B&I Lions debutant named captain against Force

TEAM ANNOUNCEMENT: Andy Farrell has made 13 changes for their clash against the Western Force from the side that lost to Argentina in Dublin last Friday.

Finn Russell and Henry Pollock will make their first starts of the tour, while Dan Sheehan will captain the Lions against the Force in Perth on Saturday.

Only Sione Tuipulotu and Tadhg Beirne, who shift from the second row to No. 6, remain from the XV.

Four players are set to make their Lions debuts off the bench – England and Leicester Tigers lock Ollie Chessum, Scotland and Glasgow Warriors centre Huw Jones, Ireland and Leinster Rugby prop Andrew Porter, and England and Bath Rugby prop Will Stuart.

Captain on his Lions debut 🦁

We look back at The Making of Dan Sheehan ✍️#Lions2025

— British & Irish Lions (@lionsofficial) June 26, 2025

British & Irish Lions Head Coach Farrell said: “We have had a good week of training and all of the travel and time zone changes have been managed well, so we are good to go.

“Dan Sheehan gets the opportunity to lead the side against Western Force, which is a great honour for him and his family, so congratulations to Dan as he captains the side on his Lions debut.

“We know the quality and experience the Force have, and the opportunity to play against the Lions always brings out special performances from the Super Rugby sides, so we expect them to be at their best.”

On the 2013 Tour, the Lions ran out 69-17 winners at the Subiaco Oval. Current assistant coach Johnny Sexton got the Lions off the mark with an early try, while Leigh Halfpenny converted all nine Lions tries.

British and Irish Lions: 15 Elliot Daly, 14 Mack Hansen, 13 Garry Ringrose, 12 Sione Tuipulotu, 11 James Lowe, 10 Finn Russell, 9 Tomos Williams, 8 Henry Pollock, 7 Josh van der Flier, 6 Tadhg Beirne, 5 Joe McCarthy, 4 Scott Cummings, 3 Tadhg Furlong, 2 Dan Sheehan (captain), 1 Pierre Schoeman
Replacements: 16 Ronan Kelleher, 17 Andrew Porter, 18 Will Stuart, 19 Ollie Chessum, 20 Jack Conan, 21 Alex Mitchell, 22 Huw Jones, 23 Marcus Smith

Date: Saturday, June 28
Venue: Perth Stadium, Perth
Kick-off: 18.00 (12.00 SAST; 10.00 GMT)
Referee: Ben O’Keeffe (New Zealand)
Assistant Referees: Paul Williams (New Zealand), James Doleman (New Zealand)
TMO: Marius v d Westhuizen (South Africa)