SHOCKING: Four Lions Hopefuls Who’ve Gone from Heroes to Zeroes

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While some players are peaking at the perfect time, others—big names, no less—are crashing harder than a dropped high ball.

Here are four once-nailed-on Lions who are currently 

miles off the pace…

Remember when Marcus Smith lit up the 2021 tour with his electric cameos off the bench? Fast forward to 2025 and things aren’t quite so rosy.

The Harlequins playmaker was bizarrely shoehorned in at fullback during the Six Nations, and, frankly, looked more lost than a tourist on the Tube. Things went from bad to worse post-tournament, as Smith jetted off to Miami instead of joining Quins for their epic win over Saracens at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium.

And when he did return? Quins shipped 109 points in back-to-back humiliations against Bath and Leinster—with Smith firmly in the firing line.

With Owen Farrell suddenly finding his mojo again at Racing 92, Smith’s Lions dream is hanging by a thread.

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Tom Curry has always been an engine room of England’s pack, but 2025 has been cruel. After a string of indifferent performances, he was outshone by twin brother Ben and then cruelly struck down with injury in Sale’s Champions Cup loss to Toulouse.

To make matters worse? Jack Willis—his direct Lions rival—is bossing it in the Top 14.

The Lions back row is an arms race this year, and Curry’s stuck in neutral at the worst possible time.

Josh Adams was the toast of 2021—top try-scorer and the man you’d bet your house on to finish a chance.

But in 2025? The spark is gone.

A string of underwhelming showings for Wales, coupled with the rise of exciting young wingers like Immanuel Feyi-Waboso and Duhan van der Merwe, means Adams is now on the very fringes of selection.

His effort is never in doubt, but the cutting edge that made him a Lions standout has dulled. And fast.

A legend. A leader. A lionheart. But now? Just... lagging behind

Peter O’Mahony looked every bit his 35 years during the Six Nations. Once the embodiment of Irish fire and fury, this time he was more embers than inferno. Slower to the breakdown, less aggressive in the carry—his impact just wasn’t there.

Andy Farrell has huge respect for O’Mahony, but the signs are pointing to a Lions squad built on youthful hunger, not experience for nostalgia’s sake.

It would take a minor miracle (or an injury crisis) for O’Mahony to wear red again.

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