Lions team to play AU/NZ Invitational side: Owen Farrell to start

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They arrive in South Australia on the back of a tough encounter against the ACT Brumbies, where it seemed that starting XV which Farrell picked looks close enough to the expected lineup against the Wallabies on July 19.

Saturday matches on this tour Down Under has turned into the new midweek game, with the likelihood of Test starters not appearing. This means the AUNZ invitational clash presents a golden opportunity for players who were not involved in Wednesday evening’s match to have one last outing to make their case for Test selection.

Blair Kinghorn went off in the opening 40 in the encounter against the Brumbies with a knee injury. He punched the ground when he first got injured and whilst walking down the tunnel he seemed in low spirits. The Scotsman looked in pole position for that starting jersey but it’s looking very unlikely now.

Harlequins’ Marcus Smith replaced him and also crossed the whitewash. With Hugo Keenan not firing on the weekend against the New South Wales Waratahs, it’s likely that Farrell will start Keenan one more time, but don’t be surprised if Smith is involved in the starting XV.

Mack Hansen came on for his Irish counterpart James Lowe against the Brumbies, and did so against a team who he played for 21 times and had a decent performance

He’ll likely get the opportunity to start on the weekend but him and Duhan van der Merwe will unlikely feature in the Test series. Van der Merwe hasn’t reached the heights expected Down Under but will have one more opportunity but he’ll need his best outing yet.

It’s been apparent that Farrell has been shaping his centre pairing around Sione Tuipulotu and that trend will continue on Saturday. He’ll join up with Huw Jones, who’s been outstanding, especially against the Waratahs where he was the best Lions player on the pitch that evening.

There’s still no clear front runner for the 12 or 13 jerseys so both will need another strong showing, as these positions will be causing Farrell some headaches when it comes to selection.

Both Jamison Gibson-Park and Alex Mitchell have been great value for Farrell so far Down Under and both will be named in the match day 23 for the Test.

This means that late call-up Ben White should get his first start as a Lion. With Finn Russell so clearly the number 10 for the opening Test and with Fin Smith having a mediocre performance last weekend, don’t be shocked if Owen Farrell is involved.

Managing players for that first Test against Australia is mightily important, and with Farrell likely not to feature in them it’s likely he’ll start on Saturday.

With the likeliness of Ellis Genge, Dan Sheehan and Tadhg Furlong being involved in the first Test against the Wallabies, it’s going to be a fresh look in the front row who play in the Adelaide on Saturday.

Pierre Schoeman will start at loosehead, whilst Luke Cowan-Dickie and Will Stuart will also be selected. The interesting call here is however, is whether Farrell goes with Finlay Bealham who has been in fine form in his outings for the touring side.

With both Ollie Chessum and Tadhg Beirne battling for the starting blindside jersey for the first Test, both Scott Cummings and James Ryan will get the opportunity to show their worth against the Invitational side.

Especially for Cummings this is a huge game as he is playing for a spot on the bench whereas for Ryan he’ll be wanting to put in a better performance than he did against the Waratahs where his counterpart shined.

Wednesday’s game against the Brumbies was the first time in 126 years that a Lions side did not feature a Welshmen. However, Jac Morgan will return to the starting XV and will look to further cement himself in Farrell’s Test lineup with another standout performance.

Beirne will drop back onto the blindside like he did against the Waratahs after Henry Pollock was injured and will captain the Lions for the second time. Ben Earl who played brilliantly against the Waratahs will have one last go but it’s looking likely that Jack Conan will start in the eight jersey against Australia.

1 Pierre Schoeman

2 Luke Cowan-Dickie

3 Will Stuart

4 Scott Cummings

5 James Ryan

6 Tadhg Beirne (c)

7 Jac Morgan

8 Ben Earl

9 Ben White

10 Owen Farrell

11 Duhan van der Merwe

12 Sione Tuipulotu

13 Huw Jones

14 Mack Hansen

15 Hugo Keenan

Here are the players that Ruck and other media outlets believe failed to impress against the Brumbies:

Despite scoring a try, Lowe had a disappointing performance marred by uncharacteristic errors. He botched an early try-scoring opportunity, threw loose passes, overhit kicks, and lacked confidence throughout. Though he made over 50 metres with ball in hand, his overall impact was minimal before being subbed off in the 63rd minute.

