Owen Farrell Leads Lions in Clash Against First Nations-Pasifika XV

Owen Farrell will captain the British and Irish Lions in their final match of the tour of Australia, facing a First Nations-Pasifika XV team at Marvel Stadium in Melbourne on Tuesday night. Andy Farrell, Lions coach and father of Owen, has bestowed this honor upon him, and Farrell will play at inside center, accompanied by English rising star, Fin Smith. This encounter represents the last opportunity for several Lions players, including Jac Morgan and Blair Kinghorn, to prove their worth before the second clash against the Wallabies at the MCG this weekend. Despite the Lions’ great performance in Brisbane, where they won 27-19 at Suncorp Stadium, securing a place in the team for that match seems to be a difficult challenge. The Lions will look to secure the series in front of a crowd of more than 90,000 spectators, but first they will focus on their match against the First Nations-Pasifika XV, which will feature several Wallabies players eager to impress, such as Lukhan Salakaia-Loto, Brandon Paenga-Amosa, Taniela Tupou and Filipo Daugunu. The Lions have also included Josh van der Flier and Henry Pollock in the back row, while James Ryan and Scott Cummins will pair up in the lock. In the front row, Pierre Schoeman, Jamie George and Finlay Bealham will bring their great experience. In the backs line, Ben White, Scottish scrum-half, will be alongside Smith, while Irishman Jamie Osborne will partner with Farrell in the midfield, after joining the team last week. Darcy Graham and Duhan van der Merwe complete the Scottish back three, along with Kinghorn.

Owen Farrell will captain the British and Irish Lions against the First Nations-Pasifika XV in Melbourne on Tuesday night.

“This match offers players another opportunity to put themselves forward for selection in the final two matches.
Andy Farrell

The match has been surrounded by controversy after the Lions rejected the selection of Pete Samu last week, which generated great public outrage. The team coach, Toutai Kefu, expressed his disappointment at the decision. Andy Farrell defended on Saturday the “rules and regulations” that were used to block Samu’s inclusion, as the tourists exercised their right to comment on who the First Nations-Pasifika team could select, according to the pre-tour agreement. The First Nations-Pasifika team was organized following the disappearance of the Melbourne Rebels, a Super Rugby franchise from Victoria that was liquidated due to financial debts. Ben Earl, Alex Mitchell, and Marcus Smith are the only Lions players repeating from Saturday night’s triumph over the Wallabies.504 Gateway Timeout