Five British and Irish Lions selection headaches for head coach Warren Gatland

Gatland has a lot of issues to consider when making his selection for the 2021 Lions tour

IMAGE: Dan Sheridan/Inpho/Shutterstock

The wait is finally over.

Not for this year’s actual 2021 Lions Tour to South Africa, of course, but what David Brent might call “the real quiz.”

The selection choices made are scrutinised almost as much as the on-field play with tomorrow’s broadcast planning to have the pomp and circumstance of an NFL Draft.

While the final 36 man party is still a mystery to us, we know which areas head coach Warren Gatland will be agonising over the most.

The Flanker now looks at what Gatland’s biggest selection headaches are and what could be keeping him up at night over the coming days.

Who will be captain?

Alun Wyn Jones and Maro Itoje are the clear favourites when it comes to the choice of Lions captain

IMAGE: INPHO/Dan Sheridan.

Like so many issues on this list, this is one of the most wide-open decisions for the Lions captaincy in some years. 

While Sam Warburton was the obvious choice for the past two trips down under, talk for most of the lead up to this summer’s selection has been focussed on two men - Maro Itoje and Alun Wyn Jones. 

If this conversation were happening last year the former could be considered the favourite. 

Itoje is an England captain in the wings. His tenacity in defence, where he constantly straddles the line of legality, is his primary attribute but he is a canny line out operator and underrated with his ball-carrying too. 

He is exactly the athletic, physical presence needed to battle South Africa and will not shy away from the needle which comes from playing the Springboks.

It is this needle that was exposed during this year’s Six Nations, however, with the Saracens man getting on the wrong side of the referee on more than a fair few times to his team's detriment. 

It means Jones is now the leading candidate. Some have written that were it not for his leadership abilities, the Osprey would not be in the squad.

Simply put at age 35, the old man is still playing at the highest level of the game. 

Those leadership qualities are equivocal to the great Martin Johnson. Not so much a man to give a rousing speech but one that would run through a brick wall for his teammates. 

Either Jones or Itoje would be a fine choice and Gatland has to make a big decision. Does he want an old, calm head, or a young upstart willing to get right in the face of South Africa? 

Both are tantalizing choices for the Kiwi. 

Is class really permanent?

Jamie George, crucial to Gatland in 2017, is now sweating on a place on this year’s Lions tour

IMAGE: PA

This year’s Six Nations almost completely flipped the notions of who was considered a “nailed on” starter for the 2021 tour.

Those in the England team have suffered a big hit in reputation.

Players like Jamie George, Mako Vunipola, Elliot Daly and Owen Farrell have seen their stock plummet from starters to barely scraping onto the plane.

In their place have stepped up players like Hamish Watson, Tadhg Beirne and Louis Rees-Zammit to roar their way into the squad. 

It’s a choice between form and class. Does Gatland trust the aforementioned players out of form, who did such a good job for him in 2017, or does he go with the new blood? 

Perhaps the regulated, regimented way of playing under Eddie Jones is not getting the best out of these England and Gats believes he can bring them back to their finest form. 

The Kiwi knows, however, he cannot afford to rely on previous successes when taking his side to South Africa. 

He needs hungry players to go out to places like Ellis Park with absolute confidence and an ability to play without fear, not inhabited by poor form or a lack of confidence. 

It leaves guys like Farrell genuinely sweating on a spot on tour. Gatland may not be so kind to players even if they have previous credit in the bank. 

How do you solve a problem like scrum-half? 

Conor Murray’s recent form gives the Munsterman a great chance of reaching a third consecutive Lions tour.

IMAGE: Anthony Phelps

In a year with a very open selection, no place is more up for grabs than at number 9 jersey. 

There are no standout candidates in the position and you could make the case for 5 or even 6 names. 

The upturn in form for Conor Murray probably puts the Munsterman in a prime position to start.

While he is not at his absolute best he was a few years ago, he definitely discovered some form towards the back end of the Six Nations - especially during the victory over England. 

