Ireland dominate fans’ British and Irish Lions XV with just two English players named
From left to right: Jamison Gibson-Park, Jac Morgan and James Lowe
Ireland dominate the official Six Nations fans’ British and Irish Lions XV, with seven of Simon Easterby’s side named in the squad.
The men in Green ended the Championship third, but are the best represented team in this starting XV, where fans picked their teams throughout the Championship.
Elsewhere, there are five Scots, two Englishmen and one Welsh player included in the XV.
Ireland dominate Six Nations fans’ British and Irish Lions XV
Looking at the backline, Six Nations Player of the Championship nominee Blair Kinghorn is named at 15, but there is no room for fellow nominee Tommy Freeman on the wings with Duhan van der Merwe and James Lowe occupying the 14 and 11 shirts respectively.
Scotland’s Huw Jones partners Ireland’s Bundee Aki in the centres, and there is another Scottish-Irish combination in the halves as Finn Russell beats out Rising Star award winner Sam Prendergast at fly-half alongside Jamison Gibson-Park at nine.
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In the pack, Ireland skipper Caelan Doris edges the likes of Ben Earl and Taulupe Faletau to feature at number eight, joining Jac Morgan and Tom Curry in the back-row. Ireland’s Tadhg Beirne partners England skipper Maro Itoje in the second-row.
The final Fans’ Lions XV has been revealed…🦁
It follows five rounds of voting over the course of the 2025 Guinness Men’s Six Nations campaign, where fans had their say after each round as to which players should wear the beloved British and Irish Lions jersey this summer in… pic.twitter.com/h08ruok3JV
— Guinness Men’s Six Nations (@SixNationsRugby) March 25, 2025
In the front-row, Scotland’s Zander Fagerson just pips Will Stuart into the team at tighthead, while Ireland duo Dan Sheehan and Andrew Porter complete the side at hooker and loosehead respectively.
In order to pick the team, fans were asked to select their Lions XV’s after each round to then work out an average, however per a post on the Six Nations website the teams didn’t change too much from week-to-week and suggesting there is a clear consensus amongst fans as to how the Lions should start this summer.
Six Nations fans’ British and Irish Lions XV in full
15 Blair Kinghorn, 14 Duhan van der Merwe, 13 Huw Jones, 12 Bundee Aki, 11 James Lowe, 10 Finn Russell, 9 Jamison Gibson-Park, 8 Caelan Doris, 7 Jac Morgan, 6 Tom Curry, 5 Tadhg Beirne, 4 Maro Itoje, 3 Zander Fagerson, 2 Dan Sheehan, 1 Andrew Porter
