Owen Farrell is expected to be left out of the British & Irish Lions squad for Saturday’s first Test against Australia in Brisbane. With Tom Curry poised to get the nod at openside flanker ahead of Jac Morgan, the Lions are set to run out for a Test with no Welsh representation for the first time since the 19th century.
Farrell’s omission comes despite an impressive 30-minute cameo from the bench in last Saturday’s 48-0 victory over the AUNZ Invitational XV. Offering cover at inside-centre and fly-half he was tipped to make the Test squad but he is now likely to have to wait for a seventh Lions cap with father Andy preferring Marcus Smith on the bench.
Elsewhere, Curry is set to start in the No 7 jersey, prevailing amid fierce competition from Morgan and Henry Pollock, both of whom appear likely to miss out on the matchday 23, with Tadhg Beirne in line to start at blindside flanker. Ben Earl’s versatility is expected to earn the Saracens back-rower a place among the replacements.
Farrell is set to rely on a core of his Ireland stalwarts with Dan Sheehan, Joe McCarthy, Beirne, Jack Conan, Jamison Gibson-Park, James Lowe and Hugo Keenan all in line for starts. Maro Itoje will captain the side from the second row and win his 100th Test cap with Finn Russell pulling the strings from fly-half.
In the centres, Farrell is leaning towards the all-Scotland combination of Sione Tuipulotu and Huw Jones. Tommy Freeman is primed to start on the right wing while Ellis Genge and Tadhg Furlong are the favourites for the starting prop roles. Ollie Chessum, Alex Mitchell and Bundee Aki are lined up for places on the bench.
With Blair Kinghorn and Mack Hansen nursing knee and foot injuries respectively, and Farrell missing out, Smith is set to profit and be asked to cover fly-half and fullback. His selection on the bench comes after a rollercoaster season in which he was England’s most creative spark from fly-half during the autumn campaign before losing his place to Fin Smith, moving to fullback before finding himself on the bench. He has never looked entirely comfortable at fullback but his versatility earned him a place in the initial Lions squad and so far he has appeared in five of the six matches.
Barring a late change of heart, he is set to be preferred to Farrell. It may be significant that Smith assumed goal-kicking duties when both he and Farrell came on last Saturday. Russell will begin as the nominated kicker but without Kinghorn, the Lions need a back-up and Farrell has endured problems all season as a result of his groin injury. It is understood the issue has caused him some discomfort of late.
Having not won a Test series since 2013 and with just one win since 1997, the Lions have set themselves a lofty target of a 3-0 whitewash over the Wallabies and have boldly declared their aims to be the best ever Lions team. Sheehan, who is in line to start at hooker, said: “It would be a good story and a good legacy to have a winning series. We haven’t delved too much into the wider picture. We did at the start when we were trying to frame the mindset, but this week has been all about Saturday, and how our prep goes into winning this game on Saturday, and we’re going to throw everything at that.
“There’s going to be no holding anything back, or waiting for the next two Tests. It’s all about Saturday. I think we’re in a good spot. Lads are hungry, and we’re expecting the Wallabies to be hungry. I think it’ll be a good Test and fireworks on Saturday.
“No one is going to shy away from it, our aim is a Test series win and I don’t think anyone should be afraid of saying it. It gives you a responsibility to go out and do it. There’s a clear gameplan to have a dominant series and win.
“It’s the way I was brought up in my career, to be very clear in what you want out of a season or a campaign and then you have to attack it. There’s a bit of a responsibility on you, you’ve said it out loud so you have to go do it.”
Meanwhile, Ewan Ashman and Rory Sutherland will both start for Scotland against Samoa before heading for Lions duty. The front-row forwards have been named in Gregor Townsend’s team for their final summer tour match at Eden Park in Auckland on Friday.
Darcy Graham is among the players dropping out of the team which lost to Fiji after already joining up with the Lions. The three Scotland players have been earmarked to take part in next Tuesday’s Lions match against a First Nations & Pasifika XV.
