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Three debutants named in British & Irish Lions side to tackle Reds
By Finn Morton reporting from Brisbane
Tour captain Maro Itoje will lead a revamped British & Irish Lions outfit against the Queensland Reds on Wednesday, with three debutants from Ireland named in the matchday 23 ahead of the mid-week fixture at Suncorp Stadium.
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Itoje missed last weekend’s 54-7 win over the Western Force in Perth, but the skipper is back in the famed red and white strip for the team’s second tour match Down Under. Coach Andy Farrell has made 14 changes to the run-on side, with Finn Russell retained at fly-half.
Irish duo Hugo Keenan and Jamison Gibson-Park are set to become Lions, while James Ryan is also in line to join the exclusive club off the bench. Along with those three, there are nine Irish players in the matchday 23 to take on the Reds.
Leinster Rugby and Ireland prop Andrew Porter will pack down alongside Ronan Kelleher and Bath’s Will Stuart up front, while Itoje joins England’s Ollie Chessum in the second row. Backrower Jack Conan is set for his first start of the tour at No. 8.
Conan will link up with Sale Sharks and England enforcer Tom Curry, who has been named at blindside flanker, and Wales’ Jac Morgan in the loose forwards. With Tomos Williams ruled out of the tour, Morgan is the only Welshman in the Lions squad.
In the backs, Gibson-Park joins Russell in the halves, while Bundee Aki and Huw Jones form a new-look centre pairing. Scotland’s Duhan van der Merwe starts on the left wing, with Tommy Freeman from England on the right, and Kennan will line up at fullback.
“We know each game on this Tour will be a step up from the game before and three more players are set to make their Lions debuts on Wednesday night, so congratulations to those guys,” coach Andy Farrell said in a statement.
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Queensland outscored the Lions two tries to one in the corresponding fixture in 2013, but the reliable boot of Owen Farrell saw the visitors claim a 22-12 win. This time around, Wallabies Hunter Paisami and Matt Faessler have been released to play for the Reds.
This match kicks off at 11:00 BST.
British & Irish Lions to take on Queensland Reds
15. Hugo Keenan (Leinster Rugby/Ireland)
14. Tommy Freeman (Northampton Saints/England) #858
13. Huw Jones (Glasgow Warriors/Scotland) #878
12. Bundee Aki (Connacht Rugby/Ireland) #837
11. Duhan van der Merwe (Edinburgh Rugby/Scotland) #841
10. Finn Russell (Bath Rugby/Scotland) #835
9. Jamison Gibson-Park (Leinster Rugby/Ireland)
1. Andrew Porter (Leinster Rugby/Ireland) #876
2. Ronan Kelleher (Leinster Rugby/Ireland) #864
3. Will Stuart (Bath Rugby/England) #877
4. Maro Itoje (Saracens/England) (C) #825
5. Ollie Chessum (Leicester Tigers/England) #875
6. Tom Curry (Sale Sharks/England) #853
7. Jac Morgan (Ospreys/Wales) #861
8. Jack Conan (Leinster Rugby/Ireland) #839
Replacements:
16. Luke Cowan-Dickie (Sale Sharks/England) #851
17. Ellis Genge (Bristol Bears/ England) #859
18. Finlay Bealham (Connacht Rugby/Ireland) #856
19. James Ryan (Leinster Rugby/Ireland)
20. Ben Earl (Saracens/England) #857
21. Alex Mitchell (Northampton Saints/England) #860
22. Fin Smith (Northampton Saints/England) #862
23. Garry Ringrose (Leinster Rugby/Ireland) #872
