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Lions - Six Nations 2025 Auditions

If Farrell goes for a bigger squad, I could see a couple of sentimental picks in there for Owen, Healy and O'Mahoney. Possibly Lawes too. I wouldn't agree with any of them though.
 
I think picking Owen would be a PR disaster. With the squad being announced in front of 3k fans at the O2 it wouldn't shock me if there were audible boos. If he's hell bent on taking him better that he's a late call up with some cover story about needing more cover at 10/12.
 
That will be interesting to see if Faz Senior picks his son (I have no idea how he is playing in France atm). But that would surely impact the dynamic of the squad and put in the minds of the rest of the squad that whether he's going to pick on merit from the start.
 
OK, so post tournament overview:

Ireland weren't quite as good as they have been, I still expect them to dominate selection but it's not as clear cut as it might have been.

England and Scotland have had good individual performers that will have given Farrell food for thought. Some whose stock has risen, some who have potentially played their way out of contention.

Wales … sadly, I can't see how anyone has made a case for being selected. Morgan is the only one close to being in contention but unfortunately for him, he plays in one of the most hotly contested positions. Conversely, Tomos Williams and possibly even Blair Murray could be wildcards due to relative lack of options at 9 and 15.

My squad:

1. Porter / Genge / Schoeman
2. Sheehan / Kelleher / George
3. Furlong* / Stuart / Bealham (Fagerson)
4. Itoje / Ryan
5. Beirne / McCarthy / Chessum
6. T. Curry / Ritchie
7. Van der Flier / Darge
8. Doris / Conan / Earl
9. Gibson-Park / Mitchell / Williams
10. Russell / F. Smith / Prendergast
11. Lowe / van der Merwe
12. Aki / Henshaw / Tuipolotu* (Jordan)
13. Jones / Ringrose
14. Hansen / Graham / Freeman
15. Keenan / Kinghorn / Jordan** (M. Smith)

*Injury permitting
**Utility back

With post-tournament clarity, I didn't find it that hard to pick TBH.

Most contentious slots for me are 7 (Darge vs. Morgan), 9 (Williams vs. White), utility back (Jordan vs. M. Smith).

Ireland: 19
England: 10
Scotland: 9
Wales: 1
No argument over that from me, other than White over both Mitchell and Williams at 9
 
It's a tight call. I think at his best, Mitchell is better than White. However, I'd argue that White is currently in better form. 10/10 for simulation anyway 😉

Still - with a couple of months until the squad is named, that could change.
 

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