The British & Irish Lions enjoyed some down time on Saturday night in Adelaide before delving into their analysis of Saturday’s 48-0 win over an Invitational XV and the composition of their side for next Saturday’s before and during their flight to Brisbane.
On arrival, Jamie Osborne linked up with the squad while it was also announced that in addition to calling up Jamie George in light of the head injury Luke Cowan-Dickie suffered last Saturday, Thomas Clarkson was being called up as cover, so taking Ireland’s representation in the playing squad to 18, of whom 14 are Leinster players.
The Lions statement said that Clarkson has been called up as cover for the Test series, implying that Tadhg Furlong and Will Stuart will not be risked in the final midweek match on the Tuesday of the Second Test against a First Nations & Pasifika XV in Melbourne.
The team for the First Test will be formalised early in the week before being announced on Thursday, as Andy Farrell and his squad happily embrace a full week in one city without midweek matches after recording five wins in five different cities in 14 days.
RM Block
Speaking after Saturday’s win in the Adelaide Oval, Farrell said: “We’ll watch the match, the coaches deserve a bit of downtime this evening. We travel about midday, most of the work will get done in the morning, on the flight, etc.
“When we get to Brisbane we’ll have a coaches meeting like we always do and discuss how the week is going to unfold and no doubt selection will be a big part of that.”
“I am very pleased to finish off what has been a tough enough block for all sorts of reasons, to get to this point now where we face the Test series. I am really proud of everyone, not just the players but the staff etc for getting us all to this point so it is nice to get a good performance, then roll into a Test series in a nice shape as a squad in regards to where our game is at and our mentality and how much we have got to improve.”
