British and Irish Lions team: Finn Russell the only player to retain his place as Andy Farrell makes sweeping changes with three debutants selected
British and Irish Lions head coach Andy Farrell and fly-half Finn Russell.
Andy Farrell has made 14 changes to his British and Irish Lions side for the upcoming clash against the Reds in their second match since arriving in Australia.
After a loss to Argentina in their encounter in Dublin, the famous touring side headed down under and opened up with a dominant 54-7 victory over Western Force on Saturday.
Finn Russell is the only player to retain his place in the XV and the Scottish star is joined at half-back by Jamison Gibson-Park, who returns after injury and will be making his Lions debut.
Farrell is once again trying out a few different combinations as Bundee Aki and Huw Jones are given a chance at centre, but there are also a few similarities that are beginning to emerge.
At wing, Tommy Freeman and Duhan van der Merwe start together – like they did against Argentina – but this time they are partnered by Hugo Keenan in the back three.
Ireland full-back Keenan is another to make his bow in a Lions jersey on Wednesday.
Dual opensides
Up front, Jac Morgan and Tom Curry combine at flanker, just as they did in the Los Pumas defeat, but Ben Earl is on the bench.
That means Jack Conan gets a shot at number eight after being a replacement for the clash against the Western Force on Saturday.
In the front five, English duo Maro Itoje and Ollie Chessum are in the engine room, while Will Stuart, Ronan Kelleher and Andrew Porter complete the XV.
On the bench, Farrell has once again gone for a 5-3 split with Luke Cowan-Dickie, Ellis Genge and Finlay Bealham the front-row replacements.
James Ryan covers lock and like Ireland team-mates Keenan and Gibson-Park will make his Lions debut when he comes onto the field.
Earl is the final forward option for Farrell, while Alex Mitchell, Fin Smith and Garry Ringrose are the backline replacements.
“We know each game on this Tour will be a step up from the game before and three more players are set to make their Lions debuts on Wednesday night, so congratulations to those guys,” Lions head coach Farrell said.
British and Irish Lions team v Reds
British and Irish Lions: 15 Hugo Keenan, 14 Tommy Freeman, 13 Huw Jones, 12 Bundee Aki, 11 Duhan van der Merwe, 10 Finn Russell, 9 Jamison Gibson-Park, 8 Jack Conan, 7 Jac Morgan, 6 Tom Curry, 5 Ollie Chessum, 4 Maro Itoje (c), 3 Will Stuart, 2 Ronan Kelleher, 1 Andrew Porter
Replacements: 16 Luke Cowan-Dickie, 17 Ellis Genge, 18 Finlay Bealham, 19 James Ryan, 20 Ben Earl, 21 Alex Mitchell, 22 Fin Smith, 23 Garry Ringrose
Date: Wednesday, July 2
Venue: Suncorp Stadium, Brisbane
Kick-off: 20:00 local (11:00 BST, 10:00 GMT)
Referee: James Doleman (New Zealand)
Assistant referees: Paul Williams (New Zealand), Ben O’Keeffe (New Zealand)
TMO: Glenn Newman (New Zealand)
