Ronan O'Gara disagrees with Sam Warburton on 5 positions in predicted Lions XV

British & Irish Lions assistant coach Richard Wigglesworth has revealed that they have already picked their team to take on Australia on Saturday in Brisbane, but the predicted line-ups that have been given by pundits so far only highlight the challenge that was on Andy Farrell’s hands when making his selection.

Sky Sports pundits Ronan O’Gara, Sam Warburton, Sir Ian McGeechan, Dan Biggar, Will Greenwood and John Barclay have all released their predicted line-ups that will run out at the Suncorp Stadium on Saturday, with none managing to agree on the same team.

While there is a fair degree of agreement when it comes to the backline, save for the Bundee Aki vs Sione Tuipulotu battle, the pack is proving to be far more contentious.

All pundits except Sam Warburton have selected Ireland No.8 Jack Conan at the back of the scrum, with the 2013 and 2017 skipper opting for Ben Earl instead.

Fixture

British & Irish Lions

Australia

19 - 27

Full-time

British & Irish Lions

All Stats and Data

“The main talking point in my team would be Ben Earl at No.8,” Warburton said when explaining his decision. “In my humble opinion, Earl’s best game is better than Jack Conan’s best game. Jones is in at 13 as Garry Ringrose has been confirmed as injured, while Keenan is at full-back due to Blair Kinghorn’s injury.”

While their backlines were identical, Warburton and O’Gara could only agree upon three players in the pack – captain Maro Itoje, fellow lock Joe McCarthy and loosehead Ellis Genge.

The reason for this dissimilarity is because O’Gara is looking to stack his bench to ensure the strongest XV are on the field for the final 15 minutes.

“I suppose the first thing is, where’s Tadhg Furlong and where’s Dan Sheehan?” O’Gara said.

“For me, they’re the two best in the world in their position, so I’d like to finish the game with them just to have that security to know that a Test game is usually won in the last eight to 12 minutes, because a team is rarely two scores ahead. In that regard, I went with that logic. It can be picked apart, obviously, but I just think for me, I prefer to finish with the strongest 15 as opposed to starting with it.

“Andrew Porter is an exceptional loosehead, I think that’s an area of massive strength. I’ve gone with familiarity in the back-row [Ireland trio Beirne, Van der Flier, Conan], because I think the bench impact of Ben Earl and Henry Pollock just adds an awful lot. In the backs, it’s pretty straightforward. I think Aki’s the best in the world at winning gain-line. He gives front foot ball and the game is so much easier when you win collisions.”

Ronan O’Gara’s Lions XV: 15 Hugo Keenan, 14 Tommy Freeman, 13 Huw Jones, 12 Bundee Aki, 11 James Lowe, 10 Finn Russell, 9 Jamison Gibson-Park; 1 Ellis Genge, 2 Ronan Kelleher, 3 Will Stuart, 4 Maro Itoje (c), 5 Joe McCarthy, 6 Tadhg Beirne, 7 Josh van der Flier, 8 Jack Conan

Replacements: 16 Dan Sheehan, 17 Andrew Porter, 18 Tadhg Furlong, 19 James Ryan, 20 Ben Earl, 21 Henry Pollock, 22 Alex Mitchell, 23 Owen Farrell

Sam Warburton’s Lions XV: 15 Hugo Keenan, 14 Tommy Freeman, 13 Huw Jones, 12 Bundee Aki, 11 James Lowe, 10 Finn Russell, 9 Jamison Gibson-Park; 1 Ellis Genge, 2 Dan Sheehan, 3 Tadhg Furlong, 4 Maro Itoje (c), 5 Joe McCarthy, 6 Ollie Chessum, 7 Jac Morgan, 8 Ben Earl