Joe McCarthy out but nine Irish to start second Lions Test against Australia
Joe McCarthy and Mack Hansen both miss out on selection, having struggled with foot injuries which have kept them out of training, but in spite of this it's an Irish dominated starting XV once again, with 11 Ireland internationals across the matchday 23.
It's a statement selection by Farrell, who had eight Irish starters in his team a week ago, and he has upped that further as the Lions look to clinch the series with a game to spare.
McCarthy misses out after failing to recover from a foot injury, with Ollie Chessum partnering Maro Itoje at lock for an all-English second row pairing.
Andrew Porter comes in at loosehead prop with Ellis Genge dropping to the bench, a nod towards Farrell wanting more explosiveness from his replacements in the final quarter.
It's also a full-Irish front row at the MCG this week, with Dan Sheehan and Tadhg Furlong both starting alongside their Leinster team-mate.
Farrell has naturally stuck with the same back row which dominated the Wallabies at Suncorp Stadium, Tadhg Beirne and Jack Conan joined by Tom Curry.
The head coach has broken up his Scottish centre partnership, with Bundee Aki (above) replacing Sione Tuipulotu in the centre, linking up with Huw Jones who has held off stiff competition from Garry Ringrose to start.
The rest of the backline is unchanged; Jamison Gibson-Park and Finn Russell picked in the half-backs, while Farrell has also retained his back three, with James Lowe and Tommy Freeman on the wings, and Hugo Keenan keeping his place at full-back.
Farrell's frustrations with the lack of impact from his bench last week are evident with several changes to the replacements.
James Ryan will play his first Lions Test, taking the spot left vacant by Chessum, while Jack Morgan is preferred to Ben Earl as the back row sub. Owen Farrell and Blair Kinghorn also come onto the bench, with both players having played 80 minutes in Tuesday's win against the First Nations and Pasifika XV.
British and Irish Lions: Hugo Keenan; Tommy Freeman, Huw Jones, Bundee Aki, James Lowe; Finn Russell, Jamison Gibson-Park; Andrew Porter, Dan Sheehan, Tadhg Furlong; Maro Itoje, Ollie Chessum; Tadhg Beirne, Tom Curry, Jack Conan.
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Irish Daily Mirror
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The British and Irish Lions' 2021 tour to South Africa was steeped in controversy, largely due to the off-pitch behaviour of Rassie Erasmus. The Springboks chief went out of his way to provoke Lions head coach Warren Gatland and even involved Owen Farrell in his war of words. Erasmus, 52, notoriously brought match officials into question with a 62-minute-long video critique during that summer's Test series, which saw South Africa triumph 2-1. Additionally, he caused a stir by taking to the field as a water carrier to pass on tactics to his players while leading a South Africa A side in a warm-up game. Gatland, 61, expressed bewilderment over why Springboks scrum-half Faf de Klerk wasn't dismissed following a head-to-head collision in the 17-13 defeat. And he later said his team would seek "clarity" from the officials on the incident, as reported by Wales Online. In a bold retort, Erasmus, who was serving as South Africa's director of rugby, suggested a rematch, repeatedly branding the Lions as "scared" and "afraid" to face his team. This was merely the start of the head-to-head between the coaches, with Gatland also taking issue with Erasmus's antics disguised as a water boy. "I don't know, I think he was trying to wind us up saying we're scared," said the Kiwi post-match. "Sometimes he's capable of doing that. Last night he was the water boy running on the pitch – if you're the water boy running onto the pitch you've got make sure you're carrying water! "I didn't understand what his role was – you don't run onto the pitch giving messages as the waterboy without carrying water. My advice to him is to make sure he's carrying water next time he does that." Erasmus was suspended over a 62-minute-long video criticising the officials during the first 2021 Lions Test (Image: Vimeo) England stalwart Farrell, who joined this summer's tour of Australia as a controversial injury call-up, stirred controversy with several dubious tackles against South Africa A. Erasmus zeroed in on the fly-half, questioning what he perceived as overlooked instances of foul play. The initial incident involved Farrell wrestling De Klerk to the ground after the whistle had blown, which at the time went without sanction. Erasmus took to social media to share the clip, taking