Engine room.

Two former British and Irish Lions in Jamie Heaslip and Ugo Monye sat down for a brilliant chat on this week’s episode on the Up and Under Podcast to chat all things rugby.

We looked back on the first round of the Autumn Nations Cup and of course, looked ahead to the mouth-watering encounter this weekend between Ireland and England at Twickenham.

The two lads also got chatting about the British and Irish Lions tour next summer, with the pair both agreeing that James Ryan and Maro Itoje simple have to be the second-row partnership to take on the Springboks.

Monye reckons Gatland has every right to make whatever decision he wants to make give his track record with the Lions but believes Ryan and Itoje are the obvious choices, with the likes of Alun Wyn Jones to miss out on a spot in the starting line-up.

“It should be,” Monye said when Jamie Heaslip asked him is Itoje and Ryan the potential Lions second-row.

“If Warren Gatland doesn’t pick it – what are you thinking? But the fact is he can do whatever he wants because he is the only [head] coach to have not lost a series on the Lions tour and he deserves the right to not listen to idiots like me!

“But you kind of have to pick it. They’re brilliant, they’re absolutely brilliant.”

Do you agree with the two lads?