British & Irish Lions squad announcement LIVE! Latest news, stream, reaction and updates as picks revealed

Jonathan Davies

Perhaps the biggest name to have been left out by Gatland. He has started all six of the Lions’ most recent Test matches and was named player of the series by his team-mates after touring New Zealand in 2017.

Jonathan Sexton

Injuries and fitness have probably impacted the fly-half’s chances, but given his experience his absence is still a shock. A veteran of two Lions’ tours, and captain of Ireland, Sexton would have thought he could still make the plane to South Africa.

Jonny May

The wing’s form has dropped off a bit this year, but his absence will still come as a shock to many. He has a brilliant try-scoring record for England and is one of the best finishers around. Unlucky to miss out.

Manu Tuilagi

The centre has been out injured since September, so perhaps that is the main reason why he misses out. Nonetheless, it is a big call to omit Tuilagi given his pedigree and power. No other centre in the Lions squad offers what he does.

Billy Vunipola

The No8’s wait to go on a Lions tour goes on. He was named in the squad for the 2017 tour, but had to pull out due to injury. This time, Vunipola has been overlooked in favour of Jack Conan and Sam Simmonds.

James Ryan

Just over a year ago the second row would have been in nearly everyone’s squad. He has, however, been overlooked by Gatland and that has caught many off guard. At 24, he has already captained Ireland and some thought he could even start in South Africa.

Jonny Gray

Part of the Exeter Chiefs side who conquered Europe and the Premiership. Given his size and power he looked likely to go to South Africa, but has missed the cut. Only playing two games during the Six Nations won’t have helped.

Josh Navidi

The flanker will be gutted to have missed out after helping Wales win the Six Nations earlier this year. He broke into the Wales team back in 2017 and has never looked back since. A good Six Nations this year hasn’t proved enough, though.

Kyle Sinckler

Another huge shock and one that no one really saw coming. The prop has been one of England’s best players for a number of years, particularly at the 2019 World Cup in Japan, but he won’t be travelling to South Africa this summer.

Sam Underhill

The flanker is another surprise absentee, with fitness probably ultimately proving his downfall. Underhill missed the whole of the Six Nations with a hip issue so hasn’t played for his country since the back end of last year. The 24-year-old, though, would have hoped to have had enough credit in the bank.

Warren Gatland has been talking about the wait he had when Alun Wyn Jones missed his call to discuss the captaincy on Sunday.

“I did panic for a few hours before he rang me back. It was a great conversation,” he said.

“There was a little bit of apprehension realising the responsibility but he’s done a great job for Wales the last few years. It’s a great honour to be tour captain but you’ve got to play well as well.”

“It’s not going to be easy,” he said of the challenge of taking on the world champions.

“It’s probably using the experience from the last tour. Back in 2009 we played pretty well in the lead-up but the physicality they brought to the first Test was something we weren’t quite ready for.

“We came away thinking we’d done a pretty good job, restored some respect back into the jersey. But we were disappointed, we felt we could have drawn or even won.

“We’re going back to South Africa with the ultimate goal of continuing what we’ve built on and building the Lions brand. It’s unique, it’s incredibly special.”

“Particularly looking at our loose forwards, and the attrition, getting an extra number there is a bit of a back-up. We wanted to keep the numbers down but a 37-man squad was something we looked at yesterday.”

“To those players that have been selected, congratulations. I know it’s going to be challenging for a number of aspects. I just hope firstly that they thoroughly enjoy the tour and represent their four home nations the best they possibly can.”

Jamie George is giving his reaction at the moment and says what we’ve all been thinking: “The coverage was dragging on a bit!”

If you were getting tetchy, imagine being a player waiting for the nod.

There’s a really even split among the four nations in that squad. England lead the way with 11 players - though one of them, Sam Simmonds, hasn’t been involved in the set-up at all in recent years - then come Wales, the Six Nations champions, with ten.

Ireland and Scotland have eight apiece - the latter a massive improvement from just two in the initial squad four years ago.