British and Irish Lions: Owen Farrell to captain side for Tuesday's clash vs First Nations & Pasifika XV in Melbourne
British and Irish Lions name side to face First Nations & Pasifika XV on Tuesday; Owen Farrell captains from No 12; Blair Kinghorn returns from injury; Squad contains 10 players called up late; watch each tour game and all three Lions Tests vs Australia live on Sky Sports
By Michael Cantillon in Melbourne
Last Updated: 21/07/25 10:27am
Owen Farrell will captain the British and Irish Lions in their final midweek tour match against a First Nations & Pasifika XV in Melbourne on Tuesday.
Farrell, son of Lions head coach Andy, will start at inside-centre having been a late call up to the tour following a forearm injury to Elliot Daly which forced the latter to return home after the second tour match in Australia against Queensland Reds.
The squad for Tuesday contains 10 late call ups in total as the Lions seek to protect their squad ahead of Saturday's second Test against the Wallabies at the MCG.
Scrum-half Ben White, hooker Jamie George, prop Finlay Bealham, wing Darcy Graham and centre Jamie Osborne start alongside Farrell, while hooker Ewan Ashman, loosehead Rory Sutherland, tighthead Thomas Clarkson and lock Gregor Brown take places on the bench.
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Seven of those 10 were originally brought into the squad as cover for the Lions in George, Graham, Osborne, Ashman, Sutherland, Clarkson and Brown, but all are involved.
Elsewhere in the side, full-back Blair Kinghorn (knee) has recovered from injury to start alongside Duhan van der Merwe and Graham in the back-three. Centre Garry Ringrose returns to the bench having overcome concussion.
Fly-half Fin Smith starts alongside White at half-back, while loosehead prop Pierre Schoeman forms a front-row with George and Bealham.
James Ryan and Scott Cummings start together in the second row, while a very strong back-row of Jac Morgan, Josh van der Flier and Henry Pollock completes the starting team.
Back-row Ben Earl, scrum-half Alex Mitchell and fly-half Marcus Smith double up from Saturday's first Test on the bench.
"This fixture gives players another opportunity to put their hand up for selection for the final two Tests," head coach Andy Farrell said.
"The coaches' minds are open when it comes to selection, they have to be with so many players performing and pushing for places and we want that to continue for the remaining two Tests.
"This group know the level of performance that we will require against a First Nations & Pasifika team that is packed with talent and power."
British and Irish Lions: 15 Blair Kinghorn, 14 Darcy Graham, 13 Jamie Osborne, 12 Owen Farrell (c), 11 Duhan van der Merwe, 10 Fin Smith, 9 Ben White; 1 Pierre Schoeman, 2 Jamie George, 3 Finlay Bealham, 4 James Ryan, 5 Scott Cummings, 6 Jac Morgan 7 Josh van der Flier, 8 Henry Pollock.
Replacements: 16 Ewan Ashman, 17 Rory Sutherland, 18 Thomas Clarkson, 19 Gregor Brown, 20 Ben Earl, 21 Alex Mitchell, 22 Marcus Smith, 23 Garry Ringrose.
British and 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 seven tour matches to be shown exclusively live.
British and Irish Lions 2025 tour schedule
| Date | Opponent | Venue |
|---|---|---|
| Friday, June 20 | Argentina (L 28-24) | Dublin |
| Saturday, June 28 | Western Force (W 54-7) | Perth |
| Wednesday, July 2 | Queensland Reds (W 52-12) | Brisbane |
| Saturday, July 5 | NSW Waratahs (W 21-10) | Sydney |
| Wednesday, July 9 | ACT Brumbies (W 36-24) | Canberra |
| Saturday, July 12 | Invitational AU-NZ (W 48-0) | Adelaide |
| Saturday, July 19 | AUSTRALIA (W 27-19) | Brisbane |
| Tuesday, July 22 | First Nations & Pasifika XV | Melbourne |
| Saturday, July 26 | AUSTRALIA (second Test) | Melbourne |
| Saturday, August 2 | AUSTRALIA (third Test) | Sydney |
