Daly, Williams start, Itoje on bench for Lions
HAMILTON, NEW ZEALAND - JUNE 20: Elliot Daly of the Lions runs with teh ball during the match between the Chiefs and the British & Irish Lions at Waikato Stadium on June 20, 2017 in Hamilton, New Zealand. (Photo by David Rogers/Getty Images)
Peter O’Mahony will captain the British and Irish Lions against New Zealand in the first Test on Saturday in Auckland.
Ireland flanker O’Mahony, who led the Lions in the victory over the Maori All Blacks, will skipper the side at Eden Park.
Lions head coach Warren Gatland said: “We have picked a side based on form with a lot of players putting their hands up, especially from the Crusaders and Maori All Blacks games, and it was a lively selection meeting.
“The win against the Chiefs was also extremely important for the squad and some players played themselves into the side.
“We have continuously been strong at set piece and have been good defensively in the last two or three outings. But to beat the All Blacks you have to be courageous and play some rugby – you have to score tries and I think we have picked a team capable of doing that.”
The pack is retained from the Crusaders victory, including the back row of O’Mahony, Sean O’Brien and Taulupe Faletau and Gatland added: “It’s a reward for how the back row has gone. There is a nice balance there while Peter captained the side against the Maori All Blacks and has done a good job.”
There are seven Test Lions in the starting XV with three more on the bench in a match day squad combining experience and form.
Liam Williams is selected at full-back and Elliot Daly on the wing following the four-try victory against the Chiefs on Tuesday and Gatland added: “Elliot has been very accurate in the way he has played and we saw some excellent attacking play from Liam on Tuesday night.
"We are excited about the 15 that take the field but also the very strong and experienced bench players who will have an impact.”
British and Irish Lions: 15 Liam Williams, 14 Anthony Watson, 13 Jonathan Davies, 12 Ben Te'o, 11 Elliot Daly, 10 Owen Farrell, 9 Conor Murray, 8 Taulupe Faletau, 7 Sean O'Brien, 6 Peter O'Mahony (c), 5 George Kruis, 4 Alun Wyn Jones, 3 Tadgh Furlong, 2 Jamie George, 1 Mako Vunipola
Replacements: 16 Ken Owens, 17 Jack McGrath, 18 Kyle Sinckler, 19 Maro Itoje, 20 Sam Warburton, 21 Rhys Webb, 22 Jonathan Sexton, 23 Leigh Halfpenny
Date: Saturday, June 24
Venue: Eden Park, Auckland
Kick-off: 19:35 local (07:35 GMT)
Referee: Jaco Peyper (South Africa)
Assistant Referees: Romain Poite (France), Jérôme Garcès (France)
TMO: George Ayoub (Australia)