a thinly veiled swipe at Gatland's plea for clarity. "If there is time maybe also get absolute clarity and alignment on this one please," he wrote on X. "I know it's way after the whistle, but let's just align and get clarity to be sure." The second contentious moment came from a clash between Farrell and South Africa No. 8 Jasper Wiese. Once more, Erasmus believed Farrell had tackled too high, yet the match officials did not reprimand the Lions ace during the game. Erasmus took to social media to share footage of the incident and again made a jibe at Gatland's expense: "While you're at it, please get clarity on this also! ! Penalty or play on? We have to be 100 per cent sure and aligned! Can't agree more." At the time, a coach publicly questioning referees online was unheard of, but it became characteristic for Erasmus in 2021. He was subsequently handed a two-month ban from all rugby activities due to his hour-long dissection, yet he appeared not to take heed, receiving another suspension for similar transgressions a year later. Relations have been notably more amicable between current Lions coach Andy Farrell and Wallabies boss Joe Schmidt this summer. Other than a few minor disagreements regarding player availability for the warm-up games in Australia, there's been little animosity between them. However, the same might not be said for Farrell, who ignited a brawl within five minutes of his 2025 Lions debut against a First Nations and Pasifika XV on Tuesday. This altercation could mark Farrell's final contribution to the Australian tour, but it was significant as he played a crucial part in securing a hard-fought 24-19 victory.
Irish Independent
37 minutes ago
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All Ireland Final fever grips Donegal as county shows its pride in green and gold
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'Something to stick with you for life': Captaincy, lifting Sam, moving on after Kerry
THE SPECIALISTS FOR All-Ireland football occasions. Kerry's rich tradition has built up an array of experiences from which to drawn on for the showpiece day when Sam Maguire is handed out. 11 years ago, when Kerry and Donegal were previously acquainted in the decider, the last act of the afternoon saw Kieran O'Leary and Fionn Fitzgerald walk up the steps of the Hogan Stand to lift the trophy. Friends, Kerry team-mates and Dr Crokes colleagues – there was no grand design as to how they got there. Colm Cooper tore his cruciate that spring in Portlaoise in a club semi-final, the upshot of Kerry's embedded captaincy system saw the mantle of leadership transferred elsewhere. On Wednesday morning Fitzgerald and O'Leary gathered upstairs at Corkery's Sports Bar on High Street in Killarney to reflect on All-Ireland final days past and present. ***** Captaincy… Fionn Fitzgerald: 'We used to decide between ourselves in the club basically who was captain.' Kieran O'Leary: 'Gooch was the standout captain anyway in 2014.' FF: 'We went on seniority. We used to all meet, whoever was on the panel, and then Kieran was next in command. He didn't play the first game and then I was captain.' KOL: 'Johnny (Buckley) wasn't playing either.' FF: 'So I was like basically down the food chain! KOL: 'Obviously it was a great honor for me, but I didn't get a run in the first game I'd say either. I was brought on in every other game, but Fionn was starting, so that's the way it fell.' FF: 'Kieran would have done a lot of heavy lifting, I would have said he was the captain per se, organising all the bits and pieces. I was young, my second year of playing, so Kieran was more experienced. I was actually the official captain in 2018 and it was a complete disaster for me, I couldn't get in the team. It was between Gavin White or Shane Murphy, it was passed around a little bit. I would say the captaincy is a side thing. You just want to get on the team first.' KOL: 'Within the dressing room, your leaders are there anyway and the captaincy doesn't really come into it. That particular time in 2014, Declan O'Sullivan was monumental in the dressing room.' FF: 'You had Marc, (Aidan) Mahony, Donaghy… KOL: 'Moran . . . Leaders in the camp.' Kerry's Kieran O'Leary and Fionn Fitzgerald lift the Sam Maguire Cup. Cathal Noonan / INPHO Cathal Noonan / INPHO / INPHO FF: 'I remember having this conversation with Michael Fennelly, he had the same issue with Kilkenny in 2009, he wasn't starting as captain but once he got on afterwards, he was a machine. The fact that we were buddies made it a bit more straightforward, it was harder on Kieran than it was on me. I saw that in 2018, I didn't even