ANDY FARRELL IS expected to lean on an Irish core in his British and Irish Lions team for their first Test against the Wallabies on Saturday in Brisbane.
The Lions will name their matchday 23 at around 7am on Thursday morning Irish time, with Farrell set to include a big crop of players he knows well from Ireland.
Jamison Gibson-Park is expected to team up with Scotland’s Finn Russell in the halfbacks, while James Lowe and Hugo Keenan are set to start in the Lions back three along with England’s Tommy Freeman.
Jack Conan is in line to resume his role as the Lions’ starting number eight, having taken up that position on the last tour four years ago, while Dan Sheehan and Tadhg Furlong are likely to be in the tourists’ front row.
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Joe McCarthy’s powerful form means he is fancied to start in the second row alongside Lions captain Maro Itoje.
It remains to be seen if any other Irish players feature in the Lions’ starting XV, with Bundee Aki having pushed strongly for the number 12 shirt. Aki would likely partner Scotland’s Huw Jones in midfield if that’s the case, but Farrell has also been weighing up the all-Scottish duo of Sione Tuipulotu and Jones. Ireland’s Garry Ringrose misses out on involvement due to concussion.
Josh van der Flier would have had high hopes of featuring at openside, but he may be squeezed out of the starting XV by England’s Tom Curry.
Over at blindside, Tadhg Beirne has been among the options for Farrell to consider, while Englishman Ollie Chessum delivered a dominant performance there against the Brumbies to put his hand up. Yet Beirne’s proven big-game temperament and impact will be hard to ignore.
Farrell will confirm tomorrow which of Andrew Porter and Ellis Genge is starting at loosehead prop, although it’s clear that both of them have major roles to play for the Lions regardless of who is in the number one shirt and who wears 17.
There is likely to be further Irish influence off the Lions bench, with Rónan Kelleher in line to be the back-up hooker to Sheehan.
Mack Hansen’s foot injury is set to rule him out of possible involvement as the outside back on the bench, but the likes of Aki, van der Flier, and Beirne will hope that there is space for them among the replacements if they’re not in the starting XV.
Meanwhile, Joe Schmidt will name his Wallabies matchday 23 at 4.30am Irish time on Thursday, with reports from The Roar and the Sydney Morning Herald in Australia suggesting that 22-year-old Tom Lynagh will be handed his first Test start. Powerful back row Rob Valetini looks set to miss out due to injury.
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Farrell expected to lean on Irish core in Lions team for first Test
ANDY FARRELL IS expected to lean on an Irish core in his British and Irish Lions team for their first Test against the Wallabies on Saturday in Brisbane.
The Lions will name their matchday 23 at around 7am on Thursday morning Irish time, with Farrell set to include a big crop of players he knows well from Ireland.
Jamison Gibson-Park is expected to team up with Scotland’s Finn Russell in the halfbacks, while James Lowe and Hugo Keenan are set to start in the Lions back three along with England’s Tommy Freeman.
Jack Conan is in line to resume his role as the Lions’ starting number eight, having taken up that position on the last tour four years ago, while Dan Sheehan and Tadhg Furlong are likely to be in the tourists’ front row.
Joe McCarthy’s powerful form means he is fancied to start in the second row alongside Lions captain Maro Itoje.
It remains to be seen if any other Irish players feature in the Lions’ starting XV, with Bundee Aki having pushed strongly for the number 12 shirt. Aki would likely partner Scotland’s Huw Jones in midfield if that’s the case, but Farrell has also been weighing up the all-Scottish duo of Sione Tuipulotu and Jones. Ireland’s Garry Ringrose misses out on involvement due to concussion.
Josh van der Flier would have had high hopes of featuring at openside, but he may be squeezed out of the starting XV by England’s Tom Curry.
Over at blindside, Tadhg Beirne has been among the options for Farrell to consider, while Englishman Ollie Chessum delivered a dominant performance there against the Brumbies to put his hand up. Yet Beirne’s proven big-game temperament and impact will be hard to ignore.
Farrell will confirm tomorrow which of Andrew Porter and Ellis Genge is starting at loosehead prop, although it’s clear that both of them have major roles to play for the Lions regardless of who is in the number one shirt and who wears 17.
There is likely to be further Irish influence off the Lions bench, with Rónan Kelleher in line to be the back-up hooker to Sheehan.
Mack Hansen’s foot injury is set to rule him out of possible involvement as the outside back on the bench, but the likes of Aki, van der Flier, and Beirne will hope that there is space for them among the replacements if they’re not in the starting XV.
Meanwhile, Joe Schmidt will name his Wallabies matchday 23 at 4.30am Irish time on Thursday, with reports from The Roar and the Sydney Morning Herald in Australia suggesting that 22-year-old Tom Lynagh will be handed his first Test start. Powerful back row Rob Valetini looks set to miss out due to injury.
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