Willie John McBride ‘bothered’ by foreign-born British & Irish Lions and reveals ‘most important thing’ for Henry Pollock
Duhan van der Merwe and an inset of British and Irish Lions legend Willie John McBride.
British and Irish Lions great Willie John McBride has taken issue with Andy Farrell’s decision to select foreign-born players in his squad to tour Australia.
The Lions head coach selected the likes of Jamison Gibson-Park, Bundee Aki, Mack Hansen, Pierre Schoeman, Sione Tuipulotu, Duhan van der Merwe, and James Lowe in his squad, all of whom were born in either New Zealand, South Africa or Australia.
“One thing that does bother me”
This is not the first for the invitational team, with the likes of Ben Tune, Ben Te’o, and CJ Stander, other examples of southern hemisphere-born players who have pulled on the famous red jersey on previous British and Irish Lions tours.
However, this was not the case in McBride’s day, with the former lock going on a record five tours between 1962 and 1974.
“One thing that does bother me is that eight (sic) members of the squad are not born in Britain or Ireland,” the legendary Lion told South African publication Rapport.
“That’s how things have changed over the past 60 years. In my day, the team consisted only of native players.”
Farrell has also faced criticism for the Ireland-heavy squad, with 15 players selected from the 2025 Six Nations runners-up.
Veteran rugby journalist Stephen Jones believes that this will backfire for the Lions, particularly up front, with the Leinster pack failing against Northampton Saints in the Investec Champions Cup semi-finals.
British and Irish Lions squad in numbers as Leinster dominate and milestone awaits Maro Itoje
Ireland-heavy squad and Henry Pollock
However, McBride believes that the Irish-heavy involvement is justified by the performances of Ireland in recent years.
“The Lions is about selecting the best players available, and Ireland have cemented themselves as the leading union over the past few years,” he added.
“Farrell is a shrewd character and has clearly done his homework. He knows his players and they are absolutely loyal to him.”
While the legendary Lion and former captain admitted that he doesn’t know Maro Itoje well, he felt that he was the clear choice to lead the side following the injury to Caelan Doris.
One selection that didn’t ‘bother’ McBride was that of bolter and one-cap England star Henry Pollock, who is the youngest player in the squad.
He did offer the young flanker a bit of advice, though.
“Pollock is an extremely promising young player and his age doesn’t bother me at all,” he said.
“I was only 21 myself when I first toured South Africa with the Lions in 1962.
“The most important thing is that Pollock has the right mindset and is absolutely committed. He has loads of talent and speed.”
