“I don’t have a tin hat, but this NFL helmet might be able to protect me.”
Back in November, former England and Lions winger Ugo Monye made an appearance on House of Rugby Ireland and had an early crack at picking his strongest XV to take on the Springboks.
Three rounds into the 2021 Six Nations and several players are vaulting their arms up for Lions selection.
In November, Monye selected six England forwards for his Lions pack and said Sam Underhill [currently out injured] would be pushing to start too.
Three months on and England’s poor form has forced Monye to change his tune. There are now just four English players in his Test XV.
Wales captain Alun Wyn Jones congratulates Cory Hill after the lock scored a try against England. (Photo by Michael Steele/Getty Images)Wales’ winning start [three from three] now sees six of their squad in Monye’s form team with three Scots and two from Andy Farrell’s Ireland panel.
Monye agrees with Wales centre Scott Williams and House of Rugby’s Fergus McFadden in going for Leinster and Ireland’s Robbie Henshaw for the 12 jersey. Alongside the 27-year-old is Exeter and England star Henry Slade.
The only other Ireland player that makes the cut is scrumhalf Jamison Gibson-Park, who gets the nod beside Scotland’s Finn Russell in the half-back pairing.
UGO MONYE’S LIONS XV
15. Stuart Hogg (Scotland)
14. Louis Rees-Zammit (Wales)
13. Henry Slade (England)
12. Robbie Henshaw (Ireland)
11. Anthony Watson (England)
10. Finn Russell (Scotland)
9. Jamison Gibson-Park1. Wynn Jones (Wales)
2. Ken Owens (Wales)
3. Kyle Sinckler (England)
4. Maro Itoje (England)
5. Alun Wyn Jones (Wales) CAPTAIN
6. Justin Tipuric (Wales)
7. Hamish Watson (Scotland)
8. Toby Faletau (Wales)
You can check out Monye on his Lions XV here:
🤔 Disagree with Ugo? Who gets into your Lions XV?
— World Rugby (@WorldRugby) March 2, 2021
Irish rugby supporters will be hoping for a greater Test team and squad representation in the coming months, when Warren Gatland gets to making his final selection.
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