make the panel for one of the games, that was tougher. The younger you are, the tricker it is. Gavin White had it in 2019, I'd say it was trickier. He's a senior player now, he's a leader. You'd be extremely proud of Gavin.' KOL: 'It's a huge thing for the club. You look back on photographs, even the two of us lifting the cup. That's something to stick with you for life.' FF: 'Colm was our idol. That would have been his year to be captain. He got back to the panel for the final, but sure he didn't play for months after. That was just pure mental mental toughness.' KOL: 'How he was even training before that game . . . your man was up the tree (in Killarney) and Gooch was springing passes before an All-Ireland final. FF: 'Gooch is a baller. Physically he probably wasn't there yet, but mentally he was.' KOL: 'I think he didn't want it himself the fuss of going up to lift the cup. It was never a conversation. He was doing all he could to be a part of the actual panel, without taking (the attention) . . . ' FF: 'Ah that wouldn't be him . . . I remember during that week, we just agreed that Kieran would do the speech.' KOL: 'I wasn't guaranteed to get any game time either, I only got a minute or two at the end. It was definitely special, but we didn't say, 'Oh we'll lift the cup together.' It just happened. FF: 'I had nothing prepared to say anyway! So if you sent the mic over to me, I'd have gone on ad-lib.' KOL: 'I took down a few points alright, but sometimes you kind of have to wing it. You don't want to tempt fate and say, 'Listen, will I do the speech?' 'If you let that come into it, you're taking your eye off the game.' FF: 'It's a lovely moment to look back on. When you're older, like I think I'll enjoy this year and I enjoyed 2022. Everything ages probably a bit better when you get older. 'When you stop playing, like nothing will ever replace it. You can't do it like, even if you go coaching and managing, it's still different.' Kieran O'Leary and Fionn Fitzgerald board the train to Tralee with the Sam Maguire in 2014. James Crombie / INPHO James Crombie / INPHO / INPHO ***** All-Ireland championship experiences… Football was hardwired into their DNA from young, kicking around on the Lewis Road with Dr Crokes, graduating to trips across to Fitzgerald Stadium. Croke Park days beckoned them as supporters in the stand and later as players on the pitch. FF: 'I remember '97 final, but I wasn't at it. My mother is from Dublin and we would have gone up to Dublin then. And then the first All-Ireland I was at was 2000 against Galway, went to both games. That was very good Galway team, Padraic Joyce's generation. Declan Meehan hit some goal, the overhead pass from Paul Clancy into him.' KOL: 'I'd say my first game was Kildare in '98. I remember the homecoming in '97 alright. They weren't as prolific through those years.' FF: '2000 onwards then they were rocking. You're going to Croke Park every year. My mother's from Blanchardstown, so we would have gone up and got the train into Drumcondra and away you go then. Her family would've been Brigid's in Dublin, but not hugely, my mother's living down here for maybe 30, 40 years now.' KOL: 'The train up was always unreal craic, especially when we were young, up with the lads.' FF: 'When we played, from semi-final onwards, it would've been train up.' KOL: 'We sometimes got cars to Adare to the Woodlands and then bus to Dublin in later years for other games.' FF: 'The train is better because you sit back and relax.' KOL: 'Up on the Saturday. You had your routine, we always used to stay in Dunboyne, Kerry are still staying there.' FF: 'It's a lovely town, you can just walk into town and no one ever bothers you. We'd a kickaround the night before then, a club pitch right next to us.' Advertisement KOL: 'There was always something to be doing with the lads. The time flew, whereas if you were going up in the morning . . . ' FF: 'I'd hate that. Some people say they love staying in their own bed. You get more time together and you're more relaxed. You know, it's big time as well when you're on the train.' KOL: 'I joined the Kerry senior panel in 2006, the year we won against Mayo. I was number 29, 30, way down the pecking order and I got injured before the final playing a county league game. I was actually going quite quite well at the time, but I had still no chance of playing. 'Sure the players on show at that time were unbelievable.' Kerry's Kieran O'Leary. Lorraine O'Sullivan / INPHO Lorraine O'Sullivan / INPHO / INPHO FF: 'The forwards were frightening.' KOL: 'When you're in that bubble, you're blinkered. That's all that matters. As I got older, I've learned to relax more. When you're in it, nothing else gets in the way. It takes over your life. I'm glad I'm out of it now if that makes sense. Kids, family, wife, different businesses. I couldn't do both now. I'm way more relaxed playing club football now. 