Ahead of the 2025 British & Irish Lions Tour to Australia, rugby.com.au is keeping an eye on this year's top performers from England, Ireland, Scotland and Wales.
Only Ireland remain unbeaten after an action-packed opening fortnight of the 2025 Six Nations and early signs indicate a healthy emerald-green tinge to Andy Farrell's squad.
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The Irish have kickstarted their Six Nations defence with bonus-point wins over England and Scotland (both of whom are 1-1 thus far) while Wales are yet to register a competition point after falling to a 14th consecutive defeat last weekend against Italy.
Here are rugby.com.au's six standout British & Irish Lions candidates from the opening fortnight of Six Nations 2025:
The Leinster skipper was the only non-South African nominated as World Rugby's 2024 Men's Player of the Year - and for good reason.
At just 26, Doris is fast becoming the world's premier number eight with his work-rate both sides of the ball key to Ireland's unbeaten start.
Doris leads his Irish forwards for carries (21) and sits second for tackles (24) to go with three turnovers in general play and a crucial try against Scotland last weekend.
Although he's been underused at line out time, 6'4 Doris remains a key target and his ability to build rapport with referees is highly valued.
Don't be surprised to see him named captain by Farrell for the upcoming series, especially if he goes on to secure another Irish Six Nations title.
Lowe's reputation as a niggler is warranted but the former Chiefs flyer is enjoying a rich vein of international form these days.
Across the opening two rounds, Lowe racked up eight line breaks, five tackle busts, three try assists and a line-break assist to go with last week's five-pointer against Scotland.
Lowe's also a secondary kicking option for Ireland in general play and offers a powerful left boot exit - similar to Australia's Len Ikitau.
Defensively, Lowe can be prone to shooting up for (and botching) a spot tackle but you can't deny his footwork - that right foot step left Scotland's Blair Kinghorn clutching at thin air last weekend.
Throw in an unerring ability to get under an opponent's skin and Lowe is well placed for a maiden Lions cap in 2025.
Though there's a swathe of talented opensides across the UK (Josh van der Flier, Rory Darge, Jac Morgan et al), England duo Tom Curry and Ben Earl have their noses in front for a Lions flanker berth.
Curry's five turnovers in the opening fortnight set him clear as the Lions' top pilfering option but the 26-year-old isn't just a ruck monkey.
Equally comfortable across six and seven, Curry's line out jumping, abrasive carry and staunch defence make him an excellent candidate for any Lions matchday 23.
Meanwhile Earl's power game, versatility across the entire backrow and strength over the ball - particularly in last week's win against France - make him a prime candidate to tour Australia.
Earl's tendency to celebrate the smallest of wins is grating at best and poor sportsmanship at worst but every Lions series needs a villain, especially one whose walk matches their talk.
The other half of Scotland's Huwipulotu combination, Jones has delivered a mixed bag against Ireland but it's impossible to overlook that Round 1 performance against Italy.
Marking up against the impressive Nacho Brex and Tommaso Menonchello, Jones produced a hat-trick masterclass built on being in the right places at the right times.
Similarly, flyhalf-turned-fullback Kinghorn is showing his maturity this year with two excellent performances in the Scottish 15 jersey thus far.
Kinghorn's run-first instinct has seen him top Scotland's carry metres (240m) across the opening fortnight and he's a more than handy third kicking option behind halfback Ben White and flyhalf Finn Russell.
With Russell likely to be ruled out following a nasty collision with Darcy Graham, Kinghorn may well shift in to the primary playmaker role for next week's Calcutta Cup defence against England.
