Englishman Owen Farrell will get first crack at earning the British and Irish Lions’ playmaker role against the Wallabies when their six-week tour kicks off on Saturday night.
Lions coach Warren Gatland has selected Farrell to start at five-eighth ahead of battle-weary Irishman Jonny Sexton for their tour-opener against the Barbarians at Hong Kong Stadium.
Veteran Irish lock Paul O’Connell will captain the tourists after skipper Sam Warburton was ruled out on Thursday with a knee injury.
Although Warburton has been told not to risk worsening the slight ligament strain, the Lions will still field an all-Welsh back row of Dan Lydiate, Justin Tipuric and Toby Faletau.
There will be 17 players making their Lions debuts against the Barbarians.
Sexton will be given his chance to come off the bench in steamy Hong Kong after being involved in Leinster’s premiership campaign until last weekend and missing the Lions squad’s initial preparations in Dublin.
Like the Wallabies, where James O’Connor has been installed as a controversial preferred choice at flyhalf by coach Robbie Deans, the Lions’ No.10 pick has become a contentious and pivotal selection.
Sexton and Farrell were the only two specialist five-eighths picked in Gatland’s 37-man squad but Jonny Wilkinson is also waiting in the wings as a possible stand-by after his French club commitments end this week.
Farrell was seen as the front-runner to be the Lions playmaker midway through the Six Nations tournament three months ago before a form slip cost him and made Sexton the pundits’ pick.
The pair will line up opposite former All Black Nick Evans who will pull the strings for a Barbarians outfit captained by Italian No.8 Sergio Parisse and including ex-Waratahs skipper and Wallabies lock Dean Mumm in the second row.
The Lions play their first match in Australia against the Western Force at Patersons Stadium on Wednesday where Gatland says Sexton is expected to start.
Gatland’s squad, looking to end a 16-year series victory drought, have six tour matches before the three-Test series with the Wallabies starts on June 22 in Brisbane.
Lions team to play Barbarians: Stuart Hogg, Sean Maitland, Jonathan Davies, Jamie Roberts, Alex Cuthbert, Owen Farrell, Mike Phillips; Toby Faletau, Justin Tipuric, Dan Lydiate, Richie Gray, Paul O’Connell, Adam Jones, Richard Hibbard, Manu Vunipola. Res: Tom Youngs, Cian Healy, Matt Stevens, Alun Wyn Jones, Jamie Heaslip, Connor Murray, Jonny Sexton, George North.
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