Rugby Union Six Nations: 8 Players Who Should Make 2013 Lions Squad

Ireland Ireland hashad a fairly mixed Six Nations so far. They were extremely clinical against Wales but could have easily lost the game in the second half. They were also rather dire against England a week later. They are going to be presented with some injury problems as the tournament goes on as newly found star Simon Zebo and reliable kicker Johnny Sexton are already missing the majority of the tournament.

Rory Best (Hooker)

This 30-year-old Hooker was very unlucky to miss out on the 2009 Lions to South Africa. At the time, Ireland had another Hooker, Jerry Flannery who was leading the way and managed to secure himself a place on the tour. Whilst Flannery was away, Best captained Ireland on a Summer tour to North America and quickly proved himself as the better player as Flannery was prone to injuries or indiscipline. Best is not only a good leader but he is also an outstanding player. He is a good in scrums and has an accurate throw during line-outs but his true skill comes from open play. Best is deceptively quick and can easy draw in defenders as well as backs can. He is quite often seen joining the attacking line to try and work an overlap for Ireland. He was pivotal to Ireland's second try against Wales in the Six Nations as he charged down and gathered Dan Biggar's attempt at a clearance kick. At the moment his main competition comes from Ross Ford of Scotland but I'm pretty sure that Best will be going to the Lions as he is currently the best Hooker of the Home Nations.

Johnny Sexton (Fly-half)

It seems unlikely that Sexton will play much more of this Six Nations due to the injury he picked up against England, but he already proven himself to be a viable option at Fly-Half. He has finally taken the shirt away from Ronan O'Gara (thank god...) and his beginning to establish himself as a world-class player. Sexton is what Ireland are all about; he is fairly ordinary and not very exciting but the job gets done and he does it well. Ireland is the type of team that are scarily clinical if you give them a chance and sometimes this is reflected with Sexton's play. If the team around him plays well he'll have a good game but if they don't then he'll suffer the same problems as O'Gara did. The difference is that Sexton hasn't yet become a defensive liability like O'Gara has over the past few years. Sexton is a good player as long as the team around him functions well. The problem Gatland has is that there is not really an experienced Fly-Half that is consistent within the Home Nations at the moment. It is between Farrell and Sexton to make a claim for the shirt and prove themselves as consistent players. http://youtu.be/-IU2tpBfM9c