Lions Coach Ian McGeechan has named his 37 strong squad to tour South Africa for the series this summer. Captained by Paul O’Connell the squad is made up of 14 Irishmen, 13 Welshmen, 8 English players and 2 Scots and includes Ulster’s Stephen Ferris.

There were call ups for youngsters Luke Fitzgerald and Cardiff’s Leigh Halfpenny, whose performance for Cardiff against Gloucester in the EDF Final will have done his chances no harm, as well as Munster’s Keith Earls, but no place for Welsh Captain Ryan Jones or his team mate James Hook. England Captain Steve Borthwick, as well as Danny Cipriani, Toby Flood and Scottish scrum-half Mike Blair, touted by some journalists last weekend as a potential Captain, also miss out.

The Lions depart on the 24th May and play Test matches in Durban, Pretoria and Johannesburg.

Tour fixtures:
30 May: Highveld XV; Royal Bafokeng, Rustenburg
3 June: Golden Lions; Ellis Park, Johannesburg
6 June: Cheetahs; Vodacom Park, Bloemfontein

10 June: Sharks; ABSA Park, Durban
13 June: Western Province; Newlands, Cape Town
16/17 June: Coastal XV; Port Elizabeth (Venue to be confirmed)
20 June: South Africa(first Test) ; ABSA Park, Durban
23 June: Emerging Springboks; Newlands, Cape Town
27 June: South Africa (second Test) ; Loftus Versfeld, Pretoria
4 July: South Africa (third Test) ; Ellis Park, Johannesburg

Backs: Lee Byrne, Rob Kearney, Shane Williams, Leigh Halfpenny, Ugo Monye, Luke Fitzgerald, Tommy Bowe, Tom Shanklin, Jamie Roberts, Brian O'Driscoll, Keith Earls, Riki Flutey, Ronan O'Gara, Stephen Jones, Mike Phillips, Harry Ellis, Tomas O'Leary.

Forwards: Jamie Heaslip, Andy Powell, David Wallace, Stephen Ferris, Alan Quinlan, Joe Worsley, Martyn Williams, Alun Wyn-Jones, Paul O'Connell (capt), Donncha O'Callaghan, Simon Shaw, Nathan Hines, Gethin Jenkins, Adam Jones, Andrew Sheridan, Phil Vickery, Euan Murray, Jerry Flannery, Lee Mears, Matthew Rees