Dan Sheehan captain, Henry Pollock starts, in British and Irish Lions side v Western Force

News.com.au

5 hours ago

Medical marvel Dan Sheehan has been announced as the shock new British & Irish Lions captain, while wonder kid Henry Pollock will make his first start for the touring side against the Western Force on Saturday.
Sheehan replaces skipper Maro Itoje, who is not in the 23-man squad, in a remarkable turn of events for the Irish hooker just 12 months after he feared his Lions dreams were over when he tore his anterior cruciate ligament and medial collateral ligament in a Test against South Africa.
The 26-year-old shocked medical experts by returning to play just six months after his knee surgery, with most similar cases having a nine to 12 month comeback time frame.
Sheehan captain the Lions' first game in Australia, leading a vastly different side to the one that lost 28-24 to Argentina last weekend in Dublin.
Pollock, the youngest member of the squad, starts at No.8, while Scottish maestro Finn Russell is the new five-eighth.
Irish stars Garry Ringrose, James Lowe, Joe McCarthy and Josh van Der Flier have all been put straight into the starting side for the clash at Optus Stadium.
A further four players are set to make their Lions debuts off the bench - England and Leicester Tigers lock Ollie Chessum, Scotland and Glasgow Warriors centre Huw Jones, Ireland and Leinster Rugby prop Andrew Porter and England and Bath Rugby prop Will Stuart.
'We have had a good week of training and all of the travel and time zone changes have been managed really well, so we are good to go,' Farrell said.
'Dan Sheehan gets the opportunity to lead the side against Western Force, which is a great honour for him and his family - so congratulations to Dan as he captains the side on his Lions debut.
'We know the quality and experience the Force have and the opportunity to play against the Lions always brings out special performances from the Super Rugby sides, so we expect them to be at their best.'
On the 2013 Tour, the Lions ran out 69-17 winners at the Subiaco Oval. Current assistant coach Johnny Sexton got the Lions off the mark with an early try while Leigh Halfpenny converted all nine Lions tries.