British and Irish Lions surprises leaked as Owen Farrell snubbed in Ireland-heavy team including shock back-row call
British and Irish Lions head coach Andy Farrell and playmaker Owen Farrell, who reportedly misses out on the Test 23.
Eight Irishmen are set to be named in the British and Irish Lions XV for the opening Wallabies Test but not openside flanker Josh van der Flier.
It has been widely reported that Tom Curry has surprisingly won the race for the jersey ahead of the best-performing number sevens, Jac Morgan and Van der Flier.
Curry has struggled to find his form since the beginning of the Australia tour but he has credit in the bank after starting all three Tests against the Springboks four years ago.
Andy Farrell a big fan
“He’s a machine. His work rate, his stuff off the ball is very impressive. The stuff that he does off the ball makes teams tick,” Head coach Andy Farrell said of Curry previously
“He’s so fit, so determined to have an impact on the game, especially as far as physicality is concerned. I think he started the tour really well.”
The Englishman will offer plenty of physicality in the tighter exchanges as Farrell opts for size in the back-row.
Various outlets have claimed that Tadhg Beirne will line up at blindside flanker as the Lions boss goes for a hybrid player at blindside, with Jack Conan at number eight.
Two players who were no doubt close to those spots, Ollie Chessum and Ben Earl, are set to be included on the bench and will cover the back five of the scrum.
That means there will be no space for 20-year-old Henry Pollock, who was the standout inclusion when the wider squad was named in May.
Wonderkid misses out
Pollock has produced some magic moments in the tour matches, but it appears as though it will not be enough to get him into the 23 as Farrell looks likely to go with a 5-3 split among the replacements.
With Beirne at six and Chessum on the bench, Joe McCarthy, as expected, seems to have done enough to take his place alongside captain Maro Itoje in the second-row.
McCarthy joins fellow Irishmen Dan Sheehan and Tadhg Furlong in a front five which is dominated by them and England, with Ellis Genge the likely loosehead when the squad is officially named on Thursday.
Behind the scrum, the big selection call came at centre but, with Garry Ringrose out, it is being reported that Farrell has indeed gone for combinations and that it will be a Scottish 10, 12 and 13 of Finn Russell, Sione Tuipulotu and Huw Jones.
Bundee Aki is set to make the bench, however, but the Irish powerhouse is unlikely to be alongside the head coach’s son, Owen, who has missed out to Marcus Smith in the squad.
Possible Lions squad: 15 Hugo Keenan, 14 Tommy Freeman, 13 Huw Jones, 12 Sione Tuipulotu, 11 James Lowe, 10 Finn Russell, 9 Jamison Gibson-Park, 8 Jack Conan, 7 Tom Curry, 6 Tadhg Beirne, 5 Joe McCarthy, 4 Maro Itoje (c), 3 Tadhg Furlong. 2 Dan Sheehan, 1 Ellis Genge
Replacements: 16 Ronan Kelleher, 17 Andrew Porter, 18 Will Stuart, 19 Ollie Chessum, 20 Ben Earl, 21 Alex Mitchell, 22 Marcus Smith, 23 Bundee Aki
READ MORE: Where are they now? The last British and Irish Lions team that faced the Wallabies in 2013
