FT – Lions 36 Brumbies 24 (report)
SCORING SEQUENCE – 4 mins: Tualima try, 5-0; 15: Chessum try, 5-5; 29: Lowe try, Russell con, 5-12; 37: Toole try, 10-12; 40+1: Smith try, Russell con, 10-19; Half-time 10-19; 47: Ringrose try, Russell con, 10-26; 51: Creighton try, R Lonergan con, 17-26; 61: Russell pen, 17-29; 67: Van der Flier try, Russell con, 17-36; 74: Bowron try, Debreczeni con, 24-36
Brumbies 24 B&I Lions 36 (FT)
Here’s Gerry Thornley’s match report from Canberra:
We’ll leave it there for our live coverage. Thanks for joining us on what was a clunky yet winning day for the Lions. Who did their Test chances some good? Who might have written themselves off? We’ll find out in due course.
Stay tuned for Gerry Thornley’s match report from Canberra!
The first piece of post-match content is in. Johnny Watterson is on player ratings duty and he also was a fan of Ringrose’s performance.
Read the whole piece here.
Finn Russell has just given a cracker of an interview with Sky. It was a fascinating chat where he revealed he keeps the backline calls written on the back of his hand! Cue a few Aussies pulling out the binoculars.
It’s hard to look past O’Gara once again providing a good line, though, when Russell says he always plays with a smile on his face.
You got on with the president at Racing and the owner at Bath, no wonder you play with a smile on your face!
— Ronan O'Gara on Finn Russell
The pick of the Lions tries tonight? Ringrose’s attacking play can go under the radar given how good he has become at flying out of the line in defence. But this dummy and pop to Smith was sensational, then he kept the work-rate high to get the score.
Is he your Test starter at 13?
Jamison Gibson-Park was named player of the match. He spoke to Sky after today’s win.
Somebody landed on his knee and he felt a little bit of something. Hopefully it’s not too serious.
— Andy Farrell on Blair Kinghorn's injury
Away from parochial interests, Ollie Chessum put in a big display which could see him start against Australia at 6. If Farrell looks to go for a secondrow hybrid to shore up the lineout there, Chessum could well be ahead of Beirne in the pecking order given the Englishman was combative and powerful in contact today whereas the Munster captain looked a touch tired on Saturday.
Farrell could, of course, go for multiple openside flankers instead of a lock in his backrow. Jac Morgan is firmly in contention if he goes for that approach, as is Curry. Both are also in line for the seven shirt, with van der Flier having a few tricky moments today. Pollock looks to be a very good bench option.
Russell was magnificent at 10. He is relishing operating behind the likes of Aki and some of the bigger forwards in this attacking system, while his kicking out of hand is very clever.
The big one to watch is Blair Kinghorn. He went off in the first half with a leg injury and looked to be distraught about it. Hugo Keenan could be the starting 15 by virtue of both his rivals, Kinghorn and Elliot Daly, suffering injuries!
What to make of that then? A better display than Saturday against the Waratahs, but given the strength of the XV and with just one game between now and the Test series, Andy Farrell would have been looking for better.
In terms of the Irish involved, much like the display of the whole squad, it was a mixed bag.
Sheehan and Furlong were solid with their carrying in the frontrow, while the latter looked particularly good in the scrum. McCarthy was quietly good, not as dominant as his man of the match display against the Western Force, but he had some lovely subtle touches with his link-up play.
Gibson-Park was named man of the match by the Australian broadcaster, his kicking game was good while his speed of passing looks to be building as the tour progresses. For my money, though, Garry Ringrose was the pick of the Irish. His linking of the heavy carriers on the inside with the wide threats outside him was brilliant. A few big shots in there to boot while he added a third try of the tour. Aki inside him was as strong as ever in the carry, but he was made to look iffy by a few teammates not expecting passes when they should have been options.
Conan led the Lions for carries and metres made. Considering he is consistently asked to work through heavy traffic, those are some good numbers. The eight jersey looks to be his for the first Test.
