British and Irish Lions standby list: 30 players who should keep their phone close for an Andy Farrell call

Injuries are a sad reality of professional sport, and the British & Irish Lions are no exception.

We have already seen Caelan Doris being ruled out through injury, and the Irishman was a frontrunner to lead the famous touring tea

While most of the current squad are fit and firing barring the odd niggle or two, head coach Andy Farrell is bound to lose a few squad members along the way.

The matches that lie ahead for those selected are set to be gruelling affairs with clubs battling it out for places in the play-offs of their respective leagues before the knockout matches themselves.

Those fixtures are the closest to Test match intensity before the British and Irish Lions squad link up.

With this in mind, we take a look at the players who should be keeping their phones on loud so as not to miss a call from the Lions boss.

British and Irish Lions standby list

Outside backs

There is quite a fair amount of full-back cover in the squad in the form of out-and-out number 15s in Hugo Keenan and Blair Kinghorn plus the versatility Mack Hansen, Elliot Daly and Marcus Smith can offer.

So in the event that a full-back does go down, Farrell may well opt to fill their void with another versatile option or a winger who was unlucky not to make the squad.

This brings us to the first name being Scottish flyer Darcy Graham, who was incredibly unfortunate not to have his name read out by Ieuan Evans.

Graham has been in red-hot form for club and country when fit and enjoyed a particularly outstanding Six Nations campaign.

Versatility is crucial in the squad, and if Farrell wishes to get another player who can slot into more than one position, then Wales’ Blair Murray could be a great shout with his ability to also play at full-back and wing.

England’s George Furbank falls into a similar category as he could dovetail as a fly-half perhaps in a mid-week game, but those requirements are already met by Smith and Kinghorn, which may hurt his chances.

Uncapped Leinster winger Jimmy O’Brien is another wild shout and would be a second bolter but frankly, his form with the Irish club warrants consideration at the very least.