British and Irish Lions team: Five unluckiest players as ‘perfect impact man’ is a victim of injury-hit backline
Henry Pollock and Jac Morgan both missed out on British and Irish Lions squad selection.
Following the announcement of the British and Irish Lions squad to tackle the Wallabies in Saturday’s first Test, we pick out the five unluckiest players to miss out.
At long last, the debates and predicted line-ups from media outlets and fans can be put to bed as Andy Farrell has unveiled his 23 to face Joe Schmidt’s Australia in Brisbane.
Now the focus has been unpicking the side the Lions boss has named and we have highlighted five unlucky squad members who have missed the cut for the Suncorp opener.
Five unluckiest Lions
Jac Morgan
Beginning with probably the unluckiest omission, lone Welshman on tour Morgan was widely tipped to get the nod as the number seven but misses out to Tom Curry.
Morgan has been one of the standout players in Australia, but it seems Lions Test experience and a greater knowledge of others has tipped the scale towards Curry et al.
It always felt like it was a start or nothing for the Wales captain – due to other players’ impact off the bench – so Morgan will be a spectator for this week’s opening Test.
Farrell stressed it was the minutest margin that separated Morgan from a start but that won’t make the lack of Test action any more easier to swallow for the flanker.
Henry Pollock
There will be a theme here in our opening picks as back-row is one of, if not the most stocked cabinet in terms of Lions depth and quality on this tour Down Under.
Like Morgan, Pollock has been in great form and while the former’s absence from the XV is a talking point, it’s perhaps just as surprising the latter misses the bench.
Pollock’s ability to cover all three back-row positions and being such a unique talent made him a perfect impact man, but Farrell has looked elsewhere in selecting Ollie Chessum and Ben Earl. Perhaps the English star is a victim of the 5-3 bench split too, as Farrell wanted that extra option to cover what is an injury-hit backline.
Josh van der Flier
2022’s World Rugby Player of the Year is our third flank to make this list and while he’s been in solid form, he is probably the least shocking absence of the three.
Perhaps Farrell’s detailed knowledge of Van der Flier – and the fact he always puts in a minimum 7/10 performance – might have counted in his favour, but as mentioned, such is the back-row talent at the Lions’ disposal, there were also going to be elite players missing out and the Leinster and Ireland stalwart is another in that boat.
Fin Smith
Most definitely the second-choice fly-half on this Lions tour but unfortunately, a lack of versatility counts against the Northampton Saints and England star this week.
His namesake, Marcus, can cover both 10 and 15 and was therefore the most logical pick for Farrell, with Finn Russell always leading the race for the starting jersey.
One fears for Fin in terms of Test action moving forward unless the return of Blair Kinghorn via the bench opens up a place due to his ability to cover the back three.
Ben White
Such was his superb performance on debut last weekend against an AUNZ Invitational XV, the Scotland international had catapulted himself into the Test debate.
White, who was called up to the squad following the injury to Tomos Williams earlier in the tour, was handed his first start last Saturday and certainly made the most of it with a wonderful high-tempo showing. A busy try-scoring outing and error-free display really caught the eye in Adelaide but he has missed out to two top-class nines.
While it would have been a shock to see Alex Mitchell miss out on the bench, White has at least shown Farrell and his coaching team that he’s ready to step in if needed.