Win the first Test, win the series - Geniapublished at 17:26 18 July
17:26 18 July
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Former Wallaby Will Genia on first Lions Test & Lynagh selection
Ex-Wallabies scrum-half Will Genia joined the Rugby Union Weekly podcast this week and gave his prediction for the Test series.
"I look at that Lions team on paper and I think – what a team," said Genia.
"There are world-class players all across it but I do give us a chance. I think we have some athletes in our team that can really challenge this Lions team and if we can create some time and space for them we can get in the game.
"Whoever wins the first Test will win the series because you gain confidence and rhythm for the remaining games."
"Australia win 2-1. We win the first and third Tests."
Wilson relishing battle with 'terrific' Lions back rowpublished at 14:04 18 July
14:04 18 July
Lauren Jenkins BBC Sport in Brisbane
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Asked if he had ever come up a back row as good as the Lions trio starting in the first Test on Saturday, Australia captain Harry Wilson didn't take too long to think it over.
"'Probably not," he said. "They've all been playing terrific on this tour. All the combinations have been really good."
The combination that got the nod, of course, was Tom Curry and Jack Conan - who will both be starting their fourth consecutive Lions Test - alongside Tadhg Beirne, who also played in the 2021 series off the bench.
Three Andy Farrell favourites for one principle reason. The head coach more than once referred to 'big-match temperament'' during Thursday's press conference.
''It's a big part of the consideration and we've got a few who have it in our starting line-up," he said. "Tadhg has had many big games when it really matters.''
So too has Curry. A selection based on reputation and ability over form and numbers.
''He's gone to the players that have delivered at the highest level," said 2009 Lions player of the series Jamie Roberts on the Rugby Union Weekly podcast.
"If they hit their potential in this game it's hard to see the Lions losing the first Test.''
Champion de Crespigny 'a psycho who loves contact'published at 14:00 18 July
14:00 18 July
Lauren Jenkins BBC Sport in Brisbane
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Australia fans might have been expecting a Wallabies enforcer with Top14 experience to make an impact this series. But instead of La Rochelle lock forward Will Skelton, who is out injured, in comes flanker Nick Champion de Crespigny who joined Western Force from Castres.
He starts in the six shirt on Saturday, hoping to hit the ground running on his Wallabies debut.
It's something we've seen on previous Lions tours. A certain Israel Folau scored two tries on debut in 2013 and lock Justin Harrison went on to break Lions' hearts with the crucial line-out steal in the third Test in 2001.
Champion de Crespigny has been described by Skelton as "a weapon, a gun and a tough so-and-so", by Fraser McReight as "a psycho who loves contact" and by his coach Joe Schmidt as "a real galvaniser of action".
He starts alongside McReight at seven and captain Harry Wilson at eight in the absence of one of their most effective carriers Rob Valetini - who had started 47 of 50 matches before the recent Fiji Test.
''Bobby V (as he's affectionately known) is a massive loss,'' says Wilson. ''He's been one of the in-form players in world rugby for quite a long period now.
''We've all had to up our workload with Bobby out. He takes the tough carries for us week in, week out. You appreciate a bloke who can take on two or three people and get front-foot ball.
"It's not ideal when you're missing a player like him so everyone has to pick up 10%. But we're confident and in a very good place.''
Schmidt confirmed that Valetini and Skelton will both be available for selection for next week's second Test in Melbourne.
The Wallabies may be understrength on paper, but they'll sure be inspired.
The tourists have won more Tests and more series than the Wallabies on their previous trips Down Under.
The tally stands at 17 Test wins for the Lions compared to six for the Aussies.
The Lions have also won seven series, while Australia have claimed two.
The Lions won the most recent series 2-1 in 2013.
Take a trip down memory lane with some pictures from the 2013, 2001 and 1989 tours.
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George North scored one of the greatest tries in Lions history on their last visit to Australia. The Welshman collected the ball inside his own half before setting off on a stunning run, cruising past two defenders to score the tourists' opening try as they won the first Test 23-21.
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North's thumping hit on Israel Folau in the second Test, where he lifted the Australia winger off the ground and carried him several metres backwards, has gone down in Lions history.
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But Adam Ashley-Cooper's late try, converted by Christian Leali'ifano, handed Australia a 16-15 win to level the series 1-1.
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The Lions recovered brilliantly to thump the Wallabies 41-16 and take the series 2-1. That remains their last series triumph after drawing in New Zealand in 2017 and losing to South Africa in 2021.
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New Zealander Graham Henry, who was in charge of Wales at the time, became the first overseas Lions head coach in the 2001 tour.
England speedster Jason Robinson scored a stunning try in the third minute as the Lions won the first Test 29-13 at the Gabba. Ireland centre Brian O'Driscoll sealed the emphatic victory with a superb solo try.
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Australia's Joe Roff scored two tries in the second half of the second Test as the then-world champions came from behind to claim a 35-14 win and force a decider.
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Australia led a gripping final Test in Sydney 29-23 when the Lions lined up for a line-out near the Wallabies' tryline. Hooker Keith Wood attempted to find skipper Martin Johnson but instead Australia lock Justin Harrison - nicknamed the Plank by Austin Healey in a controversial newspaper column before the match - soared highest to grab the ball and ensure the hosts' series victory.
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Coached by Lions legend Sir Ian McGeechan, the 1989 team were on the receiving end of a 30-12 humbling in the first Test in Sydney.
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Jeremy Guscott produced a moment of magic to score the crucial try in the visitors' 19-12 victory in the second Test - the infamous 'Battle of Ballymore' - to level the series at 1-1. The England centre collected his own grubber-kick before speeding over the line to touch down.
