The British and Irish Lions will kick off their campaign in Dublin against possibly the best team they'll face all summer - Argentina. The Pumas will be relishing this opportunity and have selected a strong team to take on the Lions. Here is how the sides will line up on Friday evening:
British and Irish Lions
1.Ellis Genge 2.Luke Cowan-Dickie 3.Finlay Bealham 4.Maro Itoje(C) 5.Tadhg Beirne
6.Tom Curry 7.Jac Morgan 8.Ben Earl 9.Alex Mitchell 10.Fin Smith
11.Duhan Van der Merwe 12.Bundee Aki 13.Sione Tuipulotu 14.Tommy Freeman 15.Marcus Smith
16.Ronan Kelleher 17.Pierre Schoeman 18.Tadhg Furlong 19.Scott Cummings
20.Henry Pollock 21.Tomos Williams 22.Elliot Daly 23.Mack Hansen
Argentina
1.Mayco Vivas 2.Julian Montoya(C) 3.Joel Sclavi 4.Franco Molina 5.Pedro Rubiolo
6.Pablo Matera 7.Juan Martin Gonzalez 8.Joaquin Oviedo 9.Gonzalo Garcia 10.Tomas Albornoz
11.Ignacio Mendy 12.Justo Piccardo 13.Lucio Cinti 14.Rodrigo Isgro 15.Santiago Carreras
16.Bautista Bernasconi 17.Borls Wenger 18.Francisco Coria Marchetti 19.Santiago Grondona
20.Joaquin Moro 21.Simon Bentez Cruz 22.Matias Moroni 23.Santiago Cordero
Andy Farrell has made some intriguing and exciting selections in his 23. Most notably, he has chosen a centre partnership of Aki and Tuipulotu which tells us exactly how this team will play. Argentina bring a physical style to the pitch and this seems like the perfect duo to counter that. Huw Jones could easily have been selected so his omission is perhaps a sign that this Aki/Tuipulotu partnership is something that Farrell is considering for the test matches against Australia. Elsewhere, Fin Smith has been given the first chance to play fly-half with Russell being rested after his heroic exploits last weekend for Bath. The other fly-half in this squad is also stating - but not in that position. Marcus Smith is going to start at fullback with Keenan and Kinghorn both unavailable.
Argentina have selected a strong side with many players who will be familiar to English fans. Julian Montoya, who just made his final Leicester appearance, captains the team in a pack with three other Premiership players. Gonzalez, the Saracens back rower, is a big name in an imposing back row alongside Matera and Oviedo. Molina and Rubiolo make up the rest of the starting, Premiership contingent in the pack. Argentina also have some dangerous athletes in their back line; Lucio Cinti is well-known for his exploits at both Saracens and London Irish and will be the fastest player in midfield on the pitch. In the back three, Rodrigo Isgro stands out as a deadly finisher who is quick, powerful and solid in the air. He has become a key threat for Harlequins since joining last summer. Their fullback is Santiago Carreras who had become a fan-favourite in Gloucester before announcing his move to their bitter rivals, Bath.
This is going to be an incredible contest between two, evenly matched teams. However, Argentina's cohesion makes them slight favourites going into the game.
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