MELBOURNE, Australia (AP) — Owen Farrellwill be leading the British and Irish Lions in their final midweek match of the Australian tour on Tuesday against the First Nations and Pasifika XV in Melbourne.
It will mark Farrell's 20th appearance with the Lions, and his first starting role since joining the 2025 team as an injury substitute, brought in by his father Andy Farrell, the head coach.
The former England team leader came on as a second-half substitute against the AUNZ invitation team on July 12, marking his first match since early May. This will be the first instance in four tours where he leads the Lions in a game.
The Lions have a perfect 6-0 record during their trip to Australia, including a27-19 victorydefeated the Wallabies in the opening test match in Brisbane on Saturday night.
As the test series approached, the Lions defeated Super Rugby teams.Western Force,Queensland Reds, Waratahs and Brumbiesand a Australia-New Zealand invitational XV.
Following the First Nations and Pasifika XV match, the Lions will focus on securing the test series in Melbourne on Saturday evening. The third test is scheduled for Sydney on August 2.
Owen Farrell will take the inside center position in a central pairing with Jamie Osborne from Ireland.
Scotland's scrumhalf Ben White will partner with England's flyhalf Fin Smith in the half-back position.
Blair Kinghorn is set to come back from his injury and take on the fullback role in a Scotland-only back three, joining Darcy Graham and Duhan van der Merwe.
Jac Morgan, the sole Welsh player remaining in the 44-member team, will take the blindside position in the backrow for the exhibition match, alongside promising England No. 8 Henry Pollock.
Three days following their inclusion in the 23-player squad for the opening match, backrow player Ben Earl, along with inside backs Alex Mitchell and Marcus Smith, will be on the bench for the tour game. Garry Ringrose is making a comeback from injury and will occupy a position on the substitute list.
Andy Farrell mentioned that the game provided every Lions player "another chance to showcase their abilities for the last two matches."
The coaches remain receptive in their choices, as they must be given the number of players performing and striving for positions.
The Indigenous and Pasifika team was chosen from athletes with Aboriginal, Fijian, Samoan, Tongan, Māori, and Cook Islands backgrounds and will be led by Toutai Kefu, who secured a World Cup victory with Australia and currently serves as the head coach of Tonga.
Flyhalf Kurtley Beale, who represented Australia in the 2013 Lions series, will captain the squad featuring Wallabies hopefuls Taniela Tupou, Lukhan Salakaia-Loto, Seru Uru, Filipo Daugunu, and Andy Muirhead.
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Team: Blair Kinghorn (Scotland), Darcy Graham (Scotland), Jamie Osborne (Ireland), Owen Farrell (England, captain), Duhan van der Merwe (Scotland), Fin Smith (England), Ben White (Scotland); Henry Pollock (England), Josh van der Flier (Ireland), Jac Morgan (Wales), Scott Cummings (Scotland), James Ryan (Ireland), Finlay Bealham (Ireland), Jamie George (England), Pierre Schoeman (Scotland). Substitutes: Ewan Ashman (Scotland), Rory Sutherland (Scotland), Tom Clarkson (Ireland), Gregor Brown (Scotland), Ben Earl (England), Alex Mitchell (England), Marcus Smith (England), Garry Ringrose (Ireland).
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AP rugby: https://apnews.com/hub/rugby
The Associated Press
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