For months, players have tried to force the British and Irish Lions to the very back of their mind.

Former Lions and Ireland internationals Rory Best and Stephen Ferris know exactly how it feels. With selection imminent, the two have assessed the chances of some Irish hopefuls.

There are several players, such as Tadhg Furlong and Robbie Henshaw, who you assume can at this stage be confident of their place in the squad. So here, Best and Ferris give their thoughts on a few players who are in the running, if not yet assured of a seat on the plane.

Johnny Sexton - Fly-half

A 2013 and 2017 tourist, Sexton's impressive finish to the Six Nations seemed to have secured his place in a third Lions squad. But three failed head injury assessments this year have raised questions over the 35-year-old's durability.

Ferris: "I want to say of course he will go. He has been there and done it, he's driven Ireland to Grand Slams and everything else.

"But another head injury kept him out of Leinster's Champions Cup semi-final against La Rochelle. If you're going on a Lions tour you have got to be robust, and he hasn't really shown that.

"For a head coach in Warren Gatland to go 'right, we need three lads here that are going to turn out all the time. There's going to be a lot of swapping about, you might have to back up two games a week', can Sexton do that?

"I would be edging towards having more stability and getting lads in that you know are going to be playing week in, week out.

"Not playing against La Rochelle has probably hampered his hopes. He's going to have a tough fight on his hands with the likes of Dan Biggar and Finn Russell."

Iain Henderson - Lock

Another candidate with previous Lions experience. The Ulster captain enjoyed an outstanding Six Nations but is in an ultra-competitive second row field that includes team-mates James Ryan and Tadhg Beirne as well as captaincy contenders Alun Wyn Jones and Maro Itoje.

Best: "I would be really surprised if he doesn't go.

"I thought he was one of Ireland's best players in the Six Nations. He maybe doesn't get the headlines that Tadhg Beirne gets but he actually made more turnovers.

"If you're going to South Africa you need big men in your second row and that's Hendy, plus he can call a line-out.

"You don't want to jinx him, but I would be very confident that he should go and I'd be absolutely gutted for him if he doesn't."

Cian Healy - Loose-head prop

The Irish centurion saw his 2013 Lions tour cut short by an ankle injury, but his consistency has brought about the prospect of another tour.

Ferris: "If I was picking anyone I'd be picking Joe Marler. He's definitely the best scrummaging loose-head in the northern hemisphere.

"I think on the last Lions tour Warren Gatland didn't really warm to him that much and he was very much a mid-week player, but there's no questioning his ability when he's a scrummager and when you're playing against South Africa, you have to have dominance or at least parity at the set-piece.

"I would have Marler, Rory Sutherland and one more. I don't think Mako Vunipola is going to be there so Cian Healy would be my other loose-head.

"He has bags of experience, he's a big lump of a lad, has a good winning mentality and I don't think he would let you down."

Rob Herring and Ronan Kelleher - Hookers

Leinster's Kelleher, 23, is seen by most as the future of the Irish number two jersey, but Herring has not given up his starting berth just yet and was picked in four of Ireland's five Six Nations games.

Best: "For me Ken Owens and Jamie George will go at hooker. Ken's playing really well and I think Jamie has enough credit in the bank to go, he'll play a few more games for Saracens albeit in the Championship and he'll be a lot more battle-hardened than he was in the Six Nations.

"I think the third spot really comes down to Rob Herring, Ronan Kelleher and England's Luke Cowan-Dickie.

"The problem is when you look over the last weekend, and the coaches will reference back, Cowan-Dickie didn't play and the other two played in packs that were beaten up.

"That's the last thing you want to go to South Africa with. When you get to these last moments and you're in a selection meeting and it's a split-vote, it can come down to what your most recent memory of that player is.

"If that memory is of a pack that went backwards in a European game, that will go against you. And I would be a bit fearful for the two Irish boys that it would count against them and Cowan-Dickie will be the third hooker to go."

John Cooney - Scrum-half

Every tour has a bolter... Cooney's Ulster performances over the last four seasons have left many scratching their heads as to why he has not won more than eight Ireland caps. Having been overlooked for the Six Nations and seemingly down the Irish pecking order, his selection appears unlikely but would be a major talking point.

Ferris: "There have been loads of people banging the John Cooney drum, and the reason for that is because he hasn't been getting recognition for his performances for Ulster in terms of getting to play for Ireland.

"When it comes to scrum-halves, Ben Youngs is obviously out and he would have been on the plane. Conor Murray obviously, and then Wales' Gareth Davies will probably go, so there is another spot there.

"Personally I wouldn't have Ali Price going, so maybe Cooney is a bolter who can play in a mid-week team, play some running rugby and knock over the crucial kicks.

"He is a very confident fella, so he's not the type of lad that would get selected for a Lions tour and all of a sudden go into his shell. It'll probably bring him out of his shell even more."

Keith Earls - Wing

Speaking of bolters, Earls was perhaps the most unexpected name in the 2009 Lions squad. Ireland's Mr Reliable shot himself into contention again with an outstanding two-try display against England to conclude a fine Six Nations.

Best: "The biggest problem that Earlsy has is that there are so many good players in the back three. You're potentially looking at the likes of Jonny May, Jack Nowell and even Duhan van der Merwe not going.

"The thing that Earlsy will give you is that he is just such a smart rugby player. He works unbelievably hard and would be somebody that's a great person to have around the squad.

"Knowing a little bit about how Warren Gatland thinks, the downside is that he'll potentially write him off because he'll not think he's big enough.

"He'll be wanting to go to South Africa and be bigger than them, and there'll be people bigger than Earlsy. But, when you play with him, what he lacks in stature he more than makes up for in the physicality he brings, his timing of a hit and how hard he works."