Lions v Western Force live: score, commentary, updates from Perth

Times

4 hours ago

Speaking to Sky Sports, British & Irish Lions head coach Andy Farrell said: '[We want] a little bit more cohesion. We take the good out of the game [against Argentina] as well and we looked dangerous at times but we made too many errors.
'If you are not excited and don't have some nerves you're probably in the wrong jersey. But the payers are calm and hopefully come kick-off, they will be ready.'
Half an hour to go until kick-off in Perth. There are five players in the starting line-up who will make their Lions debut today: Dan Sheehan, Garry Ringrose, James Lowe, Joe McCarthy and Josh van der Flier.
Will Kelleher, in Perth
Finn Russell is looking suitably chilled, going through his usual 'Maradona Seven' style keepy-uppy routine. What shall we call it, the Russell Round?
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Will Kelleher, in Perth
I think the pitch could cause some issues here. One of the Lions coaches told us he was a little concerned about it cutting up yesterday, particularly around scrums. It's very sandy, and from up in the stands it looks quite patchy. Hopefully the set-pieces stay steady.
For the Ashes Test here in November they will drop in the wicket to the middle of this rugby field. The wickets sit in a 'nursery' growing outside the stadium bowl, and are dropped in in a process that takes three hours. Apparently each wicket weighs 25 tonnes, and No3 of the five is the groundsman's favourite. It is grown from the same clay and turf as the old WACA ground down the road, which is famed for its pace and bounce.
The Lions will hope there is no chin music from the Force today!
Stephen Jones, in Perth
I've attended the first match on all 11 tours, and I'd say the number of Lions fans here easily triples that of any other group. Many staying at our hotel are signed up for the entire tour. It's a great mix of people— all ages and all backgrounds.
Alex Lowe, in Perth
They are expecting a crowd in excess of 40,000 at the Optus Stadium, most of them wearing red. There are a lot of ex-pats living in Perth and a decent number of fans doing the full tour. It really feels like this is the proper start of the Lions tour, reinforcing my belief that the Lions should not have held that game against Argentina in Dublin. They did it as a naked money grab.
Every time they play at home it erodes the mystique of a team whose reputation and history — the very thing the Lions trade on so ferociously — is eroded. Now the Lions are on tour and there are fewer better things in sport that the sight of this unique team taking the field on the road to a Test series against the Wallabies.
Six current Australia players are included in the side facing the Lions today in Perth.
Tom Robertson, Darcy Swain, Nick Champion de Crespigny, Nic White, Dylan Pietsch and Ben Donaldson are all in, and will link up with the Wallabies on Sunday. Donaldson's inclusion comes after Kurtley Beale was ruled out having suffered a hamstring strain in training on Tuesday.
Will Kelleher, in Perth
The Lions bus is ensconced in the Optus, where outside the Force mascot is parading around for photos. I tried to ask him what sort of bird he was but he said 'not sure..!'
Out here in Perth, Andy Farrell is on tour, tracksuit on, working with the players, ad-libbing on the training field, preparing for games that will come thick and fast. On Wednesday evening, three days before the Lions play Western Force in Perth, the coaches held their first planning meeting for the midweek Queensland Reds game.
'We are into it,' Farrell says. 'When the Lions tour gets going, when we get down to the Tests, to the business end, it will be the most important thing in world sport by a country mile, whatever is going on. It will. That is just fact. I mean, why wouldn't you want to be involved in something like that?'
• Read Alex Lowe's full interview
Alex Lowe, in Perth
Breaking news from Perth: Nick Dolly, the one-cap England hooker whose quest to represent the Australian half of his family by playing for the Wallabies, has dropped off the Western Force bench. I presume he's injured. But still give Will Kelleher's piece a read.
I think Dolly was probably slightly misunderstood when he came into the England camp. He was seen as a fair dinkum Aussie — probably due to his haircut — and another overseas player wanting an England cap. He never told his story as he has done to Will.
Whether a personal memory of KFC in the hotel or glory in a Test match, British & Irish Lions legends from Willie John McBride to Matt Dawson share their best moments and players in the red jersey.
• Read in full
The second row's stagnated career has reignited, with his lineout skills coming to the fore in Western Australia. The Force have developed a handy habit of stealing lineouts in Super Rugby, with Swain prominent.
