British and Irish Lions 2021: Sam Simmonds in 37-man squad but Billy Vunipola misses out
- Published
- comments
Sam Simmonds' last England cap came in a defeat by Ireland in March 2018
Exeter's Sam Simmonds is included ahead of fellow England number eight Billy Vunipola in a 37-man British and Irish Lions squad, with two-time tourist Johnny Sexton also left out.
Wales great Alun Wyn Jones, 35, is confirmed as captain for what will be his fourth Lions tour.
England forward Courtney Lawes - out injured since February - and lock Jonny Hill are also in the squad.
In the centres, Scotland's Chris Harris and Ireland's Bundee Aki are named.
England's Jonny May and Henry Slade are left out as is 2013 tourist Manu Tuilagi, who last played in September because of an Achilles injury, and Wales centre Jonathan Davies.
Another notable omission is England prop Kyle Sinckler, with Ireland's Andrew Porter joining compatriot Tadhg Furlong and Scotland's Zander Fagerson as the tight-heads.
Sam Underhill and Josh Navidi miss out on places in the competitive back-row positions, but Jack Conan of Ireland and Scotland's Hamish Watson are present.
Ireland pair James Ryan and Garry Ringrose also failed to make the cut for a squad with 11 England players, 10 Wales players, and eight each from Scotland and Ireland.
Captain Jones, who led Wales to the Six Nations title earlier this year, has clocked up a world record 157 Tests for his country and the Lions.
He was the favourite for the role ahead of other potential contenders such as England's Maro Itoje and Owen Farrell.
"To be selected in the squad is initially what you want to be hearing," said Jones. "And to have the armband as well is a privilege, with the names that have gone before and what those players have achieved."
British and Irish Lions 2021 squad
Captain: Alun Wyn Jones (Wal)
Forwards: Tadhg Beirne (Ire), Jack Conan (Ire), Luke Cowan-Dickie (Eng), Tom Curry (Eng), Zander Fagerson (Sco), Taulupe Faletau (Wal), Tadhg Furlong (Ire), Jamie George (Eng), Iain Henderson (Ire), Jonny Hill (Eng), Maro Itoje (Eng), Wyn Jones (Wal), Courtney Lawes (Eng), Ken Owens (Wal), Andrew Porter (Ire), Sam Simmonds (Eng), Rory Sutherland (Sco), Justin Tipuric (Wal), Mako Vunipola (Eng), Hamish Watson (Sco).
Backs: Josh Adams (Wal), Bundee Aki (Ire), Dan Biggar (Wal), Elliot Daly (Eng), Gareth Davies (Wal), Owen Farrell (Eng), Chris Harris (Sco), Robbie Henshaw (Ire), Stuart Hogg (Sco), Conor Murray (Ire), Ali Price (Sco), Lewis Rees-Zammit (Wal), Finn Russell (Sco), Duhan van der Merwe (Sco), Anthony Watson (Eng), Liam Williams (Wal).
Simmonds comes in from the cold
Back row Simmonds' last international appearance was in a 24-15 defeat by Ireland in March 2018.
He has failed to add to his tally of England caps since despite winning European player of the year last season and leading the Premiership try-scoring charts this term.
Can't see this selector? Visit this page.
His relative lack of bulk had been seen as a possible weakness, but Gatland said that the 26-year-old has the agility and pace to trump the Springboks' physicality.
"In South Africa, you have to have players, particularly in your forward pack, that don't just put the ball under their arm and run straight," said Gatland.
"You need players with footwork and Simmonds has that with pace.
"You've got to be able to bring some variation into your attacking options and I'm really excited about him getting that chance."
Scots provide biggest contingent in generation
Duhan Van der Merwe was capped by South Africa under-20s before qualifying for Scotland on residency grounds
Only two Scotland players made the initial Lions squad for the tour of New Zealand four years ago.
After landmark wins away to England and France in this year's Six Nations and head coach Gregor Townsend's appointment among Gatland's backroom staff it was always likely to be higher for the trip to South Africa.
The total of eight is the largest number of Scots in a touring party since 1989.
Centre Harris is rewarded for fine displays, particularly in defence, during the Six Nations while wing Duhan van der Merwe, who was the leading British and Irish player in terms of tries and metres made in the tournament, will tour the country where he was born and brought up.
Allow Twitter content?
This article contains content provided by Twitter. We ask for your permission before anything is loaded, as they may be using cookies and other technologies. You may want to read Twitter’s cookie policy, external and privacy policy, external before accepting. To view this content choose ‘accept and continue’.
Prop Rory Sutherland, like England back row Lawes, makes the trip despite still recovering from an injury.
Gatland also opts for Scotland's playmaking fly-half Finn Russell despite some doubts whether he would fit the New Zealander's style.
And Ali Price is named at scrum-half, alongside Wales' Gareth Davies and Ireland's Conor Murray.
Gatland shows ruthless edge once more
Davies and Sexton have been key parts of the last two Lions tours
With the squad shrunk by coronavirus considerations there was no room for sentiment and Gatland, who famously dropped Ireland great Brian O'Driscoll for the final Test in a series win over Australia, has shown his ruthless edge once again.
Sexton, 35, came in after defeat in the first Test to steer the Lions to a share of the series in New Zealand four years ago.
Davies played every minute of the Tests against the All Blacks and was voted the tourists player of the series.
Neither though make the cut after injury and indifferent form.
But the omission of Sinckler, who played in all three Tests in 2017, was described as an "absolute bombshell" by BBC rugby union correspondent Chris Jones.
"Kyle was very unlucky," Gatland said. "We spoke about that. There are a couple of tight-head options and we went for Porter because of his versatility in being able to cover both sides. Tough call on Kyle, but we're happy with the balance we've got."
Lions squad in numbers
4 -Lions squads for Alun Wyn Jones - only three others in 133 years of the Lions have done four or more tours: Brian O'Driscoll (4), Mike Gibson (4) and Willie John McBride (5)
5 - players from Saracens - the most from any club side
11 - England players, one more than Wales and three more than Scotland and Ireland
18 - first-time Lions tourists
19 - number of times Alun Wyn Jones has played for Wales and the Lions against South Africa
20 - age of Wales wing Louis Rees-Zammit, the youngest member of the squad
20 - years since a Scottish player started a Lions Test (loose-head prop Tom Smith in Sydney against Australia in 2001)
37 - size of squad, not the original 36 that was planned
Lions schedule
The British and Irish Lions begin preparations for their Test series with a warm-up game against Japan at Murrayfield on 26 June.
Gatland's side are scheduled to play eight games across six locations in South Africa and the team will train and play in a coronavirus bubble with camps in Johannesburg and Cape Town.
The Lions are due to play Tests at Soccer City and Ellis Park in Johannesburg, either side of a match at Cape Town Stadium.
The Northern Bank Job: The biggest bank heist in British and Irish history is revisited
Life Changing: What's it like to lose all your memories overnight?
