British and Irish Lions vs Australia
Kickoff: 11am GMT, Saturday
Watch on: Sky Sports Lions
Location: Melbourne Cricket Ground
British and Irish Lions
1.Andrew Porter 2.Dan Sheehan 3.Tadhg Furlong 4.Maro Itoje(C) 5.Ollie Chessum
6.Tadhg Beirne 7.Tom Curry 8.Jack Conan 9.Jamison Gibson-Park 10.Finn Russell
11.James Lowe 12.Bundee Aki 13.Huw Jones 14.Tommy Freeman 15.Hugo Keenan
16.Ronan Kelleher 17.Ellis Genge 18.Will Stuart 19.James Ryan
20.Jac Morgan 21.Alex Mitchell 22.Owen Farrell 23.Blair Kinghorn
Australia
1.James Slipper 2.David Porecki 3.Allan Alaalatoa 4.Nick Frost 5.Will Skelton
6.Rob Valetini 7.Fraser McReight 8.Harry Wilson(C) 9.Jake Gordon 10.Tom Lynagh
11.Harry Potter 12.Len Ikitau 13.Joseph-Akuoso Sualii 14.Max Jorgensen 15.Tom Wright
16.Billy Pollard 17.Angus Bell 18.Tom Robertson 19.Jeremy Williams
20.Langi Gleeson 21.Carlo Tizzano 22.Tate McDermott 23.Ben Donaldson
The Lions come into this game with a 1-0 lead in the series but without having performed to their true potential. The first test was one within an hour of play but it's still a potential concern that Australia were allowed back into things in the final quarter of the game. Perhaps that is why Andy Farrell has made some changes to the bench.
In the front row, Ellis Genge has dropped to the bench and swaps places with Porter who will start in an all-Irish front row. This means that the bench will have both of England's props ready to come on together. With that in mind, as well as Kelleher's struggles at the line-out, one might have assumed that Jamie George would be the obvious choice to come on with his international teammates but the theme of this team is that Farrell has chosen those whom he already knows and trusts. This seems to have given an edge to several Irish players who's places were in doubt.
One player who appears to have benefited most from Farrell's loyalty is James Ryan. The Irishman is yet to shine on this tour and was outperformed by his fellow lock, Scott Cummings, on Tuesday but has still been picked on the bench due to an injury to Joe McCarthy. This means that Itoje and Chessum will start in the second row with Beirne hoping to solidify the line-out from blindside flanker. Beirne was one of the star players of the previous game and will be joined by his fellow first-test-star, Tom Curry. Jack Conan also starts which means that there are no changes in the starting back row. On the bench, Wales will finally have some involvement in the test with Jac Morgan starting the game on the bench. He has been the in-form back rower throughout the tour and is probably on the bench to ensure that there is no loss of abrasiveness and physicality in the last 20-minutes.
The starting backs remain mostly similar with the two changes coming in midfield. Huw Jones and Bundee Aki will start with Tuipulotu and Ringrose both dropping out. Aki was selected ahead of Tuipulotu but the selection of Huw Jones was forced. It has come to light that Gary RIngrose took the brave decision to remove himself from the 23-man squad due to a concussion. This is a good sign that the culture around concussions has truly changed in rugby and that modern players are becoming more proactive about protecting themselves from serious head injuries. It also shows that the elite environments are in a good way such that players don't fear repercussions for taking care of themselves. This means that Aki and Jones will start together in a duo that is exciting but also practically untested.
The biggest headlines from this squad selection will come on the bench. Owen Farrell has been selected as the second-choice fly half and Blair Kinghorn will also be on the bench. Farrell being on the bench is another sign that Andy Farrell was unhappy with the end of the first test. He has selected a team with plenty of experience and a ruthless edge that will not give Australia and inch. This side looks more intimidating than the last and ready to put this series to bed.
The team looking to make me eat my words is Australia who have been boosted by some big players returning from injury. And by big I mean that they are important but also physically massive. Will Skelton, Rob Valetini and Langi Gleeson all returning will bring a new dimension to this game and make Australia far more intimidating than they were last Saturday.
Interestingly, Joe Schmidt has opted against swapping his half backs despite their varying fortunes in the first match. He has backed Tom Lynagh and Craig Gordon to perform well in this match which makes sense given that their jobs should be quite a bit easier now that they are playing behind a reinforced pack with the likes of Will Skelton and Rob Valetini beefing up the Wallabies significantly.
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