SYDNEY :British & Irish Lions coach Andy Farrell has named eight Irishmen in his starting side to face the ACT Brumbies on Wednesday, the tour match for which he was expected to select a line-up close to his first-choice team for the test series.
Lock Maro Itoje returns as skipper after being rested for the unconvincing 21-10 victory over the New South Wales Waratahs at the weekend, as does Scottish flyhalf Finn Russell.
Russell’s compatriot Blair Kinghorn survives from the side that played the Waratahs but will switch from the wing to his more familiar fullback role at Canberra Stadium.
The rest of the backline has a distinctive Irish flavour with Garry Ringrose and Bundee Aki in the centres, Jamison Gibson-Park at scrumhalf and James Lowe on the left wing.
Specialist number eight Jack Conan will be in the back row with English flankers Tom Curry and Ollie Chessum, while Joe McCarthy will play in the second row with Itoje, and Tadhg Furlong and Dan Sheehan fill out two-thirds of the front row.
Young English loose forward Henry Pollock, who was a late withdrawal from the Waratahs game with a calf issue, was named in the replacements as back row cover with Ireland’s Josh van der Flier.
Australian-born winger Mack Hansen is another of the four Ireland players on the bench and he gets a chance to play against his former club in his home town.
Farrell said on Saturday that his playmaker son Owen, who was called up last week as an injury replacement for Elliot Daly, would not be considered for the Brumbies match.
“In 2013 the Brumbies beat the British & Irish Lions in Canberra and this year they were the leading Australian team in Super Rugby,” Farrell, who is on sabbatical from his job as Ireland coach for the tour, said in a team statement.
“We are fully aware of the challenge in front of us.”
Team: 15–Blair Kinghorn, 14–Tommy Freeman, 13–Garry Ringrose, 12–Bundee Aki, 11–James Lowe, 10–Finn Russell, 9–Jamison Gibson-Park, 8–Jack Conan, 7–Tom Curry, 6–Ollie Chessum, 5–Joe McCarthy, 4–Maro Itoje (captain), 3–Tadhg Furlong, 2–Dan Sheehan, 1–Ellis Genge.
Replacements: 16–Ronan Kelleher, 17–Andrew Porter, 18–Will Stuart, 19–Josh van der Flier, 20–Henry Pollock, 21–Alex Mitchell, 22–Marcus Smith, 23–Mack Hansen.
