Lions team announced: One change from leaked squad as Warren Gatland makes 'hardest selection'

Ireland’s Jack Conan will start at No.8, Courtney Lawes rather than Tadhg Beirne will occupy the blindside flanker berth, and Ali Price rather than Conor Murray is preferred at scrum-half

The one change to the leaked bench has Liam Williams as outside-back cover rather than an extra forward. Picture: INPHO/Billy Stickland

Warren Gatland described selecting his British & Irish Lions Test team for Saturday’s series opener as the hardest he had been involved in as the head coach confirmed Alun Wyn Jones would captain the tourists against South Africa on Wednesday.

Gatland, an assistant coach to Ian McGeechan in South Africa in 2009 and head coach in 2013 and 2017, named a matchday 23 that had been leaked the night before, with only one exception, the inclusion of outside back cover on the bench rather than an extra forward.

Jones, who will play his 10th consecutive Lions Test match at the age of 36 and on his fourth tour, dislocated his shoulder on June 26 against Japan and was initially left at home as the squad flew to Johannesburg the following day. Yet he completed a rapid recovery to join the tour last week and played 23 minutes off the bench in last Saturday’s win over the Stormers.

As expected, the Wales and Lions captain will play alongside Maro Itoje in the second row while in the other significant calls, Ireland’s Jack Conan will start at No.8, Courtney Lawes rather than Tadhg Beirne will occupy the blindside flanker berth, Ali Price rather than Conor Murray is preferred at scrum-half, Stuart Hogg gets the nod at full-back, and Luke Cowan-Dickie wins the battle of the hookers.

“In my four Tours as a Lions coach, this was by far the hardest Test selection I have been involved in,” Gatland said. “We couldn’t have asked for more from the players so far. They’ve all put their hands up and made picking a starting XV incredibly difficult. In truth, we would have been happy with any number of different combinations across the 23, however, we’re very pleased with the side we’ve settled on.” 

Gatland has picked a team to try and beat the Springboks at the breakdown, a forward pack to win the set-piece, and half-backs and a backline to move the world champions around on the pitch while negating their favoured kicking game through the boots of Faf de Klerk and Handré Pollard.

“We know what we’re coming up against on Saturday. It’s going to be an arm wrestle, there’s no doubt about it. We’ll need to front up physically and be ready to go from the first whistle. When we played SA ‘A’ last week we probably took a bit too long to get into the game, something we can’t afford to do that again this weekend.

“We need to make sure we play in the right areas of the field, not give them easy territory, and take our chances when they come.

“While the stands will be empty in Cape Town Stadium, we know Lions fans from across the home nations will be cheering us on back home. We’ll do our best to get the win.” 

Jones will lead the Lions out 28 days after sustaining his shoulder injury at Murrayfield seven minutes into the 28-10 win over Japan. It means he will become the first player in the professional era to make 10 Test appearances, joining touring legends such as Gareth Edwards (10), Graham Price (12), Mike Gibson (12) Dickie Jeeps (13), and Willie-John McBride (17).

Second-row partner Itoje, meanwhile, will claim his fourth successive Lions Test cap.

Elsewhere, Wales loosehead Wyn Jones, England hooker Cowan-Dickie, and Ireland tighthead prop Tadhg Furlong make up the front row.

Lawes gets the blindside flanker role ahead of Ireland’s Beirne, who is named on the bench, and joins England openside Tom Curry and Ireland No.8 Conan in the Lions back row.

Price’s impressive performance in the 49-3 win over the Stormers last Saturday edged the Scottish scrum-half ahead of Murray for the number nine jersey, though the Munster and Ireland star looks set to make a Test appearance in his third successive tour from the replacements bench, as does Owen Farrell, who will provide fly-half cover for Wales’s Dan Biggar.

Robbie Henshaw, who made his comeback from a hamstring injury last weekend, starts at inside centre in partnership with Elliot Daly, while two Scots and an Englishman comprise the back three with Stuart Hogg at full-back and South African-born Duhan van der Merwe joined by right-wing Anthony Watson, who wins his fourth Lions Test cap having been ever-present in 2017.

Price, Hogg, and Van der Merwe’s selections mean there will be three Scots in a Lions starting Test XV for the first time since the 1997 tour in South Africa when current Lions attack coach Gregor Townsend was named alongside Alan Tait and Tom Smith for the first and second Tests.

The one change to the leaked bench has Liam Williams as outside-back cover rather than an extra forward.

BRITISH & IRISH LIONS (v South Africa, Cape Town, Saturday): S Hogg (Scotland); A Watson (England), E Daly (England), R Henshaw (Ireland), D van der Merwe (Scotland); D Biggar (Wales), A Price (Scotland); W Jones (Wales), L Cowan-Dickie (England), T Furlong (Ireland); A W Jones (Wales) - captain, M Itoje (England); C Lawes (England), T Curry (England), J Conan (Ireland).

Replacements: K Owens (Wales), R Sutherland (Scotland), K Sinckler (England), T Beirne (Ireland), H Watson (Scotland), C Murray (Ireland), O Farrell (England), L Williams (Wales).