Warren Gatland today named a pair of Wales half backs, an all-England second row and an Irish midfield to take on the Auckland Blues at Eden Park on Wednesday.
The team he has selected — with fully 15 changes from the team that played in the tour opener — means that Gatland has now given a game to every player except George North, Jonathan Davies, Conor Murray and Sean O’Brien. All these players will start in the following game, against the Crusaders in Christchurch on Saturday.
Already, now, it is possible to see much of Saturday’s team shaping up as a XV that Gatland is looking at for the Tests.
As is his obligation, though, Gatland is juggling. He is weighing up the need for a victory against the Blues against his desire to get potentially his best team together for Saturday. His selection of so many tried-and-tested combinations is a reflection of that.
Gatland named Ken Owens, the Scarlets skipper, as the captain of this team. A few days back, there was uncertainty over whether Owens would make this trip. However, he has recovered sufficiently from an ankle injury to take on a leadership role.
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Owens acknowledged today that he had harboured a “massive worry” that his ankle would rule him out of this trip. Now captain, he said: “It’s a massive honour for myself, and a challenge I’m relishing for Wednesday night. Hopefully we can put in the massive performance that the Lions shirt deserves.”
There is certainly a freshness to this Lions line-up. Only three of the starting XV are survivors from previous Lions tours.
There will be real interest in how the two Englishmen, Jack Nowell and Elliot Daly, go on the wings, an area where Saturday’s team were particularly unconvincing. Daly has been picked partly with Jared Payne in mind — Payne has struggled with a calf injury and, though he has been passed fit for this game, there is a ready outside centre replacement in Daly if necessary.
The Blues team that the Lions play will present a huge test for them. There are eight current or former All Blacks in the team. “We know how tough it’s going to be,” Gatland said. “There are some real quality individuals to take care of.”
Speaking about the choice of Owens as captain, he added: “It was a logical choice for us . . . The fact that Ken has captained the Scarlets, and they won the PRO12, and given his international experience and leadership, and the impact he has made on the squad in the last few weeks, it was an easy decision for us to make.”
British and Irish Lions team to face the Blues on Wednesday
Blues team
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Lions fixtures
Wednesday
v Blues, Eden Park, Auckland
Saturday
v Crusaders, AMI Stadium, Christchurch
Tuesday, June 13
v Highlanders, Forsyth Barr Stadium, Dunedin
Saturday, June 17
v Maori All Blacks, Rotorua International Stadium
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Tuesday, June 20
v Chiefs, FMG Stadium Waikato, Hamilton
Saturday, June 24
v All Blacks, Eden Park, Auckland
Tuesday, June 27
v Hurricanes, Westpac Stadium, Wellington
Saturday, July 1
v All Blacks, Westpac Stadium Wellington
Saturday, July 8
v All Blacks, Eden Park, Auckland
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All at 8.35am, live on Sky Sports 1 and TalkSport
