Kinghorn and Ryan in for final Lions Test

23 hours ago 1

Blair Kinghorn runs past an Australia player

Australia v British and Irish Lions, third Test

Venue: Accor Stadium Date: Saturday, 2 August Time: 11:00 BST

Coverage: Live text commentary on the BBC Sport website and app with post-match analysis on BBC iPlayer, Radio 5 Live and the Rugby Union Weekly podcast.

British and Irish Lions coach Andy Farrell has made two changes to his team for the third and final Test against the Wallabies in Sydney on Saturday.

With the series already won, Blair Kinghorn replaces James Lowe on the left wing and James Ryan comes in for Ollie Chessum at lock. The Leinsterman is one of nine Irish players in the starting line-up and becomes Maro Itoje's third different starting Test partner in the second-row, Chessum and Joe McCarthy being the others.

McCarthy is not in the squad and neither is Mack Hansen. Both were tipped to make it but they have been struggling with injury.

Chessum drops to a bench that has a six-two split between forwards and backs. Lowe, who has not played to form, is out of the squad entirely.

Owen Farrell and Alex Mitchell are the two backs on the bench, Farrell covering 10 and 12.

Ben Earl is also among the replacements, as is Jac Morgan, after missing out on the 23 in Melbourne. Earl is versatile not just in the back-row but also as a makeshift centre.

There was a question around whether Farrell might give Test spots to some players who had not yet appeared in the series - most notably Josh van der Flier - but there's zero sentiment. Sione Tuipulotu misses out for the second Test in a row, having played well in a try-scoring performance in the first Test in Brisbane.

Tadhg Furlong will make his ninth straight Test start for the Lions and Itoje will play his ninth consecutive Test - eight starts and one off the bench in New Zealand in 2017.

The line-up means 11 players have been chosen to start all three Tests. The coach has talked a lot about cohesion and he has been true to his word.

The Lions are bidding to become the first of their kind to win three Tests in a row since Willie John McBride's side of 1974 in South Africa. If they manage to win Saturday's Test they will become the first Lions outfit to complete a clean sweep since the boys of 1927 in Argentina won 4-0.

The Wallabies will be without their wonderful flanker, Rob Valetini, after a recurrence of the calf injury that kept him out of the first Test in Brisbane.

Joe Schmidt is missing another senior player, the hugely experienced prop Allan Alaalatoa, who drops out of the team with a shoulder issue. The hulking Taniela Tupou replaces Alaalatoa following a powerhouse performance for First Nations & Pasifika against the Lions in Melbourne last week.

Schmidt has changed his scrum-half. Nic White, who may retire from international rugby after Saturday's Test, starts with Tate McDermot on the bench.

Jake Gordon, a try-scorer and star performer for the Wallabies in Melbourne, is not involved. Gordon has recently returned from a hamstring injury. With the Rugby Championship starting on 17 August - the Wallabies go back-to-back against the Springboks in South Africa - Gordon's absence is with one eye on keeping him fresh to play the world champions.

Media caption,

We want to be part of something very special - Itoje