Tadhg Beirne set for his first Lions tour
Tadhg Beirne and Robbie Henshaw are among eight Irish players have been included on the British and Irish Lions squad to tour South Africa this summer.
A total of eight Ireland players have been selected in Warren Gatland's 37-strong squad, with Bundee Aki and Robbie Henshaw joining Murray among the backs selected. Five forwards are chosen with Beirne joined by the Leinster trio of Jack Conan, Tadhg Furlong and Andrew Porter and Ulster's Iain Henderson.
The British and Irish Lions squad will be captained by Alun Wyn Jones, of Wales. The 35-year-old is a veteran of three previous Lions tours.
Thirty two-year-old Limerick scrum-half Murray has been selected to tour with the Lions for a third time.
Murray has won 89 caps for Ireland and made 148 appearances to date for Munster and was first honoured with selection in the British and Irish Lions squad on their victorious 2013 tour to Australia. The Limerick man featured in seven of the touring games including two Test matches against the Wallabies.
Four years ago Murray was selected for his second British and Irish Lions tour, starting all three Tests as the tourists drew the Series against the All Blacks. In scoring a try in the second Test, Murray became the first international player in history to score four tries against the All Blacks - three for Ireland and one for the Lions.
Twenty nine-year-old Tadhg Beirne has been selected on his first British and Irish Lions tour. The versatile Beirne made his Guinness Pro14 debut for Munster away to Glasgow in September 2018 and has gone on to make 22 caps for Ireland to date as well as playing 36 times for Munster.
The Lions will face Japan in a warm-up game at BY Murrayfield on June 26.
Their opening fixture in South Africa will be against the Stormers at Cape Town on July.
The first of three tests against World champions South Africa will take place in FNB National Stadium, Johannesburg on July 24.
British and Irish Lions squad in full:
Backs (16):
Josh Adams (Cardiff, Wales) Wing
Bundee Aki (Connacht Rugby, Ireland) Centre
Dan Biggar (Northampton Saints, Wales) Fly-half
Elliot Daly (Saracens, England) Centre
Gareth Davies (Scarlets, Wales) Scrum-half
Owen Farrell (Saracens, England) Fly-half
Chris Harris (Gloucester Rugby, Scotland) Centre
Robbie Henshaw (Leinster Rugby, Ireland) Centre
Stuart Hogg (Exeter Chiefs, Scotland) Full-back
Conor Murray (Munster Rugby, Ireland) Scrum-half
Ali Price (Glasgow Warriors, Scotland) Scrum-half
Louis Rees-Zammit (Gloucester Rugby, Wales) Wing
Finn Russell (Racing 92, Scotland) Fly-half
Duhan van der Merwe (Edinburgh Rugby, Scotland) Wing
Anthony Watson (Bath Rugby, England) Wing
Liam Williams (Scarlets, Wales) Full-back
Forwards (21):
Tadhg Beirne (Munster Rugby, Ireland) Second row
Jack Conan (Leinster Rugby, Ireland) Back row
Luke Cowan-Dickie (Exeter Chiefs, England) Hooker
Tom Curry (Sale Sharks, England) Back row
Zander Fagerson (Glasgow Warriors, Scotland) Prop
Taulupe Faletau (Bath Rugby, Wales) Back row
Tadhg Furlong (Leinster Rugby, Ireland) Prop
Jamie George (Saracens, England) Hooker
Iain Henderson (Ulster Rugby, Ireland) Second row
Jonny Hill (Exeter Chiefs, England) Second row
Maro Itoje (Saracens, England) Second row
Alun Wyn Jones (Ospreys, Wales) (Captain) Second row
Wyn Jones (Scarlets, Wales) Prop
Courtney Lawes (Northampton Saints, England) Second row
Ken Owens (Scarlets, Wales) Hooker
Andrew Porter (Leinster Rugby, Ireland) Prop
Sam Simmonds (Exeter Chiefs, England) Back row
Rory Sutherland (Edinburgh Rugby, Scotland) Prop
Justin Tipuric (Ospreys, Wales) Back row
Mako Vunipola (Saracens, England) Prop
Hamish Watson (Edinburgh Rugby, Scotland) Back row
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