Farrell throws down the gauntlet as opportunity beckons for chosen Lions
Andy Farrell has fired the starting gun on his players' race to a British & Irish Lions Test jersey this summer after naming his first matchday squad for Friday night's Dublin date against Argentina.
The 1888 Cup match on the eve of the Lions squad's departure for a 10-match tour of Australia, highlighted by a three-Test series against the Wallabies, may be a non-cap international but the head coach is expecting a Test-level challenge from Los Pumas and that means an opportunity for the 23 players selected to pull on the famous red jersey first to make the earliest of impressions.
There will be five further opportunities in country Down Under to persuade Farrell of individual merits for inclusion in the July 19 First Test squad to meet Joe Schmidt's men in Brisbane but whoever follows the 23 chosen for this historic first Lions game on Irish soil, there will be an element of playing catch-up.
Farrell has named six Irishmen, including a fit-again Tadhg Furlong, in a team captained by tour skipper Maro Itoje to face the Argentinians at a sold-out Aviva Stadium on Friday night.
Furlong missed Leinster's URC Grand Final win over the Bulls at Croke Park last Saturday as he completed his rehabilitation from a calf issue that had sidelined him since May 3, but of his 11 Leinster team-mates who joined the squad last Monday alongside English Premiership finalists from Bath and Leicester Tigers, only replacement hooker Ronan Kelleher has been asked to double up from Saturday's respective club deciders to this Friday's pre-tour match.
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Farrell duly threw down the gauntlet to those who will be in the stands watching their fellow tourists get their first bites as 2025 Lions. Kelleher aside, the other 22 players have been already been in camp.
'It's tough for them coming in, because these lads are fully up to speed and bonded and these lads have subtly worked their way in and so the more they can come out of themselves or be themselves as soon as possible, the quicker they are going to learn.
'There's quite a bit of experience in terms of being able to do that, so they've certainly added another dimension. We had a great session against Portugal in Quinta on Friday. It's a different level when the squad come back together, and we've got 15 on 15 and that type of talent going at one another. You can see the competitive nature and the talent that's in the room.'
There was also a message from the head coach for his matchday squad, that the starting gun on Test selection has been fired.
"This is all about putting your best foot forward as a group. They're representing the group. This is a full-blown Test match for us, for all that are involved internally. We're lucky to have the quality of the Argentinian side to come over and test that. It's going to be a fantastic occasion."
All four nations will be represented in this opening match but for the half-dozen Irishmen on display, it is a particular moment of pride to represent the Lions in their first ever match on Irish soil.
There are some combinations within the starting line-up which already have the look of Test partnerships with Bundee Aki named at inside centre alongside Scotland's Sione Tuipulotu, while Itoje partners his 2021 Test team-mate Tadhg Beirne in the second row.
There is also continuity in the shape of a Northampton Saints and England half-back partnership in scrum-half Alex Mitchell and fly-half Fin Smith, whose fellow national playmaker Marcus Smith is named at full-back with another Saint in Tommy Freeman on the right wing, Scotland's Duhan van der Merwe occupying the left wing.
The front row of the pack sees England duo Ellis Genge and Luke Cowan-Dickie pack down at loosehead and hooker alongside Irish tighthead Finlay Bealham while there is a combative back row formed by flankers Tom Curry and Welshman Jac Morgan with the former's English team-mate Ben Earl handed the start at No.8.
Farrell has picked a team to show the Australians what his 2025 Lions are about, and 'what we want to stand for as a team'.
In return he asked for: 'Cohesion, connection. An ability to attack the game from the off and be the best version of themselves individually and collectively.
'You can give yourself any excuse in terms of time together. But we've had good preparation. If you want to be a good Lions player, you have to hit your straps straight from the off. We want to see these players compete.'
BRITISH & IRISH LIONS: M Smith (England); T Freeman (England), S Tuipulotu (Scotland), B Aki (Ireland), D van der Merwe (Scotland); F Smith (England), A Mitchell (England); E Genge (England), L Cowan-Dickie (England); F Bealham (Ireland); M Itoje (England) – captain, T Beirne (Ireland); T Curry (England), J Morgan (Wales), B Earl (England).
Replacements: R Kelleher (Ireland), P Schoeman (Scotland), T Furlong (Ireland), S Cummings (Scotland), H Pollock (England), T Williams (Wales), E Daly (England), M Hansen (Ireland).
ARGENTINA: S Carreras; R Isgró, L Cinti, J Piccardo, I Mendy; T Albornoz, G García; M Vivas, J Montoya - captain, J Sclavi; F Molina, P Rubiolo; P Matera, JM Gonzalez, J Oviedo.
Replacements: B Bernasconi, B Wenger, F Coria Marchetti, S Grondona, J Moro, S Benitez Cruz, M Moroni, S Cordero.
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