Three Scots in Lions team for third Test but Sione Tuipulotu misses out
Andy Farrell resists temptation to make wholesale changes
Andy Farrell has named three Scots in his British and Lions team for the third and final Test against Australia in Sydney as the tourists chase a rare series whitewash.
Finn Russell and Huw Jones retain their places and they are joined in the backline by Scotland team-mate Blair Kinghorn who replaces James Lowe on the left wing for Saturday’s tour finale at Accor Stadium.
It will be Kinghorn’s first Test start of the tour after he impressed off the bench in the final 20 minutes of last weekend’s nerve-shredding 29-26 win over the Wallabies in Melbourne.
The Toulouse man’s inclusion is one of only two changes made by Farrell, with the head coach opting to stick largely with the players who won the first two Tests. The other alteration is in the second row where Ireland’s James Ryan comes in for Ollie Chessum who drops to the bench in a reversal of their second Test roles.
It’s six-two on the bench
In the replacements, Farrell has opted for a six-two split of forwards and backs, with Ben Earl returning as back row cover after being left out for the second Test. The two backs on the bench are England duo Alex Mitchell and Owen Farrell.
It means there is no place in the match-day 23 for Sione Tuipulotu who has recovered from the hamstring issue that caused him to miss the second Test. The Scotland centre started in the first Test in Brisbane and scored the Lions’ first try in the 27-19 win but Farrell has decided to stick with Bundee Aki at inside centre and the Ireland man will partner Jones.
Joe McCarthy and Mack Hansen had also been cleared to take part after recovering from injuries that forced them to miss the second Test, but neither are involved.
Prop Tadhg Furlong will start his ninth successive Lions Test, becoming only the seventh player in history to reach that mark.
The starting XV is made up of nine players from Ireland, three Scots and three Englishmen with Maro Itoje captaining the side as they bid to become the first Lions team to record an unbeaten record on tour since 1974. A series triumph was sealed by last weekend’s win in Melbourne.
“We have put ourselves in a great position to finish this Tour with our best performance to date and create our own piece of history,” Farrell said.
“The second Test was an incredible spectacle and illustrated how special Lions tours are and what they mean to both the players and the supporters.
“We are expecting another epic battle this weekend against a Wallaby side that showed their quality last week.”
Australia are missing influential forward Rob Valetini as they look to salvage some pride against the Lions. Valetini lasted 40 minutes in his comeback from a calf injury in the loss at the MCG and had a big impact as the Wallabies led at half-time. He is replaced by Tom Hooper at blindside flanker for the game in Sydney.
Will Skelton continues in the second row after also returning from a calf issue in the second Test, while prop Taniela Tupou make his first appearance for Australia of 2025 as a replacement for the injured Allan Alaalatoa.
Nic White starts at scrum-half in what will be his 73rd and final appearance for the Wallabies having just announced his retirement from the international game.
Carlo Tizzano has been left out of the Wallabies squad after what coach Joe Schmidt said had been a “tough week” for the player who has been subjected to abuse online following an incident in the build-up to Hugo Keenan’s winning try in the second Test.
Australia were furious that Jac Morgan’s clearout on Tizzano was not punished by the officials. But Lions fly-half Russell said Tizzano tried to make the most of the challenge, stating that he “obviously holds his head and tried to get a penalty from it” while former England flanker James Haskell declared he should have been sent off for “diving”.
Schmidt, however, says he has the data to prove the contact was real. Tizzano has been dropped from the bench for Saturday’s third Test and while that was not for concussion reasons, Schmidt insists the flanker will benefit from being stood down.
“He’s had a really tough week. He’s copped a lot of online abuse,” Schmidt said.
Australia v British and Irish Lions, teams for third Test
Accor Stadium, Sydney, Saturday. KO: 11:00 BST
Australia: Tom Wright; Max Jorgensen, Joseph-Aukuso Suaalii, Len Ikitau, Dylan Pietsch; Tom Lynagh, Nic White; James Slipper, David Porecki, Taniela Tupou, Nick Frost, Will Skelton, Tom Hooper, Fraser McReight, Harry Wilson (capt). Replacements: Billy Pollard, Angus Bell, Zane Nonggorr, Jeremy Williams, Langi Gleeson, Tate McDermott, Ben Donaldson, Andrew Kellaway.
Lions team: H Keenan (Leinster Rugby/Ireland); T Freeman (Northampton Saints/England), H Jones (Glasgow Warriors/Scotland), B Aki (Connacht Rugby/Ireland), B Kinghorn (Toulouse/Scotland); F Russell (Bath Rugby/Scotland), J Gibson-Park (Leinster Rugby/Ireland); A Porter (Leinster Rugby/Ireland), D Sheehan (Leinster Rugby/Ireland), T Furlong (Leinster Rugby/Ireland), M Itoje (Saracens/England, capt), J Ryan (Leinster Rugby/Ireland), T Beirne (Munster Rugby/Ireland), T Curry (Sale Sharks/England), J Conan (Leinster Rugby/Ireland). Replacements: R Kelleher (Leinster Rugby/Ireland), E Genge (Bristol Bears/England), W Stuart (Bath Rugby/England), O Chessum (Leicester Tigers/England), J Morgan (Ospreys/Wales), B Earl (Saracens/England), A Mitchell (Northampton Saints/England), O Farrell (Saracens/England).
Referee: Nika Amashukeli (Georgia).
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