The British and Irish Lions head Down Under later this month as they kick off their Australian adventure against Western Force on 28 June. But before jetting off, Argentina visit Dublin this Friday at 21:00 (SA Time) to give the Lions an inaugural warm-up as a pack. Andy Farrell’s men will be looking for nothing other than a win to set them on their way as they finalise tour preparations.
While all of the 38-man squad have had memorable seasons in EPCR competitions, it’s been a whirlwind month for the Northampton Saints and Bath Rugby contingents. Having played in the Investec Champions Cup Final just four weeks ago, Northampton Saints’ Tommy Freeman, Fin Smith, Alex Mitchell and Henry Pollock will link up with EPCR Challenge Cup-winning duo Finn Russell and Will Stuart from Bath Rugby to reinforce a formidable overall squad as they look to right the wrongs of the Lions’ test loss to South Africa in 2021.
Friday night’s run-out for the British and Irish Lions marks the maiden outing of their summer tour, and Head Coach Andy Farrell has named an XV bursting with EPCR talent to lead the charge.
Investec Champions Cup finalists Tommy Freeman, Fin Smith and Alex Mitchell all start thanks to a stellar season with the club Northampton Saints. The latter two form the 100% Northampton half-back pairing while Freeman takes his habitual number 14 spot at the back.
Elsewhere, Connacht Rugby pair Bundee Aki and Finlay Bealham get the nod, while Jac Morgan (Ospreys) and Duhan Van der Merwe (Edinburgh Rugby) are favoured by Farrell. Aki, Bealham and Morgan’s run with their respective sides to the quarter-final stage of the EPCR Challenge Cup would’ve gone a long way in persuading Farrell, as he compiles a squad rich in EPCR knock-out experience.
Harlequins’ Marcus Smith is slotted into the fullback spot after a successful spell there for England during the Six Nations, and Saracens’ Maro Itoje leads the Lions for the first time as captain.
Investec Player of the Year Henry Pollock is named amongst the replacements along with Investec Champions Cup semi-final opponent Tadhg Furlong from Leinster Rugby, amongst others.
As for Argentina, ‘Los Pumas’, rely on an XV brimming with EPCR talent to try and force an upset in Dublin.
Ex-Gloucester Rugby fullback Santiago Carreras’ stellar EPCR Challenge Cup campaign, including a try in the quarter-final against new side Bath Rugby, is enough to earn him a spot in the starting line-up, while Leicester Tigers’ Julián Montoya heads up the pack to go up against Sale Sharks’ Luke Cowan-Dickie.
Teams:
British and Irish Lions: 15 Marcus Smith, 14 Tommy Freeman, 13 Sione Tuipulotu, 12 Bundee Aki, 11 Duhan van der Merwe, 10 Fin Smith, 9 Alex Mitchell, 8 Ben Earl, 7 Jac Morgan, 6 Tom Curry, 5 Tadhg Beirne, 4 Maro Itoje (captain), 3 Finlay Bealham, 2 Luke Cowan-Dickie, 1 Ellis Genge. Replacements: 16 Ronan Kelleher, 17 Pierre Schoeman, 18 Tadhg Furlong, 19 Scott Cummings, 20 Henry Pollock, 21 Tomos Williams, 22 Elliot Daly, 23 Mack Hansen.
Argentina: 15 Santiago Carreras, 14 Rodrigo Isgro, 13 Lucio Cinti, 12, Justo Piccardo, 11 Ignacio Mendy, 10 Tomas Albornoz, 9 Gonzalo Garcia, 8 Joaquin Oviedo, 7 Juan Martin Gonzalez, 6 Pablo Matera, 5 Pedro Rubiolo, 4 Franco Molina, 3 Joel Sclavi, 2 Julian Montoya (captain), 1 Mayco Vivas. Replacements: 16 Bautista Bernasconi, 17 Boris Wenger, 18 Francisco Marchetti Coria, 19 Santiago Grondona, 20 Joaquin Moro, 21 Simon Benitez Cruz, 22 Matias Moroni, 23 Santiago Cordero.
