Western Force v British and Irish Lions: Five issues for the opening tour match

Irish Examiner

a day ago

Cohesion
After a less-than-fluid performance in defeat to Argentina at Dublin's Aviva Stadium last week, Andy Farrell will demand his tourists hit the ground running on Aussie soil this Saturday morning.
A record contingent of eight starters from Ireland, led by captain Dan Sheehan, and with three more on the bench, should ensure a greater understanding than was seen eight days earlier from the more diverse selection which faced the Pumas.
There is also an important Scottish midfield connection at 10 and 12 with chief playmaker Finn Russell at fly-half and Sione Tuipulotu at inside centre while there should be more fluency out wide with Garry Ringrose at outside centre to create opportunities for his compatriots James Lowe and Mack Hansen on the wings. Passes will need to stick for Farrell to judge this a step forward.
Lineout
One of the major letdowns for the Lions against Argentina was a misfiring lineout and head coach Farrell has given himself more potential variety in the set-piece menu by moving away from an all-groundhog back to row of three natural opensides with the switch of Tadhg Beirne from lock to blindside flanker.
With Ollie Chessum a similar threat as a lock/flanker and Jack Conan both on the bench, the Lions can also spring some quality jumping operators for Sheehan to aim at while an extra week on the training field should also bring connectedness in the complex machine that is a Test lineout.
It will be needed against a Western Force forward pack with a reputation for having one of Super Rugby's best defensive lineouts while they led the competition this season in terms of success on their own ball (88.6%).
Wallaby lock Darcy Swain is missing regular partner and club skipper Jeremy Williams, kept back by the Australians, but is partnered in the second row by former Ulster and Wallaby player Sam Carter as they go up against Joe McCarthy and Scott Cummings.
Youth and Experience
Northampton Saints wonderkid Henry Pollock did not have the easiest of introductions off the Lions bench against Argentina but the 20-year-old with one England cap has been handed a start at No.8 alongside Ireland flankers Beirne and Josh van Flier.
It caps a remarkable rise to prominence for a player who started the Six Nations for England Under-20s against the Irish in Cork on January 30.
At the other end of the spectrum, tighthead prop Tadgh Furlong and full-back Elliot Daly embark on their third Lions tours having both played in all three Tests against both New Zealand in 2017 and South Africa four years ago.
Englishman Daly enhanced his Test credentials for 2025 with a strong performance off the bench against Argentina while Furlong came on tour having had his season ruined by calf injuries.
Yet coming on for fellow Irishman Finlay Bealham in Dublin eight days ago represented a major step forward in the tighthead's readiness for action and he passed a late HIA to earn his start against the Western Force. Old or young, this trio will be worthy of the focus on them in Perth.
Finn Russell
After watching from the stands in Dublin six days on from steering Bath to the English Premiership title, the Scotland fly-half gets his opportunity to stamp his authority on a Lions tour and lay claim to the Test number 10 jersey.
Russell needs to bring that feel-good factor from his Twickenham tour de force onto the field in Perth and get his backline humming.
He has a livewire scrum-half in Tomos Williams to feed off and a familiar foil on his outside in international team-mate Tuipulotu while the previous knocks against him in terms of a tendency for flakiness appear to be a distant memory.
Russell has the chance to confirm that opinion at Optus Stadium this morning.
The Wallaby factor
After a week of back and forth between the Lions and Australia boss Joe Schmidt about participation agreements and the release of international players from the host nation back to their Super Rugby franchises, Western Force will have six current national squad members in their ranks to face the tourists, including their chirpy matchday captain and scrum-half Nic White.
Their presence should ensure a feisty start to the tour as they look to lay down some markers ahead of the three-Test series with the Wallabies beginning in Brisbane in three weeks.