Advertisement League of Ireland Horse Racing TV Listings GAA Fixtures The Video Review Sport meets news, current affairs, society & pop culture Rugby Weekly Extra Dive into all the news and analysis 3 times a week The Football Family Weekly insights from the week’s big talking points Advertisement More Stories Lions scrum-half Jamison Gibson-Park.Dan Sheridan/INPHO FreeSelection Farrell expected to lean on Irish core in Lions team for first Test The likes of Dan Sheehan and Jamison Gibson-Park will be key figures. 6.06am, 16 Jul 2025 Share options Murray Kinsella Reports from Brisbane ANDY FARRELL IS expected to lean on an Irish core in his British and Irish Lions team for their first Test against the Wallabies on Saturday in Brisbane. The Lions will name their matchday 23 at around 8am on Thursday morning Irish time, with Farrell set to include a big crop of players he knows well from Ireland. Jamison Gibson-Park is expected to team up with Scotland’s Finn Russell in the halfbacks, while James Lowe and Hugo Keenan are set to start in the Lions back three along with England’s Tommy Freeman. Jack Conan is in line to resume his role as the Lions’ starting number eight, having taken up that position on the last tour four years ago, while Dan Sheehan and Tadhg Furlong are likely to be in the tourists’ front row. Advertisement Joe McCarthy’s powerful form means he is fancied to start in the second row alongside Lions captain Maro Itoje. It remains to be seen if any other Irish players feature in the Lions’ starting XV, with Bundee Aki having pushed strongly for the number 12 shirt. Aki would likely partner Scotland’s Huw Jones in midfield if that’s the case, although Farrell has also been weighing up the all-Scottish duo of Sione Tuipulotu and Jones. Ireland’s Garry Ringrose misses out on involvement due to concussion. Josh van der Flier would have had high hopes of featuring at openside, but he may be squeezed out of the starting XV by England’s Tom Curry. Over at blindside, Tadhg Beirne has been among the options for Farrell to consider, but Englishman Ollie Chessum delivered a dominant performance there against the Brumbies which may have nailed down his spot. Farrell will confirm tomorrow which of Andrew Porter and Ellis Genge is starting at loosehead prop, although it’s clear that both of them have major roles to play for the Lions regardless of who is in the number one shirt and who wears 17. There is likely to be further Irish influence off the Lions bench, with Rónan Kelleher in line to be the back-up hooker to Sheehan. Mack Hansen’s foot injury is set to rule him out of possible involvement as the outside back on the bench, but the likes of van der Flier and Beirne will hope that there is space for them among the replacements if they’re not in the starting XV. Meanwhile, Joe Schmidt will name his Wallabies matchday 23 at 4.30am Irish time on Thursday, with reports from The Roar and the Sydney Morning Herald in Australia suggesting that 22-year-old Tom Lynagh will be handed his first Test start. Powerful back row Rob Valetini looks set to miss out due to injury. Murray Kinsella Viewcomments Send Tip or Correction Embed this post To embed this post, copy the code below on your site Email “Farrell expected to lean on Irish core in Lions team for first Test”. Recipient's Email Feedback on “Farrell expected to lean on Irish core in Lions team for first Test”. Your Feedback Your Email (optional) Report a Comment Please select the reason for reporting this comment. Please give full details of the problem with the comment... This is YOUR comments community. Stay civil, stay constructive, stay on topic. Please familiarise yourself with our comments policy before taking part. 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