British and Irish Lions: Fin Smith and Marcus Smith start vs Argentina in Dublin as Maro Itoje captains for first time
Fin Smith to start at fly-half for British and Irish Lions vs Argentina, with Marcus Smith at full-back; Maro Itoje captains side for first time; watch the Lions vs Argentina in the first tour match on Friday June 20 live on Sky Sports Action and Main Event from 7pm
Thursday 19 June 2025 06:20, UK
England's Fin Smith will start the British and Irish Lions' first game of the 2025 tour at fly-half against Argentina in Dublin on Friday, live on Sky Sports, with Marcus Smith named at full-back.
Maro Itoje will captain the side for the first time as Andy Farrell's charges face the Pumas in the Irish capital - the first match the Lions have played in Ireland - ahead of travelling to Australia for the rest of their summer tour.
Fin and Marcus Smith and Itoje are three of nine English players named in the starting XV, with three Irish, two Scottish and one Welshman - Jac Morgan - included.
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Northampton Saints flanker Henry Pollock features among the replacements, while Leinster and Ireland hooker Ronan Kelleher, who is also on the bench, is the only player involved who played in last weekend's domestic finals.
Tommy Freeman and Scotland wing Duhan van der Merwe will combine with Marcus Smith in the back-three, while impactful centres Sione Tuipulotu of Scotland and Bundee Aki of Ireland are surprisingly paired from the start - both ordinarily inside-centre options - as Huw Jones misses out on the squad.
Scrum-half Alex Mitchell partners Northampton and Test colleague Fin Smith at half-back, with English duo Ellis Genge and Luke Cowan-Dickie combining with Ireland's Finlay Bealham to form the front-row.
Tadhg Beirne partners Itoje in the second-row, while the starting back-row consists of Tom Curry at blindside flanker, Morgan at openside and Ben Earl at No 8.
Tadhg Furlong has shaken off a calf complaint to begin among the replacements, with Elliot Daly and Mack Hansen providing backline cover.
'That's how it should be' - Farrell insists Lions Test spots up for grabs
As many as 14 players could make their Lions debuts before the squad departs for Australia on Saturday and Farrell has demanded they make an immediate impact if they want a shot at facing the Wallabies.
"I did an exercise a couple of weeks ago, and I've done it about five times since, of choosing what the Test side could be," the head coach said.
"You actually can't even go there because there's such good competition and that's how it should be.
"The exciting thing about Friday night is these guys get to show the team-mates who are sat in the stand what they're all about.
"We are looking for cohesion, connection and an ability to attack the game from the off.
"You can give yourself any excuse as far as time together is concerned, but we've had good prep and if you want to be a good Lions player you've got to hit your straps straight from the off."
British and Irish Lions squad to face Argentina in Dublin on Friday - live on Sky Sports
British and Irish Lions: 15 Marcus Smith, 14 Tommy Freeman, 13 Sione Tuipulotu, 12 Bundee Aki, 11 Duhan van der Merwe, 10 Fin Smith, 9 Alex Mitchell; 1 Ellis Genge, 2 Luke Cowan Dickie, 3 Finlay Bealham, 4 Maro Itoje (c), 5 Tadhg Beirne, 6 Tom Curry, 7 Jac Morgan, 8 Ben Earl.
Replacements: 16 Ronan Kelleher, 17 Pierre Schoeman, 18 Tadhg Furlong, 19 Scott Cummings, 20 Henry Pollock, 21 Tomos Williams, 22 Elliot Daly, 23 Mack Hansen.
Argentina: 15 Santiago Carreras, 14 Rodrigo Isgro, 13 Lucio Cinti, 12 Justo Piccardo, 11 Ignacio Mendy, 10 Tomas Albornoz, 9 Gonzalo Garcia; 1 Mayco Vivas, 2 Julian Montoya (c), 3 Joel Sclavi, 4 Franco Molina, 5 Pedro Rubiolo, 6 Pablo Matera, 7 Juan Martin Gonzalez, 8 Joaquin Oviedo.
Replacements: 16 Bautista Bernasconi, 17 Boris Wenger, 18 Francisco Coria Marchetti, 19 Santiago Grondona, 20 Joaquin Moro, 21 Simon Benitez Cruz, 22 Matias Moroni, 23 Santiago Cordero.
British & Irish Lions tour of Australia on Sky Sports
Sky Sports will exclusively show the 2025 British and Irish Lions tour of Australia, with all three Tests against the Wallabies and six warm-up matches to be shown exclusively live.
