Beirne to lead Lions in Sydney
Tadhg Beirne scoring a try against Argentina at the Aviva Stadium for the British & Irish Lions Photo: ©INPHO/Billy Stickland
Eadestown's Tadhg Beirne will captain The British & Irish Lions against the New South Wales Waratahs on Saturday at the Allianz Stadium in Sydney.
Beirne is joined in the second row by fellow Irishman and Leinster Rugby’s James Ryan.
Edinburgh Rugby and Scotland prop Pierre Schoeman, Sale Sharks and England hooker Luke Cowan-Dickie and Connacht Rugby and Ireland tight-head Finlay Bealham pack down in the front row.
The backrow is made up of Northampton Saints and England’s Henry Pollock at no.6, Leinster and Ireland’s Josh van der Flier at no.7 and Saracens and England’s Ben Earl at No.8.
The backline sees the English duo and Northampton Saints teammates Alex Mitchell and Fin Smith at scrum-half and fly-half, with the Scotland partnership of Glasgow Warriors duo Sione Tuipulotu and Huw Jones in the centres.
Leinster and Ireland’s Hugo Keenan and Toulouse and Scotland’s Blair Kinghorn will make their Lions debuts and are joined in the back three by Connacht and Ireland’s Mack Hansen.
Lions Head Coach Andy Farrell, said: “Congratulations to Tadhg who will lead the side on Saturday night - and also to Blair, Hugo and Ben who will all make their Lions debuts.
“The games are coming thick and fast now as we face a Waratahs side who will want to make their mark.”
The game kicks off at 11.00am BST and will be broadcast live on Sky Sports in the UK and Ireland.
Twelve years ago the Lions beat the Waratahs 47-17 with Leigh Halfpenny contributing 30 of the Lions’ points.
The British & Irish Lions v NSW Waratahs Allianz Stadium, Saturday 5th July, 2025,11am Irish time
15. Hugo Keenan (Leinster Rugby/ Ireland)
14. Mack Hansen (Connacht Rugby/ Ireland) #867
13. Huw Jones (Glasgow Warriors/ Scotland) #878
12. Sione Tuipulotu (Glasgow Warriors/ Scotland) #863
11. Blair Kinghorn (Toulouse/ Scotland)
10. Fin Smith (Northampton Saints/ England) #862
9. Alex Mitchell (Northampton Saints/ England) #860
1. Pierre Schoeman (Edinburgh Rugby/ Scotland) #868
2. Luke Cowan-Dickie (Sale Sharks/ England) #851
3. Finlay Bealham (Connacht Rugby/ Ireland) #856
4. Tadhg Beirne (Munster Rugby/ Ireland) #838 (c)
5. James Ryan (Leinster Rugby/ Ireland) #880
6. Henry Pollock (Northampton Saints/ England) #865
7. Josh van der Flier (Leinster Rugby/ Ireland) #874
8. Ben Earl (Saracens/ England) #857
Replacements:
16. Dan Sheehan (Leinster Rugby/ Ireland) #873
17. Ellis Genge (Bristol Bears/ England) #859
18. Tadhg Furlong (Leinster Rugby/ Ireland) #818
19. Joe McCarthy (Leinster Rugby/ Ireland) #871
20. Scott Cummings (Glasgow Warriors/ Scotland) #869
21. Jac Morgan (Ospreys/ Wales) #861
22. Ben White (Toulon/ Scotland)
23. Marcus Smith (Harlequins/ England) #855
