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Maro Itoje will captain the British & Irish Lions for the first time against Argentina in Dublin on Friday after the head coach, Andy Farrell, included him and eight other Englishmen in the starting XV for the warm-up match for the upcoming tour of Australia.
England’s other starters include Marcus Smith at full‑back along with Alex Mitchell and Fin Smith at half‑backs. Ireland’s Tadhg Furlong will be given the chance to prove his fitness after struggling with a calf injury that ruled him out of Leinster’s United Rugby Championship final win against the Bulls last weekend. Furlong is included on a bench that also features the hooker Ronan Kelleher, the only player to be involved against Argentina six days after taking part in the end-of-season finale.
Farrell’s injury list looks like being clear by next week – it will most likely be clouded somewhat by the final whistle against the Pumas – but for now it is a good place to be. The players not distracted by club calls got a head start over the five days at the training camp in Portugal; since then they have been joined by the next wave who quickly got up to speed.
“It’s quite a diverse group in terms of combinations and guys not playing with each other,” Farrell said on Wednesday at the Aviva Stadium. “So it’s nice for that group to have a week where they get settled in and for the other guys to join them – some on a high, one not – but it’s nice for them to have a bit of time to spend with the lads, get to know everyone and see what’s been going on, and they’ve had one training session together so it was nice to get everyone together finally.”
What does the head coach expect against Argentina? “Cohesion – connection,” he replied. “An ability to attack the game from the off to be the best version of themselves, not just individually but collectively as well, so you can’t give yourself excuses as far as time together, etc. We’ve had good prep, and if you want to be a good Lions player you’ve got to hit your straps straight from the off. So we want to see these players compete.”
Farrell acknowledged, though, that getting to grips with a new system was one of the hills to be climbed. Surely it is not compatible to tick all those boxes at short notice against a Pumas side he described repeatedly as one playing very good rugby over the past 18 months? If it is a climb then Tadhg Beirne does not consider it category one.
“Why wouldn’t they be compatible?” he said. “You’re talking about world-class players here, the best of the best. The expectation we would have of each other is that you can adapt to any system you’re given.
“That’s the challenge laid in front of us. That’s the challenge of being a Lion. Every four years, there’s going to be a new system. The coach is going to want to play a certain way. If you want to be a Lion, you’re going to have to adapt or you’ll get left behind.”
So, full steam ahead on Friday night against quality opposition. “Yeah, when we played them [Argentina] back in November with Ireland they really put it to us,” Beirne said.
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“We probably just got over the line in the end and it’ll be no different come Friday. It’ll be their World Cup final on Friday and that’s the way we’re going to treat it as well. Every game you get to play for the Lions is the most important game. This Friday is a huge opportunity for us to set the tone for the tour.”
For players such as Duhan van der Merwe, Sione Tuipulotu and Furlong, all of whom are desperate for minutes after injury layoffs, it is the perfect platform. Is Farrell praying it stays that way until the squad fly out to Perth on Saturday? “That’s the furthest thing from my mind, because, you know, it’s just the nature of sport in general – never mind a contact sport that we love to watch and play,” the head coach said. “It is what it is and we certainly, in the back of our minds, wish that we’ll have a healthy squad going to Australia.”
Farrell said his ideas for the XV in the first Test in Australia are still in flux. “I did an exercise a couple of weeks ago, and I’ve done it about five times since, of choosing what the Test side could be. You actually can’t even go there because there’s such good competition and that’s how it should be. The exciting thing about Friday night is these guys get to show the teammates who are sat in the stand what they’re all about.”
