Six Nations: British and Irish Lions possibles press claims
2025-02-04
Category: sports

Potential British and Irish Lions will use the Six Nations to compete for a place among the pride of players travelling to Australia in the summer.Lions head coach Andy Farrell was at the Aviva Stadium to run the rule over Ireland and England's hopefuls.While Farrell has not said what he made of the performances, Six Nations Rugby Special pundits Sam Warburton and John Barclay selected their starting XVs based on the weekend's opening matches.Here are five players under consideration. Feel free to list your own picks in the comments section below.
Rory Darge (Scotland)
Warburton, who captained the Lions from flanker on their 2013 and 2017 tours, knows his back-row onions."Trying to narrow Tom Curry, Rory Darge, Josh van der Flier and Jac Morgan into two or three players - I don't know how the coach is going to do that," he said as he considered one of Farrell's most congested areas of contention."But Darge is Lions quality."Darge isn't the biggest back row, weighing in at 15st 6lb, but has bulked up his ball-carrying. He barged over for Scotland's opening try against Italy and kept making inroads.The 24-year-old clocked up almost 28 post-contact metres in 13 carries, Scotland's third-highest total.His breakdown work has always been excellent and he won two turnovers as Scotland held off Italy's renaissance to win.Both Barclay and Warburton have him in the Lions XV they have picked based on the opening weekend's performances.
Dan Sheehan (Ireland)
After 50 minutes Ireland's Dan Sheehan came off the bench at the Aviva Stadium to make only his second appearance since tearing knee ligaments against South Africa in July.His team-mates have described how the 26-year-old did double sessions and boxing drills during his rehabilitation to come back fitter, stronger and more agile than before.It seems to have paid off.Sheehan was part of a hugely impressive Ireland bench. He was especially influential in his team's fourth try, deftly putting Jack Conan into a hole, before getting off the floor to throw a 20 metre mis-pass to James Lowe, run a canny support line and surge between Marcus and Fin Smith to dunk the ball down for the score.With Farrell watching in the stands, the Test shirt may already be Sheehan's to lose."His influence off the bench in a 30-minute cameo just showed he is streets ahead at hooker," former Scotland captain Barclay said on Six Nations Rugby Special."He is the world's best hooker," said Warburton.
Ollie Lawrence (England)
It is always tougher to press your case from a losing position, but Lawrence managed to in England's defeat in Dublin.He scored some noticeable wins in individual battles, knocking back Sam Prendergast on a charge, thumping Ringrose in a tackle and making the break that gave England momentum for the first score.He also beat more defenders than any other player - from either side - in the match, with a total of six."Lawrence was sensational," said Barclay. "Defensively he was banging boys backwards. He carried the ball well. He was important to everything good England did."With fellow centres Bundee Aki of Ireland and Huw Jones of Scotland also performing well, midfield is set to be another intensely competitve position. 
Finn Russell (Scotland)
Russell toured with the Lions in South Africa four years ago and, after missing out on the matchday squads for the first two Tests, he was thrust into the decider with Dan Biggar injured in the first 10 minutes.Russell mixed his game-breaking moments with shrewd game management on that occasion, even if he could not avert a 19-16 defeat that sent the series south.He is still the leading contender to steer the tourists' ship this time around, but Saturday's show did not strengthen his grip on the shirt.There was the obvious mistake: throwing a brain-fade pass straight into Ignacio Brex's hands cost his team seven points.But there were other slips, with an offload into touch, a failure to put Stafford McDowall into a gaping hole just before Darge's try and two, admittedly tricky, conversions missed."I don't think any fly-half really lit it up this weekend, but Russell has a lot in the bank and I think he will start at 10 in the summer," said Warburton who, like Barclay, preferred an Irish option at fly-half on the basis of this weekend's performances.
Jac Morgan (Wales)
Friday night was a true test of character. Faced with a heavyweight France pack and a lopsided scoreline, Wales captain Jac Morgan raged against defeat.The 25-year-old made a whopping 81 metres with ball in hand, beat three defenders and made 25 tackles - all team-high totals.A suffering Wales are unlikely to lend many players to the Lions cause, but few would have any arguments over Morgan's inclusion."In a team that lost by 43 points, he still stood out," said Warburton.
The absentees
England wing Immanuel Feyi-Waboso has been sidelined by a shoulder problem, which could yet rule him out of the Six Nations - and England have missed his top-end pace, which has delivered five tries in nine Test appearances since he made his debut in the opening round last year.Ireland tight-head prop Tadhg Furlong missed the win over England with a calf strain, but the 32-year-old has started the last six Lions Tests and would bring a wealth of experience, along with his all-court game.Scotland captain Sione Tuipulotu will miss the Six Nations with a pectoral injury, but surely has the credit in the back after a stellar year. His midfield partner-in-crime Jones scoring a hat-trick might have helped Tuipulotu's cause.Dewi Lake hopes to return to action for Wales before the end of the Six Nations. The hooker, who skippers the side alongside Morgan, has a bicep injury and will want to make his case after good performances by Ireland's Sheehan and Ronan Kelleher and an enterprising and accurate showing by Scotland's Dave Cherry.