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Andy Farrell’s player selection for the British and Irish Lions’ tour to Australia was another brutal reminder of Wales’ fall from grace.

With Wales on a 17-game losing run, only two players – flanker Jac Morgan and scrum-half Tomos Williams – earned spots in the 38-strong squad.

Former Scarlets and Clermont Auvergne centre Davies believes Morgan and Williams “will go out and give a great account of themselves and fly the flag for Welsh rugby”.

He added: “It looks a strong squad and there is a lot of time spent deliberating over who goes, and they feel that they’ve got a good mix to go out and win a Test series

“I think Maro Itoje is a great leader, he’s gained a huge amount of maturity over the last 12 months and the way he has led England has been extremely impressive and inevitably his form has been great, and you’d think he’s a guaranteed starter for that Test team. It’s great for him.

“You can tell how good Andy Farrell is with what he’s done with Ireland, the Lions tours that he’s been involved in. I’ve loved working with him and I’m sure he’ll make sure everything is done to the best of his ability to make sure the team is best prepared to go out there and win the Test series.

“I think it will be a lot tougher than people expect. The hardest thing with the Lions tour is that you have four nations coming together and then in six weeks you’re playing one of the best teams in the world, that is the hardest part of it.

“But with the experience that they have in the coaching set-up and players, I’m sure they’ll be able to get on the same page very quickly.

Alex Cuthbert, a 2013 series winner in Australia, believes Morgan and Williams’ “performances probably deserve their call-up”.

He added: “I’m gutted there’s not a couple more Welsh influences in the squad, but Andy Farrell has obviously decided to go for familiarity and people he can rely on, which is the massive Irish influx in the squad.

“But I’m extremely excited for the two Welsh lads that got selected and hopefully they’ll get the job done.

“Farrell has gone with a lot of Irish lads who have done the job away from home against New Zealand, and it’s going to be no easy task over in Australia.”

Cuthbert is also “pretty confident” Farrell’s Lions can repeat the 2013 success he and his team-mates enjoyed.

“The players named are all top players from their representative countries, the style of play you can pretty much say is going to be the way Ireland play and they’ve done a job on Australia a number of times, but away from home it’s going to be tough,” he said.

Cuthbert says Morgan is “a very clever rugby player, world class in what he offers around the field”.

“It’s not just at the breakdown, but his leadership with Wales and Ospreys, his carrying, his defensive ability which we saw in the Six Nations,” Cuthbert said.

“He’s going to be in a team that are on the front foot, playing attack-minded rugby which I think is really going to suit him.

Richard Hibbard, who played in all three 2013 Tests against the Wallabies said: “I was hoping for a few more [Welsh selections], but unfortunately it’s currently where we’re at, but it’s a fantastic achievement for those boys, it shows all the hard work they put in in the last season and I’m delighted for everybody that’s been selected.

“Jac Morgan’s always the standout player in every game, he’s carrying a lot of weight on those young shoulders. He thoroughly deserves it, no player in Wales deserves it more than him, especially being captain through this tough period, he’s just held himself so well, it’s phenomenal.”

Hibbard says Farrell is a “fantastic” coach for the players to work under.

“He is one of those coaches you just want to play for, the way he talks, he so passionate. His defence is very simple,” Hibbard said.

“He makes you believe in it as much as he does. He’s one of those coaches you will follow into battle.

“I was sore and I was thinking, ‘Do I need to be here? It’s sore to be here’, but I thought it was time to keep going.”

They say wins are like buses. You wait ages for one….

Even Michael Dunlop’s most ardent supporters – of which there are many – would not have expected him to win two of the opening three races at the 2025 North West 200.

Despite his success at the Isle of Man TT, where he became the rider with the most victories in the road race’s storied history in 2024, his home event had been a more barren affair.

He had not stood on the top step at Northern Ireland’s international road race since 2016.

The fear his winless run on home soil would continue only grew after an accident towards the end of Superstock qualifying on Thursday afternoon.

The 36-year-old had a high side on an out lap exiting the Magherabuoy chicane and, although he returned to the pits to take part in the final two sessions, it was evident to onlookers he wasn’t 100% comfortable.

It was even at the point where Steve Hicken, the team manager of Hawk Racing, said Dunlop might not be able to compete in all three races on Thursday evening.

Even after three laps of the Supersport race, victory didn’t look on the cards.

