Western Force v British and Irish Lions preview: Finn Russell to inspire an ’emphatic’ victory as tourists seek cohesion
Western Force lock Darcy Swain and British and Irish Lions fly-half Finn Russell.
The British and Irish Lions tackle the Western Force in the opening tour match in Australia on Saturday as two teams collide in Perth.
Andy Farrell’s charges head into the match off the back of a historic defeat to Argentina in Dublin and will be eager to lay down a marker against their first Australian opponents.
The B&I Lions boss has 13 made changes to his starting XV with nine players in the matchday team set to make their debut in the famous red jersey.
One of those debutants will have the honour of leading the team as Irish hooker Dan Sheehan fills the leadership role in the absence of Maro Itoje.
It will be just the second meeting between the two teams with the Lions thrashing the Force 69-17 in the first touring match back in 2013 and the Australians will be keen to put up a far greater fight this time around.
The Western Force have been bolstered by six current Wallabies squad members who have been released back to the club for the match and will be bidding farewell to prop Ollie Hoskins and lock Sam Carter who have announced that they will be hanging up their boots.
Where the game will be won
As we saw in Dublin, cohesion is one of the real areas of concern for the British and Irish Lions with that not just limited to the defence, attack and lineouts.
Despite making 13 changes, there is a real possibility that the cohesiveness will improve with the squad spending more time together while a large Irish contingent in the matchday squad. Six Leinster players have been included in the starting XV with a further two Irishmen in Tadhg Beirne and Mack Hansen.
The 10-12 combination of Finn Russell and Sione Tuipulotu could prove to be the spark that the attack needs too. The Lions impressed with ball in hand against the Pumas but lacked the finishing touches which the Scotland duo are more than capable of rectifying.
While the Force looked vastly more improved this season, the quality of the Lions team looks to be too much for the Perth-based outfit to handle. However, if the hosts are to have any chance of an upset, their lineout will certainly be a focal point.
The Lions’ lineout was shakey last week with the Pumas claiming four of the tourist’s 18 throws and regularly disrupted the men in red’s possession which had a domino effect on their attack.
This season, the Western Force boasted the best lineout in Super Rugby Pacific with an 88.61% success rate and won a tournament-high of 31 steals. The lineout was also the source of 35 tries for the Force, two of which came from steals.
Last time they met
What they said
After missing the Brumbies’ famous victory over the British and Irish Lions back in 2013 and a potential Wallabies debut against the touring team, stand-in Western Force captain Nic White is relishing the opportunity to face the men in red this time around.
“It’s been on the back of my mind for a long time now, a bit of a decade, so to get this opportunity is a dream come true,” White told reporters.
“Words don’t do it justice but I just need to control the excitement until then… For a long time, I was a bit obsessed with just making sure I was here in Australia to be able to play against the Lions.
“At no point in time did I think that captaining a side was part of my thought process.”
He added: “I knew that if I could just play in the Lions as a part of the Super Rugby side is a huge deal and here I am. It really is a pinch me moment.
“A lot of people have these dreams, but for this dream to come true, it’s pretty rare and pretty special. A lot of hard work went into it, but also needed a fair bit of luck and a lot of people on my side and a lot of people are in this building and I’ve got a lot of people to thank for it.”
Lions boss Farrell was not pleased by the defeat to Argentina and is expecting his charges to bounce back, particularly with the review revealing where the team needs to be better.
“I’m disappointed to lose any game, I hate losing, so does everyone else, that is why they’re in this position in the first place,” he said.
“There were plenty of positives to go with that, so it’s about taking the learnings, keep pushing forward right up until that first Test.
He added: “We’ll see on Saturday how we respond. The guys that are taking the field this week are a little bit fortunate in the sense they understand how we want to get better.
“They’ve got to take responsibility for that, and grab hold of their chance of taking this team forward.”
On his decision to give Sheehan the captaincy, Farrell said: “He will 100 per cent do the job justice by just being himself. I know for a fact, whatever he asks the players to do, there won’t be empty words, it will be things he’s willing to do himself.
“I know the responsibility will make him a better player because that’s the type of character he is, a calming influence who understands what pressure situations are like at this level. All those things put together are why he is sat beside me.”
Players to watch
Kurtley Beale suffered an injury in training ahead of the clash which led Wallabies boss Joe Schmidt to release Ben Donaldson from his squad to feature in the match. Usually, the Force’s first-choice fly-half, Donaldson will start at full-back for the Perth-based outfit and has the opportunity to impress against the tourists with an eye on clinching a place in the Test matchday squad.
With Donaldson starting at full-back, Alex Harford will earn just his third appearance for the Western Force as he starts at fly-half. The 26-year-old pivot has had an interesting journey to Perth and gets the opportunity to go head-to-head with Russell, who he watched playing club rugby in Christchurch several years ago. Harford is a bit of an unknown entity for the Lions and after an injury-hit season with the Force, he will be keen to lay down a marker against the tourists.
