British and Irish Lions: 37-man squad announced for tour of South Africa

British and Irish Lions: 37-man squad announced for tour of South Africa

British and Irish Lions head coach, Warren Gatland, has named his 37-man squad for their tour of South Africa.

Gatland has made 36-year-old, Alun Wyn Jones, his captain for the tour. The decision has made Jones the oldest captain in Lions history. The Welshman was pivotal in Wales’ recent Six Nations win. On his captaincy, Jones said, “to be in the squad is what you hope for … to have the armband as well is a privilege.”

The Originals, 1888
The Invincibles, 1974
The heroes of 1997
The Unbeaten Tours of 2013, 2017

Over to you Class of 2021 – Time to write a new chapter in our history ?

Meet our #LionsRugby 2021 squad…? pic.twitter.com/T5ujqOB0Lr

— British & Irish Lions (@lionsofficial) May 6, 2021

British and Irish Lions 2021 Squad

The squad announcement has been highly anticipated for a while now. There has been several surprise inclusion and several surprise exclusions.

Exeter Chiefs’ Sam Simmonds, who has been out of the England squad since 2018, is the biggest surprise in the team. Along with Ireland centre Bundee Aki and Scotland Centre Chris Harris.

There have been some omissions from the squad that have taken many by surprise. England tighthead prop Kyle Sinckler and Wales centre Jonathan Davies are amongst several high-profile absentees.

There are lots to shout about for Scotland fans. This squad is the highest number of Scottish players (8) since the professional era began. They are also 8 Irish, 10 Welsh and 11 English players in the squad.

Captain: Alun Wyn Jones (Wal)

Forwards: Tadhg Beirne (Ire), Jack Conan (Ire), Luke Cowan-Dickie (Eng), Tom Curry (Eng), Zander Fagerson (Sco), Taulupe Faletau (Wal), Tadhg Furlong (Ire), Jamie George (Eng), Iain Henderson (Ire), Jonny Hill (Eng), Maro Itoje (Eng), Wyn Jones (Wal), Courtney Lawes (Eng), Ken Owens (Wal), Andrew Porter (Ire), Sam Simmonds (Eng), Rory Sutherland (Sco), Justin Tipuric (Wal), Mako Vunipola (Eng), Hamish Watson (Sco).

Backs: Josh Adams (Wal), Bundee Aki (Ire), Dan Biggar (Wal), Elliot Daly (Eng), Gareth Davies (Wal), Owen Farrell (Eng), Chris Harris (Sco), Robbie Henshaw (Ire), Stuart Hogg (Sco), Conor Murray (Ire), Ali Price (Sco), Lewis Rees-Zammit (Wal), Finn Russell (Sco), Duhan van der Merwe (Sco), Anthony Watson (Eng), Liam Williams (Wal).

8️⃣ Scotland players named in the 2021 @lionsofficial squad ??#AsOne | #LionsRugby pic.twitter.com/oYY31rWyZs

— Scottish Rugby (@Scotlandteam) May 6, 2021

The Tour

The British and Irish Lions will start the tour in Edinburgh against Japan before jetting off to South Africa. They will play several warm-up games before the test begins.

British and Irish Lions 2021 Schedule:

26 June – Japan (Murrayfield, Edinburgh)

3 July – DHL Stormers (Cape Town Stadium, Cape Town)

7 July – South Africa Invitational (Nelson Mandela Bay Stadium, Port Elizabeth)

10 July – Cell C Sharks (Jonsson Kings Park, Durban)

14 July – South Africa ‘A’ Team (Mbombela Stadium, Nelspruit)

17 July – Vodacom Bulls (Loftus Versfeld, Pretoria)

24 July – First Test v Springboks (Soccer City, Johannesburg)

31 July – Second Test v Springboks (Cape Town Stadium, Cape Town)

7 August – Third Test v Springboks (Ellis Park, Johannesburg)

BREAKING: Warren Gatland has revealed his 37-man squad for the British and Irish Lions' tour of South Africa.

— Sky Sports News (@SkySportsNews) May 6, 2021

We hope you enjoyed the article ‘British and Irish Lions: 37-man squad announced for tour of South Africa.’ What do you make of Warren Gatland’s selections? Do you agree with his selections? Let us know!

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