What Harry Wilson makes of Lions’ contentious back-row selection

Wallabies skipper Harry Wilson has heaped praise on the British & Irish Lions back-row, saying the trio of Tadhg Beirne, Tom Curry and Jack Conan will “probably” be the best loose forwards combination he’s played against.

Welshman Jac Morgan was rewarded with Player of the Match honours after the Lions played the Queensland Reds in Brisbane earlier this month, with the openside flanker standing out during the one-sided victory at Suncorp Stadium.

Morgan seemed to be a fan favourite to start at openside for the Lions in the first Test, but coach Andy Farrell has selected Englishman Curry instead. Curry will be joined by Irish duo Beirne and Conan in the starting side.

Rassie Erasmus on the challenges he expects from Georgia

Rassie Erasmus on the challenges he expects from Georgia

Wilson will lead the Wallabies into battle this weekend, joining Fraser McReight and debutant Nick Champion de Crespigny in the run-on side. The Wallabies are without two-time defending John Eales Medallist Rob Valetini, who will miss the Test due to injury.

The backrow has been a hot topic of debate throughout Test week one in Brisbane, with Josh van der Flier, Ollie Cheesum and Morgan left out of the run-on side, but that doesn’t take away from the quality of the Lions.

“They’ve all been playing terrific on this tour and I guess they could’ve gone with a few different combinations and they’re all really good combinations there,” Wilson told reporters.

“Really excited for that battle. As a back-row you always want to go hard against the opposition back-row and we’ve got a big test for us. It’s something we’re really excited for.”

Wilson captains an Australian side who will go into Saturday’s Test as firm underdogs, with the Lions coming off a series of big wins over the Western Force, Reds, NSW Waratahs, ACT Brumbies and the AUNZ Invitational XV.

Henry Pollock scored a try for the Lions in their emphatic 48-nil win over the AUNZ side, and the young back-rower has since made headlines with a bold claim ahead of the Test series, saying a 3-nil sweep “is definitely on the table” for the tourists.

Rugby Australia’s multi-million dollar man Joseph-Aukuso Suaalii shut down those comments earlier in the week, insisting the Wallabies are “just focused on ourselves.” But the external noise is as loud as ever, with the hosts by no means the favourites to win.

“There’s so much chatter about rugby at the moment and everyone’s got an opinion,” Wilson said at Suncorp Stadium.

“There’s thousands of people over here who will have their predictions so that’s just another one for us. The only [thing] we can control is what we’ve done during the week and what we’re going to go out and do tomorrow night.”