'The other side of it though is I wasn't a certainty. I was playing an All-Ireland final every night in training in order to even try to be picked. 'Obviously I would have been close enough to Colm. But you'd Donaghy, Galvin, Darran, Declan, Bryan Sheehan was floating around, Mike Frank was there when I started it. 'It was crazy stuff, but you would have learned a lot off a lot of them, even the way they commanded respect within the dressing room. They were just winners.' FF: 'Your game complimented a lot of them. You weren't an out and out 0-10 or 2-5 player, and over the years those kind of players didn't make it with Kerry. That's why you probably did get longer out of it.' KOL: 'I find with younger fellas they're aiming to impress, thinking they have to go out and score. You have to relax and play your own game. There was such a calibre of player, so I was just trying to do my own thing. It worked sometimes and other times it didn't. FF: 'I joined the senior panel in 2012. We lost to Crossmaglen with Crokes, All-Ireland semi-final, and I was brought in after that, Jack's last year and then I got into the team in 2013. ''14 was my first experience of a of a final. We were coming off the high of the Mayo game, that was a fairly emotional rollercoaster. The panel was in a very good place, nearly every single player played in the Mayo game. So there was a great buzz. County wise that was the best game, all the stuff that went on, your man coming in on the sideline, fellas getting knocked out, it was just bananas stuff. Just a pure attritional game.' Kerry's Fionn Fitzgerald and Paul Murphy with Andy Moran of Mayo. Cathal Noonan / INPHO Cathal Noonan / INPHO / INPHO KOL: 'In order to win though, you need that rub of green. Kieran Donaghy got no game against Galway, ended up getting an All-Star. Something turned that year, Limerick was the making of us. FF: 'The first game though, we were done basically. Coming down on the bus that day, we were psyched. It's not on in Croke Park, there's an American Football game on and it'll have to be somewhere else. Where'll it be? Thurles? Then it was Limerick. Sure that's great, it was just different. We stayed in the Brehon the night before and went up from there. Which is unusual to stay in Killarney, but it was just to kind of stay together.' KOL: 'Mayo, I'd say that was their greatest chance ever. The first day particularly, that was their chance to put us away.' For the point to level, Declan O'Sullivan is outside me. It was just the way the angle was, it just suited with the left leg.' FF: 'He saw the limelight!' KOL: 'Yeah, I saw the headlines! But Jesus we got out of jail. Even the ball Moran kicked into Donaghy for the goal, not too many fellas would win that kind of a ball, you know what I mean?' ***** The end of days with Kerry… 2014 was the inter-county peak for both, the joyous scenes they viewed from the podium. Kerry lost at the same stage twelve months later against Dublin and by the time they reached the decider again in 2019, both O'Leary and Fitzgerald had seen their playing connection with Kerry cut. FF: 'My last year was 2018. To be honest, at the time anyway I found football tougher. If it was as exciting as it has been this year, I think you'd really feel you'd missed out. I just didn't feel that way.' I went to America to New York, I'd the best summer ever. I hadn't ever got a chance to do any of those things, so I had no major kind of hang up or regret. 'I just wasn't playing well in 2018. My form wasn't great. Crokes and Kerry had been going on for a good few years and just my form wasn't good, so probably getting a reset in 2019 and just playing club football, I definitely got back enjoying football more.' KOL: 'In 2015 I got injured, tore my Achilles tendon, in the training camp, one of the last sessions over in Portugal. It was nightmare stuff and then I was left off the panel in 2016. 'I found it hard to get back, but that's just the way it went. I felt there was a bit of pressure personally trying to get on the team all the time. 