British and Irish Lions team: Winners and losers as Owen Farrell ‘disrupts’ the status quo while ‘Huwipulotu’ primed to tear Waratahs to shreds
British and Irish Lions Sione Tuipulotu, Fin Smith and Huw Jones
Following the announcement of Andy Farrell’s British and Irish Lions team to face the Waratahs, we pick out our winners and losers.
The tourists head into the match off the back of two 50-point victories in Australia, dispatching the Western Force and Queensland Reds with ease.
For the encounter, Farrell has made several changes because of the tight turnaround while deploying a 6-2 split on the bench.
Without further ado, here are our winners and losers.
Winners
Hugo Keenan and Blair Kinghorn
The last two players in the squad who have yet to make their debuts for the British and Irish Lions.
Hugo Keenan has now recovered from his calf injury that saw him miss Leinster’s season finish, including their successful United Rugby Championship final, and now gets the opportunity to finally pull on the famous red jersey.
The Irishman was set to face the Reds earlier in the week, only for illness to rule him out. He will be eager to hit the ground sprinting, particularly after the injury to Elliot Daly, who was making a strong case to be the go-to full-back.
The same applies to Toulouse star Blair Kinghorn, who arrived in camp earlier this week after playing 100 minutes in the Top 14 final for his club, helping the side to their third-straight domestic title.
Like Keenan, Kinghorn has been tipped by many to be a starter against the Wallabies, whether that’d be on the wing or at full-back, and has also endured a spell on the sidelines due to injury. The Scotsman is now fully-fit and will want to get off to a fast start as he plays catch-up in terms of pressing his claim.
Huwipulotu
Huw Jones gets a second consecutive start for the Lions after crossing for a brilliant try against the Queensland Reds, but this time around, he is joined in the midfield by his partner in crime, Sione Tuipulotu.
The brilliant Scotland international pairing has been dubbed ‘Huwipulotu’, and having impressed for their country, they now have the opportunity to shine in the Lions backline.
The centres so far on the tour have been hit and miss with Tuipulotu arguably the only player to really stamp his mark on the side and with Jones jostling with the likes of Bundee Aki and Garry Ringrose, he will be pleased to get a run out with a player he is a nigh-on telepathic connection with.
Henry Pollock
It’s somewhat clear to see that Farrell isn’t overly concerned about fielding a big-bodied blindside flanker, with Henry Pollock handed the number six jersey for the clash against the Waratahs. Perhaps that is to counter the threats that the NSW outfit have over the ball in Charlie Gamble, Hug Sinclair and even Rob Leota.
Pollock has really laid down a marker when given the opportunity and was particularly brilliant against the Western Force in an absolutely sensational shift, with the youngest player in the squad now getting another shot in the starting line-up.
Tadhg Beirne
With Maro Itoje rested after a mighty shift against the Reds, the honour of leading the British and Irish Lions falls upon Ireland and Munster work-horse Tadhg Beirne.
Beirne is the epitome of leading from the front with his province and is bound to do the same for the British and Irish Lions.
The Irishman may have conceded a costly penalty in the defeat to Argentina, but he has rebounded and been excellent for the tourists since.
Ben White
The benefactor of Tomos Williams’ injury, as Scotland’s Ben White is primed to earn his Lions debut off the bench.
White was rather unfortunate not to make the original squad and was always going to be the next in line if there was an injury at scrum-half.
Losers
Elliot Daly
The Lions’ team announcement was accompanied by a gutting update for Daly, who has been ruled out for the remainder of the tour and has been replaced by Owen Farrell.
Daly was arguably the form backline player for the Lions and featured in all three matches to date before injury struck.
His setback is presumably the reason that the tourists have selected a 6-2 split on the bench for this fixture, ironically a set-up that he is perfect for.
Head coach Farrell described Daly as a ‘Lions Legend’ and considering the fact that he played 11 straight matches, he is spot on.
Marcus Smith
After starting against Argentina, Marcus Smith has not been the afforded the opportunity to run on from the first minute of the match for the Lions. The England star will be itching to get a shot, particularly at fly-half, following the addition of Farrell to the squad.
Smith has repeatedly stated that he is a fly-half who can play full-back and looks set to come on in the former this weekend, provided that there is no injury in the back-three.
There is still time for the 26-year-old to press for a place in the Test squad but matters have got more complicated for him.
Fin Smith
The same applies to Fin Smith following Farrell’s call-up. Finn Russell starred in the opening two games in Australia and looks nailed-on to be the starter for the Tests. But the return of the ex-England captain has really rocked the boat for the fly-half and midfield stocks.
Smith has proven his class in his appearances for the Lions and looked to be cementing himself in the Test squad, probably from the bench, but again, the new call-up has really disrupted the status quo.
Scott Cummings
After an underwhelming performance in the opening game against the Western Force, Scott Cummings will be raring to prove his worth, but unfortunately for him, he will have to do so from the bench.
In recent matches, Itoje and Joe McCarthy have put forward a strong case for involvement in the Test series while the same is true, perhaps to a lesser extent, for the likes of Beirne and Ollie Chessum.
As mentioned above, Farrell could have quite easily have selected Beirne on the side of the scrum and deployed the likes of Cummings or McCarthy alongside James Ryan to aid the troublesome lineout, but that has not proved to be the case.
Cummings has incredibly stiff competition to feature in the Tests and that starts with his cameo off the bench against the men in sky blue.
Waratahs
On the topic of the Waratahs, Dan McKellar’s men face a mighty challenge this weekend. The ‘Tahs narrowly missed out on the Super Rugby Pacific play-offs, winning six of their 14 fixtures.
To make matters worse for the Sydney-based outfit, Farrell has named a powerhouse team for the encounter and McKellar is without key performers for the side. The likes of Taniela Tupou and Andrew Kellaway’s inclusions are a boost for the side but they are without big-name stars Langi Gleeson, Dave Porecki, Jake Gordon, Max Jorgensen, Joseph-Aukuso Suaalii and Corey Toole.
