Captains miss out on Lions squad
Mike Blair, Steve Borthwick and Ryan Jones - captains of Scotland, England and Wales - all missed out on a place in the Lions
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Tuesday, 21, Apr 2009 10:44
The 37 members of the Lions squad for the upcoming South Africa tour have been named.
As expected, Ireland's Paul O'Connell has been named as captain ahead of his skipper at international level, Brian O'Driscoll - two of the 14 Irishmen named in the squad.
But there was no place for the captains of the English, Welsh and Scottish national teams from the recent Six Nations, with second-row forward Steve Borthwick, number eight Ryan Jones and scrum-half Mike Blair all missing out.
Ian McGeechan's selection, which sees Wales as the second-most represented nation with 13 players, has already thrown up several points of debate, with some questionable calls in key positions.
England's Delon Armitage is denied a place in the squad by full-backs Lee Byrne of Wales and Rob Kearney of Ireland, however English winger Ugo Monye makes the cut alongside the Welsh duo of Shane Williams and Leigh Halfpenny and Ireland's Luke Fitzgerald and Tommy Bowe.
Irish centre Keith Earls, 22, is called up, despite having only two caps to his name, and he will be joined at his position by countryman O'Driscoll, England's Riki Flutey and Wales' Jamie Roberts and Tom Shanklin.
Only two specialist fly-halves have been named - Ireland's Ronan O'Gara and Wales' Steven Jones, meaning England's Toby Flood misses out despite a solid Six Nations campaign.
However, Flood's Leicester team-mate Harry Ellis is a surprise selection at scrum-half alongside Mike Phillips of Wales and Tomas O'Leary of Ireland.
No place in the back row for Jones means his Welsh team-mate Andy Powell is selected as one of two numbers eights alongside Ireland's Jamie Heaslip.
Only two Scotland players have made the squad, with front-row forward Euan Murray joining second row Nathan Hines in the lineup.
Some experienced heads from within England's pack also get a look in, with flanker Joe Worsley, lock Simon Shaw and prop Phil Vickery all picked despite having their detractors.
Other key names missing from the announcement include fly-halves Danny Cipriani, James Hook and Jonny Wilkinson.
Full 2009 British and Irish Lions squad for South Africa:
Backs
Lee Byrne (Wales)
Rob Kearney (Ireland)
Shane Williams (Wales)
Leigh Halfpenny (Wales)
Ugo Monye (England)
Luke Fitzgerland (Ireland)
Tommy Bowe (Ireland)
Tom Shanklin (Wales)
Jamie Roberts (Wales)
Brian O'Driscoll (Ireland)
Keith Earls (Ireland)
Riki Flutey (England)
Ronan O'Gara (Ireland)
Stephen Jones (Wales)
Mike Phillips (Wales)
Harry Ellis (England)
Tomas O'Leary (Ireland)
Forwards
Jamie Heaslip (Ireland)
Andy Powell (Wales)
David Wallace (Ireland)
Stephen Ferris (Ireland)
Alan Quinlan (Ireland)
Joe Worsley (England)
Martyn Williams (Wales)
Alun-Wyn Jones (Wales)
Paul O'Connell (Ireland, captain)
Donncha O'Callaghan (Ireland)
Simon Shaw (England)
Nathan Hines (Scotland)
Gethin Jenkins (Wales)
Adam Jones (Wales)
Andrew Sheridan (England)
Phil Vickery (England)
Euan Murray (Scotland)
Jerry Flannery (Ireland)
Lee Mears (England)
Matthew Rees (Wales)