Last minute meetings as B&I Lions announcement looms

NEWS: The auditions are over, but the debate is heating up as Andy Farrell’s time runs out to announce his British and Irish Lions squad for their tour to Australia on Thursday.

The head coach has called a final selection meeting in London on Wednesday to ponder the big selection calls amid the latest injury concerns that have developed over the last few days.

The fitness of Ireland captain Caelan Doris must be the biggest headache for Farrell as it seems the No. 8 will have to undergo shoulder surgery.

Doris and Maro Itoje were the two frontrunners to head up the captaincy for the tour, and this could leave the door open for Itoje to step into that role.

THE CONTENDERS 📋

We put the spotlight on the second row options at Andy Farrell’s disposal ahead of next week’s #Lions2025 squad announcement 🦁

— British & Irish Lions (@lionsofficial) May 3, 2025

The captain is due to be informed ahead of Thursday’s announcement, while the best players from England, Ireland, Scotland, and Wales will be eagerly waiting by their phones to find out if they’ve been selected for what is the pinnacle of any player from those four nations’ career.

Farrell is yet to confirm exactly how big his squad will be, although around 37 has generally been the number on previous tours. However many he decides to go with, he will face a huge number of dilemmas with so many quality players available across the board.

Some of the final big decisions to be made include the man of the moment, 20-year-old Henry Pollock. The England and Northampton sensation only has one cap at international level – could this count against him?

A fascinating subplot centres around Farrell’s son, Owen, who is hoping for a call-up despite stepping away from international rugby.

Despite a difficult season for Welsh clubs, players like Jac Morgan, Tomos Williams, Dewi Lake, Dafydd Jenkins, Nicky Smith, Gareth Thomas, Taulupe Faletau, and Blair Murray are all thought to be in the selection mix.

For the first time, the squad announcement is being held as a live event with around 2,000 Lions fans potentially in attendance.

Lions chair Ieuan Evans, who was a three-time tourist as a player and scored the series-clinching try against the Wallabies in 1989, will read out the selections made by Farrell and his coaching staff.

The coaching staff had a late addition with former Ireland flyhalf Johnny Sexton added to the mix. He joins an existing Ireland trio – John Fogarty, Andrew Goodman, and Simon Easterby – as well as England’s Richard Wigglesworth and John Dalziel of Scotland.