Lions Match 1 - Who's available?

When the fixture list was announced at the start of the season Warren Gatland would have been aware that a number of players he would be taking on the Lions tour wouldn't be available for selection in the first game - against the Provincial Select XV. Due to the fact the PRO12 and Aviva Premiership finals are to be played exactly one week before, players still representing their clubs will not have had enough time in camp to get up to speed with the Lions' tactics, let alone have recovered from the game or the jet-lag from flying halfway around the world.

With that in mind, Gatland is likely to use the easiest game of the tour as a chance to test some player combinations, give some players low on game time a run-out, and allow the squad to get up to speed with playing together. After the events of last weekend, the coaching staff will have a rictus grin having witnessed Leinster and Saracens lose their semi-finals, with ten players becoming available which they would have been expecting to be without. Taking all of this into account, what is the sort of team that Gatland is likely to field as the 2017 Lions tour get's underway?

Cross-Kick Chaos

Ahead of the first test on June 24th, you can guarantee that the Lions coaches and analysts will have poured over every last detail of the All Blacks gameplay since the World Cup, and a fair amount before then too. However, there is one play, one weapon, one devastating skill the Kiwi's seem to have that is making a mockery of all attempts to stop it. The cross-kick or kick pass has proven to be lethal in this season's Super Rugby, especially at the hands of All Blacks king-in Beauden Barrett. Just take a glance at the compilation video put together by the All Blacks Youtube Channel below: