Picking A Lions Team For Their Opening Tour Game
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Just ten days to go now before the Lions first game against the Provincial Barbarians.
The game takes place just one week after the Premiership and Guinness PRO12 finals, but with Leinster and Saracens surprisingly getting knocked out, Gatland still has a decent group of players to choose from.
Gatland also has a few players in his squad that are badly in need of some game time. The likes of captain Sam Warburton, Alun Wyn Jones and Jared Payne need to hit the ground running in New Zealand.
He’s also got a few players carrying little niggles, so it’s best to give these guys the week off and perhaps looks at giving them a run out against the Blues. Given the standard of opposition this time round, rotation will be key throughout the tour.
Here’s a side we reckon could do a job on June 3rd and tick the right boxes when it comes to managing the players correctly.
OUR LIONS TEAM
15. Jared Payne
14. Anthony Watson
13. Jonathan Joseph
12. Robbie Henshaw
11. Tommy Seymour
10. Dan Biggar
9. Greg Laidlaw
1. Joe Marler
2. Rory Best
3. Kyle Sinckler
4. Iain Henderson
5. Alun Wyn Jones
6. Ross Moriarty
7. Sam Warburton (c)
8. Toby Faletau
Replacements: Jamie George, Mako Vunipola, Dan Cole, George Kruis, Sean O’Brien, Rhys Webb, Johnny Sexton, Ben Te’o
