British and Irish Lions squad LIVE: Owen Farrell misses out and captaincy selection revealed

British and Irish Lions squad announcement LIVE

• British and Irish Lions squad to tour Australia set to be named | Live on Sky Sports
• Head coach Andy Farrell will name his travelling party to take on the Wallabies
• England lock Maro Itoje confirmed as captain

Who is Henry Pollock? England’s one-cap sensation selected for British and Irish Lions

Henry Pollock’s form over the past few months means he has become a quintessential Lions bolter, earning his place on the tour from almost out of nowhere.

The England and Northampton Saints back row is a superstar in the making. Read all about his journey here:

Who is Henry Pollock? England’s one-cap sensation selected for Lions

Owen Farrell left out of British and Irish Lions squad as Maro Itoje named captain

Owen Farrell has been left out the British and Irish Lions squad to tour Australia, with former England teammate Maro Itoje named captain of the travelling party.

Farrell misses out on selection for a fourth tour after being excluded from a 38-player group by Lions head coach Andy Farrell, his father.

The 33-year-old has not played international rugby since the 2023 World Cup, taking a break from England duty last year before agreeing a move to Racing 92 in France and thus making himself ineligible.

Read Harry Latham-Coyle’s full story on the squad selection:

Owen Farrell left out of British and Irish Lions squad as Maro Itoje named captain

British and Irish Lions backs

And here are the full list of backs set to go. No Owen Farrell, no Sam Prendergast but Marcus Smith tours

• Bundee Aki (Ireland)
• Elliot Daly (England)
• Tommy Freeman (England)
• Jamison Gibson-Park (Ireland)
• Mack Hansen (Ireland)
• Huw Jones (Scotland)
• Hugo Keenan (Ireland)
• Blair Kinghorn (Scotland)
• James Lowe (Ireland)
• Alex Mitchell (England)
• Garry Ringrose (Ireland)
• Finn Russell (Scotland)
• Fin Smith (England)
• Marcus Smith (England)
• Sione Tuipulotu (Scotland)
• Duhan van der Merwe (Scotland)
• Tomos Williams (Wales)

No Owen Farrell

As Ieuan Evans goes through the backs, there’s no Owen Farrell! He misses out

Straight on to the backs

Here we go with the backs now

Henry Pollock gets the biggest roar

Wow! So much to dissect there. Firstly, the biggest roar from the crowd in the arena was for Henry Pollock

Lions forwards named

And here’s the full list of forwards. No Caelan Doris, as feared with his injury.

• Tadhg Beirne (Ireland)
• Ollie Chessum (England)
• Jack Conan (Ireland)
• Luke Cowan-Dickie (England)
• Scott Cummings (Scotland)
• Tom Curry (England)
• Ben Earl (England)
• Zander Fagerson (Scotland)
• Tadhg Furlong (Ireland)
• Ellis Genge (England)
• Maro Itoje (England) - CAPTAIN
• Ronan Kelleher (Ireland)
• Joe McCarthy (Ireland)
• Jac Morgan (Wales)
• Henry Pollock (England)
• Andrew Porter (Ireland)
• James Ryan (Ireland)
• Pierre Schoeman (Scotland)
• Dan Sheehan (Ireland)
• Will Stuart (England)
• Josh van der Flier (Ireland)

It's time

Here we go. Ieuan Evans is about to announce the Lions forwards, in alphabetical order, first up

Itoje reveals when he found out he was captain

Maro Itoje is interviewed on stage after the announcement. He reveals that he found out on Tuesday when he received a call from an Irish number and presumed it was Farrell (he didn’t have his number saved).

The Wigan brogue on the other end of the line when he answered confirmed it!

Itoje seemingly a popular choice if the crowd in the O2 are anything to go by. A “ooooh Maro Itoje” chant rings round the arena

Itoje and Farrell react to captaincy selection

Some quotes from both Maro Itoje and Andy Farrell after Itoje was named as skipper.

Farrell said: “I want to congratulate Maro on being named captain of the British and Irish Lions.

“This is a great honour for Maro, his family and everyone who has supported him throughout his career from Saracens to England - and on to the Lions in 2017 and 2021.

“As a two-time tourist, Maro fully understands what the Lions is all about and also the role of the captain in helping the group achieve its goal of winning a Test Series this summer.”

