British and Irish Lions: Rotations help players get up to speed – Andy Farrell
British and Irish Lions coach Andy Farrell has said the 13 changes he has made for their clash against the Western Force will help all his players get up to speed as quickly as possible on their tour of Australia.
Just two players — Sione Tuipulotu and Tadhg Beirne — remain from the starting XV that faced Argentina for Saturday’s game against the Force in Perth.
Several players who joined up with the squad late after playing in the URC and Premiership finals will make their first appearance of the year.
Finn Russell, who won the Premiership final with Bath, gets his chance to impress Farrell and stamp his mark on the No. 10 jersey.
Henry Pollock, 20, has been named at No. 8, with a powerful pack around him including Irish hooker Dan Sheehan, who has been named captain.
Farrell said he is keen to get a look at this second crop of players when the tour begins in earnest in Perth.
“Of course, it lends its hand doesn’t it to the way that the season finished and where players are at and trying to get people up to speed as quick as we can,” he told his pre-match news conference.
“A lot of people get their opportunity to not just play the first game on tour but as well I think nine of them get to play for the Lions for the first time.”
The Force clash will also be a measure of how Farrell’s side responds after the coach voiced his frustration with some aspects of their performance against Argentina.
“We’ll see on Saturday how we’ve responded. I suppose the guys that are playing this week are a little bit fortunate in the sense that they understand how we want to get better,” Farrell said.
“They’ve got to take responsibility for that and grab a hold of their chance to make sure they take this team forward.”
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Source: espn.com