Owen Farrell has been named among the replacements as the British and Irish Lions prepare to face an AUNZ Invitational XV this weekend.
The Lions head to the Adelaide Oval on Saturday for what will be their final warm-up fixture ahead of the three-Test series against Australia that begins at Brisbane’s Suncorp Stadium on July 19.
Farrell joined the squad in Sydney last week having been called up as a replacement for the injured Elliot Daly but had a watching brief only for their wins over the New South Wales Waratahs and ACT Brumbies.
However, the former England captain trained fully for the first time in Canberra on Tuesday and was expected to be included in the squad to face a strong-looking AUNZ Invitational XV.
It will be Farrell’s 19th Lions appearance and first match of any kind since May 4, when he suffered a concussion during Racing 92’s Challenge Cup semi-final defeat by Lyon.
His disappointing lone season in France was also hampered by a lingering groin injury that required surgery in November.
Farrell, who has now returned to former club Saracens on a two-year contract, has not played Test rugby since stepping down from England duty in the aftermath of the 2023 World Cup in order to prioritise his and his family’s mental wellbeing.
He now joins Brian O’Driscoll, Alun Wyn Jones, Willie John McBride and Mike Gibson as the only players ever to go on four separate Lions tours and will be looking to prove to dad and head coach Andy Farrell that he is worthy of a spot in the Test squad.
Having named what many expect to be very close to his team for the first Test against the Wallabies to face the Brumbies on Wednesday, Andy Farrell mostly reverts back to the team that earned a scrappy 21-10 victory over the Waratahs to head to Adelaide, with most of his presumed Test starters - including tour captain Maro Itoje - given a rest.
Ireland’s Tadhg Beirne captains the Lions for the second time on tour having also been named skipper against the Waratahs, lining up at lock alongside James Ryan having been shifted to the back row last weekend to cover the late withdrawal of Henry Pollock with a calf issue.
Pollock starts at blindside flanker, as was the original plan against the Waratahs, with Jac Morgan - the sole Welshman left in the touring party following Tomos Williams’ hamstring injury - returning on the openside along with number eight Ben Earl.
Will Stuart gets the nod over Finlay Bealham at tighthead prop as the duo look to put pressure on Tadhg Furlong, joined in the front row by Pierre Schoeman and Luke Cowan-Dickie.
Hugo Keenan returns at full-back and could yet be the Test starter in that position after rival Blair Kinghorn went off with a knee injury in the first half against the Brumbies.
Mack Hansen - who came off the bench to face his old club in Canberra - starts opposite Duhan van der Merwe on the wing, with the Scottish partnership of Huw Jones and Sione Tuipulotu restored at centre following Jones’ two first-half tries against the Waratahs.
Fin Smith is joined at half-back by Ben White, who makes his first Lions start after being drafted in as an injury replacement for Williams and coming off the bench in Sydney last weekend.
Ireland trio Andrew Porter, Ronan Kelleher and Bealham are the replacement front row as Andy Farrell opts for a 5-3 bench split, joined by Josh van der Flier - who scored off the bench against the Brumbies - and Scott Cummings.
England duo Alex Mitchell and Marcus Smith once again make the matchday squad, joining Owen Farrell.
“We are in a great position just over a week out from the First Test,” said Andy Farrell. “The players now have another chance to put in a strong team performance and put a hand up for selection for the Test matches against the Wallabies.
“Les Kiss has assembled a strong squad with lots of international experience and we know that he will have them well organised and they will bring a lot of physicality to the contest.”
Former Ireland and London Irish coach and Ulster director of rugby Kiss, who will take over the Australia job from Joe Schmidt next year and has already coached against the Lions on this tour with the Queensland Reds, has named a strong AUNZ Invitational XV to face the Lions.
The team includes six Australian internationals and eight capped by the All Blacks. Blues wing AJ Lam is the only player in the starting lineup without a senior cap to his name.
British and Irish Lions vs AUNZ Invitational XV lineups
British and Irish Lions XV: Keenan; Hansen, Jones, Tuipulotu, Van der Merwe; F Smith, White; Schoeman, Cowan-Dickie, Stuart; Ryan, Beirne (c), Pollock, Morgan, Earl
Replacements: Kelleher, Porter, Bealham, Cummings, Van der Flier, Mitchell, M Smith, Farrell
AUNZ Invitational XV: Stevenson; Lam, Laumape, Havili (co-c), Koroibete; Edmed, Fakatava; Ross, Paenga-Amosa, Toomaga-Allen; Blyth, Salakaia-Loto (co-c), Frizell, Samu, Sotutu
Replacements: Eklund, Fusitu'a, Dyer, Philip, Brial, Thomas, McLaughlin-Phillips, Campbell