Itoje said: “It feels amazing to be named Lions captain.

"I’m deeply honoured, humbled and I will do my best to do the role justice. I am very much looking forward to the challenge ahead, it’s going to be a great tour.

"I know the appetite amongst the players is extremely high, everyone is hungry to be a Lion and I can’t wait to play my role.”

Maro Itoje named as Lions captain

And there it is. As expected, England skipper Maro Itoje has been named as captain of the 2025 British and Irish Lions.

It appeared to be a straight shootout between Itoje and Ireland’s Caelan Doris but Doris’s ill-timed shoulder injury opened things up for Itoje.

Well deserved and when Andy Farrell announces Itoje’s name, he’s roared on to the stage by the crowd at the O2.

Captain about to be named

We’ll be finding out who has been named as Lions captain first. We’re expecting it to be Maro Itoje.

Andy Farrell says a Lions captain needs to be a beacon for his teammates

Here come Farrell and Evans

Head coach Andy Farrell and announcer extraordinaire (and Lions chair) Ieuan Evans have been introduced to the stage.

Farrell says he’s not nervous because now all the pressure is on Evans as the man reading the names - his job is done!

Evans then reminisces about his own Lions selection experiences and gets a laugh when he says his first tour selection was announced by telegram.

It’s your standard corporate fare and you know what, I don’t mind it.

Squad naming imminent

Right, live coverage has started on Sky Sports and the Lions YouTube channel. Lee McKenzie and Ugo Monye on hosting duties on the O2 stage. Safe hands.

This is exciting stuff

Who will be in the squad?

Final call to check out the predicted squad from our Rugby Correspondent Harry Latham-Coyle.

How right (or wrong) will he prove to be...?

British & Irish Lions 2025: Predicting the squad to tour Australia

How will the squad naming work?

The Lions captain will be the only player at the O2 today, we believe, with the rest of those in contention left to wait and watch at home.

The squad will be named alphabetically in two categories, with a break between the forwards and backs. Lions chair, and former three-time tourist, Ieuan Evans is the man tasked with reading out the names.

That could mean a particularly anxious wait for the third scrum half to be revealed - it is thought that Ben White and Tomos Williams are probably vying for that spot, with one of them likely to be the last name read out.

How many Welshmen will be selected?

Perhaps unsurprisingly, given their dismal form in recent months, we aren’t expecting many Welshmen to be named in Andy Farrell’s squad.

How many will there be? Three? Four? Only one? It will be fascinating to find out.

You’d say there are probably five or six legitimate Welsh contenders unless Farrell opts for a true bolter like Blair Murray in the back three or gives one of Adam Beard or Will Rowlands a surprise nod in the second row.

Hooker Dewi Lake, prop Nicky Smith, lock Dafydd Jenkins, back rowers Jac Morgan and Taulupe Faletau and scrum half Tomos Williams are the men with a genuine shot. I’d have Morgan as almost a lock, Williams very likely, Lake quite likely, then the remaining three as possibles.

British and Irish Lions squad announcement

Ten minute warning! John Fogarty and Aled Walters, the two real characters in the coaching staff, were given the task of warming up the crowd, who really do appear to be well lubricated. The Irish scrum coach and Welsh strength and conditioning guru each get them going with some entertaining, but ultimately inconsequential, patter, before they and the hosts depart the stage with full live coverage set to begin imminently. Lions chief executive Ben Calveley has also said a few words.

Elliot Daly to be selected?

Reports are suggesting that Elliot Daly will be included in Andy Farrell’s squad, which will be announced in about 25 minutes’ time.

The versatile England back went on tour in 2017 and 2021, playing five Tests, so has huge experience.

He impressed in limited minutes for England during the Six Nations but this would still count as a surprise if it’s true

British and Irish Lions squad announcement

Good afternoon from inside the Indigo venue at the O2, where the live show is just starting - and it’s an inauspicious opening, with host Ugo Monye’s microphone not working. A drunken rendition of Jerusalem from a few in the crowd reflect an audience that have been braving the sky-high drink prices here - though have shelled out a pretty penny for a ticket to these proceedings, they clearly want to enjoy it.

The Wallabies on the rise...

