FILE PHOTO: Rugby Union - Six Nations Championship - Ireland v England - Aviva Stadium, Dublin, Ireland - March 20, 2021 Ireland's Johnny Sexton during the warm up before the match Pool via REUTERS/Niall Carson
LONDON (Reuters) -Exeter's Sam Simmonds, overlooked by England for three years, was the most eye-catching selection in Thursday’s British and Irish Lions squad as Warren Gatland chose the try-scoring Number Eight ahead of Billy Vunipola for the tour of South Africa.
Following a final, four-hour selection meeting on Wednesday, Gatland extended his squad by one to 37, but there was still no room for Ireland’s injury-hit Johnny Sexton as Owen Farrell, Dan Biggar and Finn Russell will battle for the flyhalf shirt.
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