Lions team must have Scottish midfield axis for Australia - even if wrecking ball misses out

Bundee Aki in particular has reason to be nervous as he awaits news of the selection for Saturday’s game at Suncorp Stadium.

The hulking Ireland centre has had a fine tour but a concussion suffered by his midfield partner Garry Ringrose is likely to shape Farrell’s thinking and that could be good news for Scotland duo Sione Tuipulotu and Huw Jones.

The Glasgow Warriors pair looked like they might be left out in the cold when Farrell named Aki and Ringrose as his centres for the game against the ACT Brumbies last Wednesday. The midweek match in Canberra was widely seen as the dress rehearsal for the first Test, a chance for those involved to rubber stamp their selection for this Saturday.

But Ringrose suffered a head injury in the 36-24 victory over the Brumbies, meaning a minimum 12-day stand down period and scuppering his chances of taking part in the series opener in Brisbane. It’s tough luck on the Leinster player who played very well against the Brumbies and was the favourite to start the first Test at 13.

Scots pair have special chemistry

Jones, who has already scored three tries on this tour, has also been in fine form and is the obvious contender to step up. But with Ringrose unavailable, Farrell must decide whether to pair Jones with Aki or Tuipulotu.

Aki is a one-man wrecking ball, never better exemplified than by his try against Argentina in the send-off game in Dublin when he had four Pumas hanging off him as he forced his way over the line. But the connection between Jones and Tuipulotu is special and sure to percolating in the mind of Farrell as he weighs up his midfield options. The Huwipulotu combo got its chance on Saturday against the Invitational Australia & New Zealand team and didn’t disappoint.

“The way Sione and Huw started the game, their chemistry and the way they run lines off each other, the way they know how to run the same lines, the chemistry comes from many years playing together and understanding which holes they want to run into,” noted Marcus Smith, the Lions utility back.

Kinghorn waits and hopes

If Farrell does plump for Tuipulotu and Jones - and he really should - then Aki will hope at least to be given a spot on the bench, although even that is not certain in the age of 6-2 splits. Versatility is the key when it comes to replacement backs and the likes of Marcus Smith and Owen Farrell have the ability to play different positions.

Blair Kinghorn also offers that but, sadly, it looks like the Scotland full-back will not recover from a knee injury in time to be involved this weekend. The Toulouse player looked like a certain Test starter but Hugo Keenan is now favourite to play at 15 against Australia. If he doesn’t recover in time for Saturday, the hope is that Kinghorn will be fit to return later in the series after being given what was described as “positive news” on a knee scan.

The one Scot who is surely nailed on to start in the first Test is Finn Russell who has not put a foot wrong on tour and will almost certainly have the responsibility of leading the Lions’ attack against the Wallabies. He and Jamison Gibson-Park have combined well in the short time they have had together and it would be a big surprise if they were not the halfback combination on Saturday.

Russell, at 32, is at his vintage best and has just come off the back of his most successful season at club level. This is his third Lions tour but the first where he has been truly recognised as the squad’s No 1 playmaker. He is creative and reliable, and his place-kicking has been on point all tour.

Scotland man’s hat-trick might not be enough

His Scotland team-mate Duhan van der Merwe made a late surge for Test team contention with a hat-trick in Adelaide on Saturday but has the Edinburgh flyer left it too late? James Lowe and Tommy Freeman look to be out in front for the wing berths against the Wallabies, with Mack Hansen probably favoured for the bench. Van der Merwe was a Test starter three times over in South Africa four years ago but others have since moved ahead of him.

It is two weeks since Ben White was called into the Lions squad to replace the injured Tomos Williams and the Scotland scrum-half has looked sharp and dangerous. A try in the big win in Adelaide at the weekend further raised his stock but he may find it difficult to dislodge England’s Alex Mitchell as the back-up to Gibson-Park.

Scott Cummings was also among the tries against the Invitational AU & NZ side and the Glasgow Warriors lock has performed well after a sticky start against Western Force. But second row is a hard area to break into given Maro Itoje’s certain selection. As things stand, Joe McCarthy is favoured to start alongside the captain, with either Ollie Chessum or Tadhg Beirne on the bench.

Up front, Dan Sheehan will be Test hooker and Ellis Genge could edge out Andrew Porter as starting loosehead which means Pierre Schoeman won’t be involved this weekend. Tighthead is less straightforward as Tadhg Furlong, Will Stuart and Finlay Bealham all vie for the No 3 jersey.

Overall, the picture looks brighter for the Scots than it did last week when it appeared as if Russell might be our only Test starter. All being well, the Bath fly-half should be lining up at Suncorp Stadium on Saturday at the apex of an all-tartan midfield alongside Tuipulotu and Jones, which is a mouthwatering prospect.

My Lions team for first Test

15. H Keenan (Ire); 14. T Freeman (Eng), 13. H Jones (Sco), 12. S Tuipulotu (Sco), 11. J Lowe (Ire); 10. F Russell (Sco), 9. J Gibson-Park (Ire); 1. E Genge (Eng), 2. D Sheehan (Ire), 3. T Furlong (Ire), 4. M Itoje (Eng, capt), 5. J McCarthy (Ire), 6. O Chessum (Eng), 7. J van der Flier (Ire), 8. J Conan (Eng). Replacements: 16. R Kelleher (Ire), 17. A Porter (Ire), 18. F Bealham (Ire), 19. T Beirne (Ire), 20. T Curry (Eng), 21. H Pollock (Eng), 22. M Smith (Eng), 23. A Mitchell (Eng).