Nine bolters with a shot of making the Lions squad

Bolter: Noun, Australian informal – an outsider in a contest or race.

Perhaps it was a term picked up on a previous tour down under. For whatever reason, in the northern hemisphere at least, the concept of a bolter has become synonymous with Lions squad selection.

It refers to the inexperienced, overlooked and out of favour. Players propelled from leftfield to centre stage and on to the plane with the best of Britain and Ireland.

Back row Sam Simmonds, who had not been chosen for England in three years, was that pick when the Lions toured South Africa in 2021.

Some bolters have blossomed into Lions greats.

Jeremy Guscott and Martin Johnson had each made just one appearance for England before playing for the Lions. Jason Robinson was still learning the game after switching from rugby league.

Other gambles have not paid such dividends.

“I’d pick Owen Farrell. Who do you want in there when the going gets tough? Test-match animals.”

Back in October when he was asked by the Times who should start at fly-half for the first Test against the Wallabies, Johnny Sexton was retired from playing, working for a glass company and publicising his autobiography.

Now, intriguingly, Sexton has been signed up as a coach for the tour.

The fallout would be substantial, but head coach Andy Farrell might judge selecting his son worth it.

With little Lions Test experience among other potential 10s, three-time tourist Farrell brings an accountability and intensity few can match.

Even as a 21-year-old tour rookie in Australia in 2013, his communication and leadership were picked out as an example to the rest of the squad by captain Alun Wyn Jones.

Farrell has endured a difficult, injury-interrupted season with French club Racing 92, though he and his team have come into some welcome form recently, winning five out of seven matches since the former Saracen’s comeback from a groin problem in March.

After a wretched run of 17 successive Test defeats and with no Welsh voice among Andy Farrell’s support staff, representation from The Dragons could be at an all-time low.

Wales have never supplied fewer than five players for a Lions squad. If they are to get up towards that figure again, then Blair Murray could be on the plane.

The Lions do not have huge depth at full-back.

Ireland’s Hugo Keenan will likely tour, but Scotland’s first-choice 15 Blair Kinghorn suffered a knee knock recently and would be a late arrival on tour with Toulouse destined for Top 14 play-offs.

England have shuffled between George Furbank, Freddie Steward and Marcus Smith over the past year.

Debuts do not come much more imposing than away and at altitude against the world champion Springboks. Add playing in a position you have not started a game in for nearly two years and you understand the extent of Jamie Osborne’s Test baptism.

However, the 23-year-old scored a try, kept his place and was part of a team that shared the series spoils in South Africa.

Osborne is a slight but rangy runner, with deft hands, aerial ability, a kicking game and an understanding with the Leinster and Ireland team-mates who will make up a large touring contingent.

The clincher though could be his versatility.

Another with the ability to fill a few backline vacancies.

Jordan was playing semi-professional rugby with Ayrshire Bulls until 2021 and only made his Scotland debut in November.

He has seized the chance opened up by an injury to Sione Tuipulotu though, and was integral to Scotland’s sharp backline in the Six Nations, with clever support lines, a step and a good offloading game.

With England’s Ollie Lawrence out through injury – one of the favourites for a midfield role in Australia – Jordan could benefit from another’s misfortune once again.

Can a bolter come with 99 Test caps already to their name?

George Ford has slipped down the England fly-half pecking order, with first Marcus Smith and then Fin Smith steering the ship.

But Ford has been in dazzling club form for Sale, playing close to the line and easing open holes for himself or runners. His one cameo in the Six Nations – a 25-minute replacement appearance against Wales – featured more sublime touches.

He has never toured with the Lions and, at 32, is unlikely to if he misses out this time.

Cummings’ injury absence attracted fewer headlines than the loss of captain Tuipulotu, but arguably was just as damaging to Scotland’s Six Nations campaign given his front-five heft and nous.

The 28-year-old second row is only just back from his broken arm, making an appearance off the bench in Glasgow’s loss to the Bulls in the United Rugby Championship (URC).

The mid-Six Nations bounce that stand-in coach Matt Sherratt coaxed out of Wales included drafting in an all-new front row.

Nicky Smith was one of those promoted and his scrummaging provided a platform for a vastly improved showing against Ireland.

Signed by Leicester last summer, he has also been key to Tigers’ push towards the Premiership play-offs under Michael Cheika.

With Ellis Genge and Andrew Porter expected to fill two of three loose-head spots, he would likely have to edge out Scotland’s Pierre Schoeman to get a squad slot.

Could the Northampton flanker’s soaraway season finish on Lions duty?

There has been no sign of opposition taming the 20-year-old’s dynamism and energy in his breakthrough campaign.

An Under-20 World Cup winner with England last summer, he has become a mainstay in Saints’ back row, offering a turnover threat at the breakdown and massive metre-making in the loose.

He scored two tries as he made his England debut off the bench in the Six Nations and another in a hugely impressive victory over Leinster in the Champions Cup semi-final on Saturday.

Back row is fiercely competitive as ever, with exiled Englishman Jack Willis, playing at French side Toulouse, also in contention.

Appointed Toulon co-captain after just a year in France, David Ribbans has acclimatised fast to life in the Top 14.

There is even a banner at Stade Mayol, with his face, a St George’s cross and the slogan ‘God Save Ribbans’.

The 29-year-old second row, who won 11 England caps before moving to France, has been in fantastic form, leading with physicality.