Rugby Union Six Nations: 8 Players Who Should Make 2013 Lions Squad
Wales The 2012 Grand-Slam Champions entered this tournament in a pretty sorry state of affairs. Since winning the Six Nations last year they had only won a single game and were on a seven game losing streak. To be fair, out of the seven games they could have won at least three of them but threw them away in the last minutes. Signs were not good against Ireland in their opening game of this years Six Nations as they trailed 3-30 at one point but battled well to make the end 22-30. A win against France in Paris last week should give the Welsh team some of the confidence that they have been missing. 
Is there any other player that shows so much courage in the face of adversity? Halfpenny is not a big player he seems to get smashed around every game but gets straight back up, corrects his head gear and to smashes over kicks from the half-way line. Other times he'll literally put his body on the line to stop the opposition scoring as he did against England in last year's Six Nations Championship. He may have started his Welsh career on the Wing but he quickly adapted to a new role at Full-Back just prior to the 2011 Rugby World Cup. Since then he has been one of Wales' most important and inspirational players. He was unlucky to miss what would have been a winning kick against France in the Semi-Final of the World Cup, yet has made up for this by becoming Wales' primary goal-kicker. Halfpenny was the leading scorer in the 2012 Six Nations Championship scoring half of Wales' points and he is currently third in the standings of the 2013 Championship. I read a stat just before the France-Wales game that Halfpenny had won only 1 out of his last fifteen games for both club and country. However, I'm fairly sure he would have put Man of the Match performances into each of these games. There will be stiff competition at Full-Back but Halfpenny was selected to go on the 2009 Lions so it seems certain that he will go again. 
Ryan Jones' is truly the comeback captain: he's contributed to three Grand Slams in 2005, 2008 and 2012 and was one of the stand-out players during the 2005 Lions campaign. However, he was left out of the 2009 Lions and quickly lost both the captaincy of Wales and his home region of the Ospreys. Fast-forward four years and he has not only played himself back into contention for Wales selection but he has also regained the captaincy from injury stricken Sam Warburton. Jones seems to have found some great form as of late and seems to have adapted his game to suit his loss of pace over the years. He is probably more physical than ever is always an influential figure on and off the pitch. He is also extremely popular with the Welsh squad and more importantly with the Welsh public. Whilst he was lost in the wilderness a couple of years ago, Ryan would always get large cheers if he came on as a substitute. Jones is a different player compared with the others on this list: he is vastly more experienced and probably only has a couple of years left in him but it would be a mistake not to take him on tour as he is currently at the peak of his career. So that is it until the next round of games this weekend... Another 4 possible players will be selected in during the next week or so.
Leigh Halfpenny (Wing/Fullback)
Is there any other player that shows so much courage in the face of adversity? Halfpenny is not a big player he seems to get smashed around every game but gets straight back up, corrects his head gear and to smashes over kicks from the half-way line. Other times he'll literally put his body on the line to stop the opposition scoring as he did against England in last year's Six Nations Championship. He may have started his Welsh career on the Wing but he quickly adapted to a new role at Full-Back just prior to the 2011 Rugby World Cup. Since then he has been one of Wales' most important and inspirational players. He was unlucky to miss what would have been a winning kick against France in the Semi-Final of the World Cup, yet has made up for this by becoming Wales' primary goal-kicker. Halfpenny was the leading scorer in the 2012 Six Nations Championship scoring half of Wales' points and he is currently third in the standings of the 2013 Championship. I read a stat just before the France-Wales game that Halfpenny had won only 1 out of his last fifteen games for both club and country. However, I'm fairly sure he would have put Man of the Match performances into each of these games. There will be stiff competition at Full-Back but Halfpenny was selected to go on the 2009 Lions so it seems certain that he will go again. Ryan Jones (Back Row)
Ryan Jones' is truly the comeback captain: he's contributed to three Grand Slams in 2005, 2008 and 2012 and was one of the stand-out players during the 2005 Lions campaign. However, he was left out of the 2009 Lions and quickly lost both the captaincy of Wales and his home region of the Ospreys. Fast-forward four years and he has not only played himself back into contention for Wales selection but he has also regained the captaincy from injury stricken Sam Warburton. Jones seems to have found some great form as of late and seems to have adapted his game to suit his loss of pace over the years. He is probably more physical than ever is always an influential figure on and off the pitch. He is also extremely popular with the Welsh squad and more importantly with the Welsh public. Whilst he was lost in the wilderness a couple of years ago, Ryan would always get large cheers if he came on as a substitute. Jones is a different player compared with the others on this list: he is vastly more experienced and probably only has a couple of years left in him but it would be a mistake not to take him on tour as he is currently at the peak of his career. So that is it until the next round of games this weekend... Another 4 possible players will be selected in during the next week or so.