Lions team named: Scotland trio to supply the creativity in first Test v Australia

Months of speculation ended at 4pm Australian Eastern Standard Time when Farrell unveiled his side for the match against the Wallabies at Brisbane on Saturday.

As expected, Ireland provides the majority of the players and there are eight in the starting XV. There are four from England and the aforementioned three from Scotland but none from Wales. You have to go all the way back to the 19th century for the last time there was no Welsh representative in a Lions Test match.

The selection of Russell, Tuipulotu and Jones puts the creative onus on the Scots and it is the first time since 1993 one country has provided the 10/12/13 axis in a Lions Test. On that occasion it was English trio Rob Andrew, Will Carling and Jeremy Guscott who played in the series opener against New Zealand.

Transferring chemistry to the Lions stage

Russell becomes the first Scot to start a Lions Test match at 10 since Gregor Townsend in South Africa in 1997. The Bath fly-half, on his third Lions tour, was always expected to get the nod after a string of impressive performances over the last month. Tuipulotu and Jones’ status was less certain but a head injury to Ireland centre Garry Ringrose opened the door and head coach Farrell opted to go for the Glasgow Warriors centre pairing rather than mix it up by playing one of them with Bundee Aki, who wins a place on the bench.

The hope now is that the Russell-Tuipulotu-Jones axis can bring their chemistry to the Lions stage. Jamison Gibson-Park will be at scrum-half having linked up well with Russell in the preliminary matches.

There is no place in the squad for Blair Kinghorn who injured his knee during the win over the Brumbies in Canberra last Wednesday. Instead, Hugo Keenan starts at full-back, with the wing berths filled, as expected by Tommy Freeman and James Lowe.

No place for Owen Farrell

There are no surprises in a front row consisting of Ellis Genge, Dan Sheehan and Tadhg Furlong, while captain Maro Itoje is joined by Joe McCarthy in the engine room

Tom Curry and Tadhg Beirne have been given the nod in the ferociously competitive flanker positions and, alongside No 8 Jack Conan.

The versatile Marcus Smith has been named on the bench but Owen Farrell and Henry Pollock both miss out.

“We are entering the business end of the tour and it is time to put in our best performance to date,” Andy Farrell said. “We know how motivated the Wallabies will be and we know they are a well organised and dangerous side.

“It s a great occasion and a proud moment for Maro Itoje, who will captain the Test side, but also for those players who get the opportunity to represent the group on Saturday night.”

British and Irish Lions team

Versus Australia, Suncorp Stadium, Brisbane, Saturday 11:00 BST

Lions team: H Keenan (Leinster Rugby/Ireland); T Freeman (Northampton Saints/England), H Jones (Glasgow Warriors/Scotland), S Tuipulotu (Glasgow Warriors/Scotland), J Lowe (Leinster Rugby/Ireland); F Russell (Bath Rugby/Scotland), J Gibson-Park (Leinster Rugby/Ireland); E Genge (Bristol Bears/England), D Sheehan (Leinster Rugby/Ireland), T Furlong (Leinster Rugby/Ireland), M Itoje (Saracens/England) (C), J McCarthy (Leinster Rugby/Ireland), T Beirne (Munster Rugby/Ireland), T Curry (Sale Sharks/England), J Conan (Leinster Rugby/Ireland).

Replacements: R Kelleher (Leinster Rugby/Ireland), A Porter (Leinster Rugby/Ireland), W Stuart (Bath Rugby/England), O Chessum (Leicester Tigers/England), B Earl (Saracens/England), A Mitchell (Northampton Saints/England), M Smith (Harlequins/England), B Aki (Connacht Rugby/Ireland).