Ian McGeechan has today announced his squad for the forthcoming British Lions Tour of South Africa.

Whilst there will be a few eyebrows raised at the absence of England captain Steve Borthwick, Wales Captain Ryan Jones, and several others, there can be no denying that the large number of Irish players included in the squad all earnt their places folloing an excellent 6 Nations Campaign.

The full squad is:

Forwards: Jamie Heaslip (Ireland), Andy Powell (Wales), David Wallace (Ireland), Stephen Ferris (Ireland), Alan Quinlan (Ireland), Joe Worsley (England), Martyn Williams (Wales), Alun-Wyn Jones (Wales), Paul O’Connell (Ireland), Donncha O’Callaghan (Ireland), Simon Shaw (England), Nathan Hines (Scotland), Gethin Jenkins (Wales), Adam Jones (Wales), Andrew Sheridan (England), Phil Vickery (England), Euan Murray (Scotland), Jerry Flannery (Ireland), Lee Mears (England), Matthew Rees (Wales)

Backs: Lee Byrne (Wales), Rob Kearney (Ireland), Shane Williams (Wales), Leigh Halfpenny (Wales), Ugo Monye (England), Luke Fitzgerald (Ireland), Tommy Bowe (Ireland), Tom Shanklin (Wales), Jamie Roberts (Wales), Brian O’Driscoll (Ireland), Keith Earls (Ireland), Riki Flutey (England), Ronan O’Gara (Ireland), Stephen Jones (Wales), Mike Phillips (Wales), Harry Ellis (England), Tomas O’Leary (Ireland)

Munster and Ireland forward Paul O’Connell will skipper the team.

The Lions are due to arrive in Johannesburg early in the morning of  Monday 25th May, and, following an ‘arrivals’ press conference, they will immediately begin preparations for their opening game against at Highveld XV at Royal Bafokeng Sports Palace on Saturday, May 30.

See the full match schedule for the British Lions Tour of South Africa.