This Thursday will see Andy Farrell name his Lions squad for this summer’s tour of Australia
This week, British and Irish Lions head coach Andy Farrell will announce his squad for this summer’s tour of Australia.
In essence, the squad announcement will be just like previous iterations, with the players finding out at the same time as the general public. And yet, this Thursday’s announcement will be slightly different – with the plan being that more than 2,000 fans will be packed into the O2 in London to hear former Wales wing Ieuan Evans read out a host of names.
There’s nothing new in Evans, in his role as Lions chair and this summer’s tour manager, being the one to break the news to both players and public simultaneously – just like Jason Leonard and John Spencer on previous tours.
There will be other familiar sights at the event on Thursday.
All things going well, the captain – as has been the case when Sam Warburton and Alun Wyn Jones have been paraded in front of the media – will be present in London on Thursday.
With Caelan Doris now an injury doubt, England second-row Maro Itoje seems increasingly likely to get the nod to lead the Lions this summer.
Wales skipper Jac Morgan is still an outside shout to follow in Warburton’s and Jones’ footsteps. Although, were he to be Andy Farrell’s pick after their final selection meeting in London on Wednesday, he wouldn’t be present at the O2 – with the Ospreys having travelled to South Africa on the weekend for their final block of United Rugby Championship fixtures.
As of last week, it’s understood there had been no discussions between the club and the Lions over what would happen if Morgan was handed the captaincy.
The four Welsh clubs have all travelled to South Africa with a Lions jersey in their baggage, ready for any photos if and when one of their players is selected.
And, as is the case in Lions years, all of Wales’ Six Nations squad had headshots taken with a social media company in Lions jerseys earlier this year.
Quite where the players will be when they find out remains up in the air. Get the latest breaking Welsh rugby news stories sent straight to your inbox with our FREE daily newsletter. Sign up here.
In previous years, clubs have tended to film the players watching the Sky Sports’ broadcast live for content – with similar videos likely to emerge in the aftermath this year.
However, the Welsh videos – if there are any – could make for interesting viewing.
With all of the Welsh teams in South Africa, there’ll be no piling into the clubhouse after training. Instead, plans might be a little more makeshift.
One of the Welsh clubs are due to be flying internally in South Africa on Thursday, meaning their players could be on the bus from the airport to the team hotel when Evans reads out the names.
Thankfully, the Lions’ YouTube steam won’t be geoblocked – meaning players will be able to tune in. But being on the move will certainly provide the club’s media team with a challenge.
The Lions are hopeful of getting live reaction from players, while the event – hosted by Lee McKenzie and former Lions wing Ugo Monye – will have some special guests there to offer their opinions.
