NZ Herald Slam The Inclusion Of CJ Stander & Jared Payne In Gatland’s Lions Squad

Here we go again.

The New Zealand Herald has slammed the inclusion of project players Jared Payne and CJ Stander as well as England’s Ben Te’o in Warren Gatland’s British & Irish Lions squad.

The fact that overseas players outnumber the Scots and they apparently ‘dreamed’ about playing against the Lions growing up, seems to have really pissed off the boys down south.

Writing in the NZ Herald, Gregor Paul seems to have a particular beef with Ulster and Ireland back Jared Payne.

“The debate isn’t about whether Jared Payne, Ben Te’o and CJ Stander are good enough to be Lions,” he wrote.
“The question is deeper, more fundamental, which is how on earth do they end up playing for the Lions when all three of them, or certainly Payne and Stander, no doubt grew up dreaming about playing against them?
“Take Payne as the example. He was pushing towards the edge of All Blacks’ selection in 2010 and 2011.
“He’d consistently impressed at both the Crusaders and Blues, either at wing, fullback or centre and he was probably only a couple of injuries away from making the World Cup squad.
“No one is suggesting he was going to be a regular All Black, but the point is he was targeting that as his goal, right up until Ulster came calling with a swag of cash that saw him head to Ireland.
“The story to this point has no twists – until it is realised that Ulster were supported financially by the Irish Rugby Union in making the payment because the latter could see that Payne would have served his required residency period at about the same time they expected the great Brian O’Driscoll to retire.
“They bought a New Zealander to fill a national jersey and while that is their business to square away with those domestic players trying to make it through the development pathways, it becomes a bigger problem when Payne and others who have converted as so-called project players, make the British and Irish Lions.
“It’s one thing for Irish players to miss out on playing for Ireland because of an import, but is it fair that say, Scots, Welsh and English players should miss out on winning a place with the Lions for that same reason?”

How about the fact that New Zealand have been luring players from the Pacific Islands for as far back as we can remember? Do you have an issue with guys likes Stander and Payne making the British & Irish Lions squad?

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