Donal Lenihan: Farrell may lean on familiar faces but will pick best Lions squad to win series

The tourists' boss will reveal his hand on Thursday in London.

MANE MAN: British and Irish Lions head coach Andy Farrell in attendance during the EPCR Challenge Cup quarter-final match between Connacht and Racing 92 at Dexcom Stadium in Galway. Pic: Thomas Flinkow/Sportsfile

It’s been a pretty horrific few weeks for the Irish provinces. Leinster’s shock defeat to Northampton in last Saturday’s Champions Cup semi-final marking the latest in a run of catastrophic failures at the closing stage of that tournament.

Couple that with the fact that Connacht and at least one from Munster and Ulster, possibly even all three, might not even make the cut for Champions Cup rugby next season despite the fact that it’s chronically overloaded with 24 teams.