Andy Farrell has named his son Owen as captain of the British & Irish Lions for the squad’s final midweek fixture against a First Nations and Pasifika XV on Tuesday. Farrell will lead a side containing eight players who were not originally selected for the tour as the management seek to keep most of their first-choice 23 fresh for Saturday’s second Test against the Wallabies.
It will be Farrell’s 20th appearance in a Lions jersey and the experience he has accrued over four Lions tours has earned him the nod as skipper ahead of his fellow Englishman and recent Lions replacement Jamie George. Farrell will wear 12 in a team which also features the fit-again Blair Kinghorn at full-back and two new arrivals in Jamie Osborne and Darcy Graham at centre and wing respectively.
The bench also contains a number of players bussed in as cover for a fixture that has reignited the debate over whether it dilutes the honour of Lions’ representation to call up replacements players primarily on geographical grounds. The Scottish trio of Ewan Ashman, Rory Sutherland and Gregor Brown have been all been named on the bench after being summoned from New Zealand where Scotland have been playing.
The Leinster and Ireland prop Thomas Clarkson is another new face while there is a bench return for Garry Ringrose, ruled out of first Test contention with delayed concussion symptoms. “This fixture gives players another opportunity to put their hand up for selection for the final two Tests,” said Andy Farrell, whose side won the first Test 27-19 in Brisbane on Saturday.
“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 [and] Pasifika team that is packed with talent and power.”
The 36-year-old Kurtley Beale will captain a First Nations & Pasifika XV which also contains Taniela Tupou and Filipo Daugunu, both released from the Wallabies squad for the fixture by head coach Joe Schmidt.
The ex-Wallaby forward Pete Samu will not feature, however, because he did not fulfil the strict criteria in the tour agreement that all players involved should have been involved in this season’s Super Rugby competition. Samu helped Bordeaux win this year’s Champions Cup and has returned home to join the Waratahs but the Lions management declined to make an exception for him.
Toutai Kefu, the First Nations & Pasifika head coach, is nevertheless hopeful that his side will be competitive. “The team has a really nice feel to it, with a blend of not only youth and experience, but also cultures,” he said. “The Lions have shown how strong they are on this tour … but we’re not here to make up the numbers. We want to win this game and make history.”
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First Nations and Pasifika XV: Muirhead; Reilly, Foketi, Feliuai, Daugunu; Beale (capt), Thomas; Ieli, Paenga-Amosa, Tupou, Swain, Salakaia-Loto, Uru, Gamble, Taii Tualima. Replacements: Asiata, Pearce, Doge, Vocevoce, Leota, Goddard, Debreczeni, McLeod.
British & Irish Lions: Kinghorn; Graham, Osborne, Farrell, Van der Merwe; F Smith, White; Schoeman, George, Bealham, Ryan, Cummings, Morgan, Van der Flier, Pollock. Replacements: Ashman, Sutherland, Clarkson, Brown, Earl, Mitchell, M Smith, Ringrose.