Off the bench, Kelleher and Porter had minimal impacts. Van der Flier was busy but had a few errors, including a missed clear and an offside penalty in quick succession which led to the Brumbies’ final score. Hansen chased hard and had two strong tackles in his few minutes on the pitch; we know Farrell loves that sort of thing.
NO TRY
The TMO intervenes. Brousset thought he had seen a grounding, but the officials change their mind and it’s held up. Game over, a frustrating end to a mixed display from the Lions.
Full time: Brumbies 24 Lions 36
TRY LIONS
OLLIE CHESSUM
82 mins: He scored the first and now the last try of the evening for the tourists. A few big carries, including a noteworthy one from Hansen, get the Lions close until Chessum barges over. He’s been quiet in the second half after impressing in the first, but he’s done his odds of starting in the six jersey no harm.
81 mins: Ah the Lions look to have ended the game by butchering a score as Porter’s offload is behind Ringrose.
There was a deliberate knock in there, though, so a penalty comes and Tom Hooper is sent to the bin. The Lions will have one last attack as Russell goes to the corner.
79 mins: The forward pack rumbles towards the line with a series of pick and goes off a lineout maul. They look to be building momentum towards a sixth Lions try but a spill at a ruck kills off the attack.
TRY BRUMBIES
LIAM BOWRON
76 mins: Porter looked like he had held up a carry over the line but somehow the ball comes back. Bowron has about three inches between him and the line and he dives under Aki and van der Flier to score.
Simple conversion under the posts. I’m not quite sure how the Brumbies have scored 24 points here. They’ve been gifted soft entries into the 22 and the Lions have been brittle when close to their own line.
Brumbies 24 Lions 36
74 mins: Then van der Flier gives away a penalty for being offside at the edge of a ruck. Not a great few minutes for the Ireland backrow. The Brumbies tap and go inside the 22.
Kelleher is caught offside now as the Brumbies have advantage. Hansen works hard in defence to catch Toole before he can get into space.
Back we go for the penalty and now Brousset wants a word with Itoje.
72 mins: Alex Mitchell is on at 9 for Gibson-Park. The Lions cough up a penalty as Conan gets isolated on first phase. Van der Flier missed the clear. The breakdown is a sneaky issue, given the Lions are still scoring points while also coughing up ball.
69 mins: Hansen’s first involvement of note is to chase a kick and hit Muirhead almost as soon as he gathers. The Brumbies then kick the ball away but win it back as Russell spills. Lonergan nearly finds touch with a beautiful kick over the top, only for the ball to take a wicked bounce and roll dead.
TRY LIONS
JOSH VAN DER FLIER
68 mins: This time van der Flier gets his try. Itoje takes the lineout and the catch and drive is launched. There is van der Flier’s red scrum cap on the ball as he maul rumbles over with barely any resistance.
Russell converts.
Brumbies 17 Lions 36
67 mins: The Lions get another penalty after a break into the 22. Pollock was prominent in this one, taking an offload to get close to the line. Referee Brousset warns Brumbies skipper Lonergan about the number of penalties being conceded.
Hansen is on for Lowe on the wing, returning to play against his old mates in the Brumbies.
61 mins: Smith kicks away penalty advantage with a needless chip and chase. It is unfuriating how many players waste penalty advantage looking for a miracle play. The Lions go for the safe - maybe boring - option with the penalty under the posts.
Simple kick. No mistakes.
Brumbies 17 Lions 29
59 mins: Russell’s kick in behind is brilliant, pinning the Brumbies with a lineout close to their own line.
The Brumbies exit but can’t get the ball far. Lions lineout still inside the 22.
58 mins: The Lions are over again. The maul is scrappy, Gibson-Park has no idea where the ball is, but it eventually rolls over the line. It looks like it might have been van der Flier on the ball but the officials want to go upstairs.
On-field decision is no try.
