Lions squad verdict: the backs

Leigh Halfpenny

The best full back in the northern hemisphere, the outstanding player of the Six Nations, safer than houses under the high ball and a deadly accurate goalkicker

Stuart Hogg

A superb talent – he is only 20 – with pace to burn, as his Six Nations try against Italy proved. Will be an exciting part of the Lions midweek team

Rob Kearney

Once the best Six Nations full back, he has watched Halfpenny consolidate his own claim to that crown. But Kearney is still too much of a safe pair of hands to leave behind

Tommy Bowe

Injury kept Ireland’s top winger out of the Six Nations, but if he could prove his fitness, he would always be the most likely player to break up a possible Welsh back three

Alex Cuthbert

His Six Nations form wasn’t always up there with that of a world beater, but his finishing against Italy – and, of course, the double against England – mean it would be hard for Warren Gatland to leave him out of the starting XV, let alone the squad

Sean Maitland

One of the surprises in the squad, most people (including me) would have expected/preferred to have seen Tim Visser on the plane than the New Zealand-born winger, who has only played five games for Scotland

George North

After a quiet (for him) Six Nations, the beast could have grabbed the headlines from Cuthbert in Wales’s 30-3 tournament-winning triumph over England, had it not been for a Mike Brown tap tackle. But we all know what he is capable of – as shown by his vital try against France in Paris

Jonathan Davies

One of Wales’s quieter backs, his place on the tour was not guaranteed, but he has proved he is solid enough, especially in defence, to make him hard to omit

Brian O’Driscoll

The Irish talisman seemed to get increasingly tired over the course of the Six Nations, and his stupid sin binning against Italy could have cost his team that game. Still, if Gatland had left him out he’d have had the whole of Ireland on his back

Jamie Roberts

Dr Roberts dominated Manu Tuilagi in the Six Nations showdown in Cardiff and is still one of the most feared and physical centres in the world, even if he has not quite replicated the form which got him on to the Lions tour in 2009

Manu Tuilagi

Yes, he butchered two try-scoring opportunities against Wales, and his try against France was definitely offside. But Tuilagi is a sensational, ridiculous runner and was an absolute definite for the tour

Owen Farrell

You wonder if he was only picked after Jonny Wilkinson – who bossed Farrell in Toulon’s win over Saracens in the Heineken Cup semi-final on Sunday – turned down a place, but the youngster is solid and composed beyond his years

Jonathan Sexton

Another Irishman whose Six Nations was scuppered by injury, Sexton is, in my view, the second best outside half in Europe after Jonny Wilkinson

Conor Murray

The Munster man, tall for a scrum half, is a very different player from his predecessor for club and country Peter Stringer – which automatically endears him to me

Mike Phillips

I have not always been a fan of Phillips, who is often ponderous and wastes momentum by invariably taking a couple of steps before passing the ball. But his performance against England was one of the best of his career, and he is capable of moments of magic – like his try against Ireland in the 2011 World Cup (see three minutes and eight seconds in)

Ben Youngs

Small, quick, an instant passer (unlike Phillips) and a much more dynamic player than compatriot Danny Care – no doubt Youngs deserves to be the third scrum half on the tour