'Then when I was gone from the county I started enjoying football with the club.' FF: 'I'd say Crokes is a good landing for us in those situations. We were lucky what we come back to. We had great camaraderie, while we didn't always do well for a couple of those years, we had a great team and had great social life with it.' Dr Crokes' Kieran O'Leary. Tom Maher / INPHO Tom Maher / INPHO / INPHO Fionn Fitzgerald in action for Dr Crokes. James Crombie / INPHO James Crombie / INPHO / INPHO KOL: 'I suppose the aspiration was always there to try and win silverware and then you're going straight from a county set up into a club that's trying to achieve good things. 'I was definitely a bit resentful when I was dropped alright though, like I was a bit thick about it. 'It came at a time that I was coming back from my injury. I probably wasn't playing well, form wasn't great, but I still felt I deserved a bit more of a chance. 'But there was younger players coming through and to be fair, they deserved their crack as well. 'Now I'm completely okay with it. It was actually Eamonn (Fitzmaurice) that rang me and said you're not a part of the panel anymore, which was gutting at the time. 'Now I look back on it I can see I got great innings out of it, climbing the steps of the Hogan with Fionn, fantastic friends, fantastic memories out of it. 'We travelled the world when we were in All-Ireland finals, fantastic team trips, even training camps, it was just class to be a part of. It's something I always look back on with immense pride.' ****** David Clifford's genius… The sporting wonder from Fossa. Three kilometres separate the club pitch where Clifford honed his skills and the sporting base where O'Leary and Fitzgerald are located. Their range of experiences with Kerry's star man are many and varied. KOL: 'I went to Two Mile National School, outside Killarney, and he lived up there. That's where my mother is from Fossa. We went into the same primary school, obviously I was a lot older. 'He lives just below my grandmother and my godmother used to mind him, his brother Paudie as well, and I used to be in the same house. 'Then we would have come across him with the Sem . . . St Brendan's in the Hogan Cup and he's obviously just gone from strength to strength since.' Kerry's David Clifford. Tom O'Hanlon / INPHO Tom O'Hanlon / INPHO / INPHO FF: 'About 15, 16, he had the reputation. Even his first year minor, both legs he was kicking serious scores and making it look easy.' KOL: 'A completely grounded man though.' FF: 'Still the exact same. A great fella. He loves sport and very easy company. When he was 17 he finished his Leaving went to Tralee and I was lecturing, so I had him in college. He was very young and at the time there was talk of the Aussies after him, but he was just a very grounded guy and solid.' KOL: 'We played them (East Kerry) in the county championship in 2019 in the final. We were going well that day and next thing he pops out of nowhere with a goal from and that was us gone.' FF: 'They were very hungry at the time, they were coming and we were slipping down a bit. Fossa now, he's been incredible for, they're on the up and he's been a huge part of that.' ***** Facing Donegal . . . The Kerry-Donegal modern history focuses on two specific games. The 2012 quarter-final, a step on the road to Donegal's phenomenal triumph. The 2014 final, where Kerry turned them over and savoured the satisfaction of an unlikely title. FF: 'I wasn't playing in 2012, I was a sub, but the big thing that stood out, their fitness was incredible. Their game plan and getting all fellas back, but even at the end of the game, they were bombing forward.' KOL: 'I remember that game after thinking, 'Jesus that's one that got away from us.' Michael Murphy came in after into the dressing room and he spoke excellently. Very respectful. The fact that they beat us was a huge thing for them on their journey at the time.' FF: 'Our game against Mayo in 2014 was like war of attrition, theirs against Dublin was a smash and grab, a tactical masterclass really. The final then between us was just a tactical battle. It wasn't a good watch.' KOL: 'Defensive . . . it was a poor final.' FF: 'Sure what did we score, only 2-9? I never watched that game, I watched about 15 minutes of it during the week, the first 15 minutes, just to kind of get some bit of a read. There was a lot of misses like on both sides. Paul Geaney got the early goal and Donaghy got the other. Tactically we knew what we were doing and we stuck to it, we were disciplined in what we did. I think the emotional high of the semi-finals probably took a little bit out for them and for us.' KOL: 'It's getting over the line. Especially with Colm getting injured, Kerry weren't given a great chance to win that year. A few harsh team meetings throughout the year. It was a fantastic year looking back on it, but it was definitely ups and downs.' FF: 'We had a very united panel though. Our