British and Irish Lions Watch: Snubbed pairing Darcy Graham and George Ford produce statement performances

Andy Farrell has already named his 38-man squad for the British and Irish Lions tour to Australia, with the selected players now needing to prove that they are worthy of playing in the Tests. 

Those who were snubbed now have extra motivation to prove their worth, with standout performances from George Ford and Darcy Graham, especially. 

The URC and Premiership saw most of the talent heading down under to play, with some going head-to-head against each other. 

Here, Charlie Elliott goes through some of the standout performances from those heading to Australia and looks at how those who narrowly missed out played. 

Marcus Smith 

Marcus Smith has been proving doubters wrong since his British and Irish Lions call-up, following up his selection with a couple of great performances against Gloucester and Exeter Chiefs. 

He scored a brilliant try last weekend against the Chiefs, using his agility to weave in and out of defenders, finding space where he had absolutely no right to. 

Smith was also perfect from the tee, with all four of his kick attempts ending up between the posts. 

Clearly someone with a point to prove and extremely talented. 

Jack Conan 

Like he potentially will to do for the Lions, Conan played at eight in Caelan Doris’ absence, captaining Leinster against Glasgow Warriors. 

Delivered in Doris’ absence and filled the huge gap that the star has left since his injury. 

Defended very well against the Warriors, with 11 tackles. Also involved in work on the other side of the ball, he amassed 36 metres from 10 carries. 

Currently, Conan looks a like-for-like replacement for Doris, which is just what the Lions will need in Australia. 

Sione Tuipulotu 

Returned from an injury that originally looked to have potentially ruined his Lions chances, playing for Glasgow against Leinster. 

Only played 40 minutes but looked solid enough with some decent passes and a few carries. 

The centre was eased back into play and will want to build his performances back up to the levels he reached before injury. 

It was good to see him back on the field, and he hopes to get a few more URC appearances under his belt before touring to Australia. 

Tom Curry 

Alex Sanderson has confirmed that Tom Curry is scheduled to have surgery after the Lions tour, with the flanker being rested for Sale’s win against Bristol Bears. 

A player who has been slightly unfortunate with injuries and has often played through niggles, he may not be at full strength for the Lions, but he might not mind that. 

Pierre Schoeman 

Schoeman scored two tries for Edinburgh, boosting his hopes of being the starting loosehead on the tour. 

Andrew Porter and Ellis Genge are currently the two who are slightly higher in the pecking order, but if Schoeman keeps it up, he could very well be up for contention. 

He dominated in the scrum, brought his usual power around the park and worked extremely hard across the board. 

It will give Andy Farrell plenty of food for thought. 

George Ford 

One of the best players to have never played on a Lions tour, Ford was not selected by Farrell at fly-half and is doing all he can to prove that it was the wrong decision. 

He was at his absolute best for Sale as they beat Bristol in a huge game in the Premiership play-off race, nailing seven out of seven kicks from the tee and showing why he is regarded as one of the best playmakers. 

His kicking found space behind, his passing was immaculate, and his decision-making was outstanding. 

What a player, and someone very unlucky not to be heading to Australia. 

Darcy Graham 

Another who was snubbed with a lot of backlash, Scotland winger Graham was left out despite many considering him to be a better player than Mack Hansen, especially form-wise. 

The Edinburgh man scored a hat-trick for his side in their win over Ulster. 

Someone who possesses an electric turn of pace, he showed his speed in all three of his scores. 

Also involved with work beyond try-scoring, he showed that he isn’t just a finisher and would have been a good option for Farrell to take. 

By Charlie Elliott

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