British and Irish Lions Watch: How Andy Farrell’s 38 fared this weekend as ‘brilliant’ Marcus Smith and Finn Russell impress
We update you on the fitness and performances of the 38 players Andy Farrell has selected for the British and Irish Lions.
As the British and Irish Lions draws nearer, we keep you up to date with how all 38 players fared over the weekend.
With a full round of United Rugby Championship, Top 14 and Premiership action, there were plenty of players in action.
The forwards
Maro Itoje (c): The British and Irish Lions captain put in a mammoth effort, albeit in vain, as Saracens fell to a crushing 28-24 defeat at the hands of Northampton Saints. Racked up a match-high of four turnovers and gained over 40 metres from his nine carries. Itoje was a man possessed, but ultimately, it fell short.
Tadhg Beirne: Skippered Munster to a play-off sealing win over Benetton and was his all-action self around the field.
Ollie Chessum: The England forward started in the second-row for Leicester Tigers this weekend in their 43-15 defeat to Bath. While he put in a tidy shift, he was sent to the sin bin for a high tackle on winger Will Muir. Chessum was perhaps fortunate not to be red-carded for the challenge, with the officials judging that there was enough mitigation.
Jack Conan: Captained Leinster in the absence of Caelan Doris in the top-of-the-table clash against Glasgow Warriors. Conan put in a strong 61-minute shift for the Irish province, racking up 11 tackles and 36 metres from his 10 carries as Leinster secured a narrow 13-5 victory over the Warriors in the final regular season match.
Luke Cowan-Dickie: A leg injury ruled him out of Sale’s clash with Bristol Bears on Friday evening.
Scott Cummings: The second-rower came off the bench for the final nine minutes of Glasgow’s clash against Leinster but threw his weight around, making eight tackles in that time.
Tom Curry: The Sale Sharks and England flanker is scheduled for surgery after the Lions, Alex Sanderson has confirmed. While his latest setback won’t rule him out of the tour, Sale weren’t taking any chances as they rested him for the Premiership meeting with Bristol.
Ben Earl: A nuisance at the breakdown for Saracens against Northampton, while being tireless on both sides of the ball, making 19 tackles and nine carries, making 44 metres. Making a move to be in the starting XV for the men in red.
Zander Fagerson: While his clubmate Sione Tuipulotu returned from injury, the tighthead prop is still sidelined with a calf injury that he picked up ahead of the clash with Zebre.
Tadhg Furlong: The veteran tighthead was named on Leinster’s bench against Glasgow Warriors, but the coaching team opted not to risk him in the fixture as he was an unused substitute.
Ellis Genge: Came off the bench for Bristol Bears in the defeat to Sale Sharks. He carried manfully and led the charge as the Bears launched a late comeback, but it was not to be.
Ronan Kelleher: Played the final 30 minutes against the Warriors as he picked up where Dan Sheehan left off. He did miss a handful of tackles that he will be disappointed about, but he managed to get through the match without injury.
Joe McCarthy: The lock was rested for Leinster’s final match of the regular URC season against Glasgow.
Jac Morgan: With Ospreys falling out of the Race to Eight in the URC last week, the Welshman was not risked in the club’s final game against the Lions in Johannesburg.
Henry Pollock: Clearly targeted by the likes of Tom Willis and Earl, who managed to keep the livewire rookie rather quiet. He still put in a tidy defensive shift but far from the eye-catching showing against Leinster.
Andrew Porter: A tidy performance in the victory over Glasgow as he put in a strong 51 minutes making nine tackles. He also got the better of Finlay Richardson in the scrums.
James Ryan: Made his return from injury against Glasgow, featuring in the starting second-row.
Pierre Schoeman: Two tries in a brilliant performance for Edinburgh, helping his side secure a place in the URC play-offs. He dominated Ulster’s Tom O’Toole in the scrums and threw down the gauntlet that he wants to play a big role for the Lions. A mammoth shift from the loosehead.
Dan Sheehan: Got through 50 minutes against Glasgow, where his set-piece was largely on point. Nothing sensational about his outing, but he ticked the boxes and got through the match without any injury concerns.
Will Stuart: Came off the bench replacing Thomas du Toit for Bath and, to some degree, turned the tide at scrum time, winning a penalty for his side. He would also grab a try as Bath marched to a 43-15 victory over Leicester.
