Australia v British & Irish Lions - Teams and Prediction

SECOND TEST PREVIEW: Skipper Harry Wilson says he saw enough in the opening Test against the British and Irish Lions to suggest the desperate Wallabies can save the series and avoid a grim 59-year first.

The Wallabies take on the Lions at the MCG on Saturday in a boom-or-bust clash following a disappointing 19-27 opening defeat in Brisbane.

The underdog Australians need a victory to stay in the hunt for just a third series win since the first Lions tour in 1899.

The hosts are also looking to escape becoming the second team since the 1966 Lions tour to have the series wrapped up in two games, with that Wallabies outfit losing both matches in a two-Test tour.

In Australia’s past two series, in 2001 and 2013, the Wallabies lost the first Test but levelled both in Melbourne.

With more than 90,000 fans expected at the MCG, Wilson says the team is aware that history is at stake, while the tourists also want to make their mark as the “greatest Lions side of all time” with a 3-0 sweep.

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“There’s no denying we have to win. We have to win the next two to win the series,” the 25-year-old flank said.

“I’d say there’s pressure on both teams – they want to wrap up the series, and we want to keep the series alive.

“So, there’s no doubting there’s a lot on the line for both teams, and that’s something that really excites you.

“Playing professional sport, there’s a lot of pressure on, and it’s what you love about it.”

One statistic in the Wallabies’ favour is that the last three times the Lions – who also tour to South Africa and New Zealand – have gone 1-0 up in a series, they’ve lost the second Test.

Wilson believes his team have made progress since they squeezed home in their first Test of the year against Fiji, with some confidence-boosting signs in the second half in Brisbane.

The Wallabies rallied from a 5-24 half-time deficit and, while they lost the match, made ground in the second 40 minutes for an eight-point loss.

“We do feel like we’re improving each week this year,” Wilson said following Australia’s captain’s run on the famed cricket ground on Friday.

“Fiji, we got away with that one, and then we didn’t start too well in that first Test.

“But in that second half, once we got a bit of possession, a bit of territory and started playing our sort of footy, we took a lot of confidence from that.

“We saw some errors, we really want to improve this week – we didn’t play the sort of footy that we wanted to play. We didn’t fire as many shots as we would have liked.”

Out-muscled by the Lions in Brisbane, coach Joe Schmidt has bolstered the Wallabies by including heavyweights Will Skelton and Rob Valetini – their two most damaging forwards.

The two were sidelined at the first Test with calf injuries.

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Hometown boy Valetini was the only try-scorer when the Wallabies last played at the MCG in 2023 in an otherwise forgettable 7-38 loss to New Zealand in 2024.

Wilson says the Wallabies have also taken lessons from the aggression shown by First Nations and Pasifika team, who almost caused a boilover in their mid-week match against the Lions on Tuesday.

“A lot of us were there watching and just seeing the way Pasifika went after them, the line speed, the big hits in defence.

“It was a great blueprint there about how to really try and physically dominate them.

“They connected and went out there and did a performance that they should be so proud of.”

The absence of Melbourne product Sione Tuipulotu and the return of veteran Owen Farrell are two of the changes to the British and Irish Lions squad to face the Wallabies.

Tuipulotu, who scored a try after he started in the centres in game one in Brisbane, was robbed of a fairytale homecoming when he was left out of matchday 23 as the Lions try to wrap up the series.

A Melbourne schoolboy before shifting to Scotland, where he captains the national side, Tuipulotu was ruled out with a tight hamstring, with Ireland’s Bundee Aki named at 12.

Coach Andy Farrell said the 28-year-old, who qualified for Scotland through his grandmother, was shattered to miss out on playing in front of 90,000 in Melbourne.

“When you’ve got a little bit of a tight hamstring, it influences how you’re possibly going to go, so we made the call to go with Bundee,” Farrell said.

“One hundred percent [Tuipulotu] is absolutely gutted. He also knows that that’s rugby, fairytales are not always written.

