Lions name strong team for final Wallabies clash as Jac Morgan included again

Yahoo

5 days ago

Andy Farrell has made minimal changes to his British and Irish Lions side for the third and final Test against Australia in Sydney as he looks to make history by sweeping the series, with Jac Morgan once again named on the bench.
Having wrapped up the series in Melbourne last weekend with a dramatic 29-26 victory, there might have been the temptation to hand out Test caps to some other members of his squad. However, Farrell has made just two changes to the starting side from last Saturday.
Scotland full-back Blair Kinghorn is brought in to start for the first time in this series, having been brought off the bench last weekend at the MCG. He starts on the wing ahead of Ireland's James Lowe.
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The other change sees Ireland lock James Ryan start alongside Lions captain Maro Itoje - who will start his eight consecutive Test match for the Lions - with Ollie Chessum dropping down to the bench.
Otherwise, Farrell has kept faith in the players that have already won the Lions' first Test series since 2013.
Ireland tighthead Tadhg Furlong will move alongside Wales legend Alun Wyn Jones in terms of starting nine consecutive Lions Test matches. The Leinster prop starts in an all-Ireland front-row alongside Andrew Porter and Dan Sheehan.
It's an unchanged back-row, with Tadhg Beirne, Tom Curry and Jack Conan continuing their run as Farrell's choices throughout the Test series.
In the backline, the half-back pairing of Jamison Gibson-Park and Finn Russell go again, as do Bundee Aki and Huw Jones in midfield after Garry Ringrose was ruled out.
In the back-three, last Saturday's hero Hugo Keenan starts again at full-back, with Tommy Freeman on the right wing opposite to Kinghorn.
On the bench, Wales captain Morgan gets another chance to win a Test cap - having come off the bench last week to help inspire the tourists' comeback.
He's joined by England back-row Ben Earl, as Farrell switches to a 6-2 split on the bench.
'We have put ourselves in a great position to finish this Tour with our best performance to date and create our own piece of history," said Farrell.
'Last weekend's Test match in Melbourne was an incredible spectacle and illustrated how special Lions Tours are and what they mean to both the players and the supporters.
'We are expecting another epic battle this weekend against a Wallaby side that showed their quality last week.'
The Lions are looking to make history this weekend. The tourists haven't gone unbeaten in a Test series since 1974 in South Africa, while you'd have to go back to 1927 in Argentina when they won all their Tests on a tour where they played more than just one.
The Wallabies will be without back-row Rob Valetini after he was forced off after 40 minutes in Melbourne. The powerful carrier, who shone in the first-half at the MCG, had missed the first Test in Brisbane - with the Wallabies flying into a convincing lead following the return of Valetini and second-row Will Skelton.
Valetini is replaced in the back-row by Tom Hooper. Prop Taniela Tupou is recalled in the front-row, following Allan Alaalatoa's injury last week.
In the backline, Dylan Pietsch replaces the injured Harry Potter on the wing. Scrum-half Nic White being is brought back in to start ahead of his Test retirement.
On the bench, there's no place for Carlo Tizzano on the replacement's bench. The back-row, who was cleared out by Jac Morgan at the end of last Saturday's match to prompt days of headlines, misses out as Joe Schmidt reverts to a 5-3 split on the bench - with the Wallabies coach confirming on Thursday it wasn't down to a concussion.
Lions: Hugo Keenan; Tommy Freeman, Huw Jones, Bundee Aki, Blair Kinghorn; Finn Russell, Jamison Gibson-Park; Andrew Porter, Dan Sheehan, Tadhg Furlong, Maro Itoje (c), James Ryan, Tadhg Beirne, Tom Curry, Jack Conan.
Replacements: Ronan Kelleher, Ellis Genge, Will Stuart, Ollie Chessum, Jac Morgan, Alex Mitchell, Owen Farrell.
Australia: Tom Wright; Max Jorgensen, Joseph-Aukuso Suaalii, Len Ikitau, Dylan Pietsch; Tom Lynagh, Nic White; James Slipper, Dave Porecki, Taniela Tupou, Nick Frost, Will Skelton, Tom Hooper, Fraser McReight, Harry Wilson (c).
Replacements: Billy Pollard, Angus Bell, Zane Nonggorr, Jeremy Williams, Langi Gleeson, Tate McDermott, Ben Donaldson, Andrew Kellaway.