British and Irish Lions: Owen Farrell named on bench for AUNZ fixture
Owen Farrell has been named on the bench for the British and Irish Lions’ final tour match before the Test series against Australia.
The 33-year-old, who joined the tour last week as a replacement for the injured Elliot Daly, is one of two outside backs among the replacements for the game against the AUNZ Invitational side, with Marcus Smith alongside him.
Scotland’s Ben White starts at scrum-half on Saturday, with Jac Morgan afforded another chance to impress at open-side flanker.
Henry Pollock and Ben Earl complete the back row, with the Scotland centre partnership of Sione Tuipulotu and Huw Jones also starting.
Presuming he comes off the bench, Farrell will be playing his first game in more than two months after a concussion in a European Challenge Cup semi-final against Lyon at the start of May.
It was his final appearance in an underwhelming one-season stint at French side Racing 92, with Farrell’s search for form interrupted by a persistent groin injury.
Farrell brought his stay in Paris to an early end, securing a return to Saracens earlier this summer.
If head coach Andy Farrell opts for his son as part of the 23-strong squad for the first Test against the Wallabies on 19 July, it would mark a remarkable return to Test rugby.
Farrell stepped away from international rugby after the 2023 Rugby World Cup to prioritise his and his family’s well-being, before the move to Racing made him unavailable for England selection.
His last Test remains the third-place play-off win over Argentina in October 2023.
The Australia/New Zealand invitational XV includes 63-cap Wallabies wing Marika Koroibete and All Blacks Hoskins Sotutu, Shannon Frizell and Ngani Laumape.
Tane Edmed, who made his Australia debut off the bench against Ireland in November and could return to the Wallabies squad after the injury to their first-choice 10 Noah Lolesio, is at fly-half.
Former Wasps and Ulster prop Jeffery Toomaga-Allen also starts, while Pete Samu, a key part of European champions Bordeaux-Begles back row this season, is at open-side flanker.
British and Irish Lions: Keenan; Hansen, Jones, Tuipulotu, Van der Merwe; F Smith, White; Schoeman, Cowan-Dickie, Stuart, Ryan, Beirne (c), Pollock, Morgan, Earl
Replacements; Kelleher, Porter, Bealham, Cummings, Van der Flier, Mitchell, M Smith, Farrell
AUNZ Invitational: Stevenson; Lam, Laumape, Havili (cc), Koroibete; Edmed, Fakatava; Ross, Paenga-Amosa, Toomaga-Allen, Blyth, Salakaia-Loto, Frizell, Samu, Sotutu.
Replacements: Eklund, Fusitu’a, Dyer, Philip, Brial, Thomas, McLaughlin-Phillips, Campbell