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Owen Farrell will feature in his first game of the British & Irish Lions tour on Saturday after being picked on the bench against an invitational XV comprising players from Australia and New Zealand in what will be the touring team’s final game before next week’s first Test.
The 33-year-old last played international rugby at the 2023 Rugby World Cup before stepping away from Test rugby to “prioritise his and his family’s mental wellbeing” but is now set to play his 19th game for the Lions across four tours.
Tadhg Beirne will again captain the side, while Alex Mitchell maintains his record of being involved in every game on the tour, this time as a replacement scrum-half behind Ben White, who will make his Lions debut. Mack Hansen, who also came off the bench against the Brumbies on Wednesday night, starts on the right-wing this time, with Marcus Smith joining Farrell on the bench.
We are in a great position just over a week out from the first Test,” said Andy Farrell, the head coach. “This is the most important game of the tour because it’s the next one.”
AUNZ Invitational XV v Lions: the teams
ShowAUNZ Invitational XV: Stevenson; Lam, Laumape, Havili (co-capt), Koroibete; Edmed, Fakatava; Ross, Paenga-Amosa, Toomaga-Allen, Blyth, Salakaia-Loto (co-capt), Frizell, Samu, Sotutu.
Replacements: Eklund, Fusitu’a, Dyer, Philip, Brial, Thomas, McLaughlin-Phillips, Campbell.
British & Irish Lions: Keenan; Hansen, Jones, Tuipulotu, Van der Merwe; F Smith, White; Schoeman, Cowan-Dickie, Stuart, Ryan, Beirne (capt), Pollock, Morgan, Earl.
Replacements: Kelleher, Porter, Bealham, Cummings, Van der Flier, Mitchell, M Smith, O Farrell.
The AUNZ Invitational XV certainly does not lack for big, physical men, with the Wallaby forward Lukhan Salakaia-Loto and the New Zealand centre David Havili sharing the captaincy duties. The presence of the All Black back-row Shannon Frizell is never a comfortable prospect for opposing teams, while Pete Samu was a member of the Bordeaux Bègles side that beat Northampton in the Champions Cup final in May.
