The British and Irish Lions’ 2025 campaign has begun in earnest with Andy Farrell‘s side taking on the Western Force in Perth.
It’s the first of five tour matches before the first Test against the Wallabies in Brisbane on July 19.
Farrell made 13 changes to the XV that started in the defeat to Argentina in Dublin last week, with Tadhg Beirne and Sione Tuipulotu the only ones to back up in the run on side.
Scottish fly-half Finn Russell — who is in the box seat to start the Tests — gets his first run, while 20-year-old English bolter Henry Pollock starts at No. 8. Ireland’s Dan Sheehan gets the honour of captaining the side.
There is plenty on the line here: After last Friday’s defeat, the Lions are under pressure to break their duck and find some winning momentum.
The Lions are expected to do just that, though. As ESPN’s Sam Bruce wrote this week, this matchup is meant to be one of the softest on the Lions’ schedule Down Under, with more challenging tasks against the Queensland Reds, ACT Brumbies and AUNZ Invitational Team still to come.
Can the Lions find their first win of the summer?
Follow ESPN’s live updates of all the action in Perth!
– Ranking the Lions’s tour games in Australia
– Andy Farrell: Rotations help players get up to speed
– Tom Hamilton: Henry Pollock’s incredible rise to Lions bolter
Source: espn.com