
Live Andy Farrell names Lions team to play ACT Brumbies
Despite beating New South Wales Waratahs on Saturday to keep their 100 per cent win record Down Under intact, the Lions produced an underwhelming display in Sydney.
Speaking following Saturday's match with Waratahs, Farrell said: 'There's a bit of frustration there. It's nice to get a win but I suppose at this stage we're trying to judge the performance a little bit more.
'[I'm] disappointed enough with the amount of possession and territory that we had and how we dealt with certain situations. A different type of game but are we glad that's happened to us? Yeah, we are because there's some good learnings that we need to learn quickly in regards to that type of game.
'It's adjusting to what's been put in front of us on the run and making sure that we're playing the game. That's happening at that moment in time. Let's congratulate the Waratahs as well for the type of game that they had, that they played. When you have 70 per cent territory, 60 per cent possession and I think 20 turnovers, that's by far not clinical enough.'
Farrell is widely expected to ring the changes to his starting XV for the match with Brumbies in Canberra on Wednesday morning (UK time).
Arguably their toughest opponents yet, Brumbies will give Farrell an opportunity to field the team he may plan to field against Australia in the first Test a week next Saturday (July 20).
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Numbers don't mean much.' Another trump card in Curry's favour is that he is the only one of the contenders with past Lions Test experience. However, it feels as though he needs a big performance to cement his place in the starting XV. The unseen graft is all very well, but with the Test series approaching Curry needs to come out of the shadows and display his destructiveness in defence. Josh van der Flier (Ireland) – Mr Consistency There are very few boxes that Van der Flier does not tick. Carry, link, and especially tackle. Against both the Western Force and the Waratahs, he was the game's top tackler with 21 and 17 respectively. For Ireland under Andy Farrell, he is one of the first names on the team-sheet and has considerable pedigree as the 2022 World Player of the Year. In terms of ball-handling skills, Van der Flier has as smooth a hands as any back in the squad – indeed he was a scrum half until he was 15 – and often acts as an auxiliary 9 from line-out ball. 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an hour ago
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Scotland's Lions fears intensify - Sione Tuipulotu and Huw Jones deserve Test chance but others now ahead
Sign up to our Rugby Union newsletter – Regular news stories and round-ups from around Scotland direct to your inbox Sign up Thank you for signing up! Did you know with a Digital Subscription to The Scotsman, you can get unlimited access to the website including our premium content, as well as benefiting from fewer ads, loyalty rewards and much more. Learn More Sorry, there seem to be some issues. Please try again later. Submitting... As Andy Farrell noted, there is still time for Lions hopefuls to 'play themselves in and play themselves out' of Test selection, but those not included in the team to face the ACT Brumbies in Canberra on Wednesday are entitled to start fretting. The widely held perception is that the side Farrell named on Monday will be very similar to the one which takes the field against Australia in Brisbane on July 19. Advertisement Hide Ad Advertisement Hide Ad If so, that's bad news for the bulk of the Scots on tour, with only Blair Kinghorn and Finn Russell from the eight-strong tartan contingent picked to play the Brumbies. The team is dominated by Ireland and England players who supply 21 of the match-day 23, 12 Irish and nine English. Huw Jones and Sione Tuipulotus started together for the British & Irish Lions against the NSW Waratahs in Sydney. | Getty Images The most startling omissions from a Scottish perspective are those of Sione Tuipulotu and Huw Jones, but is there a danger in reading too much into Farrell's latest centre picks? The head coach has gone for the Ireland combination of Bundee Aki and Garry Ringrose for the Brumbies game, a duo he knows inside and out to use a centre analogy. Jones is the tour's top try-scorer Tuipulotu and Jones started together in Saturday's laboured win over the Waratahs in what was the most turgid Lions performance since they arrived in Australia. 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Russell in particular has been the outstanding candidate in his position and nothing Fin Smith did at the weekend would give Farrell cause to look beyond the Scot. Meanwhile, Marcus Smith, the other fly-half in the squad, has yet to start a game at 10 which is telling. Finn Russell (R) and Jamison Gibson-Park celebrate after the Lions' victory over the Queensland Reds. | Getty Images Sticking with the backline, and Kinghorn may just have timed his run to perfection. The Scotland full-back missed the Lions games against Argentina, Western Force and Queensland Reds due to the late finish to the French season. But having helped Toulouse to another Top 14 title, Kinghorn has arrived in camp brimming with confidence. Winger's chances of facing Wallabies are receding He started on the wing against the Waratahs and although he didn't see a lot of the ball, he showed good awareness and is rewarded with the full-back's jersey against the Brumbies. If he impresses on Wednesday he will surely keep it for the first Test. Duhan van der Merwe's chances of facing the Wallabies appear to be receding, however. The Edinburgh wing started all three Tests against South Africa four years ago but it is Tommy Freeman and James Lowe who now look in pole position, with Mack Hansen as back-up. Advertisement Hide Ad Advertisement Hide Ad Van der Merwe started against Argentina and the Reds and came off the bench in the Waratahs game but hasn't quite recaptured his Scotland form thus far. Blair Kinghorn started on the wing for the Lions against the Waratahs but will be at full-back for the Brumbies game. | Getty Images Like Kinghorn, Ben White was late to the party - an injury replacement for the unfortunate Tomos Williams - but the Scotland No 9 is behind Gibson-Park and Alex Mitchell in the scrum-half pecking order. Up front, Scotland are represented by Pierre Schoeman and Scott Cummings but neither is in the 23 for Wednesday's match in Canberra. Schoeman, the Edinburgh loosehead, has a lot to do if he is to be picked ahead of either Ellis Genge or Andrew Porter in Farrell's Test 23. Cummings, meanwhile, struggled with the restarts in the Western Force match but played well against the Waratahs and has an outside chance of making the bench against Australia in Brisbane where Maro Itoje and Joe McCarthy are certain starters in the second row.