LIONS TOUR: IT’S D-DAY FOR GATLAND
MANU TUILAGI has been out of sight since September but he definitely should not be out of Warren Gatland’s mind when he names his Lions squad today.
Think of the one player South Africa would not want running at them this summer and it is Tuilagi.
He is close to a comeback for Sale after his torn Achilles and by the time the series starts he should be purring. He has to go on the tour.
I would also have Sam Simmonds inked in.
It is bizarre how the Exeter No.8 continues to be overlooked by England – especially as they played so poorly in the Six Nations.
I’m hoping Gatland won’t make the same mistake as Eddie Jones.
If he is in, it will be a wonderful moment for Simmonds.
In 2001, I hadn’t been named in the initial preliminary squad and hadn’t started a Test for England, so I wasn’t tuned in for the announcement. I was fixing a fence in the garden – because we had a Great Dane which kept escaping – when I got the call from Sale’s media manager Dave Swanton to tell me I was in.
That tour was such an incredible learning experience in the company of great players from across the four nations and one which did so much for me.
Five tries in my first game for the Lions, that ‘phone box’ score inside three minutes of the first Test and top try-scorer on the tour. Fun? You bet.
What sticks with me most though was the incredible travelling support – the sea of red in the stands – and it’s such a shame the 2021 Lions will not have the chance to experience that. It’s great that the tour is on but something will definitely be missing.
With no Lions fans, the bubble restrictions and the fact that they are playing the world champions, I think this will be the hardest tour ever.
There is only one man to lead them on it – Alun Wyn Jones.
He had a great Six Nations spearheading Wales to the title, has all the experience in the world and is a figure who is used to playing with the pressures of captaincy.
I know Maro Itoje has been talked about for the job but to lead the
Lions you need to be a captain of your national side or at least your club. It isn’t as if Alun Wyn will be short on leadership back-up with Stuart Hogg and Owen Farrell – both national captains – on the trip.
Farrell had a disappointing Six Nations but I would expect him to regain his form as the Lions tour progresses. It is the sort of environment which will bring the best out in him and if it does, I would pick him at stand-off in the Test side.
I would also select Jamie George, a terrific Lion in 2017 who lost his England place in the Six Nations, as well as Hamish Watson, the Scotland flanker.
He can help the Lions to move South Africa around and, in tandem with Tom Curry, disrupt them at the breakdown.
I’d also want Louis Rees-Zammit on the wing. He has only played a handful of Wales Tests but a rookie can make a big impact on a Lions tour. I guess I should know.