Top Pundits’ Lions XV reflects one Irishman’s meteoric rise

Tadhg Furlong's recent performances haven't gone unnoticed.

The November Internationals came to a close yesterday at Twickenham where England ran out 37-21 winners over Australia. This was England's 13th victory of 2016 and their 14th Test match victory in a row. Their Autumn series has consisted of wins against South Africa, Fiji, Argentina and most recently, Australia. England have been impressive to say the least - and their fans are already dreaming of what could come down the line. https://twitter.com/SportsJOEdotie/status/805108317517398016 Ireland, of course, have had their own memorable November, which consisted of a first ever victory over the All Blacks. Not to mention dispatching Canada with ease before running the All Blacks close and beating Australia in our final November Test. The great form which has been shown by Ireland and England this November has already led to fervent discussions surrounding Lions picks for next summer's tour of New Zealand. In today's Sunday Times, Stephen Jones, Lawrence Dallaglio, Stuart Barnes and Peter O'Reilly all provide their Lions Test team for the All Blacks next year. Check it out below. Stephen Jones, Lawrence Dallaglio and Stuart Barnes all feature four Irish players in the starting XV. Peter O'Reilly has put in six Irish players into his starting XV for the first All Blacks clash. What is interesting here, is that in nearly all cases, Conor Murray and Jonathan Sexton make up the half-back partnership. Conor Murray gets the nod in every single selection, even after Ben Youngs' excellent performance for England yesterday. https://twitter.com/SportsJOEdotie/status/803919503469973504 It is only in Stephen Jones' XV that Owen Farrell replaces Sexton for the 10 shirt where he surprisingly doesn't even mention this omission in his piece. Irish Locks have nearly always been on or in and around a Lions starting XV, be it Paul O'Connell, Donnacha O'Callaghan or Malcolm O'Kelly. For this Tour however, this trend could discontinue as only one Irish lock has made one of the pundit's selections - Stuart Barnes has chosen Devin Toner in his XV. In terms of the front-row, who could believe at the beginning of the year that Tadhg Furlong would be among the conversations surrounding the starting tighthead for the Lions. The Wexford man has been in incredible form this year and his meteoric rise has not been lost on us. https://twitter.com/DelaneyCorpfin/status/795671854895730688 Furlong makes the starting XV for three out of four selections, with only Peter O'Reilly deciding to choose the experienced Dan Cole at tighthead. Jack McGrath looks to have a fight on his hands as Mako Vunipola gets the nod at loosehead for three out of four of the Sunday Times pundits. Elsewhere, Sean O'Brien and Robbie Henshaw  make two appearances while Rob Kearney and Gary Ringrose are both given the nod on just one occasion. What do you think of Ireland's representation in these Lions picks? Please let us know.