Lions reportedly going with bigger squad than expected and it’s good news for three Munster players

Ok, so there is some good news and there is some bad news.

Over the last 24 hours, various reports have been published from the UK media in relation to Wednesday's Lions squad announcement. We have already seen the reports of several established England internationals missing out. https://twitter.com/SportsJOEdotie/status/854399127463100416 On Tuesday afternoon we then had the rather controversial news that Wales' Jamie Roberts is to be included in Warren Gatland's touring party. Despite the experienced centre not starting any of Wales' Six Nations fixtures. https://twitter.com/SportsJOEdotie/status/854380615944286208 Now, The Telegraph is reporting that Gatland will announce a 40-man squad, which is bigger than what was expected. According to the report, England captain Dylan Hartley will miss out. This makes him the third successive England captain to miss out on selection, following Chris Robshaw and Steve Borthwick. The Irish players in the squad include Jack McGrath, Rory Best, Tadhg Furlong, Donnacha Ryan, Iain Henderson, Sean O'Brien, Peter O'Mahony, CJ Stander, Conor Murray, Jonathan Sexton, Robbie Henshaw and Keith Earls. 12 Irish players! The one HUGE omission is, of course, Simon Zebo. When it came down to the tight calls of the back-three, it was expected that Zebo would make the cut due to his versatility and consistency he has shown this season. However, that doesn't seem to have convinced Gatland. We will find out for sure tomorrow, but if this proves to be true, Zebo can definitely consider himself very unlucky to be left out.