Stephen Ferris(Ireland), Alan Quinlan(Ireland), Joe Worsley (England), Martyn Williams (Wales), Alun Wyn Jones (Wales), Paul O'Connell(Ireland) (captain), Donncha O'Callaghan(Ireland), Simon Shaw (England), Nathan Hines (Scotland), Gethin Jenkins (Wales), Adam Jones (Wales), Andrew Sheridan (England), Phil Vickery (England), Euan Murray (Scotland), Jerry Flannery(Ireland), Lee Mears (England), Matthew Rees (Wales).