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Finlay Calder's team went on to win the third Test 19-18, becoming the first Lions side to win a series after losing the opening match. Wales wing Ieuan Evans (second from right) swooped on a loose ball to score the decisive try after Australia's star winger David Campese threw a terrible pass from just outside his in-goal area.
Former Wales and Lions centre Jamie Roberts, however, says Farrell made the right decision in selecting England back row Tom Curry at open-side flanker.
"We only see the 80 minutes at the weekend and Andy Farrell will have eyes and ears on the training in the week," Roberts, a member of the Lions side which beat Australia in 2013, told BBC Rugby Union Weekly.
"He is a very experienced coach and he knows what these players are all about.
"For Jac, though, any conversation that involves whether you are in ahead of Tom Curry in a Test match, you are doing well.
"Tom Curry has to play, albeit he might have been a 7 out of 10 across these opening games. But when you talk about Test match players, big game players, Tom Curry has been one of the best players hands down in world rugby."
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End of X post by Wallabies
This tour is the first time that the Lions have had names on the back of their shirts.
Elsewhere, injured fly-half Noah Lolesio, ruled out of the series with a neck injury sustained in Australia's warm-up match against Fiji, has been into the Wallabies camp to wish his team-mates good luck.
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Freeman's costly Lions Test selectionpublished at 15:32 17 July
15:32 17 July
Mantej Mann BBC Sport Journalist
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Tommy Freeman will make his first Lions Test start against Australia on Saturday
Tommy Freeman's selection for the British and Irish Lions' first Test with Australia has proved to be fairly costly for the Northampton Saints wing.
The 24-year-old returns to Brisbane three years after he made his Test debut for England against the Wallabies.
It was on that tour Down Under when Freeman promised to fly his parents Sara and Cliff back to the city in business class should he make a Test appearance for the Lions.
"My parents came to Australia in 2022. It was very last minute because I didn't think I was going to play out here, so I told them not to come," Freeman said.
"I eventually got selected and then they flew out. It was last minute so I told them that if I get picked for the Lions I would pay for their business class seats, which has backfired."
Freeman's mum and dad were already in the country following their son, but his pledge to fly them to Brisbane in upgraded seats worth over £12,000 will come as a welcome gift following an accident.
"I gave them a ring and they are having troubles of their own. Mum has just broken her foot so she has had surgery in Adelaide," he said.
"They were travelling from Canberra to Adelaide and thought they would drive so they pulled over and got some photos.
"It has not gone well on that front so it's a bit of good news for them. Mum's main concern was being fit enough to fly to get here in time.
"They were obviously delighted and all the travelling miles they have put in for me has paid off.
"It's amazing to be able to give back because I am not that pleasant to be around on game day with the nerves. I can be a bit grumpy, so for it all to pay off with moments like this is extra special."
Record number of Irish players will start first Lions Testpublished at 10:43 17 July
10:43 17 July
Nigel Ringland BBC Sport Senior Journalist in Brisbane
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Tadhg Beirne will start in the back row for the Lions
Eight Ireland internationals will start for the British and Irish Lions in the first Test against Australia in Brisbane on Saturday.
Full-back Hugo Keenan, wing James Lowe and scrum-half Jamison Gibson-Park are named among the backs while Dan Sheehan, Tadhg Furlong, Joe McCarthy, Jack Conan and Tadhg Beirne will pack down together up front.
And there could be more appearances from the Irish contingent with prop Andrew Porter, hooker Ronan Kelleher and centre Bundee Aki all named amongst the replacements.
It equals the record of most Ireland players to start a Lions Test that dates back to the third Test in South Africa in 1938.
Five of the eight were from Ulster, including captain Sammy Walker.
Blair Mayne, George Cromey, Harry Mckibbin and Robert Alexander were the others and were joined by Robert Graves, Charles Boyles and George Morgan.
That game was also the last that the Lions wore blue shirts in a Test match.
None of the starters is a surprise with Keenan as the only recognised full-back in the squad at the moment with Blair Kinghorn out injured.
With Garry Ringrose out with concussion, an all-Scottish midfield combination of Huw Jones and Sione Tuipulotu is preferred with Aki starting on the bench.
Perhaps the most debated selection is that of Beirne over England’s Ollie Chessum in the back row alongside Conan and Tom Curry with Josh Van der Flier missing out.
At times Beirne has not looked like his normal commanding self, but he has captained the side to a pair of wins.
“Yeah, I suppose that's the hotly contested one, part of the side that's been talked about for quite some time and rightly so because of the quality that we've got there,” admitted Farrell.
”Obviously we feel that that's the right balance for the first Test, the combination of Tadhg, being the type of player that he is, as far as his quality in the set-piece but yet his all-round ability, either on the floor or a ball-playing six.
“I think that complements Jack in a similar regard and Tom being the engine that we all know that you need in regards to Test match football.”
Rugby Australia hopeful of full house for first Testpublished at 07:23 17 July
07:23 17 July
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Brisbane hosts the first Test, before the series moves on to Melbourne and Sydney
The Sydney Morning Herald reports, external that there are still tickets available for all three Tests between the British and Irish Lions and Australia after some were handed back by UK tour operators.
The newspaper adds that there were fewer than 1,000 remaining for the opener at the 52,500-capacity Suncorp Stadium for Saturday's series opener on Wednesday.
"We're almost there," said Rugby Australia chief executive Phil Waugh.
"So naturally, just the way ticketing works, you get some hand backs from different tour groups that are pre-booked, and so you just naturally have some that become available late, which is what we have for this weekend.
"But we're almost there. Hopefully, we get a good run home and a full stadium."
The Melbourne Cricket Ground is hosting the second Test and is expected to have more than 90,000 people in attendance. The turnout of MCG members - who have access to events at the venue - will decided whether how close the crowd gets to the capacity of 100,000.
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