A versus B games were ferocious at the time. I used to be marking Leary at lot, plenty of black eyes! KOL: 'Jeez, I don't know about that!' ***** Dr Crokes lads . . . All-Ireland final day is a national occasion, yet there are local angles everywhere. Seven Dr Crokes players (Gavin White, Mark O'Shea, Micheál Burns, Shane Murphy, Evan Looney, Tony Brosnan, and Charlie Keating) have been members of the Kerry ranks this year. Some of those individual stories stand out among the wider narrative. Burns was sent to the Kerry exit door after 2023 but has returned in style in 2025. O'Shea is the late developer who has commanded gametime at the top this summer. Looney is the next emerging talent rolled off the conveyor belt. Kerry's Micheál Burns James Crombie / INPHO James Crombie / INPHO / INPHO FF: 'I remember chatting to Mícheál a week or two after and he was obviously gutted that he was gone from Kerry I just was like, 'Man, you're just going to see it from a totally different position.' I guarantee you, you will have the best year of your life. You just knew America would suit him.' KOL: 'I thought he was dead right to go (to Chicago for summer 2024). He puts a lot of pressure on himself as well. I'd say Kerry was done for him.' FF: 'Oh 100% there was no way he was coming back with Kerry at the time.' KOL: 'But he just was excellent with Crokes, he just enjoyed his football. Pat (O'Shea) was a big thing for him as well, even though they clashed at times no doubt, he was good for Mícheál.' FF: 'I think if Kerry was majorly in his head still, I'm not sure that it would have been as loose for the year. Sometimes people are gone and the first thing is they are chasing to get back in straight away. I think that's the worst mistake ever by anyone. If you're cut, just leave it go and it'll naturally come around if you're good enough or if it's right.' KOL: 'If he still had an inkling that Kerry was a possibility, he would have been trying to do his own thing rather than play the way we wanted to play as a team. Obviously he played so well for us and he was scoring and there was no pressure on him to perform.' FF: 'He was more mature, he was able to handle all situations very well, good things, bad things. He's close to 30 now at this stage. Kerry's Mark O'Shea. Laszlo Geczo / INPHO Laszlo Geczo / INPHO / INPHO Mark and Evan then are interesting ones. Mark would be a late enough developer. If you see pictures of Mark when he was under 14, 15, 16, he was really small. Played no minor, no U21 with Kerry. But you see Mark played a lot of basketball, comes from a good family, he's Pat's nephew, Seanie's son. Tough and would have the right attitude. Remember when he came into the Crokes at the start? He was small and light, now he has the size.' KOL: 'He's after growing out and putting on good muscle. Two years ago you would have said about Mark, he's a very good club player but will he play county? Now you would say he has to be playing county, just the presence and the smarts and the ball skills.' FF: 'I think the physical development of him has given him more confidence because you marked him a few years ago and probably get stuck into and push him around, now he just has that wingspan and he's dominant. Evan then just has an incredible attitude. Bit of a fighter. Didn't play minor, played U20. He's very driven. You could definitely see him slotting into that Kerry team over the next few years because he's suited to the modern game. He's smart on the ball, he's athletic.' Kerry's Evan Looney. Laszlo Geczo / INPHO Laszlo Geczo / INPHO / INPHO KOL: 'The boys have played themselves on it. I know by default Mark probably got in there because with injuries, Diarmaid, Barry Dan and everything. But he, and Evan's the same, they've just played well to get themselves onto the team. I'm buzzing for them, I think they've contributed massively this year to the group, all of them. Obviously Gavin as captain is a big thing. For himself, you'd love to see him get over the line to just to get up the steps. I'm really looking forward to the weekend myself because you'll meet old teammates, you'll have a few beers and you'll enjoy the the whole occasion of the All-Ireland final.' FF: 'I would say even away from it being a Kerry game, football has been brilliant this year. Everyone's falling back in love with it again, so that's a huge plus. If this was Kerry and Donegal last year, I don't think that the interest is as high. And it is nice that we have a good few involved. You're supporting Kerry and then you're supporting your own team-mates. 11 years on, it's nice to be going back against Donegal.' *****