NO TRY
Once again, on the balance of probabilities, that ball has been grounded. On replay, you can just about see the ball as van der Flier goes over the line, but there was no angle of it on the ground.
Joe McCarthy has been replaced by Henry Pollock, Ollie Chessum moving into the secondrow.
54 mins: Now the Lions spill the ball at the back of a ruck inside the Brumbies 22. Stuart’s boot kicks it out of Gibson-Park’s hands as he tried to play away. Chance gone.
Josh van der Flier is on for Tom Curry.
TRY BRUMBIES
HUDSON CREIGHTON
51 mins: Brilliant move off the scrum. The Lions don’t number up defensively and Creighton goes over on a hard inside line. Gibson-Park bites in, leading to confusion on who has who. Freeman ends up caught in no man’s land and takes no one, allowing Creighton to go in untouched. Meredith converts.
Brumbies 17 Lions 26
50 mins: A try followed by a failed exit. A coach killer, as they say. The Brumbies throw some beautiful offloads after a spill in the air off the restart from the Lions. Toole chips in behind and Freeman covers, but his pass back to Gibson-Park leads to a spill. Freeman recovers to dot down and avoid a try but it is a 5m scrum for the Brumbies.
Changes are made ahead of this scrum, with Porter and Stuart on for Genge and Furlong.
TRY LIONS
GARRY RINGROSE
48 mins: That’s sensational. Ringrose takes the ball off the lineout - normally it’s Aki - and everyone is too busy looking at the big Connacht centre running out the back. Ringrose as a result dummies, sells the defence and breaks. He finds Smith who then kicks in behind. Ringrose hunts and wins the race, dotting down under the posts.
Brumbies 10 Lions 26
47 mins: Furlong wins a scrum penalty. The Lions needed a positive moment, they’ve barely been inside the Brumbies half since the break.
The bad news, though, is that penalty ruined a bet. On commentary, Dan Biggar and Ronan O’Gara had a $50 wager on if Russell would go for a crosskick. Furlong ensured we never found out.
44 mins: The Brumbies target Marcus Smith in the air. O’Donnell gets to the contest and it’s not a fair one, the wing significantly taller than Smith. Fortunately for the Lions, he spills in the air and coughs up a scrum.
43 mins: Itoje steals the lineout close to the Lions line. Captain leading from the front and all that.
42 mins: Early signs are that the Lions’ cohesion is no better. Curry throws an offload straight to Ben O’Donnell and it takes a last-ditch tackle from Gibson-Park to prevent him from speeding off. Corey Toole does sprint into space, burning past Ringrose. He is quick and, taking play up to the 22, the Brumbies win a penalty against a stretched defence. Into the corner they go.
41 mins: Time for the second half. Itoje claims the kick-off for the Lions, setting up a Gibson-Park box kick. Muirhead spills and the Lions go to the air once more. Muirhead spills. Again. Talk about a tough minute.
The Brumbies have entered the Lions 22 twice and have scored 10 points. Talk about efficiency.
The first score came from brute force, winning collisions close to the line and forcing their way over. The second came from spinning it wide when they caught the Lions - Marcus Smith specifically - narrow. Brilliant skills.
When the Lions attack has clicked, it has drawn in defenders and led to space out wide. Chessum’s try was the direct result of hard yakka and pulling the trigger at the right time.
As was Lowe’s effort, McCarthy feeding Russell perfectly before a number of Irish teammates combined to send their pal over in the corner.
A strange first half display from what was supposed to be the strongest Lions selection yet. Errors continue to be prevalent, particularly from a number of Irish players who should be more familiar with Andy Farrell’s system.
Players don’t look ready to receive passes when running as options, while some of said passes have been poor and behind chosen runners. Nine turnovers and six penalties have killed momentum. The aerial game, receiving kicks in particular, has also been an issue.
