Why Ronan O’Gara wants Dan Sheehan and Tadhg Furlong benched for Lions’ first Test versus the Wallabies
Lions tighthead Tadhg Furlong
Ronan O’Gara has taken a “fascinating” approach to selecting his preferred British and Irish Lions XV, insisting that Andy Farrell would be better off benching Irish front-row duo Dan Sheehan and Tadhg Furlong and instead starting Ronan Kelleher and Will Stuart in Saturday’s Test series opener against the Wallabies.
Hooker Sheehan has been one of the standout form players so far on the 2025 tour, while tighthead prop Furlong started the last six Lions Test matches; the three 2017 encounters with the All Blacks and the three 2021 fixtures versus the Springboks.
Nearly all the predicted starting XVs for next weekend’s Test in Brisbane have Sheehan listed at No.2 and Furlong at No.3, but O’Gara has outlined his case that the Lions would be best served by using these two players as replacements.
He also included Owen Farrell as a bench choice in a six/two forwards/backs split, backing up a starting XV consisting of nine Irish, four English and two Scots.
“I went with that logic…”
Appearing on Sky Sports following last weekend’s 48-0 win over the AUNZ Invitational, O’Gara said after his selection appeared on the TV screen: “I suppose the first thing is, where is Tadhg Furlong and where is Dan Sheehan?
“For me, they are the two best in the world in their position, so I’d like to finish the game with them. Just to have that security to know that a Test game is usually won in the last eight to 12 minutes because it is rarely you are two scores ahead, so in that regard, I went with that logic.
“It can be picked apart, but for me, I would prefer to finish with the strongest 15 as opposed to starting with it, but maybe both Sheehan and Furlong can go 80 minutes.”
O’Gara wasn’t expecting head coach Farrell to agree with his logic. “Andy Farrell won’t go with it,” he chuckled. “But you have no idea when you look into someone’s eyes in a Test game after 43 minutes, and you see Dan Sheehan come on. Imagine what that does to the opposition. Imagine a loosehead prop seeing Furlong after 42 minutes…”
O’Gara also admitted there was a potential flaw with his decision to bench Furlong and Sheehan, and also have loosehead Andrew Porter as a replacement.
“The danger with it is if Australia start fast and they go 10-0 up… because if you get on top in the scrum, it’s a different picture in the referee’s head. Scrum dominance usually equals game dominance, which means that you probably get the advantage in creating your maul, ‘these guys have an advantage up front…’
“I don’t know Stuart and I don’t know Genge particularly well, but as players they look very impressive, so you have got to (use them). In the modern game, six forwards play all the time, front-rows. So, how do you get the best out of them?
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“I see the game as a No.10, that’s why you need the assistance of your forwards coach, your D coach, because he actually makes you aware of, ‘ROG, these guys don’t think like that, you need to speak to them like this because we need to share strengths to get better as a group’. That for me is a fascinating aspect of coaching and why it’s so interesting.”
Looking at other areas of his preferred match day 23, O’Gara added: “Familiarity in the back row because the impact of Ben Earl and Henry Pollock just adds an awful lot to it with probably the benefit of them covering as centres as well. I like what they do as hybrids.
“And then in the back it’s pretty straightforward. There is obviously a big debate in terms of who you play at 12 if you are going with Huw Jones with Garry Ringrose ruled out through injury – do you go with (Sione) Tuipulotu or Bundee Aki? You could go either way.
“He [Aki] is the best in the world at winning a gain line, he gives front foot ball, he makes the front five get on the ball on the second phase with winning a gain line, and the game is so much easier when you win collisions.”
“I probably would have gone seven-one…”
O’Gara also touched on his idea of a seven/one bench and mentioned two players he would have included on the tour if he had any say in the matter. “You have just got to make sure you know what the role of the starters is when you have got a six/two (bench) load.
“If (Blair) Kinghorn was available, I probably would have gone seven-one with him being able to cover the No.10 position because he goal kicks really well for Toulouse. If I were picking it, I would probably have had Jack Willis starting in it and I’d have had (Kyle) Sinckler in the 23 as well, but I am not picking it.”
O’Gara stressed the importance of the Lions squad accepting that every selection decision is taken for the greater good and not for any selfish reason. “What we have to probably respect is what Sione said (in his post-game everything), everyone benefits if the Lions get it right.
“So, in that regard, if you are outside of the 23, how do you set up your team to succeed during the week? It means that your training on Tuesday and Thursday is really important because if the Lions get the Test series, the whole group wins.
“If they don’t get it, everyone loses, and the reputation is tarnished a little bit, so in terms of what is involved in the group, there is a lot more than you would expect in terms of how the non-23 prepare the team to go into battle on Saturday.
“From talking to Paul O’Connell and talking to a lot of guys associated with Ireland, Andy Farrell’s major strength is that he has the capacity to bring a group together like no other coach.”
Ronan O’Gara’s preferred Lions first Test XV: 15 Hugo Keenan, 14 Tommy Freeman, 13 Huw Jones, 12 Bundee Aki, 11 James Lowe, 10 Finn Russell, 9 Jamison Gibson-Park, 8 Jack Conan, 7 Josh van der Flier, 6 Tadhg Beirne, 5 Joe McCarthy, 4 Maro Itoje (c), 3 Will Stuart, 2 Dan Sheehan, 1 Ellis Genge
Replacements: 16 Dan Sheehan, 17 Andrew Porter, 18 Tadhg Furlong, 19 James Ryan, 20 Ben Earl, 21 Henry Pollock, 22 Alex Mitchell, 23 Owen Farrell
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