Owen Farrell on the Lions bench for last warmup before Wallabies tests
ADELAIDE Australia AP Controversial mid-tour replacement Owen Farrell is in the reserves of the British and Irish Lions side playing an AUNZ Invitational XV on Saturday Farrell hasn t played international rugby since the World Cup By contest day he will have played no rugby in nine weeks and only minutes in the last weeks The former England captain replaced the injured Elliot Daly to make it onto his fourth Lions tour He will play his th meeting for the Lions when he comes off the bench in what is a last chance for the unit to impress coach Andy Farrell before the test series begins against Australia next week Their chances improved after the shadow Lions test side conceded four tries to the ACT Brumbies in a scratchy - win midweek Fullback Hugo Keenan makes his second tour appearance and a timely one after his rival for the No test jersey Blair Kinghorn left the Brumbies win early with an injured left knee Scrumhalf Ben White gets his first start after replacing the injured Tomos Williams in the tour party in Australia The back row still not fixed for the Lions features Henry Pollock Jac Morgan and No Ben Earl Forward Tadhg Beirne will captain the Lions for the second time after tour leader Maro Itoje was given another rest We are in a great position just over a week out from the first test Andy Farrell declared The players now have another chance to put in a strong company performance and put a hand up for selection for the test matches against the Wallabies The first combined Australia-New Zealand XV since the Lions tour has internationals including the entire starting side Coach Les Kiss the Wallabies coach-in-waiting picked Crusaders Super Rugby-winning skipper David Havili and Queensland Reds forward Lukhan Salakaia-Loto as co-captains The co-captaincy model with natural leaders like David and Lukhan will really suit this crew and what we represent Kiss mentioned In forming new bonds countless of them have discovered they have more in common than they originally thought The Lions are - in Australia since a - loss to Argentina in a warmup in Dublin They have beaten all of Australia s Super Rugby franchises Before the Brumbies they defeated the Western Force Queensland Reds and New South Wales Waratahs The test series begins on July in Brisbane followed by games in Melbourne on July and in Sydney on Aug Lineups British and Irish Lions Lions Hugo Keenan Ireland Mack Hansen Ireland Huw Jones Scotland Sione Tuipulotu Scotland Duhan van Der Merwe Scotland Fin Smith England Ben White Scotland Ben Earl England Jac Morgan Wales Henry Pollock England Tadhg Beirne Ireland captain James Ryan Ireland Will Stuart England Luke Cowan-Dickie England Pierre Schoeman Scotland Reserves Ronan Kelleher Ireland Andrew Porter Ireland Finlay Bealham Ireland Scott Cummings Scotland Josh van der Flier Ireland Alex Mitchell England Marcus Smith England Owen Farrell England AUNZ Invitational XV Shaun Stevenson AJ Lam Ngani Laumape David Havili co-captain Marika Koroibete Tane Edmed Folau Fakatava Hoskins Sotutu Pete Samu Shannon Frizell Lukhan Salakaia-Loto co-captain Angus Blyth Jeffery Toomaga-Allen Brandon Paenga-Amosa Aidan Ross Reserves Kurt Eklund Joshua Fusita a George Dyer Matt Philip Joe Brial Kalani Thomas Harry McLaughlin-Phillips Jock Campbell AP rugby https apnews com hub rugby Source