That said, there have been flashes. When Aki is getting over the gainline, or McCarthy is drawing defenders and pulling passes back to Russell, space opens up. Ringrose has been quietly good linking that play to the wide threats. Chessum has been the Lions’ best player, locking out mauls and winning counter-rucks.
Blair Kinghorn’s injury is another negative what was a difficult first half.
TRY LIONS
MARCUS SMITH
41 mins: Well, it may have been a spill in the air from Itoje off the goal line restart but play is allowed to continue. Russell and Curry combine to send Smith over a few phases later. Beautiful hands but the Brumbies are complaining about the knock.
Try stands and Russell converts with the last kick of the half.
Half-time: Brumbies 10 Lions 19
40 mins: That’s unfortunate for Smith. A nice grubber in behind could have gone into touch close to the line but it hits the corner flag and rolls over the try line, instead giving the Brumbies a goal line dro;.
All this came after good work from Lowe and Gibson-Park to link with some offloads and take play up the park.
39 mins: Itoje comes up with a big turnover on the floor off the breakdown. Aki then throws a nice offload to Curry but he loses it in contact. This continues to look a Lions outfit just off the pace with their decision making and skills under duress.
TRY BRUMBIES
COREY TOOLE
36 mins: Off the lineout, the Lions get caught narrow. They track the outhalf Meredith but the ball goes to wing O’Donnell. Smith is too far infield, not monitoring the touchline, meaning a long, looping pass offers Toole a simple finish in the corner.
Another missed conversion keeps the Lions in the lead.
Brumbies 10 Lions 12
35 mins: Lonergan is having a very tidy game. This time he finds touch inside the 22, beautifully pinning the Lions close to their own line. He was inside the Lions half, so no 50/22, bit still, momentum for the Lions.
Christ, it nearly goes so badly wrong. Sheehan takes the brave option of going over the top with a long throw. Conan wasn’t on the same page as the ball bounces.
Conan regathers but, a phase later and still under pressure, the Brumbies swoop for a breakdown penalty. Into the corner they go.
34 mins: Now Russell tries to kick on the opposite flank, chipping ahead for Lowe to chase. He does get there first but the bounce works against him, the ball deviating into a grateful Brumbies defender.
32 mins: Russell tries a cross-kick but there’s just too much on it, Freeman claiming but with a foot in touch.
This after momentum was stalled by a poor pass behind Conan, forcing him to check his run. There are still plenty of handling errors from the Lions. Plenty too on passes between Ireland teammates, meaning cohesion can’t be an excuse.
TRY LIONS
JAMES LOWE
29 mins: This time Lowe finishes. A typical try in some senses. Grunt up front, then they pull the trigger wide. McCarthy hits Russell with a nice ball out the back. Then Aki, Ringrose, Sheehan and Conan all combine, drawing defenders before sending Lowe over in the corner. Simple skills done well.
Russell then adds the not so simple conversion from the touchline.
Brumbies 5 Lions 12
27 mins: Aki tries to find Conan with a short pop but the Leinsterman wasn’t expecting the pass. Scrum for the Brumbies but the Lions quickly turn the ball over as Chessum counter-rucks well. He’s one of the few Lions to have enhanced his reputation in the opening half an hour.
26 mins: More bad news for the Lions. Blair Kinghorn has succumbed to the leg injury which saw him receive treatment earlier on. Marcus Smith is on at fullback.
Frustrating for the Lions but it does present an intriguing development in the battle between Kinghorn and Keenan for the Test 15 shirt.
25 mins: That’s brilliant from Lonergan, the Brumbies 9. Gibson-Park does well to make a half break but it takes him away from the support. Opposite number Lonergan then swoops to get in over the ball and win a penalty under the shadow of his own posts.
JAMES LOWE IS OVER
23 mins: A simple backline move sees Russell hit Kinghorn who then sends Lowe over in the corner.
The TMO wants to check the grounding. Was Lowe held up by Muirhead?
