The possible Lions squad picked next week as six Wales players left in the mix

Andy Farrell will announce his British and Irish Lions squad next Thursday

The British and Irish Lions’ tour of Australia will begin on Thursday, when Andy Farrell will choose his team.

The 49-year-old is anticipated to lead a 37-man team, and it doesn’t take a genius to figure things out. Wales, who have lost 17 Test matches, will most likely have the fewest players of the four home countries. Although there will be a lot more Welsh players on the plane than on previous tours, Wales may have the lowest representation since the 1993 tour of New Zealand, when only five players traveled.

Another thing that works against Wales is that neither Welsh team is in this weekend’s European championship semifinals, which means that their last round of auditions is already over.

The team that rugby writer Steve Thomas believes Farrell might choose for the upcoming week is shown here.

Back-three

Duhan van der Merwe (Scotland), Mack Hansen (Ireland), Huge Keenan (Ireland), Blair Kinghorn (Scotland), Tommy Freeman (England), and James Lowe (Ireland)

When it comes to full-backs, Blair Kinghorn and Hugo Keenan are unquestionably excellent. Since joining European champions Toulouse, Kinghorn has improved his game, and both players are among the best in their positions in the world. Given that Farrell is a huge supporter of Mack Hansen and Ireland’s James Lowe is now in excellent form, it would be shocking if both performed on tour. Many people are arguing for Darcy Graham, who has excelled for both Edinburgh and Scotland, but this author has chosen Duhan van der Merwe instead.