The Lions scrummaged superbly against Argentina but their lineout was poor, losing five of their own throws. Swain and his colleagues will target the touring side at this set piece. It's a challenge for the Lions but a great opportunity for individuals to — quite literally — jump into contention for the Tests.
The Force finished ninth of 11 in Super Rugby but their lineout statistics were outstanding, with the Australian lock back to his best since moving west. It is a game everyone expects the Lions to win but the magnifying glasses will be well and truly aimed at the lineout.
• Read Stuart Barnes's column on six Wallabies to watch out for on tour
2021: On the tour of South Africa four years ago, Warren Gatland's side began in Johannesburg with a 56-14 win over the Lions. Four tries from Josh Adams on the day was the highlight.
2017: The first provincial game in New Zealand did not go as well for the British & Irish Lions in Auckland, losing 22-16 to the Blues. Tries from Sonny Bill Williams, Ihiaia West and a 20 year old Rieko Ioane were enough to secure the win.
2013: On their previous visit to Australia, the Lions began with an impressive 69-17 thumping of Western Force, the same side they face today. Eight different tryscorers were on the scoresheet in Perth that day, with Brian O'Driscoll grabbing a brace
Where is Maro Itoje? The British & Irish Lions will launch their Australia tour against Western Force without their captain. Dan Sheehan will lead the side from hooker on his first Lions appearance, with Scott Cummings and Joe McCarthy forming a power-packed second-row partnership.
The Lions insist that Itoje, who was replaced ten minutes from the end of the defeat by Argentina last Friday, is fit for selection and that Andy Farrell has a plan for these opening three tour matches. It is important for squad unity and morale that every player gets a start, if possible. This has long been the standard approach of Lions coaches.
Read Alex Lowe's column
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Playing a midweek game for the Lions is a huge honour — and it is certainly more important than playing a summer Test for your country — but the truth is that everyone is hoping they are not picked in those midweek games, simply because you know what it means.
Very early on that might be different as there will be some mix-and-match selections, but very quickly the Test side is taking shape and that side will be playing on the Saturdays. Everybody wants to be a Test Lion.
• Read Sam Warburton's full column here
Elgan Alderman, somewhere between Lille and Amiens
En route to Paris on the Eurostar for tonight's Top 14 final, where Blair Kinghorn (the final Lion to arrive) and Jack Willis's Toulouse are in search of a third successive title, against the Double-chasing Union Bordeaux Bègles. I made sure to travel early enough to be on land for the opening Lions tour game. Full steam ahead to The Moose.
It was not guaranteed that our favourite rugby haunts would show the fixture. The Tests will be on mainstream French channels, though the tour games appear not to be as visible. There has been a lot of talk about the Lions touring France (even I have succumbed, sketching out how I would do it, without quite advocating it), but I do always wonder: would France actually care?
• Bitter rivals Bordeaux stand in way of Toulouse's historic triplé bid
• Lions Tour of France would set heart racing — here's how it could look
If Dan Sheehan becomes a Test starter for the British & Irish Lions this summer in Australia he will have the backyards of Bucharest to thank for making him the player he is.
It was in Romania that Sheehan — now the Leinster and Ireland hooker, and favourite to start for the Lions — played his games as a kid. Baseball, swimming, golf, basketball, volleyball, badminton; whatever it was, Sheehan and his brother Bobby tried it. 'That definitely impacted my skill set and being comfortable doing anything,' Sheehan says. 'My parents were big on just giving anything a lash.'
• Read Will Kelleher's full interview with Sheehan in Perth
Andy Farrell has told Henry Pollock that he has free licence to celebrate and be himself on his first start for the British & Irish Lions.
Pollock, the 20-year-old sensation of this season, will wear No8 against Western Force in Perth on Saturday. He comes into the starting team as one of 13 changes from the Lions' 28-24 defeat by Argentina in Dublin last Friday.
Farrell's side for their first match on Australian soil is led by Dan Sheehan, the 26-year-old Irish hooker, who captains the Lions on his debut for the touring side. Only Tadhg Beirne and Sione Tuipulotu keep their starting places from the Argentina match.
Hello and welcome to our coverage of the Lions' fixture against Western Force. Andy Farrell's side will want to bounce back after losing to Argentina last week in Dublin. Times rugby writers Will Kelleher and Alex Lowe will be bringing you all the insight from Perth.