Andy Farrell has selected a record-breaking eight Irish players in the British and Irish Lions team to face Australia in the first Test this Saturday—marking the strongest Irish presence ever in a Lions starting XV.
It surpasses the previous high of seven Irish players from the 2009 tour to South Africa and highlights the influence of Ireland’s dominance in recent international campaigns.
Among those named are five Irish forwards: Tadhg Beirne starts at blindside flanker, with Dan Sheehan, Tadhg Furlong, Joe McCarthy and Jack Conan all packing down in the scrum.
The backline also has a strong green hue—Jamison Gibson-Park starts at scrum-half, James Lowe is named on the wing, and Hugo Keenan takes the full-back jersey.
There’s further Irish representation on the bench, with Ronan Kelleher, Andrew Porter and Bundee Aki among the replacements.
Speaking volumes about the changing rugby landscape, there’s no Welsh player included in a Lions Test squad for the first time in over 100 years.
Here’s the Lions team in full for the first Test in Brisbane:
Starting XV
15. Hugo Keenan (Leinster/Ireland)
14. Tommy Freeman (Northampton/England)
13. Huw Jones (Glasgow/Scotland)
12. Sione Tuipulotu (Glasgow/Scotland)
11. James Lowe (Leinster/Ireland)
10. Finn Russell (Bath/Scotland)
9. Jamison Gibson-Park (Leinster/Ireland)
8. Ellis Genge (Bristol/England)
7. Dan Sheehan (Leinster/Ireland)
6. Tadhg Furlong (Leinster/Ireland)
5. Maro Itoje (Saracens/England) – Captain
4. Joe McCarthy (Leinster/Ireland)
3. Tadhg Beirne (Munster/Ireland)
2. Tom Curry (Sale/England)
1. Jack Conan (Leinster/Ireland)
Replacements
16. Ronan Kelleher (Leinster/Ireland)
17. Andrew Porter (Leinster/Ireland)
18. Will Stuart (Bath/England)
19. Ollie Chessum (Leicester/England)
20. Ben Earl (Saracens/England)
21. Alex Mitchell (Northampton/England)
22. Marcus Smith (Harlequins/England)
23. Bundee Aki (Connacht/Ireland)
The first Test kicks off a three-match series in Australia, with Farrell’s selections showing just how central Ireland’s stars have become to the Lions’ hopes.
