Tadhg Beirne to captain British and Irish Lions against Waratahs
Michael Bolton
Tadhg Beirne will captain the British and Irish Lions against the Waratahs on Saturday in Sydney.
Beirne will play in the second row alongside James Ryan, who makes his first start of the tour.
Hugo Keenan, who had to pull out of the starting side to play the Queensland Reds due to illness, is named to start at full back with Blair Kinghorn on the left wing, and Mack Hansen on the left.
Scotland prop Pierre Schoeman, and England hooker Luke Cowan-Dickie joins Ireland's tight-head Finlay Bealham pack down in the front row.
In the back row, Josh Van Der Flier will play alongside England duo Henry Pollock and Ben Earl.
It is the half-back Northampton partnership of Alex Mitchell and Fin Smith.
On the bench, Dan Sheehan is the replacement hooker, with Tadhg Furlong hoping to make an impact from the bench.
Joe McCarthy will provide cover from the second row, on a 6/2 split among the replacements.
Elsewhere on the tour, Elliot Daly has been ruled out after his injury against the Reds, and will be replaced by Owen Farrell.
British and Irish XV to take on NSW Waratahs
15. Hugo Keenan (Leinster Rugby/ Ireland)14. Mack Hansen (Connacht Rugby/ Ireland) #86713. Huw Jones (Glasgow Warriors/ Scotland) #87812. Sione Tuipulotu (Glasgow Warriors/ Scotland) #86311. Blair Kinghorn (Toulouse/ Scotland)10. Fin Smith (Northampton Saints/ England) #8629. Alex Mitchell (Northampton Saints/ England) #860
1. Pierre Schoeman (Edinburgh Rugby/ Scotland) #8682. Luke Cowan-Dickie (Sale Sharks/ England) #8513. Finlay Bealham (Connacht Rugby/ Ireland) #8564. Tadhg Beirne (Munster Rugby/ Ireland) #838 (c)5. James Ryan (Leinster Rugby/ Ireland) #8806. Henry Pollock (Northampton Saints/ England) #8657. Josh van der Flier (Leinster Rugby/ Ireland) #8748. Ben Earl (Saracens/ England) #857
Replacements:16. Dan Sheehan (Leinster Rugby/ Ireland) #87317. Ellis Genge (Bristol Bears/ England) #85918. Tadhg Furlong (Leinster Rugby/ Ireland) #81819. Joe McCarthy (Leinster Rugby/ Ireland) #87120. Scott Cummings (Glasgow Warriors/ Scotland) #86921. Jac Morgan (Ospreys/ Wales) #86122. Ben White (Toulon/ Scotland)23. Marcus Smith (Harlequins/ England) #855