MARO ITOJE AND Finn Russell have both been ruled out of the British and Irish Lions’ meeting with the Sharks this evening.
Itoje, who had been named to start in the second row, misses out due to a mild gastric bug and is replaced in the team by England teammate Courtney Lawes, with Adam Beard coming on to the bench.
Scotland out-half Russell had been named on the bench but will play no part due to an Achilles injury, with Bundee Aki stepping in to provide back cover.
This evening’s game against the Sharks [KO 5pm] in Pretoria is the second meeting between the two teams in the space of four days, with Warren Gatland’s team hammering the South African side 54-7 on Wednesday.
The Lions had originally been due to play the Bulls today, but an outbreak of Covid in the Bulls camp forced them to pull out of the fixture.
Lions (v Sharks)
15. Liam Williams (Scarlets, Wales) #833
14. Anthony Watson (Bath Rugby, England) #816
13. Elliot Daly (Saracens, England) #822
12. Chris Harris (Gloucester Rugby, Scotland) #844
11. Duhan van der Merwe (Worcester Warriors, Scotland) #841
10. Dan Biggar (Northampton Saints, Wales) #821
9. Gareth Davies (Scarlets, Wales) #850
1. Rory Sutherland (Worcester Warriors, Scotland) #840
2. Jamie George – captain (Saracens, England) #819
3. Tadhg Furlong (Leinster Rugby, Ireland) #818
4. Courtney Lawes (Northampton Saints, England) #826
5. Jonny Hill (Exeter Chiefs, England) #845
6. Tadhg Beirne (Munster Rugby, Ireland) #838
7. Hamish Watson (Edinburgh Rugby, Scotland) #847
8. Jack Conan (Leinster Rugby, Ireland) #839
Replacements:
16. Ken Owens (Scarlets, Wales) #829
17. Wyn Jones (Scarlets, Wales) #842
18. Kyle Sinckler (Bristol Bears, England) #814
19. Adam Beard (Ospreys, Wales) #852
20. Sam Simmonds (Exeter Chiefs, England) #849
21. Tom Curry (Sale Sharks, England) #853
22. Conor Murray (Munster Rugby, Ireland) #790
23. Bundee Aki (Connacht Rugby, Ireland) #837
The42 Rugby Weekly / SoundCloud
Bernard Jackman, Murray Kinsella and Gavan Casey discuss whether or not the Lions’ tour of South Africa should really be going ahead, the new faces in Andy Farrell’s Ireland team, and Luke Carty’s return in stars and stripes.
