One Irish player is virtually “unbackable” to make the Lions squad

Ireland's upturn in fortunes and the less than convincing displays of Wales and England have seen several Irish players' odds drop over the past couple of weeks.

Ireland may have fallen to Scotland in the Six Nations championship opener but the ship has been steadied by thrashing Italy and seeing off France. They tore into the Azzurri and landed some heavy, heavy blows in an absolute war against les Bleus. Sean O'Brien's rucking support of Robbie Henshaw, before Conor Murray's try, showed just how manically up for it Ireland were. https://twitter.com/patmccarry/status/837270831520759812 The championship is often seen as the bell-weather for British & Irish Lions hopefuls as they have to prove their mettle in white-hot battle. It will be no surprise, then, to hear that several Irish players have been heavily backed to tour New Zealand. The Hard Yards was joined by Hayley O'Connor of Ladbrokes, who listed five Irish players that are attracting a lot of attention. She said:

"Conor Murray is 1/2 to start the First Test. The others to look at are Tadhg Furlong, who is 1/5 to play that First Test, Jack McGrath and Cian Healy. McGrath is 1/10 and Healy is 1/3 to get selected [for the touring squad]. "Sean O'Brien is 5/6 to start the First Test and unbackable at 1/8 to get selected. It's like a foregone conclusion for him to go."

https://soundcloud.com/thehardyardssportsjoe/irelands-win-over-france-a-connacht-bromance-and-why-conor-murray-is-so-good-episode-4 O'Brien has had a fine championship to date after returning from a spell on the sidelines earlier this year. He was Ireland's best player against the Scots, excelled against Italy in Rome and worked his rump off to help wear down the French. He has 43 carries to date and has successfully landed 29 tackles. The odds for Johnny Sexton are even less tempting. O'Connor said:

"Sexton is 1/12 to go and 10/11 to line-up in the First Test after really hitting the ground running against France."

One name that was not mentioned was Ireland's blindside for the current campaign CJ Stander, who is as close to a sure thing as you are likely to find.