NOW IT’S A NUMBERS GAME FOR IRISH STARS
DOWN to brass tacks: which way did Warren Gatland plump when he sat down at Syon Hall near Twickenham yesterday with his assistants to tease out the combinations he will today unveil at noon? He said in Dublin last February he is looking at choosing 37, a mix of 20 forwards and 17 backs, but could be swayed into bringing 38. His series win in Oz in 2013 was very much a Wales/Ireland gig when it came to Test team time, but the expectation now is for greater England involvement as they have pulled their socks up under Eddie Jones. Gatland chose nine Irish in his original 37 last time despite the then Declan Kidney-led side finishing fifth in the Six Nations. Champions Wales had 15, England 10 and Scotland viewed as an irrelevance. The Scots feel they can have more of a say on this occasion as Stuart Hogg is viewed by so many as having the Test fullback slot already secured before a bag is packed, but the Irish will hope they can have as chunky an influence on tour selection as the English and Welsh. Their third-place finish was a disappointment for a squad widely touted pretournament as favourites to lift the Six Nations trophy, leaving numerous borderline Irish players wishing overnight that assistant Andy Farrell has a say in what Gatland has listened to. It may be 16 years since Gatland was turfed out by the IRFU, but he does like what this current Irish bunch can offer if his remarks two months ago held firm around the selection table. ‘The big thing that came out of the conversation was what a good bunch of guys they were: good players, pretty humble, work hard and good professionals. When you come to a bigger squad sometimes you are trying to finalise the last few players and you are looking at player personalities, characteristics and making sure that you pick the right guys in terms of fitting in,’ he said in the wake of a day at Carton House observing Ireland training.
You must imagine Ireland’s tour bankers are Jack McGrath, Tadhg Furlong, CJ Stander, Conor Murray, Johnny Sexton and Robbie Henshaw. Sean O’Brien, Peter O’Mahony, Rory Best and Simon Zebo will also healthily feel they warrant inclusion. Donnacha Ryan, Iain Henderson and Garry Ringrose are also worthy of consideration. So too John Ryan, Joey Carbery and even Sean Cronin, but it should be a trip too far for currently injured veterans Jamie Heaslip and Rob Kearney. You could talk about for hours on end about the multiple permutations, but Irish people largely won’t be crunching the numbers. Not this week anyway. Not with Munster and Leinster, who both say they are training and not watching the Lions announcement, having important European business to take care of.