This should be taken into consideration.
Arguably the most difficult spots to call in the Lions squad are the back three positions.
There is just so much talent from Ireland, Scotland, Wales and England that Warren Gatland and the rest of his selectors will have a huge headache on their hands.
Simon Zebo, Keith Earls, Elliot Daly, Liam Williams, Anthony Watson, George North, Tommy Seymour, Stuart Hogg, Christian Wade…
You get the picture.
The list is almost endless.
Many people have George North as a banker for one of the wing spots, leaving a rat race for the remaining players to secure that final position.
Zebo and Earls both enjoyed very good Six Nations tournaments but so did many other players from the other countries.
On the latest episode of The Hard Yards, SportsJOE’s Pat McCarry revealed that he cut Zebo and Jared Payne from his squad when cutting it from a 39-man one to a 37-man squad (33 minutes onwards).
However, Ronan O’Gara made an excellent point about Zebo and his fellow Munster colleague, Earls, which could edge them ahead of their rivals when it comes to selection.
“I think it’s important to come in with Keith Earls and Zebo. The massive advantage is that they have been on the Tour. They are Lions so it’s not new to them. That will be prevalent in the minds of the selectors because irrespective of what people say, first Lions Tour, everything is new to ya.”
It’s a good argument from O’Gara, former Lions would now be overawed by the whole occasion and would have the experience to deal with the pressure that comes with wearing the famous red jersey.
As O’Gara further argues, if you have already been on a Lions Tour, you will likely have a great ambition to play in the Test matches which will result in higher quality and a greater intensity in training.
“If you’ve been on a Tour before, you know exactly what it’s about and then your bedding in period becomes an awful lot quicker. Your acceleration in your capacity to learn becomes an awful lot quicker and your goals are a lot further down the line than just being happy with being on the tour which enhances the quality of training every day.”
With the decision on a players’ inclusion likely to come down to the finest of margins, this could well tip the balance in the Munster duo’s favour.
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