Curry and Tuipulotu set to start for Lions in series opener

Tom Curry and Sione Tuipulotu both started the first match of the Lions 2025 tour, a 28-24 defeat by Argentina in Dublin
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First Test: Australia v British and Irish Lions
Date: Saturday, 19 July Kick-off: 11:00 BST Venue: Suncorp Stadium, Brisbane
Coverage: Live text commentary on the BBC Sport website and app with post-match analysis on iPlayer, BBC Radio 5 Live and Rugby Union Weekly podcast
England flanker Tom Curry is set to start in the back row for the British and Irish Lions in the first Test against Australia, with Wales' Jac Morgan missing out on selection.
Morgan, Wales' only representative in the 44-man squad, had been pushing hard for a place on the open-side flank after some outstanding performances on tour.
But Lions boss Andy Farrell is set to opt for Curry's pedigree and experience when the team is confirmed on Thursday.
Meanwhile, it is understood Sione Tuipulotu will start at inside centre as part of an all-Scottish midfield.
The Glasgow centre is expected to line up in-between fly-half Finn Russell and club-mate Huw Jones.
If confirmed, it will be the first time since 1993 one country has provided the 10/12/13 axis in a Lions Test, when Englishmen Rob Andrew, Will Carling and Jeremy Guscott all played in the series opener against New Zealand.
The team for the series opener will be announced at 06:00 BST on Thursday.
Elsewhere, Ireland's Tadhg Beirne and England's Ollie Chessum are competing to join Curry and the Irishman Jack Conan in the back row.
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Morgan's omission from the matchday squad would mean Wales don't have a representative in a Test match for the first time since 1896, according to rugby statistician Russ Petty., external
Jamison Gibson-Park is set to partner Finn Russell at half-back, with James Lowe, Tommy Freeman and Hugo Keenan the likely back three.
It is also thought Owen Farrell could miss out on the matchday squad.
Farrell came off the bench last weekend against the Australia and New Zealand Invitational XV, producing a neat cameo in a thumping Lions victory, and was expected to be in contention to make the bench given his ability to play fly-half and centre.
However, it was the former England skipper's first game in 10 weeks, with suggestions from sources that it is a little too soon for Farrell to return to the Test arena.
If Farrell does not make it, compatriot Marcus Smith is set to feature among the replacements.
Analysis - No Welsh player for first time since 1890s?
BBC rugby union correspondent Chris Jones:
As the only Welshman on tour, Morgan couldn't have done much more to force his way into the Test team, but to do so would have meant usurping Curry, a man who started all three Tests four years ago and was recently described by former England boss Eddie Jones as one of the most destructive players in the game. It must have been a desperately tight call.
With Morgan likely to miss out on the matchday squad altogether, it means there will be no Welsh player in a Lions Test team for the first time since the 1890s; an extraordinary statistic.
Scotland fans will know well what the Welsh are going through - the Scots only contributed a handful of players to the Test team through the 2000s and 2010s, but how times have changed with Russell, Tuipulotu and Jones set to form the midfield.
There are other tight calls. At blind-side flanker Tadhg Beirne is looking to edge out Ollie Chessum, with Beirne's proficiency on the floor a potential factor in giving him the nod, especially if the Lions are without Morgan - perhaps the best of the Lions poachers - and with Fraser McReight and the Wallabies' back row desperate to spoil the Lions' breakdown.

Jones and Tuipulotu will complete an all-Scottish 10-12-13 axis alongside fly-half Finn Russell