As mentioned above, prop Ollie Hoskins and lock Sam Carter will play their final professional matches against the Lions before bowing out. Hoskins has been loaned to the Force from Saracens to feature in the match having come through the academy ranks in Western Australia. Meanwhile, Carter hangs up his boots after a decorated career having represented the Wallabies 16 times and played for the likes of the Brumbies, Ulster, Leicester Tigers and Force.
Stand-in Lions captain Dan Sheehan is one of the nine debutants in the red jersey and will look to hit the ground sprinting for the touring team. The hooker has an unreal try-scoring record for club and country and will be eager to replicate that in Lions’ colours. A world-class talent, Sheehan is expected to be the starting hooker for the Test series but his performance will still be in the spotlight particularly considering how the lineout faltered against Argentina.
Henry Pollock’s incredible rise continues as the 20-year-old one-cap England back-rower earns his first start for the British and Irish Lions after debuting off the bench against Argentina. Farrell heaped praise on the youngster ahead of the match and now it’s time for the rookie to build on his growing reputation after impressing during his cameo off the bench. Pollock is an all-action threat to the Force with the bolter able to really press for a place in the Test team against the Wallabies and while that seems unlikely, so did his inclusion in the touring squad.
British and Irish Lions: Andy Farrell backs ‘hungry’ Henry Pollock to be ‘real point of difference’
The Lions squad is littered with quality from numbers one to 23 but much of their success against the Force will hinge on the performances of halfbacks Tomos Williams and Finn Russell. The duo were exceptional for their Premiership clubs, Gloucester and Bath, this season with Williams being a standout in a poor Wales team during the Six Nations. On paper, this is an incredibly exciting attacking combination that can cause the Force defence all kinds of issues but their tactical acumen, which is vastly underrated, will be just as influential.
Main head-to-head
With the lineout bound to play a pivotal role in the match’s outcome, there is tasty head-to-head in the second row in the form of Darcy Swain and Joe McCarthy.
Swain has been released from the Wallabies squad to start for the Western Force and he will be hellbent on continuing his rise back to the international scene. The 27-year-old’s disciplinary issues played a major role in his absence at the highest level but he looks have made a real improvement in that area as he was not once carded during the 2025 Super Rugby season.
His abrasiveness and physicality are real standout facet of his game but this season, he really shone at lineout time winning a joint-tournament high of eight steals at the set-piece. He also won 76 of the Force’s lineouts, a season-high.
Leinster’s lineout certainly had its struggles this season and the same was true for Ireland but in the United Rugby Championship final, McCarthy led a resurgence at the set-piece against the Bulls. He was able to pick off and disrupt much of the Bulls’ throws and help the side produce a perfect success rate on their own ball.
Both players will be tasked with setting the tone physically at set-piece time and will be pivotal to their respective success.
Prediction
There was a 52-point difference between the two teams when they first faced off 12 years ago and while the Lions will be comfortable favourites heading into the game, the Force are bound to be far more competitive. Farrell’s side showed signs of promise against Argentina but lacked ruthlessness with ball in hand. While the head coach has made sweeping changes to give players the opportunity to stake their claims, which will impact cohesion, and travel is also bound to play a role, it’s hard to look past an emphatic victory for the Lions. Perhaps it won’t be by the same margin as 12 years ago but still, the Lions should emerge as victors by at least 20 points..
Previous result
2013: B&I Lions won 69-17 in Perth
The teams
Western Force: 15 Ben Donaldson, 14 Mac Grealy, 13 Matt Proctor, 12 Hamish Stewart, 11 Dylan Pietsch, 10 Alex Harford, 9 Nic White (c), 8 Vaiolini Ekuasi, 7 Nick Champion de Crespigny, 6 Will Harris, 5 Darcy Swain, 4 Sam Carter, 3 Ollie Hoskins, 2 Brandon Paenga-Amosa, 1 Tom Robertson
Replacements: 16 Nic Dolly, 17 Marley Pearce, 18 Tiaan Tauakipulu, 19 Lopeti Faifua, 20 Reed Prinsep, 21 Henry Robertson, 22 Max Burey, 23 Bayley Kuenzle
British and Irish Lions: 15 Elliot Daly, 14 Mack Hansen, 13 Garry Ringrose, 12 Sione Tuipulotu, 11 James Lowe, 10 Finn Russell, 9 Tomos Williams, 8 Henry Pollock, 7 Josh van der Flier, 6 Tadhg Beirne, 5 Joe McCarthy, 4 Scott Cummings, 3 Tadhg Furlong, 2 Dan Sheehan (c), 1 Pierre Schoeman
Replacements: 16 Ronan Kelleher, 17 Andrew Porter, 18 Will Stuart, 19 Ollie Chessum, 20 Jack Conan, 21 Alex Mitchell, 22 Huw Jones, 23 Marcus Smith
Date: Saturday, June 28
Venue: Optus Stadium, Perth
Kick-Off: 7:45pm AEST, 10:45am BST
Referee: Ben O’Keeffe (NZR)
Assistant Referees: Paul Williams (NZR), James Doleman (NZR)
TMO: Marius van der Westhuizen (SARU)
FPRO: Glenn Newman (NZR)
