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Owen Farrell on Lions bench for AUNZ XV as five Scots start
By Ian Cameron
Owen Farrell will start on the bench for the British & Irish Lions’ match against an AUNZ Invitational XV on Saturday at the Adelaide Oval, with head coach Andy Farrell naming a starting XV that features five Scots.
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Tadhg Beirne captains the side for the second time on tour. The Ireland lock is joined in the second row by James Ryan, while Scotland’s Pierre Schoeman starts at loosehead alongside England pair Luke Cowan-Dickie and Will Stuart in the front row.
Northampton’s Henry Pollock starts on the blindside flank. Jac Morgan, the Wales captain, wears seven, and Ben Earl continues at No.8 after starting in the series opener.
Ben White is handed his first start of the tour at scrum-half. He links up with Fin Smith in an all-new half-back pairing.
The midfield is an all-Scottish affair, with Glasgow Warriors duo Sione Tuipulotu and Huw Jones retaining their places.
The back three includes Leinster’s Hugo Keenan at fullback, with Mack Hansen on the right wing and Duhan van der Merwe on the left — giving Scotland five players in the starting lineup.
Farrell is joined on the bench by fellow England fly-half Marcus Smith, with Alex Mitchell covering scrum-half.
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Among the forward replacements are an Irish quartet of Ronan Kelleher, Andrew Porter, Finlay Bealham and Josh van der Flier.
“We are in a great position just over a week out from the First Test,” said Farrell. “The players now have another chance to put in a strong team performance and put a hand up for selection for the Test matches against the Wallabies.
“Les Kiss has assembled a strong squad with lots of international experience and we know that he will have them well organised and they will bring a lot of physicality to the contest.”
Lions team vs AUNZ:
15. Hugo Keenan
14. Mack Hansen
13. Huw Jones
12. Sione Tuipulotu
11. Duhan van Der Merwe
10. Fin Smith
9. Ben White
1. Pierre Schoeman
2. Luke Cowan-Dickie
3. Will Stuart
4. James Ryan
5. Tadhg Beirne
6. Henry Pollock
7. Jac Morgan
8. Ben Earl
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Replacements:
16. Ronan Kelleher
17. Andrew Porter
18. Finlay Bealham
19. Scott Cummings
20. Josh van der Flier
21. Alex Mitchell
22. Marcus Smith
23. Owen Farrell