𝓤𝓷𝓲𝓽𝓮𝓭 𝓝𝓮𝔀𝓼

The first-ever live announcement of the Lions squad went off fair successfully at the O2 (the odd tech mishap notwithstanding) you’d have to say

Now we know the make-up of the initial squad, it’s time to get excited about the 2025 Lions tour to Australia.

He’s the full match schedule for the tour

All matches kick off at 11am BST unless stated

• Friday 20 June – Lions v Argentina, Dublin (Aviva Stadium) – 8pm BST
• Saturday 28 June – Lions v Western Force, Perth (Optus Stadium)
• Wednesday 2 July – Lions v Queensland Reds, Brisbane (Suncorp Stadium)
• Saturday 5 July – Lions v NSW Waratahs, Sydney (Allianz Stadium)
• Wednesday 9 July – Lions v ACT Brumbies, Canberra (GIO Stadium)
• Saturday 12 July – Lions v Invitational AU & NZ, Adelaide (Adelaide Oval)
• Saturday 19 July – Lions v Australia, first Test, Brisbane (Suncorp Stadium)
• Tuesday 22 July – Lions v Melbourne Rebels, Melbourne (Marvel Stadium)
• Saturday 26 July – Lions v Australia, second Test, Melbourne (Melbourne Cricket Ground/MCG)
• Saturday 2 August – Lions v Australia, third Test, Sydney (Accor Stadium)

Jac Morgan was one of just two Welshmen (along with Tomos Williams) in the squad.

The Ospreys back row was on a plane over South Africa when he found out.

The best moments of Lions squad announcement day are seeing how the players selected found out.

Luckily, in the social media age, camera phones are ever present to capture it.

The Northampton Saints quartet of Henry Pollock, Tommy Freeman, Alex Mitchell and Fin Smith all found out together

Tomos Williams, who was named as one of three scrum halves, also spoke to the crowd over Zoom at the O2.

The Welshman acknowledged the emotion of being selected as a Lion.

“I have got to admit I did shed a tear,” Williams said. “The last two days I’ve been an emotional wreck. Grateful for my parents, my partner Laura and everyone who has helped me.

“The top of the mountain. You cannot get much higher than this achievement. I’ll get a bit of stick for this, no doubt.”

Sat in the delightful evening sunshine of Girona, Maro Itoje was deftly deflecting the questions he knew were going to come. It was October at England’s pre-Autumn Nations Series training camp in Catalunya and a British and Irish Lions year dawned.

Sprawled out on the terrace in the plush surroundings, taking each question in turn with the due consideration and care that are his trademark as an orator, Itoje neatly said a lot while revealing very little when probed about his memories of past trips and captaincy ambitions.

“It’s an ambition of every British and Irish player to wear that red jersey,” Itoje admitted, though there was not too be any extended elaboration despite The Independent’s best efforts. “The most important thing is performance and I’ve got to make sure I am performing at a level that befits that jersey.”

Read Harry Latham-Coyle’s full piece about the new Lions skipper:

We wondered if there would be any total shockers in Andy Farrell’s selection, but that looks a rock solid 38, to me, with little to really surprise the supporters assembled here. One wonders what impact the late injury to Caelan Doris had, both in terms of the captaincy and the construct of the back five options in the pack, with six lock options and a slightly lighter list of flankers than some suggested.

One really feels for England hooker Jamie George, who would have been an excellent tourist but just misses out, as well as Ireland centre Robbie Henshaw, whose untimely dip in form leaves him on the outside looking in. Farrell has also limited himself to just a single France-based player in Blair Kinghorn – with Marcus Smith’s ability to cover 15 in the Toulouse back’s absence perhaps counting in his favour.

So, what about the backs? Well, the conversation around the biggest names to miss out begins with Owen Farrell and Sam Prendergast but we’ve covered the fly half decision below.

Elsewhere, two-time Lion Robbie Henshaw pays the price for some average form for Ireland and Leinster despite his versatility, with Elliot Daly seemingly preferred in the potential ‘23’ role.

Ben White missed out at scrum half with Tomos Williams and Alex Mitchell selected behind Jamison Gibson-Park instead, while Scotland star Darcy Graham was unlucky not to be included in the back three.

Let’s run through some names who missed out, starting with the forwards.

Former England captain Jamie George was probably the biggest one, with Luke Cowan-Dickie and Ronan Kelleher preferred as hooker competition for presumed starter Dan Sheehan. It means the midweek captaincy role is also up for grabs.

Wales’s Dewi Lake also missed out at hooker as did his countrymen Dafydd Jenkins at lock and Taulupe Faletau in the back row.

Ireland prop Finlay Bealham and lock-flanker hybrid Ryan Baird weren’t selected and neither was Toulouse superstar Jack Willis, who may have had to miss the first few games of the tour if his club side reached the Top 14 final.

Sadly, it appears Caelan Doris’s injury ruled him out of contention, with the Ireland captain not named, while a ludicrously stacked back row also meant the likes of Ben Curry, Jamie Ritchie and Rory Darge will be staying at home. Brutal stuff

A few of the selected players are brought in over Zoom to give their thoughts. Mack Hansen notably walking along a lovely Galwegian beach, says he was just out for a swim!

Meanwhile, England back row Ben Earl reflects on his selection. He’s beaming like a Cheshire cat!

“It has been a torturous couple of weeks,” admits Earl. “For it to come down to today was amazing. The best news I’ve had in my career. I am so pleased.

“It has been painful and it has been long. I am overwhelmed and so excited to get going.”