These calls will cause some amount of furore!
Head coach Andy Farrell is set to pick his Lions 23 for Saturday’s first Test against Australia on Thursday, July 17.
While much of the side is predictable, there is huge competition in the back row and on the bench.
The Telegraph have reported that a couple of players who would have been seen as ‘less in form’ than others will start this weekend.
England’s Tom Curry looks set to pack down at openside flanker alongside Ireland’s Tadhg Beirne at blindside.
Curry went into the tour as the favourite to start, but has been outshone by Jac Morgan, Josh van der Flier, and Henry Pollock.
Likewise, Beirne was seen as one of the best players in the squad, but has looked tired and far from his best after a long season, while Ollie Chessum, who looks set to be on the bench, has excelled.
Farrell received a heap of criticism for calling up his son Owen, despite his patchy form and having not played for England since 2023.
However, his superb cameo off the bench against the AUSNZ XV, had many convinced that he had forced his way into the Test 23.
Despite this, the English paper have said that he will miss out, with 20-year-old flanker Henry Pollock also set to be disappointed.
In response to criticism over his son’s call-up, Farrell said: “I hope people can get past that [the negative reaction]. I think there’s been a lot of that nonsense for some time and that was in the past.
“We all just need to move on and embrace what the Lions is all about and what we’ve got coming ahead.
“There’s plenty of players that have not played Test matches for quite some time. There’s plenty of players that missed Six Nations or 12 weeks of not playing.”
Expected Lions Test team:
H Keenan; T Freeman, H Jones, S Tuipulotu, J Lowe; F Russell, J Gibson-Park; E Genge, D Sheehan, T Furlong; M Itoje (capt), J McCarthy; T Beirne, T Curry, J Conan.
