My Lions XV

After an exciting Six nations which featured many thrills and a second title for a almost completely dominant England, The attention of all British rugby fans turn their attention to who will be getting selected for the Lions tour to New Zealand. Many fans will be debating and arguing over their Lions xv over the next month so I'm here to spice it up with my personal XV. A slight disclaimer before we get going in the fact that this fifteen is the players I feel performed well in the six nations and could offer something special to Warren and his merry men. Before we get started I just want to address one issue that may be a concern for the Lions. This is that the Lions do not have the amount of established world class players as the 2013 tour did. When I say 'established world class players' I am referring to players such as Bryan O'Driscoll, Paul O'Connell and Adam Jones. It is these kind of players that have made the Lions one of the main sporting events of every 4th year. Hopefully this will be a great opportunity for many of the new breed to show their true class after a disappointing World Cup from a home nations perspective.

1, 2 & 3

My front row consists of Rory Best in an English sandwich. Rory Best is my hooker as he brings many years experience to the party as he has been a key figure in the Ireland set up for many years and has leadership skills which could prove vital with the lack of leaders that the Lions have. I also picked Rory due the the lack of hookers that would be able to go toe to toe with Dane Coles. However Rory has beaten him in the past year so will be feeling confident. I would have Jamie George as backup to Best as he is a solid choice and makes his role look easy. I would not take elephant in the room Mr Dylan Hartley as I feel he is inconsistent and not all that he is made out to be. Oh yeah, he is a knob as well, would probably get banned for attempting to drop kick Julian Savea (would not advise). Props would be big Mako Vunipola and Dan Cole. Both proved themselves to be world class players in their respected positions and have shown that in recent performances in the Six nations. Back up props I would take would be McGrath and Furlong from Ireland and WP Nel even though he is a major doubt.

4 & 5

In the second row I would take Alun Wyn Jones as captain as he is the only man for the job in my eyes and has the passion and experiance needed to fire up this Lions team and make them into Kiwi beaters. Partnering him is the ever reliable Joe Launchbury who was one of England star performers in the Six nations and is a future England captain so I feel there is no more to be said for these two apart from they will be key to driving the Lions forward. I would also take Kruis, Henderson, Toner and Lawes as back up even though I probably couldn't take that many but this is a very strong areas and maybe at the same level as the All Blacks.

6, 7 & 8

It's fair to say the back row I have picked is rather unconventional as I have a second row at blindside and a blindside at 8. But before we reveal their identities i'll start at 7. At seven we have Justin Tipuric who has been a regular starter for Wales since the World cup. He offers a lot to the team in attack and defence with his solid tackling and attacking skills that would make him a decent centre. He would have a challenge to compete with the ever improving Richie McCaw wannabe Sam Cane on the Kiwi openside. At 6 we have man mountain Maro Itoje who is just a complete utility forward with his ability to play in the second and back row. I am a big Maro fan but unfortunately I feel Warren Gatland will select him but use him as an impact player from the bench. At 8 I picked South African Irish man CJ Stander. He has established himself as one of the best back rows over the past year and I felt I had to pick him somewhere. Also with Billy Vunipola only recently returning to injury after a few months out I feel Stander is in form and comfortable at 8 meaning he'll be able to handle the expectation. My back up would be Billy V, Peter O'Mahony, Jamie Heaslip, Sean O'Brian and Sam Warburton.

9 & 10

For me this is simple as Connor Murray and Johnny Sexton have one of the strongest half back partnerships in world rugby. This could could be the key partnership in the team as they will have to compete with the best half backs in the world. The back ups I would choose are Care and Webb at 9 and Biggar and Russell. Over the past few months I have thought George Ford has not performed to his full potential and for me has done nowhere enough to get a call up.

12 & 13

I would select England's key performer from the six nations Owen Farrell at 12. He is a fantastic footballer due to his fly half experience and can other another option at 10 if needed. He is also a unit in defense and puts big hits in when he gets off the line. At 13 it was more of a tough one but I went for the welshman Jonathan Davies. He is an established world class 13 and I feel he would link up well with Farrell's attacking game. It was a close decision as I'm a fan of Elliot Daly so felt he could offer a lot and be used in other positions if needed. However this is the one area I feel the Lions don't quite have the depth of world class centres.

11, 14 & 15

Even though I would love this to be the Lions back three I feel that it is very unlikely that this will be it. On the wings I have picked Liam Williams and Jack Nowell. Both players had great Six nations and are both prolific finishers. I feel Nowell is one of the most underrated players in the England squad but showed his abilities during the Six nations with 2 tries against Italy. Other players in contention for the wing position would be North, Maitland and Zebo. I also think an outsider maybe Craig Gilroy as was the joint top try scorer after only playing 33 minutes for Ireland in the six nations and Warren Gatland loves to spice selection up after Matt Stevens in 2013. At 15 we have the incredible Stuart Hogg who after being the youngest Lion on the 2013 tour he will be looking to establish himself as the first choice full back for the Lions. He also offers a siege gun boot to get points from long range which could prove vital in the test matches. Oh yeah, did I mention he likes to score a try or two. I would also take Mike Brown as he is a solid option who is ever reliable. Liam Williams also could provide cover at full back, However I would not take Leigh Halfpenny because apart from his kicking ability he doesn't offer what he used to be able to.

The Ballers Blog Lions XV 2017

I hope that they will be able to challenge the All Blacks and potentially beat them. It will be tough but I feels the Lions will roar for the second time in 4 years.