His box kicking in particular will be of most interest to Warren Gatland, as the aerial battle will be absolutely key in the battles on the Highveld. 

Then comes a big old queue of Welsh hopefuls. Gareth Davies and Tomos Williams have both held the starting shirt for Wales at various points over the past two years while Kieran Hardy’s injury problems may just rule him out. 

Ali Price meanwhile is scintillating when on it, but much like the Scotland team he plays with does he have enough strings to his bow to squeeze out a victory in a tight contest? 

Ben Youngs’ withdrawal due to family reasons gives a glimmer of hope to Dan Robson, although his lack of starts may count against him compared to the other names on the list. 

It will be up for Gatland to decide how he mixes and matches his picks at scrum-half but it will dictate how he goes about trying to beat the Boks. 

Room for bolters?

Cooney’s fine club form has been unable to grab the attention of Ireland head coach Andy Farrell

Image: Bryan Keane/Inpho

Lions tours always seem to have those leftfield selection picks which come out of nowhere. Think Will Greenwood going to the 1997 Lions tour uncapped or Alex Corbisiero starting the deciding test in the 2013 series. 

It’s a strong possibility we could see something similar in 2021, not just because of the sheer amount of talent but also due to well publicised international selection snubbings. 

Hello again Eddie Jones!

To talk about the amount of in-form players currently frozen out of the England squad could be a list on its own, but any England fan knows the qualities that players such as Sam Simmonds have. 

The Exeter Chiefs number 8 is apparently being considered by Gatland and for good reason. Although his last international start was in 2018, his club form has simply been scintillating. 

Despite his size, he makes up for it with his sheer physicality and speed. If selected he would be a back row with a skillset truly unlike anyone else in his position. 

Gatland was also watching Sam Underhill during the Bath v Montpelier tie over the weekend, who is another name unable to stamp his authority on the international scene recently. 

Would the aforementioned lack of clear scrum-half candidates also leave the door ajar here as well? 

Danny Care, for one, could be considered as the Harlequin is currently enjoying a renaissance since the departure of Paul Gustard earlier this year. 

Like Simmonds he would offer a dynamic option, and the injection of pace he could offer when coming on with 15-20 minutes to go is obvious. 

And of course who could forget John Cooney.

The Ulster playmaker is incredibly unlucky not to be included in the Ireland set up but his impressive form could potentially catch the eye of Gatland.

Although the rise of Hugo Keenan under Andy Farrell has been metronomic, his inclusion would be a leftfield but not at all unwarranted pick were he selected.

With only 36 spots up for grabs, competition will be extremely tough. It would be a bold move for Gatland to take any of these wildcards on tour. 

Will Scots finally get chance to shine? 

Scotland fans have had very little to cheer about when it comes to the Lions tours over the past 25 years or so. 

Just 8.4% of the players taken on tour since the 1997 selection has been Scottish, with a grand total of zero being selected in any of the match day 23’s which faced off in the test series against the All Blacks four years ago. 

This could be the year where Scots finally come to contribute in a meaningful way. 

Despite their hot and cold Six Nations campaign, they are starting to earn a seat at the table of world rugby’s elite.

Gatland’s appointment of Gregor Townsend as his attack coach and Steve Tandy as defence coach shows how much admiration he has for the side. 

Suddenly, a whole host of names look set to be on the plane.

Rory Sutherland is a contender for loosehead, Jonny Gray has been consistent at second row while what else is there to say about the brilliance of Hamish Watson?

Could Finn Russell even nudge out one Jonny Sexton or Owen Farrell to a 10 spot?

You might think Towsend could sway Gatland this way but given the two’s fractious relationship in the past, perhaps this is not a given.

Throw in Ali Price, Chris Harris, Duhan van der Merwe and, of course, Stuart Hogg and this Scottish team could be a massive contribution to this tour. 

Will their lack of success hurt their prospects at all? Gatland needs winners in their team and for all of their improvement, there is still an inkling Scotland fall on the wrong side of close battles more often than not. 

Gatland evidently has faith in the national team’s coaching staff, will he be so enthusiastic about the players however?