Debutants galore as Lions change it up for Force battle

Yahoo

7 hours ago

A total of nine players could make their British and Irish Lions debut in Saturday night's tour match against the Western Force, but Irish duo Jamison Gibson-Park and Hugo Keenan will be given more time to recover.
Lions coach Andy Farrell has named Irish and Leinster hooker Dan Sheehan as captain against the Force, while club teammates Garry Ringrose, James Lowe, Joe McCarthy and Josh van Der Flier will also make their debuts.
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.
Irish scrumhalf Gibson-Park (glute) and fullback Keenan (calf) arrived in Australia with injury concerns and won't be risked against the Force.
Farrell didn't mince his words following the Lions' shock 28-24 loss to Argentina in Dublin last weekend, and he's looking for a response against the Force.
Scotland's Sione Tuipulotu and Irish forward Tadhg Beirne are the only two starters from the game against Argentina who have retained their place in the XV.
Even if the Lions had beaten Argentina, Farrell would have still overhauled his side to get a better look at the 38-man squad at his disposal.
"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."
The Lions beat the Force 69-17 at Subiaco Oval in 2013 when the teams last locked horns.
But the Force are expected to be much stiffer competition this time around, with a crowd in excess of 45,000 expected at Optus Stadium.
Although Kurtley Beale has been ruled out with the hamstring injury he suffered at training on Tuesday, the Force team boasts a wealth of current or former Wallabies.
Ben Donaldson, Tom Robertson, Darcy Swain, Nick Champion de Crespigny, Nic White and Dylan Pietsch have all been released from Wallabies camp to play against the Lions.
LIONS XV: Elliot Daly (Saracens/England), Mack Hansen (Connacht Rugby/Ireland), Garry Ringrose (Leinster Rugby/Ireland), Sione Tuipulotu (Glasgow Warriors/Scotland), James Lowe (Leinster Rugby/Ireland), Finn Russell (Bath Rugby/Scotland), Tomos Williams (Gloucester Rugby/Wales), Henry Pollock (Northampton Saints/England), Josh van der Flier (Leinster Rugby/Ireland), Tadhg Beirne (Munster Rugby/Ireland), Joe McCarthy (Leinster Rugby/Ireland), Scott Cummings (Glasgow Warriors/ Scotland), Tadhg Furlong (Leinster Rugby/Ireland), Dan Sheehan (Leinster Rugby/Ireland - capt), Pierre Schoeman (Edinburgh Rugby/Scotland).
RESERVES: Ronan Kelleher (Leinster Rugby/Ireland), Andrew Porter (Leinster Rugby/Ireland), Will Stuart (Bath Rugby/England), Ollie Chessum (Leicester Tigers/England), Jack Conan (Leinster Rugby/Ireland), Alex Mitchell (Northampton Saints/England), Huw Jones (Glasgow Warriors/Scotland), Marcus Smith (Harlequins/ England).