England outcasts in contention for Lions call-up ahead of squad announcement

[ASFN Admin]

England outcasts Marcus Smith, Danny Care, Ben Spencer and Sam Simmonds have been included on the Warren Gatland’s long-list for Lions selection, Telegraph Sport can reveal. The Lions coaches will meet for the final time on Wednesday afternoon at the Lensbury Club in South West London to debate selection for the 36-man touring party to South Africa and they will discuss several players who have either been overlooked or discarded by England head coach Eddie Jones. Fly half Marcus Smith, 22, has been in sensational form for Harlequins this season but remains uncapped internationally despite having been previously been called up to England squads. At the other end of the age spectrum, 34-year-old Care, Smith’s half back partner at Harlequins, has been the Gallagher Premiership’s form scrum half this season. He has not featured for England since winning the last of his 84 caps in a match against Japan in November 2018 when he is reported to have had a falling out with Jones. With England scrum half Ben Youngs withdrawing from the tour for family reasons, Care now stands a strong chance of being included as a Lions bolter. Spencer, another scrum half out of favour at England level, features which is a reflection of the lack of depth available to Gatland in a key position. Spencer has made four appearances as a replacement for England, the last of which was against South Africa in the 2019 World Cup final. The 28-year-old has thrived since moving to Bath from Saracens and offers one of the best box-kicking games in the northern hemisphere. Alongside Care, Exeter No 8 Sam Simmonds seems firmly in contention for a touring place. While Wales and Bath’s Taulupe Faletau is nailed on as the frontline No 8, the selection behind him is wide open. Gatland has attended a number of Exeter games in recent weeks and offers a different skillset to the other contenders. Flanker Sam Underhill and wing Jack Nowell also received an email from the Lions’ management confirming their availability despite missing the Six Nations through injury. While 57 names were thrown up in the Lions’ first selection meeting, it is understood that other players have also come into the reckoning with the management needing options as injury cover. Gatland announces his squad on Thursday.

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