British and Irish Lions 2021: Team prepare for one final roar in South Africa

The British and Irish Lions are gearing up for their final Test in South Africa.

It is currently 1-1 in what has been an intense series, with the Lions winning the first match, but the Springboks coming out on top in the second.

Head coach Warren Gatland has made some big changes to his squad ahead of the winner-takes-all clash.

"The matchday 23 have an incredibly special opportunity in front of them - to seal a Lions series victory in South Africa," said Gatland.

The Lions won their first Test, and all but one of their warm up games

"It doesn't get much bigger than this and we're excited by the challenge that faces us on Saturday.

"We've no excuses from last week - the Springboks put us under pressure in the second half and deserved the win. We have to be much better than that second-half performance, and I believe we will be."

Who is in the line up for the final Test?

British and Irish Lions: Williams; Adams, Henshaw, Aki, Van der Merwe; Biggar, Price; Jones, Owens, Furlong, Itoje, A Wyn Jones (c), Lawes, Curry, Conan.

Replacements: Cowan-Dickie, Vunipola, Sinckler, Beard, Simmonds, Murray, Russell, Daly.

South Africa: Le Roux; Kolbe, Am, De Allende, Mapimpi; Pollard, Reinach; Kitshoff, Mbonambi, Malherbe, Etzebeth, De Jager, Kolisi (c), Mostert, Wiese.

Replacements: Marx, Nyakane, Koch, Van Staden, Smith, Jantjies, Steyn, Willemse.

The Lions is made up of the best rugby players from Scotland, Wales, England and Ireland

What is the British and Irish Lions Tour?

Beginning in 1888, the Lions now tour every four years, facing southern hemisphere rugby powerhouses Australia, New Zealand or South Africa.

The Lions are a rugby team made up of players who can play for Scotland, Wales, England, and Ireland.

Players do not have to have already played for their national side, they just have to be available for selection by one of those four teams.

Four-time Lions coach Sir Ian McGeechan summed up why many people see playing for the Lions as a special honour in rugby: "That badge, we always said, represents four… What goes into that is your own country and three others."

Each tour the Lions play a selection of warm-up games before three Tests against the host country. Most recently, the Lions drew their series against New Zealand in 2017 after beating Australia in 2014.

The first Lions tour was in 1888

How is the tour different this year?

Like all other sporting events around the world, coronavirus has had a big impact.

South Africa has been battling the spread of the Covid-19 virus since last year, with a spike in cases in January, and cases on the rise as the Lions squad arrived for their matches.

The organisers have been working hard to make the games as safe a possible - the schedule has also been organised to reduce travel.

There have been cases in the South Africa squad, with some players only returning to training ahead of the Springbok's warm-up matches.

Sadly for Lions fans - and South Africa fans too - no supporters have been allowed in the ground for this year's games.

"We have to make peace with the fact that there won't be spectators," said Mark Alexander, president of South African Rugby, "but the tour will go on".

Lions head coach Warren Gatland

Who is in this year's squad?

Since the squad was first announced, there have been some injuries to key players meaning they needed to return home - one of the most high profile is Scotland fly-half Finn Russell.

Forwards: Adam Beard (Wal), Tadhg Beirne (Ire), Jack Conan (Ire), Luke Cowan-Dickie (Eng), Tom Curry (Eng), Zander Fagerson (Sco), Taulupe Faletau (Wal), Tadhg Furlong (Ire), Jamie George (Eng), Iain Henderson (Ire), Jonny Hill (Eng), Maro Itoje (Eng), Wyn Jones (Wal), Courtney Lawes (Eng), Josh Navidi (Wal), Ken Owens (Wal), Sam Simmonds (Eng), Kyle Sinckler (Eng), Rory Sutherland (Sco), Mako Vunipola (Eng), Hamish Watson (Sco).

Backs: Josh Adams (Wal), Bundee Aki (Ire), Dan Biggar (Wal), Elliot Daly (Eng), Gareth Davies (Wal), Owen Farrell (Eng), Chris Harris (Sco), Robbie Henshaw (Ire), Stuart Hogg (Sco), Conor Murray (Ire), Ali Price (Sco), Louis Rees-Zammit (Wal), Marcus Smith (Eng), Duhan van der Merwe (Sco), Anthony Watson (Eng), Liam Williams (Wal).

Alun Wyn Jones is hoping to lead the team to victory

Who is captain of the British and Irish Lions?

The 37-man squad is being captained by Welsh legend (and four-time Lion) Alun Wyn Jones.

Earlier on in the tour, Ireland's Connor Murray was made captain after Jones' tour looked in doubt when he picked up an injury in a warm-up game against Japan.

But his miraculous recovery will give the Lions a huge boost going into the tough games against South Africa.

South Africa is hosting this year's Lions tour, the Cape Town Stadium will host all three Tests

When is the final Test?

The first Test was played in Cape Town, on Saturday 24 July.

The second Test was on 31 July and the third Test is being played on Saturday 7 August, with kick off at 5pm.

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