Owen Farrell captains British and Irish Lions against First Nations & Pasifika XV as players urged to ‘put their hand up’ for remaining Tests
Owen Farrell and Jac Morgan start for British and Irish Lions.
Owen Farrell will captain the British & Irish Lions in their final midweek match of the tour of Australia, against the First Nations & Pasifika XV in Melbourne on Tuesday.
Saracens and England veteran Farrell will lead the side at Marvel Stadium on what will be his 20th Lions appearance.
Farrell, who starts out at inside centre, will form a partnership with Leinster and Ireland’s Jamie Osborne, who was also a late call-up to the squad Down Under.
Fin Smith at 10
Toulon and Scotland scrum-half Ben White, who impressed against the AUNZ Invitational XV, is partnered at half-back by Northampton Saints and England fly-half Fin Smith.
Toulouse and Scotland full-back Blair Kinghorn makes a welcome return from injury and forms an all Scotland back three alongside Edinburgh duo Darcy Graham and Duhan van der Merwe.
In the pack, Scotland and Edinburgh’s Pierre Schoeman packs down alongside Saracens and England’s Jamie George and Connacht and Ireland’s Finlay Bealham.
Leinster and Ireland’s James Ryan is partnered in the second-row by Glasgow Warriors and Scotland’s Scott Cummings.
Moving into the back-row and Wales captain Jac Morgan will wear the number six jersey on Tuesday and is joined by Ireland’s Josh van der Flier on the flanks while Northampton Saints and England’s Henry Pollock will pack down at number eight.
Lions head coach Andy Farrell said: “This fixture gives players another opportunity to put their hand up for selection for the final two Tests.
“The coaches’ minds are open when it comes to selection, they have to be with so many players performing and pushing for places and we want that to continue for the remaining two Tests.
“This group know the level of performance that we will require against a First Nations Pasifika team that is packed with talent and power.”
The team
British & Irish Lions: 15 Blair Kinghorn, 14 Darcy Graham, 13 Jamie Osborne, 12 Owen Farrell (c), 11 Duhan van der Merwe, 10 Fin Smith, 9 Ben White, 8 Henry Pollock, 7 Josh van der Flier, 6 Jac Morgan, 5 Scott Cummings, 4 James Ryan, 3 Finlay Bealham, 2 Jamie George, 1 Pierre Schoeman
Replacements: 16 Ewan Ashman, 17 Rory Sutherland, 18 Tom Clarkson, 19 Gregor Brown, 20 Ben Earl, 21 Alex Mitchell, 22 Marcus Smith, 23 Garry Ringrose
Date: Tuesday, July 22
Venue: Marvel Stadium, Melbourne
Kick-off: 20:00 local (11:00 BST, 10:00 GMT)
Referee: Nika Amashukeli (GRU)
Assistant Referees: Ben O’Keeffe (NZR), Andrea Piardi (FIR)
TMO: Marius Jonker (SARU)
FPRO: Richard Kelly (NZR)
