The British & Irish Lions are set to confirm the appointment of four specialist scouts to help find the talent for next summer's tour to Australia.

Scrum.com previously reported the appointment of ex-Wales international Derek Quinnell as one of the chosen scouts and he is expected to be joined by a representative from the other home unions.

According to reports in the Daily Mail these will be Simon Halliday, 23 caps for England as a centre/wing between 1986 and 1992, John O'Driscoll, 26 caps for Ireland as a back-row forward between 1978 and 1984, and John Rutherford, 42 caps for Scotland at fly half between 1979 and 1987.

The four 'advisers' report for Lions duty at the end of next week with the hierarchy of Henry, England coach Andy Robinson and tour manager Donal Lenihan to formulate the policy behind selecting the 37 players for the 10-match tour at the end of this season.

Lions manager has said that "The selection process will start with the European Cup early next month, and we will leave no stone unturned in our search for the best possible squad.

"The responsibility for selecting it rests with Graham, Andy and myself but our four advisers will have a very important role to play in watching every candidate. No player will be discounted just because he is not in his national team and we will cover the A matches as well as the internationals.

"We will also be seeking the opinions of the national coaches, Warren Gatland, Ian McGeechan and Clive Woodward. The only criteria that matters is finding the squad to win the Test series regardless of nationality and if that means all 37 players coming from one country, so be it."