Injured O’Leary was Lions contender

Tomás O’Leary was a contender for the Lions tour to Australia before he suffered a season-ending back injury, according to his boss at London Irish, Brian Smith.

The former Munster scrum-half has been ruled out for up to six months after undergoing surgery to resolve a disc problem in his lower back that has seen him sidelined since late October.

And Smith believes the 29-year-old, who moved to London Irish this summer, was playing well enough to earn a recall to the Ireland side and claim a place in the Lions squad.