Josh van der Flier: Rested for Leinster’s trip to Scotstoun with Scott Penny given a run in the number seven jumper for Leo Cullen’s charges.
The backs
Bundee Aki: Played a supporting role in Connacht’s 22-12 victory over Zebre. He grabbed a turnover and completed 17 passes as the Irish club got great purchase from getting the ball to the extremities.
Elliot Daly: Seemingly picked for his versatility and shone in the centres this weekend for Saracens with several delicious bits of play, including a stunning pass out for Juan Martin Gonzalez. Rather solid defensively too, against a firing Saints attack.
Tommy Freeman: Grew into the match as Northampton claimed a 28-24 come-from-behind win over Saracens in the Premiership. The speedster made an impressive 147 metres with the ball in hand, a match-high, and beat six defenders. The 24-year-old has been in excellent form lately, and this weekend was just another example of how dangerous he can be and why he is bidding to be a starting Lion.
Jamison Gibson-Park: One of the many Leinster players rested for the round of the URC.
Mack Hansen: Missed Connacht’s final URC match through injury. The Irish club put a five-week timeline on his recovery on 6 May, and with Connacht finishing outside of the play-off spots, he is set to return to action in Lions red.
Huw Jones: Featured alongside fellow Lion Tuipulotu in the midfield against Leinster, but struggled to get the attack firing against the Jacques Nienaber-led defence. On defence, he was sharp, making all 10 of his attempted tackles.
Hugo Keenan: He rarely has a poor outing, and this weekend wasn’t the exception. He floated in and out of the Leinster attack, making 12 carries, gaining 64 metres and completing 11 passes. He covered the backfield excellently as well.
Blair Kinghorn: He sustained an injury against Castres prior to the squad announcement and missed Toulouse’s clash against Racing 92 this weekend. Farrell and the French club will be hopeful that he can return to action soon.
James Lowe: After scoring in the 76-5 hammering on Zebre, Lowe was rested by the Leinster coaching team for the final game of the regular season.
Alex Mitchell: Saracens did a good job of making things difficult for him at Franklin’s Gardens as the scrum-half struggled to get any real rhythm in the fixture. He departed proceedings on the hour mark.
Garry Ringrose: Another who Leinster opted to rest against the Warriors, with Robbie Henshaw and Jordie Barrett combining in the centres.
Finn Russell: The inspiration behind much of Bath’s success with ball in hand against Leicester as Johann van Graan’s side marched to a statement 43-15 win. He did throw a pass that the Tigers picked off, but he did assist two of Bath’s tries. His missed shots at goal will be a bit of concern for the club ahead of their Challenge Cup final. Still, the Scotsman was excellent once again and is seemingly the frontrunner to be the starting fly-half for the Test matches.
Fin Smith: Northampton Saints wrapped him up in cotton wool early in the second half of the clash with Saracens with an eye to the Investec Champions Cup final against Bordeaux. Still, he did put in a deft kick for Josh Kemeny to score.
Marcus Smith: The fleet-footed fly-half weaved his magic to inspire Harlequins to a 24-22 victory over Exeter Chiefs on Sunday. He sensational jinked his way through the Chiefs’ defence on the hour mark with the ensuing conversion putting his side back in front. He was flawless from the tee too, knocking all four of his attempts, issuing a timely reminder of his brilliance.
Sione Tuipulotu: Made his first for Glasgow Warriors, playing just his second game of the year after sustaining an injury against Racing 92 in January. He got stuck right back into the thick of it again against Leinster, making 10 passes and completing four carries during his 40 minutes on the park. Glasgow boss Franco Smith revealed that Tuipulotu was set to play 45-50 minutes against the Irish province, but because he was stiff at half-time, he opted to pull the trigger early. Tuipulotu is likely to be back in action for Glasgow’s quarter-final against the Stormers at the end of the month.
Duhan van der Merwe: The 29-year-old missed Edinburgh’s final league match of the URC against Ulster through injury. The speedster has been battling with an ankle injury and has not played since the end of March.
Tomos Williams: Continued his fine form with Gloucester in the 12-26 victory over Newcastle Falcons. He also set up yet another try for Seb Atkinson, his tenth try assist in the Premiership this season.
