Kinghorn and Ryan in for final Lions Test

3d ago | Source: BBC

Blair Kinghorn impressed off the bench in the British and Irish Lions' second Test win over Australia at Melbourne Cricket Ground

British and Irish Lions coach Andy Farrell has made two changes to his team for the third and final Test against the Wallabies in Sydney on Saturday, saying that winning the series 3-0 "would mean the world to us."

Blair Kinghorn replaces James Lowe on the left wing and James Ryan comes in for Ollie Chessum at lock. The Leinsterman is one of nine Irish players in the starting line-up and becomes Maro Itoje's third different starting Test partner in the second-row, Chessum and Joe McCarthy being the others.

McCarthy is not in the squad and neither are Mack Hansen nor Sione Tuipulotu. All three have been struggling with injury and none of them trained on Wednesday - Farrell said their fitness levels were 85%.

Chessum drops to a bench that has a six-two split between forwards and backs. Lowe is out of the squad entirely. Owen Farrell and Alex Mitchell are the two backs on the bench, Farrell covering 10 and 12.

Ben Earl is also among the replacements after missing out on the 23 in Melbourne. Earl is versatile not just in the back-row but also as a makeshift centre.

Jac Morgan, one of the most talked-about men in Australia after his much-examined clearout on Wallaby flanker Carlo Tizzano, reprises his role on the bench.

Joe Schmidt, Wallaby coach, said Tizzano has been on the end of social media abuse and has laid part of the blame at the door of former players who are now pundits. Tizzano is not in Australia's 23 for Saturday. Farrell described any online abuse as "disgusting".

There was a question around whether Farrell might give Test spots to some players who had not yet appeared in the series - most notably Josh van der Flier - but there's zero sentiment.

Tadhg Furlong will make his ninth straight Test start for the Lions and Itoje will play his ninth consecutive Test - eight starts and one off the bench in New Zealand in 2017.

The line-up means 11 players have been chosen to start all three Tests. The coach has talked a lot about cohesion and he has been true to his word.

The Lions are bidding to become the first of their kind to win three Tests in a row since Willie John McBride's side of 1974 in South Africa. If they manage to win Saturday's Test they will become the first Lions outfit to complete a clean sweep since the boys of 1927 in Argentina won 4-0.

The Wallabies will be without their wonderful flanker, Rob Valetini, after a recurrence of the calf injury that kept him out of the first Test in Brisbane.

Schmidt is missing another senior player, the hugely experienced prop Allan Alaalatoa, who drops out of the team with a shoulder issue. The hulking Taniela Tupou replaces Alaalatoa following a powerhouse performance for First Nations & Pasifika against the Lions in Melbourne last week.

Schmidt has changed his scrum-half. Nic White, who will retire from international rugby after Saturday's Test, starts with Tate McDermott on the bench.

Jake Gordon, a try-scorer and star performer for the Wallabies in Melbourne, is not involved. Gordon has recently returned from a hamstring injury. With the Rugby Championship starting on 17 August - the Wallabies go back-to-back against the Springboks in South Africa - Gordon's absence is with one eye on keeping him fresh to play the world champions.

Farrell touched by his players' love of the Lions

After naming his 23-man squad, Farrell paid tribute to his players, the ones who are starting against the Wallabies and, particularly, the ones who now won't get to play in a Test.

"It actually touches you," said the coach about how much his players want to do the jersey proud. "It does. It touches you in the sense of how much it means to them. For example, you come in after such a big victory on Saturday and I just left them to it because I couldn't get a word in.

"You guys know that they weren't coming in for media because it just felt natural for them to celebrate together. The ones that were celebrating most were the ones who hadn't put the shirt on. It says it all, to be honest.

"As you can imagine, it would mean the world to us [to win the series 3-0]. It's something that we promised ourselves we were going to chase after. What goes along with that is representing the jersey and the brand of the British and Irish Lions, so we have a big responsibility this week."

Asked what the most impressive thing about his players these past weeks, Farrell replied: "Just how much they care. How much they care about the Lions, the Lions dream. How much it means to them. When you package all that together, of what it takes to come together as a top-class outfit as far as a rugby team, that's at the heart of it."

Kinghorn and Ryan deserve their opportunity

There are only two changes to the starting line-up with Ryan, the Leinster lock, coming in for Chessum and Kinghorn, the versatile Toulouse thoroughbred, replacing James Lowe.

"We think James [Ryan] thoroughly deserves his start," said Farrell. "He's grown through this tour. His physicality when he has come off the bench, when he has put the jersey on over the last three or four weeks has been there for all to see. So, we think he's the right person to start the Test.

"We thought that Blair is a great athlete but the unpredictability of his game makes him very dangerous. The conditions that we're expecting as far as the aerial game is concerned will be at its premium, so I think this game suits him."

Tributes to history men Furlong and Itoje

Upon selecting him to start what will be his ninth consecutive Lions Test, Farrell sung the praises of Furlong. "It isn't just the performances that have been through the roof. It's also his manner on a Lions tour as well. I've never seen him in such good spirits, so he's ready to go again."

Itoje is in a similar place, with nine Lions Test appearances in a row, one off the bench and then eight starts. "Not quite nine, is it?" joked Farrell. "Not quite nine. It's quite good. Well, look at the quality of player they are, look at the standing that they have with any group that they represent, those two lads epitomise what it takes to be a top-level international player."