The local rugby league heroes, the Broncos, are doing well in the NRL Premiership, too, chasing a first title in 19 years.
Here are some of the juicier choices facing Lions head coach Andy Farrell, and a look at how the team might line up for the long-awaited showdown, subject to many possible variations.
Scotland duo Sione Tuipulotu and Huw Jones are a formidable centre pairing (Photo: Getty)
Then came another twist: Ringrose will miss the first Test under the concussion return-to-play protocol.
Aki and Ringrose have had 27 Ireland Test starts together, winning 21 – but that idea has gone for now.
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Read MoreIf he isn’t ready, then Marcus Smith or Fin Smith would need to be fly-half cover for Russell, and while the starting No 12 jersey should go to Aki on form, as his carrying threat in this tour has been greater than Tuipulotu’s, the added wrinkle is there are strong injury doubts over the back-three players Blair Kinghorn and Mack Hansen.
And the Lions do look set for a 5-3 split of forwards and backs – if the scarce clues given by their coaches have not been decoy moves.
So where does that leave the substitute backs? A scrum-half, obviously, with Alex Mitchell the likeliest. But then it is two out of Owen Farrell and one or even both of the Smiths or perhaps Aki.
“Huwipulotu” was seen at its best with an intuitive try against the Waratahs, reviving memories of Swansea’s Scott Gibbs and Mark Taylor together for the Lions in 2001 and Leinster’s Gordon D’Arcy and Brian O’Driscoll in 2005.
Sione Tuipulotu talks about the Huwipulotu centre partnership, and what he's learnt from Owen Farrell since his arrival pic.twitter.com/3jfc8NQbf5
— Sky Sports Rugby Union (@SkySportsRugby) July 12, 2025Former Wales and Lions-tour centre Tom Shanklin told The i Paper a settled combination is not always for the best: “It’s true you can sometimes guess what a regular centre partner is going to do, because you’ve been in that situation so many times.
“If you’re not used to each other, you might be thinking ‘is he passing, is he not? Do I run this line hard?’ and you end up running it half-heartedly.
“I see Aki and Tuipulotu as very similar to each other. I heard them being described as north to south, which means just up and down, and they’re not – they’re such multi-threats, both of them.
England flanker Henry Pollock has caught the eye already for the Lions (Photo: Getty)
The Lions could go route one in Test one, and aim to out-muscle the Wallabies in all areas. Or they might play more of a rangy, attacking game with fetcher-poachers as their two flankers.
The latter tactic could see Tom Curry at No 6, the jackalling Jac Morgan at No 7 and Jack Conan at No 8.
If Curry is destined for the No 7 jersey, it still leaves all sorts of options in the 23 as a whole, with Earl having made a literal late charge by giving the Lions significant go-forward in his tour appearances (while factoring in the “average” opposition, as the Aussies like to put it).
Someone among the back-rowers who also include Ireland’s Mr Reliable, Josh van der Flier, may already have received that uncomfortable look in the eye from coach Farrell before or after Monday’s walk-through at the start of the training week, with the team due to be publicly announced on Thursday.
Get it wrong, and the Lions whose team song on tour is Rockin’ All Over the World could be rocked back by Australia in the post-tackle, at rucks and mauls, and around the set-piece. Get it right, and a big win is in the offing.
Getting the scrum right from start to finish
England prop Ellis Genge’s leadership skills have proven useful on tour (Photo: Getty)And when the Lions drove hard and straight in the scrum to rattle the Brumbies into reverse in the first half in Canberra last week, they had Genge alongside likely first-Test picks Dan Sheehan and Tadhg Furlong in the front row.
Memories of the odd penalty conceded by Genge on this tour when he has been isolated in open play are set against the Bristol Bear’s eye-catching carrying.
There is plenty of scope to change in Tests two and three, whatever happens.
Possible Lions 23 for the first Test against Australia
Hugo Keenan; Tommy Freeman, Huw Jones, Sione Tuipulotu, James Lowe; Finn Russell, Jamison Gibson-Park; Andrew Porter, Dan Sheehan, Tadhg Furlong, Maro Itoje (c), Joe McCarthy, Ollie Chessum, Jac Morgan, Jack Conan. Replacements: Ronan Kelleher, Ellis Genge, Will Stuart, Tom Curry, Ben Earl; Alex Mitchell, Marcus Smith, Bundee Aki.Hence then, the article about three lions selection headaches that will be keeping andy farrell up at night was published today ( ) and is available on inews ( Middle East ) The editorial team at PressBee has edited and verified it, and it may have been modified, fully republished, or quoted. You can read and follow the updates of this news or article from its original source.
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