8 Irish starters as Lions name team for Test rehearsal in Canberra
This game is being viewed as a Test rehearsal for the Lions, with their opening meeting against Australia 10 days later. There is one more warm-up game ahead on Saturday against an AUNZ Invitational team, but this Brumbies clash has increasingly looked like the last opportunity for Farrell to run most of his Test combinations.
Jamison Gibson-Park and Finn Russell will resume their halfback pairing at Gio Stadium, while Irish centres Bundee Aki and Garry Ringrose start together.
Scotland's Blair Kinghorn gets his first Lions start at fullback, making up the back three with James Lowe and Tommy Freeman.
Advertisement
Dan Sheehan and Tadhg Furlong are picked in the front row with Ellis Genge, while Ireland's Joe McCarthy partners captain Maro Itoje in the second row.
Jack Conan is at the heart of a back row that is completed by English pair Tom Curry and Ollie Chessum, the latter at blindside.
There are four more Irish players on the bench in Rónan Kelleher, Andrew Porter, Josh van der Flier and Mack Hansen, who will play in his hometown of Canberra.
Interestingly, the Lions bench includes two back rows in van der Flier and Henry Pollock despite Farrell going for a 5/3 split, with Chessum providing second row cover from within the starting XV.
Lions (v Brumbies):
15. Blair Kinghorn (Toulouse/Scotland)
14. Tommy Freeman (Northampton/England)
13. Garry Ringrose (Leinster/Ireland)
12. Bundee Aki (Connacht/Ireland)
11. James Lowe (Leinster/Ireland)
10. Finn Russell (Bath/Scotland)
9. Jamison Gibson-Park (Leinster/Ireland)
1. Ellis Genge (Bristol/England)
2. Dan Sheehan (Leinster/Ireland)
3. Tadhg Furlong (Leinster/Ireland)
4. Maro Itoje (Saracens/England) (captain)
5. Joe McCarthy (Leinster/Ireland)
6. Ollie Chessum (Leicester/England)
7. Tom Curry (Sale/England)
8. Jack Conan (Leinster/Ireland)
Replacements:
16. Rónan Kelleher (Leinster/Ireland)
17. Andrew Porter (Leinster/Ireland)
18. Will Stuart (Bath/England)
19. Josh van der Flier (Leinster/Ireland)
20. Henry Pollock (Northampton/England)
21. Alex Mitchell (Northampton/England)
22. Marcus Smith (Harlequins/ England)
23. Mack Hansen (Connacht/Ireland)
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Irish Independent
an hour ago
- Irish Independent
Tommy O'Brien: ‘I was thinking, this might be the end, my body is just not able for this'
Tommy O'Brien had never started a Champions Cup game for Leinster when he was finally named in the team to take on La Rochelle back in January. Then, in keeping with his luckless run up to that point, O'Brien picked up yet another injury in training, which ruled him out of making the trip to France. Instead, the winger had to wait until April for his first Champions Cup start, which he duly marked with a try in Leinster's quarter-final win over Glasgow.