12 months ago, there were fears of a thoroughly uncompetitive Lions series, with the Wallabies down in the doldrums after the disastrous second tenure of Eddie Jones. But veteran coach Joe Schmidt - who has agreed to stay on until the middle of next year before handing over to Les Kiss - has got Australia playing a tune again, with an encouraging November tour providing reasons for optimism ahead of a huge year.

With a World Cup in the country also firmly on the horizon, let us hope that the Wallabies can provide a real challenge to the touring party come July.

What happened last time?

The 2021 British and Irish Lions tour is not one that will be remembered fondly, occurring as it did under severe Covid restrictions with fans unable to attend and the players going stir-crazy cooped up in South African hotels. An unedifying squabble triggered by the leaking of a video made by Springboks boss Rassie Erasmus also overshadowed the series, with his criticism of referee Nic Berry resulting in a significant ban. South Africa eventually prevailed 2-1 after three attritional Tests.

British and Irish Lions - list of recent captains

If Maro Itoje is confirmed as Lions captain this afternoon, he will be the first Englishman to lead the squad since Martin Johnson in 2001. Here’s a list of recent skippers of the Test team:

2021 & 2013 Alun Wyn Jones (Lion #761, Wales) v South Africa & Australia

2017/2013 Sam Warburton (Lion #800, Wales) v New Zealand & Australia

2017 Peter O’Mahony (Lion #832, Ireland) v New Zealand

2009 Paul O’Connell (Lion #738, Ireland) v South Africa

2005 Gareth Thomas (Lion #747, Wales) v New Zealand

2005 Brian O’Driscoll (Lion #697, Ireland) v New Zealand

2005 Michael Owen (Lion #726, Wales) v Argentina

How Richard Wigglesworth earned surprise British and Irish Lions coaching call

Given it is barely two years since he concluded his own coaching career - and plenty of England fans were calling for his head early in the Six Nations - the rapid rise of Richard Wigglesworth also merits mention. The England attack coach and former scrum half and Andy Farrell go way back - but his coaching qualities are clear.

How Richard Wigglesworth earned surprise British and Irish Lions coaching call

Collaborative British and Irish Lions coaching team offers intriguing selection hints

Of course, it’s not just Andy Farrell who will have been making the big decisions yesterday. The British and Irish Lions boss unveiled a collaborative coaching team a couple of months ago that nonetheless offered some intriguing selection clues...

Collaborative Lions coaching team offers intriguing selection hints

Five key questions for Andy Farrell ahead of British and Irish Lions squad announcement

The back-row shake-up is one of five key questions we have for the British and Irish Lions boss ahead of today’s proceedings - find out the rest below:

Five key questions for Farrell ahead of British and Irish Lions squad announcement

Who is Henry Pollock? How England’s young sensation bolted into Lions contention

Caelan Doris’s injury places further focus on the back-row options at the disposal of Andy Farrell - and there are plenty of them! One player who has come from the outside right into the forefront of the conversation is Henry Pollock, a young gun who continues to thrive on some of rugby’s biggest stages...

Who is Henry Pollock? How England’s young sensation bolted into Lions contention

Caelan Doris could miss out after shoulder surgery

There are a number of major injury worries for Andy Farrell, chief among them Caelan Doris - a possible captaincy contender, the Ireland No 8 now looks likely to miss the tour after shoulder surgery. One suspects that Maro Itoje would have been the likely leader anyway, but it is a real shame for Doris, such an excellent player.

Caelan Doris set for operation on shoulder in British and Irish Lions injury scare

Maro Itoje on the Lions, leadership and politics: ‘I’ll return to No 10 one way or another’

Maro Itoje is a fascinating figure, and incredibly engaging company. In October, I sat down with the England lock to talk the Lions, leadership and a possible political future:

Maro Itoje on politics: ‘I’ll return to No 10 one way or another’

Maro Itoje set to be named as British and Irish Lions captain

While most of the players are in the dark over their selection status, the British and Irish Lions captain is now fully aware of his place. Maro Itoje is set to be unveiled as the 2025 skipper after an outstanding Six Nations as leader of England.

British & Irish Lions 2025: Predicting the squad to tour Australia

Picking a Lions squad is a thoroughly unrewarding exercise, the player pool simply too large and selection too small to avoid leaving out a worthy candidate or seven. Still, I’ve had a go at being Andy Farrell and predicting the 38-man squad he may pick...

British & Irish Lions 2025: Predicting the squad to tour Australia