Andy Farrell and his Lions coaching staff spent much of Sunday analysing their side’s 48-0 win over an Invitational XV in the charming Adelaide Oval while returning to the warmer Brisbane weather in readiness for Saturday’s first Test against the Wallabies. They have much to ponder but from a position of relative strength after a fifth win in a whirlwind 15-day trek around Australia.
On arrival, the squad welcomed the latest late call-up, Jamie Osborne, and with English hooker Jamie George in transit for his third tour, the Lions also announced that Thomas Clarkson has been called up as tighthead cover. Two years out from the World Cup in Australia, this swells the Irish contingent in the playing squad to 18, of whom 14 are from Leinster.
Clarkson’s call-up strongly suggests Tadhg Furlong and Will Stuart will be preserved from the final midweek game on the Tuesday of the second Test against a First Nations and Pasifika XV in Melbourne. This in turn means Clarkson, and perhaps also Osborne, will feature in that game.
Slow Lions build-up finally culminates in Test week
Farrell has made no secret of his relief in having a week based in one city without a midweek game in which to draw breath and take stock.
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“We have got a normal week as we have all been craving,” he said on Saturday night. “We train Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday and we’ll get to a performance day on Wednesday and everyone will know where they are at.”
Both Farrell and his Wallabies counterpart Joe Schmidt will unveil their first Test teams on Thursday. On the back of a less than commanding 36-24 win over the Brumbies last Wednesday, by what appeared to be a shadow Test side, Saturday’s 48-0 win over an AU/NZ Invitational XV has revived debate about some positions.
The misfortune that has ruled out Garry Ringrose and Blair Kinghorn due to the delayed concussion and knee injuries they suffered in Canberra last Wednesday, coupled with the assured performances of Huw Jones and Hugo Keenan in Adelaide, look to have resolved the starting outside centre and fullback slots in the first Test.
But 14, 12, one, six and seven all remain open to serious debate.
Tommy Freeman brings some run of prolific form – 21 tries in 29 games for Northampton, England and the Lions – but Mack Hansen’s latest demonstration of all-round skill, high work-rate and playmaking last Saturday was the kind of roving wing play Farrell loves.
With Finn Russell to start alongside Jamison Gibson-Park at halfback, and the in-form Jones seemingly cast in stone at outside centre for the first Test pending Ringrose’s return to the mix, there will be a case for a making it a 10-12-13 all-Scottish axis by naming Sione Tuipulotu at inside centre.
However, Farrell has been painstakingly and systematically juggling his resources; witness five different midfield partnerships in the first five games, one of which, Bundee Aki and Jones, performed well in the 52-12 win over the Reds.
Farrell also strongly reiterated that the Test midfield will not necessarily be chosen on the basis of national pairs.
“We look at what’s right for the team,“ he said. ”Two or three weeks ago, that went completely out of the window. I can’t remember looking at a sheet over the last few weeks and thinking ‘that combination has to happen because of the country that it’s from’. That doesn’t exist in this group.”
It could well be, therefore, that as with the halfbacks, the midfield will have an Irish-Scottish blend, while despite Duhan van der Merwe’s hat-trick in Adelaide, James Lowe looks more likely to start against the Wallabies next Saturday on the left wing.
Which brings us to the pack. Andrew Porter has only made one start to date and has had, by his standards, a relatively light load – he was left on the bench for 80 minutes in Adelaide as Pierre Schoeman went the distance.
This suggests Porter will be in the matchday 23, although Ellis Genge packed packed down with Dan Sheehan and Furlong, the likely starters at hooker and tighthead, in the previous two games, so that is open to speculation.
Joe McCarthy still looks most likely to partner the captain Maro Itoje in the secondrow, but even on the premise that Jack Conan is chosen to continue where he left off in South Africa, there are any number of potential combinations at six and seven.
Tom Curry, Tadhg Beirne, Curry again, Beirne again (after Henry Pollock was forced to withdraw), Ollie Chessum and last Saturday, Pollock, have worn the six jersey, as Farrell and co have oscillated between a hybrid lock and more of an out-and-out flanker.
Meanwhile, Jac Morgan and Josh van der Flier alternated at seven over the first four games, before Curry started there against the Brumbies and then Morgan made his third start last Saturday.
The removal of both Beirne and Ben Earl for the final quarter against the Invitational XV strongly indicates that they will be in the match-day 23 for the first Test anyway, perhaps along with Pollock in a stacked bench.
In his inimitably irreverent way, the squad’s youngest player has helped to crank up the ante as well. After Saturday’s win, Pollock was asked whether a 3-0 series win was the target, and he didn’t hesitate when replying.
“We want to come here and be the best Lions team ever. We’ve been talking about that loads and yeah, 3-0 is definitely on the table, hopefully.”
That should go down well hereabouts.
