AUNZ XV v B&I Lions - teams and prediction
PREVIEW: A motley crew of Australians and New Zealanders are primed to light a fire in the camp of the British and Irish Lions, coach Les Kiss says.
Kiss has 17 players with international caps in his 23-strong AUNZ Invitational XV squad to meet the Lions on Saturday.
The teams’ Adelaide Oval encounter comes just one week before the Lions’ first Test against Australia in Brisbane.
“There’s a lot of interest there at the moment,” Kiss told reporters of the b&i Lions’ unbeaten tour.
“But if we got a win, yeah, it would light things up, wouldn’t it, a bit further.
“The win would be great for us, but we have already talked about making sure we don’t get lost in that.
“We know that we have the capacity and the type of player to do that. We just need to make sure we do what we do well.
“And if we do that well, why not … a loss to the Lions, that certainly changes the way that the tour looks, for sure.”
The fixture is the first time since 1989 that a combined Australia and New Zealand team has played the Lions.
Kiss has named David Havili and Lukhan Salakaia-Loto as co-captains, emphasising the significance of the game.
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“We certainly want them to make sure that they feel it’s their team,” he said.
“It’s the most unique opportunity – this is a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity, it’s 36 years.
“So we’re not going to let that pass us by in terms of recognising that opportunity.”
Kiss downplayed the brief build-up for his squad with only three training sessions plus a captain’s run to prepare for the tourists.
“This has been a slow build but there is certainly a lot of ambition and a lot of belief in the group already, you can feel it,” he said.
“They want to go out there and show the best of themselves.
“Each individual has a story of their own, they have got their ambitions and opportunities beyond this.”
Lions coach Andy Farrell appointed Tadhg Beirne captain for the second time on tour, with Maro Itoje sitting out the fixture with an eye on the series opener against the Wallabies.
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“We are in a great position just over a week out,” Farrell said.
“Les Kiss has assembled a strong squad with lots of international experience.
“We know that he will have them well organised and they will bring a lot of physicality.”
The Australian and New Zealand invitational team carry dual burning motivations against the British and Irish Lions, assistant coach Simon Cron says.
The combined AUNZ outfit, firstly, hope to put a dent in the pre-Test plans of the unbeaten tourists on Saturday at Adelaide Oval.
And secondly, many Australians and New Zealanders are hellbent on pushing their Test selection cases in a high-stakes audition -the first AUNZ fixture against the Lions in 36 years.
“Every time you cross the white line, those boys are driven to be successful,” Cron told reporters at Adelaide Oval on Friday.
“There will be some on the fringe of the All Blacks and some on the fringe of the Wallabies so they will be driving their cases.
“And for other boys, this is a really big life experience and the opportunity to drive themselves to a higher level.”
Lions coach Andy Farrell has named his son and ex-England captain Owen Farrell on the bench for their last tune-up ahead of the first Test against the Wallabies in Brisbane on July 19.
Farrell hasn’t played a Test since 2023 and is coming off an injury-troubled season in France, but was summoned to the squad to replace the injured Elliot Daly.
His inclusion on his fourth Lions tour has been defended by Andy Farrell, who says his son is no different to other teammates in needing to rapidly revise the playbook.
“He’s the same as everyone else who has had to get up to speed pretty quickly,” Farrell told reporters in Adelaide.
“Everyone had to at the start and a few have come in since.
“The art of this stage of the tour is mentally being as switched on as you possibly can, there’s not that much training that you can do.”
The Lions camp was relieved at scan results clearing Scotland fullback Blair Kinghorn of a serious knee injury suffered early in Wednesday’s win over the Brumbies.
With Daly’s broken arm and patchy form of Ireland’s Hugo Keenan, Irish fullback Jamie Osborne will join the Lions as training cover.
Farrell also recalled winger Mack Hansen and loose forward Henry Pollock to meet an AUNZ team boasting 17 internationals.
“As a unit, how they gel together, there’s a little bit of unknown there,” Farrell said of their hosts.
“It looks like a formidable side that is going to be hard to stop.”
Players to watch
For AUNZ XV: Seventeen internationals are in coach Les Kiss’s matchday 23 for the clash in Adelaide. Every player in Kiss’s starting XV has international caps, spearheaded by All Blacks David Havili, Shannon Frizell and Hoskins Sotutu. The Australian contingent is led by Marika Koroibete, Pete Samu and Lukhan Salakaia-Loto. Havili and Salakaia-Loto are co-captains with the New Zealand inside centre confident they can create problems.
For the B&I Lions: Owen Farrell was named on the bench of the team coached by his father, Andy Farrell. The former England captain is set to end a period in the international wilderness, having made the dash to Australia last week after being summoned as cover when utility back Elliot Daly broke his arm. The 33-year-old, on his fourth Lions tour, earned the last of his 112 Test caps at the 2023 World Cup, and is coming off an underwhelming and injury-plagued season with French club Racing 92. The B&I Lions have revamped their line-up with Tadhg Beirne to take the captaincy reins, with Maro Itoje sitting out the game. Young star Henry Pollock returns having withdrawn from last Saturday’s 21-10 victory over the Waratahs as a precaution with a tight calf. Scrumhalf Ben White will make his first start on the tour for the B&I Lions and will link up with flyhalf Fin Smith at halfback. Scottish duo Sione Tuipulotu and Huw Jones will form a potent combination in the midfield.
B&I Lions tour results
Prediction
@rugby365com: B&I Lions by 15 points
Teams
AUNZ Invitational XV: 15 Shaun Stevenson, 14 AJ Lam, 13 Ngani Laumape, 12 David Havili (co-captain), 11 Marika Koroibete, 10 Tane Edmed, 9 Folau Fakatava, 8 Hoskins Sotutu, 7 Pete Samu, 6 Shannon Frizell, 5 Lukhan Salakaia-Loto (co-captain), 4 Angus Blyth, 3 Jeffery Toomaga-Allen, 2 Brandon Paenga-Amosa, 1 Aidan Ross.
Replacements: 16 Kurt Eklund, 17 Joshua Fusitu’a, 18 George Dyer, 19 Matt Philip, 20 Joe Brial, 21 Kalani Thomas, 22 Harry Mclaughlin-Phillips, 23 .Jock Campbell
British & Irish Lions: 15 Hugo Keenan, Mack Hansen, 13 Huw Jones, 12 Sione Tuipulotu, 11 Duhan van der Merwe, 10 Fin Smith, 9 Ben White, 8 Ben Earl, 7 Jac Morgan, 6 Henry Pollock, 5 Tadhg Beirne, 4 James Ryan, 3 Will Stuart, 2 Luke Cowan-Dickie, 1 Pierre Schoeman.
Replacements: 16 Ronan Kelleher, 17 Andrew Porter, 18 Finlay Bealham, 19 Scott Cummings, 20 Josh van der Flier, 21 Alex Mitchell, 22 Marcus Smith, 23 Owen Farrell.
Date: Saturday, July 12
Venue: Adelaide Oval
Kick-off: 19.30 (11.00 UK time; 22.00 NZ time; 10.00 GMT)
Expected weather: Partly cloudy and breezy, with little chance of precipitation. Temperature will drop down to about 12°C
Referee: Andrea Piardi (Italy)
Assistant referees: Nika Amashukeli (Georgia), Pierre Brousset (France)
TMO: Eric Gauzins (France)
