Warren Gatland has named eight Irish players in his squad for the British & Irish Lions tour of South Africa this summer, with Johnny Sexton a notable omission.
The Ireland players named in the squad are as follows:
- Conor Murray (Munster)
- Bundee Aki (Connacht)
- Robbie Henshaw (Leinster)
- Tadhg Beirne (Munster)
- Jack Conan (Leinster)
- Tadhg Furlong (Leinster)
- Iain Henderson (Ulster)
- Andrew Porter (Leinster)
The Lions will take on the Springboks on Saturday, July 24 (Johannesburg), Saturday, July 31 (Cape Town) and Saturday, August 7 (Johannesburg). In the build-up to the three main events, they will come up against Super Rugby sides DHL Stormers, Cell C Sharks and Vodacom Bulls, as well as a South Africa Invitational XV and the South Africa ‘A’ side.
The squad will be captained by Welsh skipper Alun Wyn Jones.