Advertisement
League of Ireland
Horse Racing
TV Listings
GAA Fixtures
The Video Review
Sport meets news, current affairs, society & pop culture
Rugby Weekly Extra
Dive into all the news and analysis 3 times a week
The Football Family
Weekly insights from the week’s big talking points
Advertisement
More Stories
Joe McCarthy starts in the second row.Dan Sheridan/INPHO
FreeTeam news
8 Irish starters as Lions name team for Test rehearsal in Canberra
Andy Farrell is rolling out something very close to his first Test matchday 23.
7.48am, 7 Jul 2025
Share options
Murray Kinsella
Reports from Canberra
LIONS HEAD COACH Andy Farrell has named eight Irish players in his strong starting XV for Wednesday’s warm-up clash with the Brumbies [KO 11am Irish time, Sky Sports].
This game is being viewed as a Test rehearsal for the Lions, with their opening meeting against Australia 10 days later. There is one more warm-up game ahead on Saturday against an AUNZ Invitational team, but this Brumbies clash has increasingly looked like the last opportunity for Farrell to run most of his Test combinations.
Jamison Gibson-Park and Finn Russell will resume their halfback pairing at Gio Stadium, while Irish centres Bundee Aki and Garry Ringrose start together.
Scotland’s Blair Kinghorn gets his first Lions start at fullback, making up the back three with James Lowe and Tommy Freeman.
Advertisement
Dan Sheehan and Tadhg Furlong are picked in the front row with Ellis Genge, while Ireland’s Joe McCarthy partners captain Maro Itoje in the second row.
Jack Conan is at the heart of a back row that is completed by English pair Tom Curry and Ollie Chessum, the latter at blindside.
There are four more Irish players on the bench in Rónan Kelleher, Andrew Porter, Josh van der Flier and Mack Hansen, who will play in his hometown of Canberra.
Interestingly, the Lions bench includes two back rows in van der Flier and Henry Pollock despite Farrell going for a 5/3 split, with Chessum providing second row cover from within the starting XV.
Lions (v Brumbies):
15. Blair Kinghorn (Toulouse/Scotland)
14. Tommy Freeman (Northampton/England)
13. Garry Ringrose (Leinster/Ireland)
12. Bundee Aki (Connacht/Ireland)
11. James Lowe (Leinster/Ireland)
10. Finn Russell (Bath/Scotland)
9. Jamison Gibson-Park (Leinster/Ireland)
1. Ellis Genge (Bristol/England)
2. Dan Sheehan (Leinster/Ireland)
3. Tadhg Furlong (Leinster/Ireland)
4. Maro Itoje (Saracens/England) (captain)
5. Joe McCarthy (Leinster/Ireland)
6. Ollie Chessum (Leicester/England)
7. Tom Curry (Sale/England)
8. Jack Conan (Leinster/Ireland)
Replacements:
16. Rónan Kelleher (Leinster/Ireland)
17. Andrew Porter (Leinster/Ireland)
18. Will Stuart (Bath/England)
19. Josh van der Flier (Leinster/Ireland)
20. Henry Pollock (Northampton/England)
21. Alex Mitchell (Northampton/England)
22. Marcus Smith (Harlequins/ England)
23. Mack Hansen (Connacht/Ireland)
Murray Kinsella
Viewcomments
Send Tip or Correction
Embed this post
To embed this post, copy the code below on your site
Email “8 Irish starters as Lions name team for Test rehearsal in Canberra”.
Recipient’s Email
Feedback on “8 Irish starters as Lions name team for Test rehearsal in Canberra”.
Your Feedback
Your Email (optional)
Report a Comment
Please select the reason for reporting this comment.
Please give full details of the problem with the comment…
This is YOUR comments community. Stay civil, stay constructive, stay on topic.
Please familiarise yourself with our comments policy
before taking part.
Leave a Comment
Submit a report
Please help us understand how this comment violates our community guidelines.
Damaging the good reputation of someone, slander, or libel.
Racism or Hate speech
An attack on an individual or group based on religion, race, gender, or beliefs.
Trolling or Off-topic
An attempt to derail the discussion.
Inappropriate language
Profanity, obscenity, vulgarity, or slurs.
Advertising, phishing, scamming, bots, or repetitive posts.
Please provide additional information
Thank you for the feedback
Your feedback has been sent to our team for review.
Leave a commentcancel
Access to the comments facility has been disabled for this user
View our policy
⚠️ Duplicate comment
Post Comment
have your say
Or create a free account to join the discussion
News in 60 seconds
Campbell tops Grillo in playoff to win PGA’s John Deere Classic
15 mins ago
FreeOpposition
AUNZ finalise squad for Lions clash, Brumbies name ex-Connacht wing
FreeControversy
GAA to investigate after confusion over final score of Tipperary-Kilkenny game
Freeeuro 2025
Norway reach Euro 2025 quarter-finals as Swiss down eliminated Iceland
Freedoes not compute
Wimbledon officials apologise after line-calling tech is turned off in error
FreeBasketball
Rockets confirm arrival of Kevin Durant in unprecedented NBA seven-team trade
Alcaraz survives Rublev test as Sabalenka storms into Wimbledon quarters
As it happened
Kilkenny v Tipperary, All-Ireland senior hurling semi-final
the joe show
‘You don’t coach someone for 10 years and not have a relationship with them’
FreeControversy
GAA to investigate after confusion over final score of Tipperary-Kilkenny game
Premier Pride
14-man Tipperary defeat Kilkenny in dramatic All-Ireland semi-final clash
more from us
Investigates
Daft.ie Property Magazine
Allianz Home Magazine
The 42 Sports Magazine
TG4 Entertainment Magazine
Money Diaries
The Journal TV
Journal Media
Advertise With Us
About FactCheck
Our Network
FactCheck Knowledge Bank
Terms & Legal Notices
Terms of Use
Cookies & Privacy
Advertising
Competition
more from us
TV Listings
GAA Fixtures
The Video Review
Journal Media
Advertise With Us
Our Network
The Journal
FactCheck Knowledge Bank
Terms & Legal Notices
Terms of Use
Cookies & Privacy
Advertising
Competition
© 2025 Journal Media Ltd
Terms of Use
Cookies & Privacy
Advertising
Competition
Switch to Desktop
Switch to Mobile
The 42 supports the work of the Press Council of Ireland and the Office of the Press Ombudsman, and our staff operate within the Code of Practice. You can obtain a copy of the Code, or contact the Council, at https://www.presscouncil.ie, PH: (01) 6489130, Lo-Call 1800 208 080 or email: mailto:info@presscouncil.ie
Report an error, omission or problem:
Your Email (optional)
Create Email Alert
Create an email alert based on the current article
Email Address
One email every morning
As soon as new articles come online
Sign in or create
a free account
To continue reading create a free account
Or sign into an existing account