With only a matter of days to go until we learn who will be part of Warren Gatland's Lions squad, there has been plenty of speculation as to who will make the trip to South Africa.
The head coach will name a 36-man panel on Thursday, with the captain for the tour also set to be revealed.
It is difficult to judge who will make the test XV as things stand, although many pundits have been giving their predictions in recent times.
Amongst those is Dylan Hartley. Speaking on the Offload podcast, the former England captain revealed that he would select three Irish players in his team.
Tadhg Furlong makes the cut in the front row, with Tadhg Beirne starting in the second row. Robbie Henshaw is the only other member of Andy Farrell's side to make the team.
Interestingly, Hartley would also like to see Keith Earls and Simon Zebo in the squad, along with the likes of Cian Healy and James Ryan.
Elsewhere, the New Zealand born hooker picked Maro Itoje ahead of Alun Wyn Jones in the second row, with the Welsh pairing of Gareth Davies and Dan Biggar at halfback.
Here is his team in full.
@DylanHartley chooses his Lions squad ahead of next week's big announcement 🇿🇦🦁@ChristinaMahonx @SimonZebo #Offload #BritishAndIrishLions pic.twitter.com/XRVyrlI2tW
— RugbyPass (@RugbyPass) April 29, 2021
His decision to pick Alun Wyn Jones as captain but then leave him out of the test side is certainly an odd one.
It will be interesting to see if Warren Gatland agrees with this selection by the time the series rolls around.
Dylan Hartley's Lions Team
15. Stuart Hogg (Scotland)
14. Anthony Watson (England)
13. Henry Slade (England)
12. Robbie Henshaw (Ireland)
11. Duhan van der Merwe (Scotland)
10. Dan Biggar (Wales)
9. Gareth Davies (Wales)
1. Mako Vunipola (England)
2. Luke-Cowan Dickie (England)
3. Tadhg Furlong (Ireland)
4. Maro Itoje (England)
5. Tadhg Beirne (Ireland)
6. Tom Curry (England)
7. Hamish Watson (Scotland)
8. Taulupe Faletau (Wales)
What changes would you make?
SEE ALSO: Tadhg Furlong Selected First In BT Sport's Lions Draft
