A British and Irish Lions XV based on statistics

The British and Irish Lions tour to New Zealand may still be a speck on the horizon, but the debate on who should be on the plane in 2017 is gathering momentum.

Getting the mix right to take on the back-to-back world champions will be some task for the Lions coach, and no matter who they choose, there will always be those disagreeing with the selections. Remember Brian O'Driscoll in 2013?

Emotions run high when it comes to Lions selection so Sky Sports has teamed up with Hewlett Packard Enterprise (HPE) to turn to the numbers and pick a team based on the last twelve months of internationals.

Stuart Hogg would perhaps be the popular choice, but Mike Brown is the clear winner when looking at the statistics, although the Scotland international has played three fewer matches this year in an international jersey. Brown leads in four of the key statistics for a full-back, and is second only to Hogg in kicks in-play. The England and Harlequins man has made 123 carries with a total of 797 metres made and has beaten 32 defenders. He also tops the tackle count with 31 and has made 11 clean breaks.

It was a terrific numbers battle between North and England's Jack Nowell to top the wingers table. North has the most carries with 79, and leads the metres made with 724. He also topped the defenders beaten category with 35.

With 77 carries and 381 metres gained, Jonathan Joseph leads the way on the stats table. The wildcard here is Mark Bennett, who played just two international matches for Scotland. He has impressive statistics in both metres carried (183) and defenders beaten (10), and was the most impressive player in terms of number of matches played. However, as well as topping the table on attack, Joseph also tops the centre table with the most tackles.

Jamie Roberts has been impressive on the carries front with a total of 90, while has gained 370 metres, beaten 12 defenders and made 77 tackles.

Nowell is ranked second among the wingers behind North when it comes to carries and second behind the Welsh star when it comes to defenders beaten with a total of 31. Nowell does, however, top the tackle count with 62.

Plenty of competition here, but Dan Biggar wins the battle for the coveted No 10 jersey. In eleven matches he has scored 89 points - less than Owen Farrell, but Biggar is way ahead on metres made with 236.

It's been a huge battle between Rhys Webb and Ben Youngs. The England international has played three more games than Webb, so some of the stats skew in his favour. Youngs has made more passes with 501 compared to Webb's 404. Webb also has fewer carries than Youngs, but has run more metres with ball-in-hand - 173 compared to 170. Interestingly, Youngs also has made 69 kicks in play to Webb's 26, although Webb leads the clean breaks with six.

Mako Vunipola has worked hard on his scrummaging and is honing his craft with each game, however it is also what he does around the field that makes him such an asset. He is a huge ball carrier with 59 total carries in 2016, and tops the metres made for his position with 75.

Ken Owens has shown the most consistency of any hooker in 2016, ranking the highest for number of carries and metres made carried among the first-choice hookers. Rory Best and Dylan Hartley are a toss-up for second choice here - with Best ranking second for carries and metres made, and Hartley ranking first for tackles made and second for throws won.

Ireland's sole representative earns his place thanks to his all action performances and hard work in the scrum. Jack McGrath tops the table among props for most carries - 89, and for his 115 metres made. McGrath is massive in defence with an impressive 114 tackles made and just nine missed.

Maro Itoje sees off stiff competition from Richie Gray, Ian Henderson and Devin Toner to claim the No 4 berth. Itoje is in a class of his own in the breakdown among locks with 8 turnovers. He also leads his peers with the ball in hand - seven clean breaks and three offloads. England's reliance on Itoje in the lineout has also increased during the summer - no player won more lineouts than Itoje during the Australia versus England Test series.

George Kruis tops just about every stat you want from your lock. He has won 35 lineouts and leads all locks in 2016 with eight steals. Kruis also leads the way in defence with 104 tackles and contributes in open play with 37 carries, second only to Toner.

Chris Robshaw is right in the mix with his stats - he tops the carries list with 63 as well as winning the most lineouts for a backrower with 15. Scotland's John Hardie has the most metres made by a flanker, but Robshaw is second to him with 107.

James Haskell was a revelation in Australia and his stats back up his man-of-the-match performance in the second Test in Melbourne. His defensive displays in 2016 have been extraordinary; among the Lions candidates, he tops the tackle ratings and is high up on the 'turnovers won' table as well.

This was one heck of a tussle between Billy Vunipola and his cousin, Taulupe Faletau. Billy Vunipola tops the table with 150 carries and metres made - an incredible 501. Faletau's defensive work has been superb with 143 tackles compared to Billy Vunipola's 91, plus he is a real option at the lineout winning 29 compared to Vunipola's two. However, we could not ignore Vunipola's metres made nor his offloads which give him the edge.

So there you have it, the Lions XV according to the last twelve months of international performances. It's little surprise - considering that they are unbeaten in 2016 - that English representation dominates the list, with nine players. The Welsh pair of Biggar and Webb make up the halfback combination and they are joined by three other Welshmen.

Scotland and Ireland will be hoping that there's more than just one player from their countries lining up in the famous red jersey on Saturday, 24 June 2017 to face the All Blacks in the first Test, at Eden Park.

But the numbers, at least for 2016, don't lie. If England continue to dominate their European rivals, Warren Gatland will be hard pushed to resist the strengths of England's players. The question is, will New Zealand?

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