Lions selection: 3 winners and losers from each country

It may be scrawled somewhere on a long-forgotten scrap of paper, but being able to see Andy Farrell's preliminary British and Irish Lions squad heading into the Guinness Six Nations would make fascinating reading given what has elapsed over the past two months.

There is no doubt that his 'before' and 'after' squads look vastly different from each other. Indeed, even his penciled-in squad heading into round four will have now been redacted heavily.

Players have surged into his thinking out of relative obscurity, while dead certs in January may now find themselves on shaky ground.

Here are three winners and losers from each team with the Lions squad being announced on May 8:

Wales winners

Blair Murray

Wales experienced some dark days this Championship, none more so than their shellacking at the hands of England in Cardiff, but Murray was a shining light throughout.

In a Wales side that severely struggled to penetrate England's defence, the full-back had a surprising amount of success and will be scratching his head as to how he didn't bag a try. Then again, he was a threat all tournament, finishing with the fifth-most metres gained.

Dafydd Jenkins

Back in the Wales team after missing the autumn, last year's stand-in captain reminded Wales fans what they missed.

Bettered only by Morgan in tackles all tournament (78), and beaten only by flankers Rory Darge and Francois Cros for cleanouts (36), the 22-year-old lock has quite an engine and will be in consideration for the Lions.

Taulupe Faletau

The truth is, it is hard to pick three winners from a winless Wales side that shipped 195 points and earned their second Wooden Spoon in a row. But Faletau's return to Test rugby after over a year out through injuries was a positive and he proved he can still mix it with the best.

Will the Welsh centurion make his fourth Lions tour though? Seems unlikely given his competition.

Wales losers 

Jac Morgan

Wales' captain started the Championship well, putting in some heroic displays despite his side's poor fortunes.

But the reality is, some excellent back-rows are going to miss out on selection simply due to the vast array of world-class options Farrell has. Unfortunately for Morgan, he was well-and-truly outplayed by England's player of the match Ben Curry at the Principality Stadium right in front of the onlooking Farrell, and that would have left an indelible impression.

Tomos Williams

Williams arrived at the Six Nations in the middle of a great season for Gloucester so far, but hampered his chances over the past two months, albeit in an abject team.

The scrum-half is still very much in the picture, but an ineffective kicking game and little to no threat posed behind an often-dominated pack will be marked against him.

Everyone else

Heading into the Championship, Morgan, Williams and Dewi Lake were Wales' three credible Lions contenders and the brutal truth is that, save for a handful of players, very few Welshmen came out of the Championship in credit.

Scotland winners

Blair Kinghorn

That Lions No.15 jersey is within the grasp of Kinghorn after a Championship where the Toulouse star broke Mike Brown's record for the most metres gained in a campaign (575), while also leading the field for carries (86), offloads (13) and linebreaks (9).

Up against the most frugal defence all year in round five, Kinghorn tore France's defence to shreds at times in Paris to cap off an outstanding campaign.

Jamie Ritchie

Ritchie does face an uphill task to make it into a Lions squad given the aforementioned depth, but he did his chances no harm.

Combative throughout and a dog on the floor with a Championship-leading seven breakdown steals, Scotland head coach Gregor Townsend even said the flanker "had one of his best ever games for Scotland" after the defeat to England, and he didn't let those standards slip.

Tom Jordan

Though not initially Townsend's first-choice inside centre for the opening round against Italy, Jordan had the No.12 on his back thereafter, filling the gaping hole left by the injured Sione Tuipulotu.

The Glasgow Warriors fly-half acquitted himself well in the centres, sharing the playmaking duties with Finn Russell and even providing some carrying ballast- shown by the way he brushed off French defenders for what was Scotland's disallowed try at the Stade de France.

His versatility does help his Lions cause, and he has the added bonus of playing alongside Russell and Huw Jones, two likely squad members.

Scotland losers 

Finn Russell

The Scotland fly-half will still likely make that squad later this year, but at times this tournament Russell had the air of a player that already made plans this summer and was trying to work his way out of going to Australia.

The Bath star's insouciance is part of his appeal, but it overstepped into carelessness. He was forgiven for an interception thrown against Italy, but some sloppy handling was far more costly against France, which damaged what was otherwise a good display. There was, of course, his kicking display from the tee against England as well.

Pierre Schoeman

Scotland's loosehead's Lions hopes did not take a catastrophic hit this Six Nations, but after finding himself dropped for the round two clash with Ireland, he had a tough time at the scrum in round three against England.

He did redeem himself though in Paris, fronting up against the formidable French pack with 12 carries and receiving the plaudits from his head coach.

Rory Darge

Scotland's co-captain enjoyed a stellar start to the Championship against Italy, but perhaps struggled to kick on from there.