NO TRY
Wow. It’s not conclusive but the referee initially said no try, so there’s no conclusive evidence to overturn his decision. Looking at the replays, on the balance of probabilities Lowe did get that down. But there’s a chance Muirhead’s ankle got underneath the ball and, given the referee’s initial decision, they have to say no try.
Given where he took that ball in space, Lowe would have backed himself to finish that. Should have done better.
Brumbies 5 Lions 5
22 mins: The Brumbies think they’ve won a counter-ruck inside their own 22 but Brousset says they came in the side. Russell goes to the corner with the penalty.
21 mins: Sheehan pops up out wide, beats his defender and sprints off down the flank. A brilliant counter to take play out of the Lions 22. He tries to offload inside but picks the wrong man. If he found Kinghorn, it could have been try time. The ball goes behind him, though, to Freeman who is tackled.
The Brumbies are still under pressure and get pinged for offside. Russell kicks into the 22.
18 mins: Sloppy from Genge. He was desperate to hit a cleanout with Freeman looking isolated but, in his angst, he dives in off his feet and takes Corey Toole out way beyond the breakdown. A cheap penalty which ends a promising attack.
They compound the error by giving away a needless offside penalty off the following lineout. Russell isn’t happy with referee Pierre Brousset.
17 mins: James Lowe pins the Brumbies inside their own 22 with his trademark left boot. Straight off the kick-off, that’s a big momentum win. The Brumbies clear but give the Lions a lineout close to the 22.
TRY LIONS
OLLIE CHESSUM
15 mins: Simple but effective stuff. Off penalty advantage from the scrum, Aki powers over the gain line. With the Brumbies scrambling, Sheehan goes close before Gibson-Park spins it wide. Russell draws a defender before popping to Chessum. The England 6 does have to check to take the pass behind him, but the skills are good as he dives over.
Russell hits the post with the conversion!
Brumbies 5 Lions 5
14 mins: Feliuai at 12 tries to throw an offload but he’s spun around in contact as he does so by Aki. Meaning his pass goes in the opposite direction to what is intended, and straight to the Lions defence! Back we go for the scrum, the pass was forward.
13 mins: Freeman chases a Russell high bomb to this time put the Brumbies aerial defence under pressure. Chessum and Ringrose then combine to force a loose ball when smashing Muirhead back in the tackle. The Lions tighten things up and rely on their kicking game and physicality to build some momentum.
12 mins: Now Lowe takes his turn to get nowhere near a high ball. The Brumbies are causing problems with their kicking game.
10 mins: More errors from the Lions. Ringrose delays his pass beautifully to send Aki into space. His effort, though, in an attempt to send Lowe into space, is a shocker. Into row Z goes the ball as Aki’s pass sails over Lowe and into touch.
Meanwhile Blair Kinghorn has started limping. One to keep an eye on.
9 mins: Lowe is busy again on the ball, carrying twice down the right flank. The second one, though, sees no one support him on the ground and the Brumbies counter-ruck. Kinghorn then makes a meal of trying to claim the clearance but the Lions are fortunate to still see the ball bounce back on their side.
8 mins: Gibson-Park goes to the air as the Lions safely secure a lineout on the Brumbies 10m line. It earns a good platform as a spill in the air hands the Lions a scrum close to the 22.
6 mins: The Lions look to hit back after batting the kick-off onto their side. They go wide and Lowe beats his first man but is met by Feliuai and O’Donnell who barge him into touch.
TRY BRUMBIES
TUAINA TAII TUALIMA
3 mins: A short range bash gets the Brumbies on the board. The Lions initially did well to stop carry after carry close to their own line. Tualima decides instead of picking and going to jump over a defender lying on the wrong side to score.
A horror conversion attempt is pulled wide from almost straight in front of the posts. Poor effort from Declan Meredith.
Brumbies 5 Lions 0
2 mins: Ollie Chessum is prominent in stopping a Brumbies maul from getting going but the good work is undone by the backs. Blair Kinghorn is caught offside. The Brumbies go to the corner.
