Lions tour: First Nations and Pasifika XV v British & Irish Lions, Marvel Stadium, Melbourne, Tuesday, 8pm local time/11am Irish – Live on Sky Sports
Whether to have midweek games during the Test series has been a question that has bothered Lions head coaches for yonks. Even four years ago, after his third tour and having trialled the option of playing no games during the three weeks of the Test series for the first time, Warren Gatland admitted he still wasn’t sure as to the best option.
There’s little doubt that when Gatland called up the so-called Geography Six to New Zealand to provide cover during the Test series, comprising four Welsh and two Scots who were touring Australia and New Zealand at the time, he incurred the wrath of Lions diehards.
Gatland had done something similar four weeks earlier when Shane Williams was on duty in Australia in punditry and came out of retirement to play. Perhaps that has paved the way for Andy Farrell to do something similar, for in swelling the original squad of 38 to a whopping 45, there’s also little doubt that “location, location, location” has counted in favour of the four Scottish players called up after their recent game against Samoa in Auckland.
Andy Farrell's Lions fire the first shot in Australia
For the Geography Six, read the “Jockraphy Four”.
RM Block
Critics will also point to the addition of Jamie Osborne and Thomas Clarkson, given there were times this season they wouldn’t have made the Leinster first-choice 23, never mind Ireland’s. In any case, their experience of this tour should certainly be beneficial for the World Cup in Australia in two years, but their call-ups tick plenty of legitimate boxes, not least their familiarity with so many coaches, team-mates and patterns of play.
What’s more, this fixture matters hugely to all those involved. Some will play in the remainder of the series, some might play on Lions tours again. And some never will again.
The First Nations and Pasifika XV is the first team of its kind and celebrates Australia’s First Nations peoples, of Samoan, Fijian, Tongan, Maori and Cook Island heritage, and so they’ll hardly lack motivation either.
Taniela Tupou and Filipo Daugunu, who start at tighthead prop and left wing respectively after joining the squad on Thursday night from the Wallabies, are prime cases in point.
The team will be captained from outhalf by former Wallaby Kurtley Beale, who has won 95 caps during his Test career. Beale (36) has recovered from a hamstring injury that ruled him out of the Western Force’s game against the Lions in June. There are others who have featured against the Lions already, but quite possibly none of them will ever do so again.
“We want to win this game and make history,” said their coach Toutai Kefu, although it has to be said that this side doesn’t look as strong on paper as the disappointing AU/NZ Invitational XV that the Lions swatted aside 48-0 in Adelaide last Saturday week.
For the Lions players, this is their last chance to put forward their case for inclusion in the remainder of the series, and a host of them will genuinely believe that is a distinct possibility, beginning with next Saturday’s second Test.
Blair Kinghorn, Owen Farrell, Jamie George, James Ryan and any of the backrow fall into that category, and ditto the three replacements involved last Saturday – Ben Earl, Alex Mitchell and Marcus Smith – and, of course, Garry Ringrose.
“I think it’s probably unspoken, but they know it’s there,” said assistant coach Simon Easterby regarding the prize of playing in the Tests.
“They know that there’s an opportunity. They know that every time they get an opportunity to perform, I think Faz in his selection has, on the whole, given guys opportunities based on a number of things, but one of them being some of the performances that they’ve created on tour.
“I believe that the group is so competitive at the moment. You genuinely could put out a team of 15 players, a different team, and the quality and the standard of that performance won’t dip. Everyone brings their own individual strengths to this group, but certainly the connectivity and the team-ship, and being the best team-mates they can be has showed out across the last few weeks.
“I don’t think it will be any different tomorrow, with the prize potentially of being involved in the second or third Test.”
That is why Easterby maintained that this fixture is not a distraction.
“I think it’s great that we get a chance to play in a brilliant stadium before we go to the MCG, we get the chance to play against the First Nations/Pasifika team, who will be very different to maybe what we’ve played against so far.
“It’s exciting. We want to play, and the players want to play as many games as they can to put their hand up and wear a Lions jersey.
“I don’t think that doesn’t go without the responsibility and expectation that they have on each other. Certainly, it’s an exciting opportunity for those who are involved.”
FIRST NATIONS AND PASIFIKA XV: Andy Muirhead (First Nations); Triston Reilly (First Nations), Lalakai Foketi (Maori & Tonga), David Feliuai (Samoa), Filipo Daugunu (Fiji); Kurtley Beale (First Nations, capt), Kalani Thomas (Maori); Lington Ieli (Fiji), Brandon Paenga-Amosa (Samoa), Taniela Tupou (Tonga); Darcy Swain (Samoa), Lukhan Salakaia-Loto (Samoa); Seru Uru (Fiji), Charlie Gamble (Tonga), Tuaina Taii Tualima (Samoa).
Replacements: Richie Asiata (Samoa), Marley Pearce (Maori & First Nations), Mesake Doge (Fiji), Mesake Vocevoce (Fiji), Rob Leota (Samoa), Harrison Goddard (First Nations), Jack Debreczeni (Cook Island), Jarrah McLeod (First Nations).
BRITISH AND IRISH LIONS: Blair Kinghorn (Scotland); Darcy Graham (Scotland), Jamie Osborne (Ireland), Owen Farrell (England, capt), Duhan van der Merwe (Scotland); Fin Smith (England), Ben White (Scotland); Pierre Schoeman (Scotland), Jamie George (England), Finlay Bealham (Ireland); James Ryan (Ireland), Scott Cummings (Scotland); Jac Morgan (Wales), Josh van der Flier (Ireland), Henry Pollock (England).
Replacements: Ewan Ashman (Scotland), Rory Sutherland (Scotland), Tom Clarkson (Ireland), Gregor Brown (Scotland), Ben Earl (England), Alex Mitchell (England), Marcus Smith (England), Garry Ringrose (Ireland).
Referee: Nika Amashukeli (Georgia).
