Ian Mcgeechan and Will Greenwood on the major talking points
hgatland’s inclusion of player who last won a cap for England in 2018 is likely to give Jones’ employers a huge headache
By picking Sam Simmonds, and not selecting Kyle Sinckler for his British and Irish Lions squad, Warren Gatland has delivered the most stinging of rebukes to Eddie Jones.
Gatland has shown no hesitation in delivering the Australian – an old rival – a slap in the face with his previous Lions picks, but this year’s could be the most emphatic of all.
Four years ago, Gatland opted not to bring Dylan Hartley, who was England’s first-choice hooker, preferring to select his understudy Jamie George, who went on to start all three Tests for the Lions against New Zealand. That signalled the beginning of the end of Hartley’s England career.
Sinckler was also a rookie selection and ended up making the Test squad before breaking into England’s starting XV on his return.
The inclusion of Simmonds this year, however, is likely to cause greater unease at Twickenham, given that Jones has persisted to overlook the Exeter No 8 despite his standout form in the Premiership and in Europe.
The last of Simmonds’s seven caps was as far back as March 2018, despite the fact that he was named European Player of the Year last season and is currently the highest tryscorer in the Premiership.
Should Simmonds excel in the red of the Lions, it would turn further heat on the selection policy of Jones, who steadfastly remained invested in Billy Vunipola, hoping he would return to the form that earned him a selection for the tour of New Zealand in 2017 before he withdrew at the 11th hour to undergo surgery.
Jones has consistently argued that Premiership form alone does not translate to the international stage, but Gatland clearly believes the forward can give him a point of difference against South Africa.
In the aftermath of the World Cup final 18 months ago, it would have been unthinkable that England had only 10 representatives; even more inconceivable that the 11th would be a player who had not played Test rugby for over three years.
Even as late as December, Jones said he was hoping for 20 players to make the Lions tour. Yet the consequences of the manner of England’s defeat by South Africa in 2019 appear to have had a clear impact in the selection strategy, coupled with the fifth-place finish in the Six Nations.
The Lions head coach seems to have learnt from England’s defeat in the final in Japan and will not ask his side to try to take on the Springboks’ formidable “bomb squad”.
Instead, the Lions look like they are equipping themselves to run around them because they know they cannot run over them, opting for a strong set-piece and strike runners, such as Bundee Aki and Duhan van der Merwe out wide.
While Vunipola was picked by England to dominate the collisions, the Lions see Simmonds, with his pace and footwork, able to find gaps and run South Africa off the field.
Sinckler’s omission this time is one of a number of surprise decisions and it appears to have been a reflection of question marks over his temperament and scrummaging. Ireland’s highly-rated but secondchoice tighthead Andrew Porter is preferred, given his ability to play both sides of the scrum.
The absences of Henry Slade, Sam Underhill, Manu Tuilagi and Jack Nowell are also notable, although the latter two faced fitness battles, while Maro Itoje, once the frontrunner for the captaincy, as predicted missed out to Alun Wyn Jones, Gatland’s trusted lieutenant.
Yet if England’s poor Six Nations campaign has had an impact, not all of Gatland’s selections have been based on form. He has stuck by Elliot Daly, who impressed four years ago and offers the versatility and kicking game that could yet win a Test match, especially at altitude.
Yet even there, Gatland and his coaching team have taken a different view to Jones, selecting Daly as an outside centre, his preferred position but one he is not afforded with England.
What also appears clear is that the inclusion of two Scotland coaches in Gregor Townsend and Steve Tandy has had a significant input into the selection on the back of their strong Six Nations campaign.
Eight Scots are included, their biggest contingent since 1989, and the most notable selection is Finn Russell ahead of Jonathan Sexton. It does not feel like an instinctive Gatland pick and perhaps he has been persuaded by Townsend, himself a footballing fly-half, that Russell can provide a match-winning X-factor from the bench, another indication the Lions want to travel with a game equipped to move the contest away from the Springboks’ strengths.
The biggest losers are Ireland, and particularly Sexton, James Ryan and Garry Ringrose, although it is in part tempered by the surprise call for Aki to attempt to replicate Tuilagi’s midfield power. Doubts over Sexton’s durability proved decisive, while La Rochelle’s dominance of Leinster’s pack on Sunday did for Ryan. Courtney Lawes, despite his injury problems, is the beneficiary.
Gatland admitted this was the toughest selection yet of his three tours in charge. He has been nothing if not bold and insists it was ultimately about striking the right balance, with an extra loose forward selected for the physical challenge that awaits the Lions. If he pulls it off, the repercussions are likely to be felt at Twickenham, too.