Henshaw chosen for his second Lions tour as squad named

Robbie Henshaw's stellar performances this season have been rewarded with his inclusion in the British & Irish Lions squad for its tour of South Africa.

The 27-year-old Athlone man was a near-certainty to be part of the squad, which was announced earlier this afternoon.

It wasn't his first time to be chosen for the Lions. He was picked four years ago, for the New Zealand tour, but unfortunately didn't play in any of the three Test matches having picked up an injury during the series.

Warren Gatland included a total of eight Irish players in his squad of 37: Henshaw, Bundee Aki, Conor Murray, Tadhg Beirne, Jack Conan, Tadhg Furlong, Iain Henderson and Andrew Porter.

Henshaw's Leinster teammate, Jonathan Sexton, missed out on selection for the squad.

The Lions tour begins with a warm-up match against DHL Stormers on July 3, with the first Test match against South Africa taking place three weeks later, on July 24.

The full squad is as follows:

Backs: Josh Adams, Bundee Aki, Dan Biggar, Elliot Daly, Gareth Davies, Owen Farrell, Chris Harris, Robbie Henshaw, Stuart Hogg, Conor Murray, Ali Price, Louis Rees-Zammit, Finn Russell, Duhan van der Merwe, Anthony Watson, Liam Williams.

Forwards: Tadhg Beirne, Jack Conan, Luke Cowan-Dickie, Tom Curry, Zander Fagerson, Taulupe Faletau, Tadhg Furlong, Jamie George, Iain Henderson, Johnny Hill, Maro Itoje, Alun Wyn Jones, Wyn Jones, Courtney Lawes, Ken Owens, Andrew Porter, Sam Simmonds, Rory Sutherland, Justin Tipuric, Mako Vunipola, Hamish Watson.