“Sione is a team man anyway. And it’s the same for anyone who has missed out. Every single one of them has been rowing forward by putting the team first.”

Four days after captaining the Lions in the midweek win over the First Nations and Pasifika, veteran playmaker Farrell, the son of the coach, will make his first Test appearance since the 2023 World Cup after being named on the bench.

Coach Farrell said they were expecting a “massive reaction” from the Wallabies after their Lang Park disappointment.

“We have put ourselves in a good position after the first Test, but we know there will be a massive reaction from this Wallaby team,” Farrell said.

“Everyone saw the quality they have in Brisbane, and we know we will have to be a lot better than we were last week.”

Players to watch

For Australia: Rob Valetini was named in Australia’s side for the second Test, and it is a big boost. The loose forward marauder, hooker David Porecki and lock Will Skelton all return from injury to add physicality to a Wallabies side outmuscled as a hardened Lions won the opening Test 19-27 in Brisbane. There were no major selection surprises, with coach Joe Schmidt sticking with an unchanged backline for Saturday’s match in front of an estimated 90,000 spectators at the Melbourne Cricket Ground. Valetini, who was awarded Australia’s best player in each of the past two years, has recovered from a calf injury and will add power and strong ball-carrying ability.

For British and Irish Lions: He won’t be starting, but there will still be a big spotlight on Owen Farrell. The coach’s son was named on the bench for Saturday’s showdown after he captained the side against a First Nations and Pasifika XV on Tuesday. He delivered an influential performance in his first full 80-minute game since April. Lock Ollie Chessum, prop Andrew Porter and centre Bundee Aki all come into the starting side in place of Ellis Genge, who drops to the bench, Sione Tuipulotu and Joe McCarthy. Ireland’s Hugo Keenan retained his spot at fullback, with Scotland’s Blair Kinghorn named as a replacement, having proved his fitness against Pasifika.

Prediction

@rugby365com: British and Irish Lions by three points.

Teams:

Australia: 15 Tom Wright, 14 Max Jorgensen, 13 Joseph-Aukuso Suaalii, 12 Len Ikitau, 11 Harry Potter, 10 Tom Lynagh, 9 Jake Gordon, 8 Harry Wilson (captain), 7 Fraser McReight, 6 Rob Valetini, 5 Will Skelton, 4 Nick Frost, 3 Allan Alaalatoa, 2 David Porecki, 1 James Slipper.
Replacements: 16 Billy Pollard, 17 Angus Bell, 18 Tom Robertson, 19 Jeremy Williams, 20 Langi Gleeson, 21 Carlo Tizzano, 22 Tate McDermott, 23 Ben Donaldson.

British and Irish Lions: 15 Hugo Keenan, 14 Tommy Freeman, 13 Huw Jones, 12 Bundee Aki, 11 James Lowe, 10 Finn Russell, 9 Jamison Gibson-Park, 8 Jack Conan, 7 Tom Curry, 6 Tadhg Beirne, 5 Ollie Chessum, 4 Maro Itoje (captain), 3 Tadhg Furlong, 2 Dan Sheehan, 1 Andrew Porter.
Replacements: 16 Ronan Kelleher, 17 Ellis Genge, 18 Will Stuart, 19 James Ryan, 20 Jac Morgan, 21 Alex Mitchell, 22 Owen Farrell, 23 Blair Kinghorn.

Date: Saturday, July 26
Venue: Melbourne Cricket Ground, Melbourne
Kick-off: 20.00 (11.00 UK & Ireland time; 10.00 GMT)
Expected weather: It will be overcast with a little rain and strong wind gusts. It will be chilly.
Referee: Andrea Piardi (Italy)
Assistant referees: Nika Amashukeli (Georgia), Ben O’Keeffe (New Zealand)
TMO: Eric Gauzins (France)

AAP, AFP & @rugby365com