Lions Test XV takes shape — but Tom Curry and Ollie Chessum need big games

Times

5 days ago

The reception staff at the British & Irish Lions hotel welcomed the team to Canberra by wearing replica jerseys over their regular uniforms, a nice gesture undermined a little by the fact they were fakes. The real thing is a deeper, blood red. And in a meeting room off the lobby, Andy Farrell was eyeing the most-prized Lions jersey of all.
Farrell's Test selection is starting to take shape. The Lions head coach, as forecast since the opening game in Perth, named his strongest line-up of the tour to play ACT Brumbies on Wednesday night. Farrell's challenge to each man was to seize this opportunity and nail down their jersey for the first Test against Australia on July 19.
'I will tell you what I said to the team: 'It is up to people to put their best foot forward for a Test spot from now on in,' ' he said.
Farrell's thinking has to remain flexible, with one further tour game scheduled before the Test series, but his selection strategy appears to have narrowed to the extent that there are no more than four positions still to be confirmed from a potential starting XV to face the Wallabies.
Blair Kinghorn gets his chance to start at full back after Hugo Keenan's error-strewn performance against the Waratahs. Tadhg Furlong has had an injury-disrupted season but needs to only come through this game positively to secure the tight-head prop berth, with Will Stuart and Finlay Bealham competing to be his understudy.
The flanker roles will be influenced by the Lions' preferred back-row balance. Farrell has an embarrassment of riches, although Tom Curry is a favourite. 'He is a machine,' Farrell said. 'His work rate, the stuff he does off the ball makes teams tick. He is so fit and so determined to have an impact on the game, especially as far as physicality is concerned. I think he has started the tour really well.'
The question is not whether Curry plays, but where? The Lions have had a good look at fielding two open-sides, twice pairing up Curry with Jac Morgan, and they would have given that plan a twist against the Waratahs had Henry Pollock been fit to start in the No6 jersey.
Against the Brumbies, Curry will switch to open side, with Josh van der Flier ready to state his own case from the bench. Ollie Chessum, another abrasive English forward with an incredible engine, comes in at blind-side flanker, with Jack Conan at No8.
That is probably the most physical trio the Lions could pick. It will be the first time that Curry and Chessum have played together in the same back row, which is a surprise only because they would appear to offer the perfect balance.
Chessum is a bopper on the blind side; a genuine lineout option who has soft hands but a hard edge to his game. Slated as the next captain of Leicester Tigers and England, he offers some important strategic calm amid the chaos.
'He's got a Test chance, yes, 100 per cent,' Farrell said. 'He's been very impressive. He's a big man. He's obviously a fantastic lineout option, but he moves really well. He's a rugby player throughout, as in good with the ball in hand, he understands the game, the holistic game. It'll be interesting to see how he goes at six.'
The Lions have been too lateral in attack on this tour. This team have carriers who will be responsible for thrusting them on to the front foot, and creating a platform for Jamison Gibson-Park and Finn Russell.
The pack blends industry, dynamism and power, with Ellis Genge, Dan Sheehan and Furlong in the front row, with Maro Itoje packing down for the first time with Joe McCarthy in the second row.
Bundee Aki and Garry Ringrose form an all-Ireland midfield, which appears to have edged ahead of the Scottish pair of Sione Tuipolotu and Huw Jones.
Tuipolotu is a triple threat at inside centre but he has not used his power enough to generate momentum for the Lions. Aki did that well in the second half against Queensland Reds, as the Lions scored 45 unanswered points. Tommy Freeman and James Lowe are the clear Test wing options either side of Kinghorn.
Farrell has criticised his players at times on this tour for being too desperate to impress. If they are to respond to the challenge of seizing a Test jersey, what exactly is he looking for?
'You want to see them stay in every single moment of the game,' he said. 'I know that sounds harsh and almost impossible to do but they understand 100 per cent now, and have done for a week or so, what is expected of them. That's what we're judging them on.'
It is how Curry has always judged his own performances. He is capable of showcase moments but almost happier when playing the kind of role that allows others to shine. Farrell appreciates those characters. Back in Perth, he highlighted a lung-bursting defensive contribution from Mack Hansen as his moment of an eight-try, 50-point win.
''The first and foremost thing is to win,' Curry said. 'To do that, people have to be putting their best foot forward. Do what you have to do to win. I don't really care if you stand out.
'I judge my game on how hard I work and that is how I get my enjoyment out of the game; getting off the floor and running and that sort of stuff. That puts me in the best spot to do what I want to do.
'I don't do stats and numbers. It's just, if you are on the floor, how quickly you get up and if the ball is in the air, how quickly you run.
'I've done that but I feel like I can definitely add [to my performances]. There are moments when I've not been at my best, but I feel like it's building and when I'm back in games like this, the best is yet to come.'
The backs cover on bench includes Alex Mitchell, who will make his fifth appearance of the tour, plus Marcus Smith and Hansen. Smith has had a curious tour, used as a bits-and-pieces player to fill in gaps. But his selection in this squad could well be a stopgap until Owen Farrell is over his jet lag.
If Farrell was on the bench along with Hansen, the Lions would have natural cover for fly half, inside centre and the whole back three. This team has no inside centre cover. Farrell Jr will play against an Australia/New Zealand invitational XV on Saturday.
Farrell Sr was speaking in the Binara room at the team hotel, named after a plant with a four-sided stem. The Lions are also four-sided entity, representing England, Scotland, Wales and Ireland. However, with Morgan rested, they are down to three.
This team to play the Brumbies does not include any Wales players. According to the statistician Russ Petty, this will be the first time since 1889 that the Lions have gone into a game against opposition from Australia, South Africa or New Zealand without a Welshman in the side.
That should not matter, for they are all Lions out here. But it comes just days after Wales, who were almost at full strength, lost to a very inexperienced Japan side in Kitakyushu; a dark era for a proud nation, who have provided more Lions to the famous jersey than any other.