British and Irish Lions
1.Pierre Schoeman 2.Jamie George 3.FInlay Bealham 4.James Ryan 5.Scott Cummings
6.Jac Morgan 7.Josh Van der Flier 8.Henry Pollock 9.Ben White 10.Fin Smith
11.Duhan Van der Merwe 12.Owen Farrell(C) 13.Jamie Osborne 14.Darcy Graham 15.Blair Kinghorn
16.Ewan Ashman 17.Rory Sutherland 18.Tom Clarkson 19.Gregor Brown
20.Ben Earl 21.Alex Mitchell 22.Marcus Smith 23.Gary Ringrose
First Nations and Pasifika XV
1.Lington Ieli 2.Brandon Paenga-Amosa 3.Taniela Tupou 4.Darcy Swain 5.Lukhan Salakaia-Loto
6.Seru Uru 7.Charlie Gamble 8.Tuaina Taii Tualima 9.Kalani Thomas 10.Kurtley Beale
11.Filipo Daugunu 12.David Feliuai 13.Lalakai Foketi 14.Triston Reilly 15.Andy Muirhead
16.Richie Asiata 17.Marley Pearce 18.Mesaka Doge 19.Mesake Vocevoce
20.Rob Leota 21.Harrison Goddard 22.Jack Debreczeni 23.Jarrah Mcleod
This is a Lions team with many players who weren't part of the original team when it was selected a couple of months ago. In the front row, Jamie George starts at hooker which is a fully-deserved opportunity for the former England captain. He'll be flanked at the scrum by Pierre Schoeman and Finlay Bealham. Behind them, Ryan and Cummings will bring the size and power to this team in abundance. The back row consists of three openside flankers - Van der Flier, Morgan and Pollock will all start. This will give the Lions and edge in terms of mobility but could easily make the line out a significant liability. With that being said, if i had to pick one hooker in the world to nail a line-out throw, I would pick Jamie George so clearly Andy Farrell is relying on his brilliance to mitigate that risk. The big name in the backs is Owen Farrell who has been named captain and at inside centre. This will obviously be a topic of discussion but no one can reasonably doubt his qualities as a leader so this decision makes obvious sense. Steve Borthwick may be watching this game a bit more closely than he otherwise would upon hearing this team news; Fin Smith is the starting fly-half so his connection with Owen Farrell will be interesting to watch. Farrell has indicated that, after his return to Saracens, he is open to playing international rugby once again.
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