Dan Sheehan to captain British and Irish Lions team v Brumbies
There may be 12 Leinster players on tour but even with the best will in the world, only 11 can be shoe-horned into the one starting side as there are two hookers in their number, Dan Sheehan and Ronan Kelleher.While there are two Bath players in the party, out-half Finn Russell and tighthead Will Stuart who is in direct contention with Tadhg Furlong (and Finlay Bealham) for a place.Thus with the injury list still containing Hugo Keenan and Jamison Gibson-Park - the latter, by the way, causing increasing worry at management level as the 'Irish' game-plan is acutely based on his hurry-hurry game.Which meant that even with the best will in the world Andy Farrell could only have chosen a dozen Leinster-Bath players for Saturday's first game on Australian soil...And, indeed, he has NOT gone full-on in this direction but settled for just one Bath starter in Russell and six Leinster players among an eight strong Ireland representation.
There are another three Leinster players on the bench which leaves James Ryan as the only Leinster player not involved this Saturday in Perth. Sheehan will captain the side, quite a surprise given Caelan Doris is Leinster captain and Luke McGrath is his regular vice-captain as Leinster, while he has captained Ireland just once, against Wales, in the 2025 Six Nations.
Sheehan is also one of five starters, alongside club teammates Garry Ringrose, James Lowe, Joe McCarthy and Josh van Der Flier who will make their Lions debuts this weekend at the Optus Stadium.
A further four players could 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.
Elliott Daly starts at full-back (Keenan injured and with Marcus Smith on the bench) and Tomos Williams at scrum-half (Gibson-Park injured).
:'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," said Head Coach Andy Farrell.'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.'On the 2013 Tour, the Lions ran out 69-17 winners at the Subiaco Oval. Current assistant coach Johnny Sexton got the Lions off the mark with an early try while Leigh Halfpenny converted all nine Lions tries.British & Irish Lions v Western Force, Optus Stadium, Saturday 28th June, 2025, KO: 11:00 BST, live on Sky Sports in the UK and Ireland.15. Elliot Daly (Saracens/England) #82214. Mack Hansen (Connacht Rugby/Ireland) #86713. Garry Ringrose (Leinster Rugby/Ireland)12. Sione Tuipulotu (Glasgow Warriors/Scotland) #86311. James Lowe (Leinster Rugby/Ireland)10. Finn Russell (Bath Rugby/Scotland) #8359. Tomos Williams (Gloucester Rugby/Wales) #8661. Pierre Schoeman (Edinburgh Rugby/Scotland) #8682. Dan Sheehan (Leinster Rugby/Ireland) (c)3. Tadhg Furlong (Leinster Rugby/Ireland) #8184. Scott Cummings (Glasgow Warriors/ Scotland) #8695. Joe McCarthy (Leinster Rugby/Ireland)6. Tadhg Beirne (Munster Rugby/Ireland) #8387. Josh van der Flier (Leinster Rugby/Ireland)8. Henry Pollock (Northampton Saints/England) #865Replacements:16. Ronan Kelleher (Leinster Rugby/Ireland) #86417. Andrew Porter (Leinster Rugby/Ireland)18. Will Stuart (Bath Rugby/England)19. Ollie Chessum (Leicester Tigers/England)20. Jack Conan (Leinster Rugby/Ireland) #83921. Alex Mitchell (Northampton Saints/England) #86022. Huw Jones (Glasgow Warriors/Scotland)23. Marcus Smith (Harlequins/ England) #855
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Irish Examiner
27 minutes ago
- Irish Examiner
Healy denied second Tour de France stage win
Ben Healy was denied victory on Mont Ventoux by a bike length as Valentin Paret-Peintre delivered a first home stage win of this year's Tour de France. Tadej Pogacar dealt with every attack attempted by rival Jonas Vingegaard and even put a couple of seconds into him at the finish to move four minutes 15 clear in yellow, but stage 16 went to the breakaway at the summit of this most feared of Tour climbs. Healy, who spent two days in yellow last week, was looking to add to his stage six win as he put in another outstanding attacking ride, but Paret-Peintre would not be denied as he came around the Irishman at the summit of the Giant of Provence. Healy had done the bulk of the work to