Warren Gatland Warns Top Players Will Miss Out On British & Irish Lions Tour

Warren Gatland has warned that some top players will miss out on touring New Zealand with the British and Irish Lions this summer.

The Lions head coach says it will be a much tougher selection meeting than the one he had before taking the Lions down under back in 2013 to take on the Wallabies.

Gatland will name his squad and tour captain on 19 April.

“It’s much harder in a positive way,” Gatland told BBC Wales Sport.

“There are going to be some real quality players that are going to miss out.

“It’s a nice position to be in. It’s not always the way you want it with good players missing out on going on tour. But I am excited about the potential we have at the moment.”

Gatland noted that the final round of Six Nations matches will be an important factor in his selection, suggesting both the Irish and Scottish players need a big performance.

“It’s about people fronting up under pressure to perform when it really matters,” added Gatland.

“There are a lot of English players who have done well.

“There is an expectation on England, and Ireland are going to make it extremely difficult. I would not be surprised if Ireland won this weekend.

“Wales needed to front up last weekend against Ireland. Now the Irish are in the same boat this weekend.

“Scotland will have two home wins but would have been very disappointed with their performance against England. It will be interesting to see how they back that up with a performance under pressure against Italy.”