Lions watch: Who impressed in Six Nations round one?

Potential British and Irish Lions volition usage the Six Nations to vie for a spot among the pridefulness of players travelling to Australia successful the summer.

Lions caput manager Andy Farrell was astatine the Aviva Stadium to tally the regularisation implicit Ireland and England's hopefuls.

While Farrell has not said what helium made of the performances, Six Nations Rugby Special pundits Sam Warburton and John Barclay selected their starting XVs based connected the weekend's opening matches.

Here are 5 players nether consideration. Feel escaped to database your ain picks successful the comments conception below.

Warburton, who captained the Lions from flanker connected their 2013 and 2017 tours, knows his back-row onions.

"Trying to constrictive Tom Curry, Rory Darge, Josh van der Flier and Jac Morgan into 2 oregon 3 players - I don't cognize however the manager is going to bash that," helium said arsenic helium considered 1 of Farrell's astir congested areas of contention.

"But Darge is Lions quality."

Darge isn't the biggest backmost row, weighing successful astatine 15st 6lb, but has bulked up his ball-carrying. He barged implicit for Scotland's opening effort against Italy and kept making inroads.

The 24-year-old clocked up astir 28 post-contact metres successful 13 carries, Scotland's third-highest total.

His breakdown enactment has ever been fantabulous and helium won 2 turnovers arsenic Scotland held disconnected Italy's renaissance to win.

Both Barclay and Warburton person him successful the Lions XV they person picked based connected the opening weekend's performances.

After 50 minutes Ireland's Dan Sheehan came disconnected the seat astatine the Aviva Stadium to marque lone his 2nd quality since tearing genu ligaments against South Africa successful July.

His team-mates person described however the 26-year-old did treble sessions and boxing drills during his rehabilitation to travel backmost fitter, stronger and much agile than before.

It seems to person paid off.

Sheehan was portion of a hugely awesome Ireland bench.

He was particularly influential successful his team's 4th try, deftly putting Jack Conan into a hole, earlier getting disconnected the level to propulsion a 20 metre mis-pass to James Lowe, tally a canny enactment enactment and surge betwixt Marcus and Fin Smith to dunk the shot down for the score.

With Farrell watching successful the stands, the Test garment whitethorn already beryllium Sheehan's to lose.

"His power disconnected the seat successful a 30-minute cameo conscionable showed helium is streets up astatine hooker," erstwhile Scotland skipper Barclay said connected Six Nations Rugby Special.

"He is the world's champion hooker," said Warburton.

It is ever tougher to property your lawsuit from a losing position, but Lawrence managed to successful England's decision successful Dublin.

He scored immoderate noticeable wins successful idiosyncratic battles, knocking backmost Sam Prendergast connected a charge, thumping Ringrose successful a tackle and making the interruption that gave England momentum for the archetypal score.

He besides bushed much defenders than immoderate different subordinate - from either broadside - successful the match, with a full of six.

"Lawrence was sensational," said Barclay. "Defensively helium was banging boys backwards. He carried the shot well. He was important to everything bully England did."

With chap centres Bundee Aki of Ireland and Huw Jones of Scotland besides performing well, midfield is acceptable to beryllium different intensely competitve position.

Russell toured with the Lions successful South Africa 4 years agone and, aft missing retired connected the matchday squads for the archetypal 2 Tests, helium was thrust into the decider with Dan Biggar injured successful the archetypal 10 minutes.

Russell mixed his game-breaking moments with shrewd crippled absorption connected that occasion, adjacent if helium could not avert a 19-16 decision that sent the bid south.

He is inactive the starring contender to steer the tourists' vessel this clip around, but Saturday's amusement did not fortify his grip connected the shirt.

There was the evident mistake: throwing a brain-fade walk consecutive into Ignacio Brex's hands outgo his squad 7 points.

But determination were different slips, with an offload into touch, a nonaccomplishment to enactment Stafford McDowall into a gaping spread conscionable earlier Darge's effort and two, admittedly tricky, conversions missed.

"I don't deliberation immoderate fly-half truly lit it up this weekend, but Russell has a batch successful the slope and I deliberation helium volition commencement astatine 10 successful the summer," said Warburton who, similar Barclay, preferred an Irish enactment astatine fly-half connected the ground of this weekend's performances.

Friday nighttime was a existent trial of character. Faced with a heavyweight France battalion and a lopsided scoreline, Wales skipper Jac Morgan raged against defeat.

The 25-year-old made a whopping 81 metres with shot successful hand, bushed 3 defenders and made 25 tackles - each team-high totals.

A suffering Wales are improbable to lend galore players to the Lions cause, but fewer would person immoderate arguments implicit Morgan's inclusion.

"In a squad that mislaid by 43 points, helium inactive stood out," said Warburton.

England helping Immanuel Feyi-Waboso has been sidelined by a enarthrosis problem, which could yet regularisation him retired of the Six Nations - and England person missed his top-end pace, which has delivered 5 tries successful 9 Test appearances since helium made his debut successful the opening circular past year.

Ireland tight-head prop Tadhg Furlong missed the triumph implicit England with a calf strain, but the 32-year-old has started the past six Lions Tests and would bring a wealthiness of experience, on with his all-court game.

Scotland skipper Sione Tuipulotu volition miss the Six Nations with a pectoral injury, but surely has the recognition successful the backmost aft a stellar year. His midfield partner-in-crime Jones scoring a hat-trick mightiness person helped Tuipulotu's cause.

Dewi Lake hopes to instrumentality to enactment for Wales earlier the extremity of the Six Nations. The hooker, who skippers the broadside alongside Morgan, has a bicep wounded and volition privation to marque his lawsuit aft bully performances by Ireland's Sheehan and Ronan Kelleher and an enterprising and close showing by Scotland's Dave Cherry.