Sam Warburton names two Welshmen the Lions coaches need to 'check on'

Sam Warburton has named two Welshmen he believes British and Irish Lions coach Andy Farrell should be checking on in the coming months.

The Lions tour Australia next summer, with Farrell's squad expected to be largely made up of his Ireland stars - given their performances in recent years.

Wales, on the other end of the spectrum, are currently sitting outside of the world's top 10 after nine straight defeats at Test level, with few tipping many Welsh players to tour.

It's a far cry from other recent tours, when the Welsh contingent was fairly strong under Warren Gatland. Warburton, who captained the Lions on two tours in 2013 and 2017, knows exactly how quickly favour can turn in a Lions year.

In his Times column, he noted how his wife Rachel had recently remarked that the seasons prior to his two Lions tours were the most stressed she had ever seen the former Wales openside.

In 2013, Warburton had been fearing for his place on the tour amid an eight-game losing streak at Test level with Wales. However, under Rob Howley, Wales turned their fortunes around to end up winning the Six Nations with a 30-3 win over England in Cardiff.

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15 Welshmen ended up touring Australia that summer, with Warburton - who had given up the Wales captaincy during the Six Nations to focus on his performances - picked by Gatland to lead down under after strong outings against Scotland and England.

As such, the 74-cap international will know that Welsh players - regardless of results so far in 2024 - won't be too far away from changing their selection fortunes if they can make winning a habit between now and next summer.

And while Warburton admits the Six Nations next year will be of more importance to the coaches when picking their squad, he did add that impressing this autumn against southern hemisphere giants would do players no harm as he picked out two Welsh players to keep an eye on.

"Another player they might want to check on is Bath’s Wales prop Archie Griffin," wrote Warburton. "He has not had much game time this season because of illness but I really liked what I saw of him last summer, and I have also liked what I have seen of another Welshman, the scrum half Tomos Williams, for Gloucester in the Gallagher Premiership.

"I know that Jamison Gibson-Park has been running the Irish show so brilliantly for a long time, and he will be there or thereabouts, along with England’s Alex Mitchell, but Williams has been arguably the Premiership’s best player this season.

"He’s been so influential. I bet Gloucester cannot believe how good a signing they’ve got."