With competition for the flanker berths in the Lions squad so fierce this year, no player could afford to drop their guard even slightly. The drop-off was in no way sharp from the 25-year-old, but maybe enough to slip out of contention.

England winners

Ben Curry

Perhaps no player's stock rose this Championship more than Curry's. The flanker launched himself from a peripheral England squad member in January to a player who simply has to be in Steve Borthwick's matchday squads for the foreseeable future and probably even Farrell's Lions squads.

All action, all energy and everywhere on the pitch, the 11-cap England international deservedly scooped the player of the match in Cardiff in front of Farrell, and is now in a prime position to join his brother (almost certain to go) in Australia.

Fin Smith

The only thing that will stop Smith from wearing that England No.10 shirt for the seasons to come is if he is wearing a Lions one instead this summer. 

Northampton's 22-year-old playmaker marked his first England start with a player-of-the-match performance against France in round two, and only built on that performance.

Smith was able to show off his entire armoury- able to control tight games with the boot against France and Scotland, then able to let loose against Italy and Wales, particularly the latter, where he pulled off some delightful passes in Cardiff with his fizzed left-handed miss pass for Tom Roebuck's try being the pick of the bunch.

Will Stuart

One of the best players of the entire Championship, Stuart has guaranteed his place in Farrell's squad.

For a 130kg tighthead, the Bath man surges out of the line in defence and his footwork before contact is preposterous for a man of his size. Tore Wales' scrum apart in Cardiff and even went over for a try, which was richly deserved on his 50th appearance.

England losers

Marcus Smith

After a strong Autumn Nations Series campaign, Marcus Smith was one of the leading fly-half candidates to make the plane to Australia.

Though the 2021 Lions tourist can certainly not be accused of playing badly at No.10 during the autumn or the opening round loss to Ireland, Borthwick decided Fin Smith may be the man to steer the ship instead, with the Harlequin shifting to full-back, and it was a decision that paid off.

Other than the fact that Marcus Smith was able to exhibit his versatility (though he may not have won everyone over as a full-back), it is hard to paint losing your position in a good light.

Jack Willis

While most tend to think that every potential Lion is on show during the Six Nations, it's easy to forget any players exiled in the Top 14.

A domestic and European double winner with Toulouse last season, Willis will undoubtedly be on Farrell's radar. But he would have seen the performances Tom Curry, Ben Curry and Ben Earl put in over February and March and wonder how he will ever get into that England back-row, should he return from France, let alone a Lions back-row.

Ollie Lawrence

There weren't many losers from the England camp, particularly as they ended their campaign on a high, but one is undeniably Lawrence.

While this is not performance-based, his Achilles injury against Italy dashed what would have been a very tangible dream of making Farrell's squad.

Ireland winners 

Tadhg Beirne

Comfortable at No.6, comfortable in the second-row and, most importantly, comfortable over the ball at the breakdown, Beirne all but cemented his place in a Lions XV.

Such is his form that Lawrence Dallaglio recently described the Munster man as "one of the best players in the world," and a player that "does everything."

James Lowe

Ireland's wing was a Lion-in-waiting heading into the Championship, and he started with a bang against England.

But it was Lowe's absence in the mauling Ireland faced against France in Dublin that truly showed how important he is to any team. Ireland not only lacked that booming left boot of his, but his ability to create something from nothing out wide.

Dan Sheehan

The only thing working against Sheehan in terms of the Lions was how he performed after recovering from his ACL injury in July.

Five tries later, including a hat-trick against Italy, and the hooker has annihilated any queries Farrell may have had over his fitness and form, and will surely start against the Wallabies.

Ireland losers

Caelan Doris

Doris will of course make the squad this year, but he was viewed by many as the captain-to-be. But Maro Itoje may have edged ahead of him now.

The England captain raised his game to a new level in his leadership role and had a great rapport with referees. With his place in a starting XV more secure, Farrell may look to the Englishman now as his skipper.

Joe McCarthy

McCarthy's discipline will obviously be a concern following his needless yellow card against France, but unfortunately for the lock, he missed Ireland's two most impressive performances of the Championship in the opening two rounds against England and Scotland. He returned to an Ireland side that were not overly convincing in rounds three, four and five and failed to flex his muscles in those matches.

Sam Prendergast

Ireland's rookie No.10 went from an outside bet for the Lions, to a solid contender to start, to now fighting to make the squad all in the space of the tournament.

The eight-cap Irishman did not have a bad campaign by any stretch, after all, he was named player of the match against Scotland and crowned the Championship's inaugural rising player, but it was nevertheless a tournament that petered out for him. France's demolition in Dublin was a chastening experience for the Test newbie, and his defence will be questioned having missed the most tackles of the tournament with 18.

This Lions tour may be coming a season too soon for him.