Pollock in, Itoje confirmed as captain and no Prendergast - Andy Farrell names his British and Irish Lions squad

Northampton's Henry Pollock is the most eye-catching inclusion in Andy Farrell’s British and Irish Lions squad.

The rise of the dynamic forward continues and after another superb performance in Northampton’s 37-34 defeat of Leinster in the Champions Cup semi-final last week, the latest chapter in Pollock's story will come in Australia this summer.

The Saints' win over Leinster last Saturday may also have come into Farrell's thinking as Fin Smith has been selected over Ireland's Sam Prendergast, who misses out completely. Marcus Smith and Finn Russell are the other fly-halves in the 38-man squad, with Owen Farrell not included.

Jack Willis, Taulupe Faletau, and Jamie George are among other high-profile players to miss the cut.

In the squad, there are 15 Ireland players, 13 England players, eight players from Scotland and two from Wales - Jac Morgan and scrum-half Tomos Williams, who has been excellent for Gloucester this term.

As reported on Wednesday evening, Maro Itoje will captain the Lions, who begin their preparations on June 20th in Dublin vs Argentina, with the first Test against the Wallabies coming in Brisbane on July 19th.

More to come from TRU....

2025 Lions squad to tour Australia

Props

Zander Fagerson (Scotland), Tadhg Furlong (Ireland), Ellis Genge (England), Andrew Porter (Ireland), Pierre Schoeman (Scotland), Will Stuart (England)

Hookers
Luke Cowan-Dickie (England), Ronan Kelleher (Ireland), Dan Sheehan (Ireland)

Second-Row
Tadhg Beirne (Ireland), Ollie Chessum (England), Scott Cummings (Scotland), Maro Itoje (England, captain), Joe McCarthy (Ireland), James Ryan (Ireland)

Back-row
Jack Conan (Ireland), Tom Curry (England), Ben Earl (England), Josh van der Flier (Ireland), Jac Morgan (Wales), Henry Pollock (England)

Scrum-halves
Jamison Gibson-Park (Ireland), Alex Mitchell (England), Tomos Williams (Wales)

Fly-halves
Marcus Smith (England), Fin Smith (England), Finn Russell (Scotland)

Centres
Bundee Aki (Ireland), Huw Jones (Scotland), Garry Ringrose (Ireland), Sione Tuipulotu (Scotland)

Back three
Elliot Daly (England), Tommy Freeman (England), Mack Hansen (Ireland), Hugo Keenan (Ireland), Blair Kinghorn (Scotland), James Lowe (Ireland), Duhan van der Merwe (Scotland)