Questions will be raised…..
Ireland and Leinster tighthead prop, Tom Clarkson, has been called up to the Lions squad to ‘provide additional front row cover’.
The 25-year-old has been with Ireland in recent weeks, starting and impressing against both Georgia and Portugal, while winning his seventh and eighth caps.
His breakthrough season, where he made his Ireland debut and got a Six Nations start against Wales, was capped off with a superb showing in Leinster’s URC final win over the much vaunted Bulls pack.
However, he is the third-choice for both club and country and still a relatively new name for fans of other countries.
England’s Joe Heyes, who has impressed against Argentina, will be disappointed not to have been called up, as will compatriot Kyle Sinkler, who has six Test caps for the Lions.
Sinkler has not played for his country since the 2023 World Cup, and has since moved to Toulon, however, Owen Farrell, who received a call up, has also not played for England since the World Cup.
However, it is probably most surprising that Asher Opoku-Fordjour was not chosen, given that he trained with the Lions before their first game vs Argentina.
The selection has been compared to perceived favouritism to Welsh players shown by Warren Gatland on previous tours.
Leinster now have the same amount of players in the squad as England, and, unsurprisingly, Farrell has come in for a fair bit of criticism.
