British & Irish Lions Team of the Week: ‘Scourge of England’ and ‘iconic’ Ireland veteran make their presence felt

Adam Kyriacou
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Jamison Gibson-Park, Bundee Aki and Duhan van der Merwe make our team.

Jamison Gibson-Park, Bundee Aki and Duhan van der Merwe make our team.

With Round Three of the Six Nations in the books and the British & Irish Lions tour to Australia edging closer into view, it’s time to pick our Lions Team of the Week.

It was an interesting weekend from a Lions perspective as Ireland misfired somewhat and were missing a handful of key personnel against a Wales side that was much-improved.

Elsewhere, England and Scotland played out a titanic tussle at Allianz Stadium with those two fixtures resulting in our Lions XV providing a healthy spread from the nations.

British & Irish Lions Team of the Week

15 Blair Kinghorn (Scotland): The standout full-back from the four nations on show as he takes this jersey over Jamie Osborne, Marcus Smith and Blair Murray, who all put in decent showings. Kinghorn though was a threat whenever he touched the ball at Twickenham and is a metre machine (500) this Six Nations.

14 Tommy Freeman (England): There were impressive performances from Kyle Rowe and Tom Rogers, whose outstanding finish in the corner was a thing of beauty. However, Freeman came into his own against Scotland with an all-action showing that saw him dot down for a try (we think) as his Lions stock rises.

13 Huw Jones (Scotland): It’s fast becoming his jersey to lose in Australia as Jones was again such a threat with ball in hand. Scored his fourth try of the campaign as he remains just one behind France finisher Louis Bielle-Biarrey in the tournament chart. Ollie Lawrence and Max Llewellyn were the next best 13s.

12 Bundee Aki (Ireland): Talk about impact. The image of Aki covered in pitch sponsor ink with a bloodied nose was iconic. He stepped up in the absence of Garry Ringrose to help steer Ireland to their third successive victory in 2025. Has the Ireland veteran now locked up his Lions 12 jersey after this performance?

11 Duhan van der Merwe (Scotland): The scourge of England. Van der Merwe shone from minute one at Twickenham as his favourite opponent caught him on yet another hot day performance wise. Scored a late try and had a big hand in Scotland’s other two, Van der Merwe finished with 88 metres from 15 carries.

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10 Fin Smith (England): Tough on Sam Prendergast who continues to look very much a Test match animal, with his kicking game once again catching the eye. However, at Twickenham another up-and-coming fly-half on the international stage, Smith, was excellent defensively and on attack and nailed a crucial kick.

9 Jamison Gibson-Park (Ireland): Such an important cog in the Irish machine. Gibson-Park won Player of the Match against Wales and rightly so. Nailed on nine.

The forwards

8 Taulupe Faletau (Wales): Don’t write him off just yet. At 34 years of age, Faletau rolled back the years with a tireless showing against Ireland in Cardiff. While Ben Earl gave a solid performance in England white, it had to be Faletau here as he didn’t stop with 15 carries and eight tackles as he got stuck in all game.

7 Jac Morgan (Wales): Moved over from blindside as we simply had to find a spot for the Wales captain. 14 tackles and 12 carries for the cause as he led by example once again. A word for Tom Curry who was excellent again but Morgan continues to stand out in a losing outfit, which shows just how well he is playing.

6 Jamie Ritchie (Scotland): That was excellent from the former Scotland captain as he made a statement to both Gregor Townsend and Andy Farrell with this tireless performance. Impressed on both sides of the ball but it was the breakdown where he stood out, winning three turnovers as he caused England problems.

5 Ollie Chessum (England): Offered so much around the field and it seemed to bring out the best in his England captain too as both were brilliant. While other Lions rivals did not hit their usual heights, Chessum certainly did with his carrying and lineout work standing out. The Tiger surely retains his shirt next time out.

4 Maro Itoje (England): Strange turnover win aside, Itoje had his best game as England captain thus far. Was a beast in defence and the set-piece while he made some key turnovers at Allianz Stadium as he got his hands on the Calcutta Cup. Itoje will hope that this is the first of many trophies he holds aloft for England.

3 WillGriff John (Wales): One of the players of Round Three for us. Backed by interim head coach Matt Sherratt to start against Ireland, John did not let the opportunity go to waste. He was everywhere around the field, playing a part in Rogers’ try while he dominated at scrum time. John sees off Will Stuart here.

2 Dan Sheehan (Ireland): Not his best game by any means but it was still above average for one of the best hookers in the world. Sheehan dug in for 75 minutes and needed to lead by example in his first match as captain and certainly did that. A mention for his opposite number Elliot Dee who had a decent outing.

1 Nicky Smith (Wales): The third and final Welsh front-rower singled out for praise as Smith played his own part in the scrum dominance against the visitors. Was frustrated at being withdrawn for a HIA and during his absence Ireland turned things around in the set-piece, which gives an idea of his form in this area.

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British and Irish Lions Bundee Aki Duhan van der Merwe