Leaders Davey Todd and Richard Cooper had knocked metaphorical lumps out of each other, which had kept Dunlop in play in a five-bike battle for the lead.

However, as Cooper looked ready to pull the pin on the fourth and final lap, Dunlop and his new Ducati moved past Todd at Station corner and set after the leader.

He reeled Cooper in and blasted past him on the run to Magherabuoy – the same chicane where he crashed hours earlier. From there, Dunlop didn’t look back.

Even from the media centre at the top end of the paddock you could hear the cheers from the grandstands as Dunlop crossed the line, despite the roar of the other bikes still finishing their own races.

“It’s nice to win in Northern Ireland again at international level,” said Dunlop.

“It was about being in the right place at the right time. I’ve been mugged here before and I got my finger out. The slipstream is beautiful here and I decided it was time to get a push on.”

Dunlop admitted he was wondering in the early laps whether he could fight through the pain to finish the race. But, with the leaders still in sight, he persevered.

“I’ve damaged the shoulder a little bit so I’m struggling to brake full pin.

After that race, Dunlop said he would keep his “head down and keep going”.

He did just that. While it was a last-lap dash for his first win, the following race was a much more controlled performance.

He was aided by Alastair Seeley not being on the grid with a mechanical issue, and contender Peter Hickman skipping a chicane on the opening lap.

Todd looked to have pulled away out front, but Dunlop reeled him in and an issue at University corner saw the 8TEN rider miss his braking on the penultimate lap.

Although Dean Harrison piled on the pressure, he had no answer and Dunlop came home in first place with a couple of seconds in hand.

“I’ve proved tonight I’m still fast. It’s great, I knew it was going to be hard and I knew that race was going to be hot and heavy,” Dunlop added.

“The boys have worked hard to get everything ready, I appreciate it. I haven’t won in a long time and it was a kick in the face, so to win again is another weight off my shoulders.

“I’ve not come here fully fit for a long time, but we’ve overcome it and won two races tonight.”

Twenty-five years after his passing, this year’s North West 200 has been one of celebration of the life and legacy of the legendary Joey Dunlop, who Michael surpassed to claim the Isle of Man TT record last year.

But on Thursday night it was time for Michael, Joey’s nephew, to bask in his success as the sun set on the north coast of Northern Ireland.

Ireland legend Brian O’Driscoll believes the 2025 British and Irish Lions tour to Australia has come too early for Sam Prendergast.

The Leinster fly-half made his Ireland debut against Argentina in November, and was the starter in the 10 jersey for four of the five games in the Six Nations.

The 22-year-old put in a mixed performance in his province’s Champions Cup semi-final loss to Northampton last weekend, however, and Lions coach Andy Farrell has picked Finn Russell, Fin Smith and Marcus Smith as his fly-half options for the three-Test tour this summer.

“From Sam’s point of view, his time will come,” O’Driscoll, a four-time tourist with the Lions, told BBC Sport NI.

“He’s still only a very young guy. He’s still learning his trade and what it takes to kind of boss the team.

From an Irish perspective, the other notable exclusions were centre Robbie Henshaw and back row Caelan Doris with the latter having been touted as a possible captain only to suffer a shoulder injury in the final game before selection.

O’Driscoll said it will take those who will not travel “a while to get over the disappointment”, but described Farrell’s selections as “super solid”.

“I think it looks like a great squad. I don’t think there’s too many outliers,” he added.

“In truth, I don’t think there’s any real shocks but it looks like a squad that’s very capable of winning a series in Australia.”

O’Driscoll was part of two tours to Australia, a 2-1 series defeat in 2001 before victory by the same margin in 2013, although he was famously dropped by Warren Gatland for the deciding Test 12 years ago.

With the Wallabies under the stewardship of his old Ireland coach Joe Schmidt, the former centre believes a win this time around will be a tougher proposition than many have predicted.

Australia had a disastrous World Cup in 2023 under Eddie Jones but have slowly rebuilt under Schmidt, beating England and Wales in November while also running Ireland close.

“We saw their performances, particularly against England and pushing Ireland really hard, in November when they were being written off, so do that at your peril,” O’Driscoll said.

“It’s a different beast playing at home as well, in front of your own home crowd with the expectation and they’re a very proud nation, so all of those factors married together would suggest that Australia will be incredibly competitive and it wouldn’t shock me if it went down to a third Test.