British and Irish Lions coach Andy Farrell has made 13 changes to his lineup for the match against the Western Force. According to Farrell, this decision will allow all his players to reach the appropriate game rhythm as soon as possible during their tour of Australia.
Only two players, Sione Tuipulotu and Tadhg Beirne, are in the starting XV again from the match against Argentina. The match against the Western Force will be played in Perth on Saturday.
Several players who joined the team late, after participating in the URC and Premiership finals, will make their first appearance of the year.
Finn Russell, Premiership champion with Bath, will have the opportunity to impress Farrell and consolidate his position as fly-half.
Henry Pollock, 20 years old, has been named in the number 8 position, and will lead a powerful pack that includes Irish hooker Dan Sheehan, who has been designated captain.
According to Farrell, many players will have the opportunity to debut with the Lions, and nine of them will play for the first time. The match against the Force will also serve to gauge the team’s response under Farrell after the coach expressed his frustration following certain aspects of the performance against Argentina.Of course, this adapts to how the season ended and where the players are, trying to get people up to speed as quickly as possible.
Andy Farrell
Farrell added that the players must take responsibility and seize the opportunity to move the team forward.We’ll see on Saturday how we’ve responded. I suppose those playing this week are lucky in the sense that they understand how we want to improve.
Andy Farrell