reel in an attack from Enric Mas and was then the first to launch his move out of a group of four inside the last few hundred metres. But the effort told as Paret-Peintre, who had been able to get help from team-mate Ilan Van Wilder in the finale, had the kick to get up the final ramp first. Is is a fourth win of this Tour for Soudal-QuickStep, who lost leader Remco Evenepoel last week. "How I won that stage is hard to say, I was thinking 'maybe I can win today, maybe I'm the best climber in this breakaway'," Paret-Peintre said. "I asked my team-mates to make a good pace at the bottom and I tried so many times to drop Healy but he was very strong and at the end, I was just waiting for the sprint and then I won." Healy and Paret-Peintre were the final two survivors of a 35-strong breakaway on the 171.5km stage from Montpellier to Ventoux, the first finish here since the chaotic scenes in 2016 when Chris Froome was left running up the mountain after breaking his bike in a crash. There was not quite that level of drama in the general classification fight this time but it was not for lack of trying on the part of Vingegaard and Visma-Lease A Bike, who had riders up the road in the break and tried to use them to set up the Dane to take time back on Pogacar. Vingegaard launched his first attack after a big pull from Sepp Kuss, catching Tiesj Benoot before trying again, then taking a turn from Victor Campenaerts before a third dig. The tactics were excellent, but Pogacar was equal to them all and then put in his own attack going into the final hairpin. To add to Vingegaard's disappointment, the Dane collided with a photographer after the finish line and hit the deck. "I went down," Vingegaard said. "People in the finish area should use their eyes a bit more. "I was feeling very good today so I'm happy with the feeling, happy with the attacks. Of course we didn't gain any time today but I take a lot of motivation." Oscar Onley finished 14th on the stage but lost 36 seconds to third-placed Florian Lipowitz, leaving the fourth-placed Scot now two minutes off the podium places.
The 42
40 minutes ago
- The 42
Gavin Devlin set to be ratified as Louth senior football manager
GAVIN DEVLIN, MICKEY Harte's former assistant, is set to be ratified as the Louth senior football manager tonight. The 42 understands the Tyrone native will take charge after Ger Brennan stepped down earlier this month. Advertisement Devlin spent three years as Harte's assistant with Louth from 2021 to 2023. The duo guided the Wee County to a Leinster final in 2023 while climbing the National League ranks, before departing for Derry. After one season with the Oak Leaf county, Devlin returned to Louth as underage football development co-ordinator. Having helped rejuvenate youth systems while training the senior team, he kept a good relationship with Louth GAA while with Derry. The Ardboe clubman is now set to be appointed to the top managerial job. Brennan vacated the hotseat at the beginning of July. The former Dublin footballer helped Louth to their first Leinster senior football title in 68 years. - With reporting from Declan Bogue *****
RTÉ News
an hour ago
- RTÉ News
Tributes paid to cyclist, 25, who died on Tour de France trip
Tributes have been paid to a 25-year-old Irish man who died during a trip to see the Tour de France in Paris. Tomás Walsh, a talented cyclist from the Cheekpoint area of Co Waterford, died in the French capital in the early hours of yesterday morning. He had travelled to France to watch the 16th stage of the Tour de France today. Comeragh Cycling Club, where he was a member for the past ten years, described Tomás as the "life and soul" of the club. In a statement, a club spokesperson said: "Tomás joined us as a 15-year-old ten years ago and represented us at both underage and senior level where he had great success. "He was the life and soul of the club, a fantastic young man." The club said its members had been "truly shattered" by Tomás' death and extended their condolences to his family and friends. The Department of Foreign Affairs said it was aware of the case and providing consular assistance.
