Amid the din, a voice of reason.
We were searching for our tin pots and wooden spoons after Clive Woodward went Saxon crazy in his Lions Text XV selection. Jeremy Guscott, thankfully, has provided ‘yang’ to Woodward’s ‘yin’.
Round five of the 2021 Six Nations saw Scotland wipe the floor with Italy, Ireland hand out a beating to England and Wales lose out on a Grand Slam thanks to France’s late heartbreaker in Paris.
Following the three weekend games, Guscott was the latest former Lions star chosen to provide his form XV. Choosing from Ireland, England, Scotland and Wales, the former Bath star, who helped beat the Springboks in 1997, made a selection with a definite Celtic twist.
To start, there is not a single England player in his Lions XV of the Week. Tom Curry was perhaps their standout performer on a disappointing day in Dublin, but Guscott has opted for Scotland’s Hamish Watson at openside. Sean Maitland is the other Scottish selection.
That leaves 13 spots up for grans, and they are shared out by Wales and Ireland. Wynn Jones, Ken Owens, Justin Tipuric and Toby Faletau are the Welsh forwards in Guscott’s pack, with their compatriots Louis Rees-Zammit and George North in the backline.
Irish supporters will be nodding their heads in emphatic agreement to learn there are seven players from Andy Farrell’s side in his ‘Best of’ selection.
The former England centre has named Robbie Henshaw at inside centre and switched Keith Earls to the left wing to accommodate Rees-Zammit. He has gone with the Conor Murray combination with Johnny sexton for his half-back pairing.
In the pack, there are inclusions for Tadhg Furlong along with an all-Irish second row of Iain Henderson and Tadhg Beirne.
Round five ✅@vodafoneuk & @vodafoneireland ambassador @JeremyGuscott has chosen his Lions XV from yesterday's action 🦁
Agree/disagree? Download the App, choose yours and share on social using #UniteThePride #LionsWatch
— British & Irish Lions (@lionsofficial) March 21, 2021
‘Where are Cian Healy, Rob Herring, CJ Stander, Josh van der Flier, Jack Conan, Bundee Aki, Jacob Stockdale and Hugo Keenan?’, we hear you ask. Only Guscott himself could possibly explain why he did not go as green as the Chicago River on St Patrick’s Day.
As it stands, this is a much healthier representation than Ireland had after a tough start to this year’s championship.
