Former international referee Nigel Owens has picked out five Welsh players he hopes will make the British and Irish Lions touring squad.<\/b><\/p>\n
Andy Farrell will announce his squad on Thursday, May 8, with many predicting that there will be very few Wales players featuring in the touring party.<\/p>\n
Owens<\/a> admits that \u2018we all braced for there to be very few Wales<\/a> players\u2019 to make the squad, given the poor run of results at the international level.<\/p>\n \u201cHead and shoulders above everybody in Wales\u201d<\/p>\n However, the former match official has pinpointed four players that he hopes will be named by Farrell and another one that he\u2019d be shocked if he didn\u2019t get the call.<\/p>\n \u201cJac Morgan is a Lion<\/a>, as far as I\u2019m concerned,\u201d Owens wrote in his WalesOnline<\/a> column.<\/p>\n \u201cThe back row is one area where Farrell has got an abundance of choice, but Morgan has been head and shoulders above everybody in a Wales jersey for some time now. He\u2019s a wonderful player and person and I\u2019d be very, very surprised \u2013 shocked even \u2013 if he\u2019s not on the tour.\u201d<\/p>\n While Owens would be surprised not to see Morgan\u2019s name featuring on the list, he is hopeful about another four joining him on the plane Down Under.<\/p>\n \u201cI think Tomos Williams would have been a shoo-in previously, given how he\u2019s played for Gloucester this season and how he performed for Wales during the autumn internationals,\u201d he continued.<\/p>\n \u201cBut during the Six Nations, he certainly wasn\u2019t in the same form as he was in the autumn, he was a bit below par \u2013 and that may well influence Farrell\u2019s final decision.<\/p>\n \u201cI think, previously, Dewi Lake would have definitely been a Lion but a lack of game-time for Wales may have affected him. He\u2019s certainly a great player who is back on form now for the Ospreys, and if he hadn\u2019t had the injuries he\u2019s had this year, he would be on this tour without a shadow of a doubt, in a very competitive position as well. Whether he has played enough to get Farrell\u2019s vote, however, remains to be seen.\u201d<\/p>\n Clive Woodward names just TWO Wales players in his preferred British and Irish Lions tour squad<\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n \u2018Massive leader\u2019 Finn Russell \u2018desperate\u2019 to clinch British and Irish Lions spot in final audition with Bath<\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n