Irish Examiner
5 hours ago
- Irish Examiner
Brendan Rodgers: 'I played Gaelic and hurling – I wasn't so good at the hurling'
It didn't take long for Brendan Rodgers to be engulfed by 'Corkness'. Just a couple of hours after landing in Cork, the Celtic manager was in Cork City Hall amongst some members of the Cork public, the Cork Lord Mayor Fergal Dennehy and Cork City manager Ger Nash on the eve of the Cork Super Cup. The match itself, which has sold over 30,000 tickets so far, will also be played at Páirc Uí Chaoimh – the home of Cork GAA – providing Rodgers with the perfect way in which to charm the locals in attendance. 'We were training on Saturday, and I was at a wedding in the evening, I met some Dublin guys who weren't so happy. They filled me in on how they took a bit of a beating in the game,' smiled Rodgers on his first ever visit to the Rebel County, referring to Cork's 20-point demolition of the Dubs at Croke Park. 'I've always followed the hurling, it's a great occasion in a few weeks' time, it will be a great match against your neighbours. 'I played Gaelic and hurling – I wasn't so good at the hurling – but I obviously know the backdrop to the stadium, the history and the heritage of it so it's going to be a great honour for us to be there and bring Celtic to play there is special.' Back to football (or soccer) matters though and Rodgers insisted that this friendly against City forms another key step on their way to building towards the upcoming season. Irish fans may get the chance to see Adam Idah, Liam Scales and Johnny Kenny in action although the Hoops boss admitted his international players that only returned to training last Friday are likely to be given a week before being thrown back into action, ruling Kieran Tierney out of featuring on Leeside. 'Kieran won't be involved,' confirmed Rodgers, who also insisted he has yet to decide if Kenny will again be sent out on loan. 'I've been really pleased for Johnny since I've seen him in January, that was close up. I think he has improved, I think he has developed. 'I spoke to Johnny – funny enough – this morning, just talking about his plan. We would really like him to sign another deal at Celtic and then we will decide what's going to be the best way to develop him, whether it's to stay or whether we think he needs another step to go out. 'He's got a lot of strengths and a lot of qualities; he's done very well since he came back in January. 'This an important part of our preparation, for sure. We're very much in our preparation phase, we've only been back a week, we played our first game on Friday (a 1-0 win away at Queen's Park). 'The one thing I always know with this type of club, and it was similar with Liverpool, there's no pre-season friendlies. 'When you're a big club, I always say it's a test, so this is another test of us. The Cork guys will be super fit because they are well into their season but that's good for us because it means we will have to work very hard in the game. 'We expect a great atmosphere; it's a real privilege for us to play in this stadium and we look forward to playing how we play which is always an attacking brand of football.' As for City, Nash admits he was disappointed to lose striker Djenairo Daniels, who signed a two-year deal with Kilmarnock on Monday after the two clubs reached an 'undisclosed agreement.' The 23-year-old joined the Rebel Army on a short-term deal back in April and scored five goals in 12 Premier Division appearances for the club. City had been hoping to keep hold of Daniels, who had impressed since coming in to replace the injured Ruairí Keating, until the end of the season as they look to avoid relegation, but he has instead opted to join the Scottish Premier League side. 'We wanted to keep DD, I think he did really well when he was here with us,' said Nash. 'Of course, we are disappointed to lose him, but we can't dwell on that, we have to move on. 'We have huge games and the reason you have a squad is to give opportunities to people. 'We need to focus on us. Good luck to DD, when he was with us, he did great. The downside to all of these signings when they are window to window is that the possibility of players leaving is always high. 'It's probably why I have gone down the route of trying to sign Irish players, players who can be here and want to be here for a long time. 'We will be looking to strengthen the squad, definitely.'
The Irish Sun
5 hours ago
- The Irish Sun
Republic of Ireland U21 ace Mark O'Mahony joins Reading on loan as Noel Hunt backs Brighton star to fire in League One
IRELAND Under-21 striker Mark O'Mahony has joined Noel Hunt's Reading on a season-long loan deal from Brighton. The 19-year-old Cork City academy product spent last year on loan at 2 Ireland U21 star Mark O'Mahony has joined Noel Hunt's Reading side on a season-long loan 2 Reading boss Noel Hunt was thrilled to get a deal over the line But having made his Reading boss Hunt was thrilled to land his fellow Irish man who he believes can play a key role as the Royals look to win promotion from League One. Hunt said: 'Mark is a young hungry striker who wants to come in and develop at our club. 'He's young and he wants to learn his trade after having a successful loan deal last year at Portsmouth in the Championship. read more on golf 'He learnt plenty whilst playing at that level, which will stand him in good stead for the upcoming season. 'He's another player who has come through a really strong Academy, and will be a great addition to our squad.' Elsewhere, Ex-Ireland star Aaron Connolly has sealed a move to Leyton Orient. has agreed a Most read in Football And Wellens said: 'I tried to sign Aaron when I was at Swindon a few years ago, but he then scored a hat-trick against MK Dons in the EFL Trophy. Everyone was in for him after that. Chelsea's £54M Wonderkid Estevão SNUBS Club World Cup to Say Goodbye to Palmeiras | From The Sports Desk | Sun Sport 'He's talented, quick, good on the ball and skilful. He's got an eye for goal, and he scored twice on his Premier League debut for Brighton. 'The ability is all there, and when I met him recently I got a really good vibe off him. I sense that there is a burning desire for him to do well 'If we can get Aaron firing, I have absolutely no doubt in his abilities.'