1 min: We are underway in Canberra! Finn Russell kicks off as the Brumbies claim a short homb near their own 10m line. Sheehan then gives away an early penalty for not allowing access to the runners chasing a Ryan Lonergan kick.
Brumbies 0 B&I Lions 0
The last time the Lions played the Brumbies? A defeat in 2013. That day, the Lions called up a number of late replacements in a bid to wrap up the Test team in cotton wool. Not so this time around. A comparison of the two starting XVs from today and 12 years ago is stark. It may well be due to the tour schedule, but the Lions are far, far stronger this time around.
Shane Williams wasn’t even playing international rugby at the time, but got a call-up because he was reasonably close by playing club rugby in Japan!
Lions vs Brumbies 2013: Rob Kearney; Christian Wade, Brad Barritt, Billy Twelvetrees, Shane Williams; Stuart Hogg, Ben Youngs; Ryan Grant, Rory Best, Matt Stevens; Ian Evans, Richie Graham; Sean O’Brien, Justin Tipuric, Toby Faletau.
Another interesting nugget from our coverage which may have fallen through the cracks given all the Brumbies, Mack Hansen, Canberra chat. Johnny Sexton spoke to media recently and offered further insight into his job with the Lions. The speed of his rise from part-time Ireland coach to Lions assistant has caused plenty of intrigue. What does he actually do?
Gerry Thornley found out when speaking to Sexton in Australia.
“It is about helping these guys out. Whether it is the 10s, whether it is the kickers,or if Maro [Itoje, Lions captain] needs what I think about certain things. He hasn’t asked me about dealing with the refs yet,” said Sexton with a laugh in acknowledgment of his own sometimes-fraught relationship with referees.
— Johnny Sexton
Stephen Larkham was always an interesting character, especially during his stint coaching Munster. Hear from him prior to his Brumbies outfit running out later on.
This is very good value from the Sky Sports broadcast. They’ve got Justin Harrison - formerly of Ulster of course - pitchside chatting to ROG. The two of them played against each other in 2001 when Harrison lined out for the Brumbies in an infamous tour game.
Of course, that game is remembered as much for Harrison’s feud with Austin Healey as much as anything else. Harrison confronted Healey after he scored a try under the posts, amongst other incidents. So when Harrison is given a Sky mic you can guess what the first question was... His answer was good. Diplomatic to a point, but still good.
Austin Healey and I have had a love affair for a long time now. He’s hard to ignore but worth the effort. He’s not my favourite human in the world but good luck to him!
— Justin Harrison
Playing against the Brumbies in Canberra inevitably leads to talk of Mack Hansen. He starts in the 23 shirt against his old side in his hometown.
Gerry Thornley caught up with Andy Friend, the old Connacht coach and Canberra native who knows Hansen well. There are plenty of nuggets in the below interview (so you absolutely should go and read it here), but this one made me chuckle.
Hansen also did his electrician’s apprenticeship under Darragh, the barista serving us during an interview with Andy Friend. Both he and Friend confirm that Canberra’s prodigal son this week was “hopeless” at that before deciding he’d try to play rugby instead.
— Gerry Thornley
Blair Kinghorn looks to have the upper hand at 15 and could well put his competition with Hugo Keenan to bed if he impresses today. The Leinster and Ireland man will, you’d imagine, start on Saturday to get one last chance to prove his credentials.
Hansen has impressed enough so far to make this 23, but there’s little argument that Tommy Freeman’s pace and aerial ability has him marginally in front in the race for the 14 jersey. Add in how he’s looked to come in off his wing a la Hansen and he seems a well-rounded player. He’s had some loose offloads and passing decisions when getting more involved in play, but if Freeman can bring more of a clinical streak tonight, he’s got one hand on the shirt.
Right, well if this is a Test team according to conventional wisdom, there is still wiggle room for Farrell to make changes based on how tonight goes. And Saturday against Australia and New Zealand XV.