RUCK 5/10: "A game to forget for Lowe. Yes, he got a try but he was off the pace all match, before he got replaced by Hansen in the 63rd minute. His kicking game is an asset to the Lions but Lowe seemed to lack a lot of confidence, best shown by a botched try as he tried to step back instead of diving for the tryline. Hopefully, he can come back stronger."

Rugby Pass 5/10: "It was all going horribly wrong for the winger until he strolled home just before the half-hour mark after a sweet handling move. Before that, he’d blown a relatively easy try-scoring opportunity when he failed to ground the ball, and been guilty of a litany of errors, including throwing wild passes, being tackled into touch and over-hitting kicks."

Planet Rugby 5/10: "Did fantastically well to blunder a try in the first half, which was frankly embarrassing for a player of his quality. Did get over the line when there was no one in front of him soon after to make amends. He got his hands on the ball plenty and gained over 50 metres, but it was far from a compelling shift, which included two turnovers conceded."

Scored a try and assisted another but looked hesitant in the Lions jersey. Given a golden opportunity to push for the Test full-back spot after replacing Kinghorn early, Smith showed flashes of brilliance but failed to make a compelling case.

Rugby Pass 5.5/10: "Hopefully, the Quins man will take confidence from scoring a try and coming up with an assist, but looks strangely hesitant in a Lions’ jersey. Had a great opportunity to press for the Test No.15 jersey after getting just under an hour as a replacement for Kinghorn, but didn’t really do enough to silence the doubters."

FLORUGBY 6/10: "Defensively, Smith remains a mile off the mark at fullback, but you can see what the coaches like with his attacking game as a second distributor. The question will be, can the Lions work a way to negate his frailties in the backfield? Unfortunately, his lack of game time at ten feels set to be a deciding factor that could drop him out of contention."

A mixed performance from Curry, combining high work-rate and a key assist with costly errors. While he defended well with eight tackles, his game was marred by turnovers, penalties, and a poor second-half spell. Removed after 50 minutes, he didn't strengthen his Test selection claims.

FLORUGBY 5/10: "Reverting back to his favoured position of openside, the England backrow was industrious but lacked the clinical edge that he is renowned for. Clearly acknowledging that he is playing catch-up on Josh van der Flier and Jac Morgan for a starting role, Curry forced his hand a few times, notably in the 41st minute, which killed a Lions attack and sent the Brumbies on their way for a long-range attack. Replaced in the 50th minute, having made 10 tackles (2 missed) and 4 carries, and 1 carry was not the momentum-shifting performance he would’ve hoped for."

Telegraph 6/10: "A mixed bag. Curry was busy and bustling and set up Marcus Smith’s score. However, he also coughed up possession twice and shipped a needless penalty."

BALLS 6/10: "His work-rate was crucial in creating some overloads in attack. One knock-on, over on the right wing. Good offload for Smith's try. Threw an intercept, then scrambled over and conceded a penalty for playing the 9 (Lonergan) at the breakdown. Stuck eight tackles but missed two, and made little ground on his carries."

Planet Rugby 4/10: "Compounded a loose pass in the second half by conceding a penalty when the Brumbies broke away on the counter for a massive territorial deficit. He conceded another turnover in what was an underwhelming shift that included two missed tackles, too. In a congested loose trio, he did his chances of a Test start no favours in arguably his best position and was removed after 50 minutes."

An unfortunate outing for Kinghorn, who suffered a leg injury just minutes into the match and was forced off after 25 minutes. Dropped an early high ball and made some basic errors before exiting, missing his chance to stake a claim for the full-back role.

Planet Rugby 5/10: " A gutting setback. Today was his game to nail down the starting Lions full-back role and was forced off after just 25 minutes. He entered the line nicely to combine with Russell, but didn’t really get a chance to impress. A crushing blow if that’s the end of his tour. It did not look good."

Express 5/10: "Down with knee injury after nine minutes and off after 25 and didn’t look good"

Rugby Pass 4/10: "A disappointing outing for the Scot, who picked up a knock to his leg eight minutes in. Struggled on manfully before being replaced by Marcus Smith at the start of the second quarter. Dropped an early high ball before the injury in what was a night to forget."

BALLS 4/10: "Spilled an early high ball then went offside as the Lions were under early pressure. Was down for treatment before the 10-minute mark. Could have held his pass to Lowe (for the non-try) a beat longer. Lasted 25 minutes before hobbling off. "

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