Paul O'Connell picks no Welsh in his 2021 Lions XV

Rugby News

by Rugby Rucker

Monday, 28 December 2020 at 09:29

byRugby Rucker

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Vodafone ambassador and rugby legend Paul O’Connell has chosen his British & Irish Lions XV, although admitted his selection changes by the hour.

BACK-THREE

15. Stuart Hogg (Scotland)
14. James Lowe (Ireland)
11. Jonny May (England)

"Hogg has taken his game to another level again with Exeter. I hope this tour can be a redemption for him after what happened in 2017."

CENTRES

13. Garry Ringrose (Ireland)
12. Owen Farrell (England)

"Farrell has that kind of abrasive attitude as well and is very experienced as well in terms of taking on southern hemisphere teams, beating southern hemisphere teams. He obviously had that tough experience as well with South Africa in the World Cup so, as we are talking here, he springs to mind."

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HALFBACKS

10. Finn Russell (Scotland)
9. Ben Youngs (England)

FRONT-ROW

1. Mako Vunipola (England)
2. Jamie George (England)
3. Tadhg Furlong (Ireland)

"Furlong is still, for me, the best tighthead in the world."

SECOND-ROW

4. Maro Itoje (England)
5. James Ryan (Ireland)

“He is obviously a world-class athlete, he is a phenomenal second-row forward. I like watching him play. I’m surprised he doesn’t give away more penalties than he does but he is always pushing the limits around the ruck, around the offside line. Brilliant at collapsing mauls, brilliant at stopping teams mauling."