BACK ROW
TEST XV (BLINDSIDE FLANKER): Tom Curry (England & Sale Sharks)
TEST XV (OPENSIDE FLANKER): Henry Pollock (England & Northampton Saints)
TEST XV (NUMBER EIGHT): Caelan Doris (Ireland & Leinster)
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TEST SUB: Ben Earl (England & Saracens)
MID WEEK: Jac Morgan (Wales & Ospreys)
MID WEEK: Rory Darge (Scotland & Glasgow Warriors)
Moving on to the back row, the immediate stand-out upon the Test starting XV is Henry Pollock. The 20-year-old emerged like a bolt from the blue this past season, and despite only having 20-minutes of Test experience under his England belt, Lions head coach Andy Farrell could not ignore his incredible efforts for Northampton Saints. Pollock is our pick to start on the flank in 2029, alongside his England teammate Tom Curry, who has had a real career resurgence in the six jersey.
After missing out on this year’s Lions tour with an untimely injury, Ireland back row Caelan Doris would want to make up for lost time upon his 2029 Lions call-up. Doris was one of a handful of names predicted to captain the Lions, that’s how much of a sure-fire pick the Leinster man was for a place on the plane to Australia. However, a gut-punching shoulder injury in Leinster’s Champions Cup semi-final defeat to Northampton ended his run to the red jersey. Doris will be 31-years-old come 2029, with retribution on his mind all the way from Dublin to Dunedin.
Holding down the number 20 jersey within our Test match squad is Ben Earl, with his versatility across six, seven and eight being the decisive factor ahead of Wales captain Jac Morgan. Earl has had an underwhelming tour thus far down in Australia, having not brought the usual fire and intensity that has made him one of the first names on Steve Borthwick’s team-sheet. Earl would be 31-years-old come 2029, with a wiser approach to his furosity expected as he hits his third decade.
Jac Morgan and Rory Darge were tremendous in their captaincy for Wales and Scotland throughout the 2025 Six Nations, with an added four years of experience set to only elevate their status within the Home Nations pecking order. Darge was unlucky to miss out on the tour, whilst Morgan has excelled in the chances he’s been awarded out in Australia. The Welshman is knocking on the door for a Test involvement this Summer, and could well be back in the mix some four years later in New Zealand.
SCRUM HALVES
TEST XV: Ben White (Scotland & RC Toulon)
TEST SUB: Alex Mitchell (England & Northampton Saints)
MID WEEK: Kieran Hardy (Wales & Ospreys)
Our picks for the 2029 Lions scrum halves sees two returning halfbacks embark upon their second tour, with a fresh face taking the reins throughout the mid-week fixtures. After initially missing out on a place upon the squad, Scotland’s Ben White got his call-up following the unfortunate injury to Wales and Gloucester man Tomos Williams. White was preparing to lead Gregor Townsend’s side upon Scotland’s tour of the Pacific Islands, yet was swept away to bolster the squad, that many believe he should have already have been a figurehead in.
There is plenty of speculation that White could make a late push to be the Lions’ Test starter in the nine jersey this Summer, and bring the Scottish play-making axis with Finn Russell to the Wallabies defence. The door would be back open for White in 2029, as both Jamison Gibson-Park and Tomos Williams would be well into their mid-30s, allowing the Scotsman and Alex Mitchell to battle for the nine jersey. Mitchell has showcased the England-Northampton telepathy with Fin Smith in the red of the Lions, yet the East Midlands brotherhood has struggled to shine just yet out in Australia.
Mitchell would certainly be a front-runner in 2029 to be the first choice Test scrum half for the Lions, with a tug-of-war set to dominate the halfback rankings between him and his Scottish counterpart. We’ve picked Welshman Kieran Hardy to round off the scrum halves, in a supporting role to Mitchell and White. There is an honourable mention to Jack van Poortvliet, yet Hardy’s added experience could well be paramount upon the tour of New Zealand.
FLY HALVES
TEST XV: Fin Smith (England & Northampton Saints)
TEST SUB: Marcus Smith (England & Harlequins)
MID WEEK: Jack Crowley (Ireland & Munster)
TRAINING SQUAD: Sam Prendergast (Ireland & Leinster)
Picking the British & Irish Lions fly half is a tough decision for this week, never mind a prediction some four years into the future. With Owen Farrell now in the mix for the tourists, the experienced Saracen is jostling up against Finn Russell, Marcus Smith and Fin Smith to be the starting 10 for the series against Australia. The 10 jersey always produces an array of selection headaches, and it looks to cause the same amount of issues some four years into the future.
We’ve selected two English and two Irish players to pad out the fly half ranks, with no place upon the future tour for near-misses Sam Costelow of Wales and Scotland’s Fergus Burke. Having earned his stripes upon a maiden Lions tour this Summer, we predict England’s calm-headed fly half Fin Smith to take the lead upon the 2029 tour of New Zealand. The Northampton Saints man has proven himself to be a reliable match winner and a thoughtful conductor of the back-line, making him the most pragmatic choice for the 10 jersey in four years from now.
We expect Marcus Smith to once again be on the plane down to the Southern Hemisphere, in what would be the third tour for the England and Harlequins maestro. With the x-factor ability of making something out of nothing and bringing an electric flash of mesmeric attacking play to the Lions back-line, Smith can’t be overlooked, even if it makes the fly half pool all the more convoluted. Capable at both 10 and in the 15 jersey, Smith would likely join the tour as a fly half, but could well be deployed in the back-field like we have already seen out in Australia.
Then onto the Irish contingency, with Munster man Jack Crowley and Leinster’s Sam Prendergast set to battle it out as the mid-week squad’s starting fly half. These two men are set to share a career in direct competition, having emerged as the front-runners to the Irish 10 jersey following the retirement of Johnny Sexton.
However, with Finn Russell and Owen Farrell still knocking about upon the Test match stage, neither Crowley or Prendergast made their way over to Australia. With international retirements inbound for two of the all-time great fly halves, 2029 could be the year for a new era of fly halves.