Waratahs vs Lions: Seven Wallabies in lineup, Tupou and Kellaway lead

The New South Wales Waratahs, with a weakened team, will face the British & Irish Lions, with Taniela Tupou and Andrew Kellaway leading the way. The team, which includes these two key Wallabies players, will feature five other players with international test experience, although two of them, Tane Edmed and Darby Lancaster, only have one international start. The Waratahs coach, Dan McKellar, has given young halfbacks Teddy Wilson and Jack Bowen the opportunity to start against the tourists, who defeated the Queensland Reds with a resounding 52-12 at Suncorp Stadium on Wednesday night. This was the second time in five days that the Lions had outplayed an Australian team by a wide margin, as Andy Farrell’s team also defeated the Western Force with a score of 54-7 on Saturday. The Waratahs finished below the Reds in the Super Rugby standings, while the Reds had nine Wallabies in their team compared to the Waratahs’ seven.

The Reds managed to stay close to the Lions for much of the first half, but then conceded 31 unanswered points in the second half, suffering a heavy defeat. Matt Philip, who recently returned from two seasons in Japan, will make his debut with the Waratahs from the bench. Tupou and Kellaway will be looking to prove their worth, as they were released from the Wallabies camp earlier in the week. Tupou’s lackluster season in Super Rugby has left him fighting for a spot on the Wallabies’ bench for the first test match against the Lions in Brisbane in just over two weeks, while Kellaway appears to be behind Harry Potter, Filipo Daugunu and even Dylan Pietsch for a place in the backs. An almost full Allianz Stadium is expected in Sydney despite what will likely be an uneven score.