British and Irish Lions

At the halfway stage of the British & Irish Lions Tour, HSBC, Principal Partner of the Lions, has announced the leading contenders for the HSBC Player of the Tour.

With five games under their belts and an unbeaten record, the Lions have seen plenty of impressive individual performances.

Ireland's Tommy Bowe is currently leading the player's poll as voted for by members of the travelling British and Irish media.

The media have been voting for their top three Lions players after each match, with five points for first position, three for second and one point for those voted third each game.

Bowe has started the tour well scoring four tries and creating a number of others, leading many observers to view him as a probable starter for Saturday's first Test against the Springboks.

The Ospreys wing leads the poll on 132 points, three points ahead of Cardiff Blues centre Jamie Roberts (129) and a further 22 ahead of clubmate Lee Byrne (107).

Voting will continue throughout the rest of the tour with the winning player receiving an award on behalf of the media courtesy of HSBC.

Lions skipper Sam Warburton says the lessons he and his Welsh colleagues learnt in Australia last summer will stand them in good stead for their return visit with Britain and Ireland's elite next month.

Tom Youngs has enjoyed a remarkable rise to the top of the British & Irish game but he won't be resting on his laurels ahead of his first Lions adventure.