Based solely on their performances in this year's 6 Nations tournament, this is our XV that, on current form, may just give the Kiwis a bit of a scare, although sometimes we've been forced to pick the best of a bad bunch.
1. Jack McGrath - A very strong campaign from the Irishman, some great ball carrying mixed with a good, strong scrum meant he was practically the perfect loosehead. Rob Evans also pushed him for the spot, but the Irishman shone more throughout the tournament.
2. Guilhem Guirado - The sole French player in our lineup is the captain, Guirado, who shone in what was a pretty poor French team. Guirado was threatening in attack, solid at the lineout (until the last game), and he led from the front, a fantastic captain's performance.
3. WP Nel - Scrummaging his way into the Lions lineup is the Scottish tighthead, who didn't have much competition for his spot with the likes of penalty magnet Dan Cole being one of his closest challengers. Great player in the scrum, there is no doubt about it, but there are concerns over his defence, when you miss 5 out of 8 tackles in a crucial games as Nel did, you're lucky to get into the team of the tournament.
4. Maro Itoje - Already touted as a future England and Lions captain, Maro has done everything we hoped he would and more. We could have put him at 6, with AWJ moving into the 4 spot, but we have a different plan for that spot. Maro carried well, defended well, was a monster in the line-out and did everything that a man possibly could at the breakdown.
5. George Kruis - Another brilliant English second row that really grabbed his opportunity in the white of England and has pushe Launchbury onto the bench with good reason. A phenomenal campaign from Kruis sees him walk into our team with his compatriot.
6. Chris Robshaw - Yes, yes, I know. "Where is CJ Stander?" I hear you cry. Well, he had a great campagin, the stats back that up and the evidence is right there in the game footage. But Robshaw has been seriously overlooked not just by fans of Ireland, Wales, Scotland, France and Italy, but also by the English. His hard work has been Richard Hill-esque on occasion, he has also shown a fair bit more with ball in hand whilst continuing to be his brilliant self in defence. Did Chris Robshaw set the world alight? No. Was he everything a Grand Slam winning team needed? Yes. His work was seriously underrated and in terms of consistentcy throughout the tournament it is the former England captain that claims the spot at 6.
7. Jon Hardie - Hard(ie) as nails this boy is. As a team, with Robshaw and Hardie, you're probably not going to get anywhere. Hardie offered little to nothing in attack most weeks, but oh my word did he give everything in defence. The man was a machine, and nobody performed better in the 7 jersey.
8. Billy Vunipola - No surprises here, the player of the tournament walks into this team, much like he walks through opposition teams with 3 players hanging off of him, creating space out wide for the likes of Anthony Watson or Mike Brown to dot down. A brilliant player and the best 8 in the Northern Hemisphere.
9. Gareth Davies - A pretty good 6 Nations, and along with the likes of Conor Murray, Danny Care, Greig Laidlaw and Ben Youngs didn't do anything consistently brilliantly but also wasn't terrible. Really this shirt belongs to all of them for being ok.
10. Owen Farrell - I'm sorry. I couldn't put any of the players that played 10 in this position. Sexton was average. Dan Biggar looked great, then terrible, then great and his lack of an attacking ability got massivle shown up by Rhys Priestland of all people. Then you have George Ford, the invisible man. No, the 10 shirt has to go to the best fly-half in the tournament who was unfourtnately shafted to 12. Great in defence, solid in attack and ever reliable with the boot, Owen Farrell was the best fly-half of the 6 Nations.
11. George North - I was unconvinced by North's early tournament performances. He seemed to be benefitting from poor opposition play or sheer luck, like Jonathan Joseph at the start of the 6 Nations, but going into this last week I had him tied with Jack Nowell, and it's safe to say that he really has grown in confidence, and is on his way to being back to his Lions best.
12. Robbie Henshaw - Henshaw was one of few players to challenge every defence he came up against and consistently look dangerous, no matter what his teammates or the opposition were doing. His ruthlessness will serve him and his country well for many years to come.
13. Michele Campagnaro - Duncan Taylor was unfortunate not to feature, but Michele Campagnaro is in for similar reasons as the man above him. He is proving to be the next Italian talisman. He won't reach the dizzying height of Sergio Parisse, but at 23 there is plenty more to come from the Azzurri man.
14. Anthony Watson - Anthony is now one of the premiere wingers in world rugby, he looks to be the complete package. A great finisher, a wonderful defender and superb under the high ball, he didn't put a step wrong this tournament and was one of the first names on this sheet.
15. Stuart Hogg - This was tough. Hogg is electric and wonderful and magnificent to watch, but there is still that concern about his defence in my mind. Offensively he is scinitllating, as he has shown time and time again. But when you compare him to Mike Brown in other areas such as under the high ball or tackling, you realise how tough this decision is. However, I think he did just enough to pip the English full back to this spot, and hopefully he can kick on from here, develop his game, and truly become the great player that many already believe him to be.
Gosh those backs are young, makes you wonder what a 23 man squad of players 23 and under would like...
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