Deans surprised at Best’s exclusion

Australia coach Robbie Deans has expressed surprise at Rory Best’s exclusion from the British & Irish Lions squad travelling Down Under next month.

Despite an indifferent Six Nations with Ireland, Ulster hooker Best was expected to be among the 37 names when Lions head coach Warren Gatland announced his party for the 10-game tour, which begins in Hong Kong against the Barbarians on June 1 and culminates with a three-Test series against fellow New Zealander Deans’s Wallabies between June 22 and July 6.

In addition to Wales’s Richard Hibbard and England’s Tom Youngs, Gatland chose England’s Dylan Hartley ahead of Best, raising some eyebrows in Australia.