For my money, Tuipulotu vs Aki is still undecided. The Scot may have a marginal advantage. Huw Jones presents a brilliant running threat at 13, but Ringrose is hardly a slouch, plus his defensive value probably makes him the favourite.
Genge over Porter (for today at least) is fascinating. Do they want Porter as a solid option to come on later when the game is on the line, or is Farrell looking for more ball carriers in his pack, hence the inclusion of Genge?
Curry and Chessum presents a decent backrow which can compete on the floor and at the lineout, but Conan is the lone ball carrying specialist in that trio. Henry Pollock coming off the bench to run through a tired defence, combined with van der Flier’s all-round solidity to shore up defensive and breakdown basics, is a fascinating combination.
We are running a Q&A with our man in Australia, Gerry Thornley. Got a question about the Lions? Who is the best Irish Lion of all time? Which is the best of the three countries to tour? What is Gerry’s favourite bottle of Australian red?
Now is your chance to ask. Send us your questions below.
As always, The Counter Ruck podcast has covered this Lions tour extensively. Gordon D’Arcy was good value on the most recent episode when breaking down the intricacies of centre play and why the ‘Huwipulotu’ combination looked so smooth.
TLDR; he thinks Tuipulotu has already nailed down the 12 shirt for the first Test.
Ireland impress as the Lions struggle
How good, or otherwise, is this Brumbies team? They’re coached by yet another familiar face on this tour, former Australia outhalf and Munster attack coach Stephen Larkham. They also reached this year’s Super Rugby Pacific semi-finals where they were knocked out by the Chiefs.
In today’s line-up, prop Lington Ieli, flanker Rory Scott, scrumhalf Ryan Lonergan, centre David Feliuai and wing Corey Toole have all been training with the Wallabies and released by Joe Schmidt to play in this game. Secondrow Cadeyrn Neville is a cool story in that he plays his second game against the Lions having also featured for the Melbourne Rebels in 2013.
Fullback Andy Muirhead could well join that list when he plays today for the Brumbies and then again for the First Nations & Pasifika squad which plays the Lions on July 22nd.
There’s also a nice storyline of the Hooper brothers. Tom, a backrow who is set to join the Exeter Chiefs after this game, could play alongside his brother Lachie for the first time in pro rugby should he come off the bench later on.
Farrell has picked a ‘Test match’ team today. Or so the thinking goes.
There’s no such thing as a Test team really until we are told who starts against Australia in 10 days’ time. Still, there are plenty of names here who are favoured to hear their name called for the first game against the Wallabies in Brisbane.
Irish eyes will look to the centre pairing of Bundee Aki and Garry Ringrose as they look to respond to Sione Tuipulotu and Huw Jones’ impressive display last time out. James Lowe could well lock down the 11 shirt with a good performance, while Jamison Gibson-Park and Finn Russell once again combine at half-back.
Dan Sheehan and Tadhg Furlong start in the frontrow alongside Ellis Genge. There is a theory in some quarters that Furlong has not yet hit his best form yet. He could do with doing so here.
Joe McCarthy must back up a man of the match display against the Western Force as he lines out at lock alongside captain Maro Itoje. Jack Conan also looks to nail down a Test spot as he starts in the backrow alongside Tom Curry and Ollie Chessum. Neither Englishman has started at their respective position (7 and 6) so far on this tour. Is this some late tinkering with Farrell not yet sure of his best backrow?
Andrew Porter, Rónan Kelleher, Josh van der Flier and Mack Hansen are all on the bench.
Good morning everyone and welcome to more Lions coverage here at The Irish Times. We continue to roll from game to game as Andy Farrell and co look to bounce back from a disappointing performance over the Waratahs in Sydney on Saturday.
Today, the Australian capital is the venue and the Brumbies are the latest touring opposition. Nathan Johns here to guide you through all the action as we build up to the 11am (Irish time) kick-off.
