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Tadhg Furlong’s inclusion among the substitutes for the British and Irish Lions opening tour match on Friday may have raised some eyebrows, but when seen from head coach Andy Farrell’s perspective it makes a lot of sense.
The two-time Lion has not played since Leinster’s defeat in the Investec Champions Cup semifinal defeat to Northampton Saints on 3 May, but he has been named on the bench for the match against Argentina in Dublin on Friday.
The 32-year-old tighthead prop has been troubled by calf and hamstring issues this season and only featured in one match for Ireland in the Men’s Guinness Six Nations.
THREE TIME LION?
However, he played all three tests against New Zealand in 2017 and South Africa in 2021, so Farrell will be counting on his experience.
Farrell has also lost one tighthead prop after Scotland’s Zander Fagerson was forced to withdraw with a calf injury and replaced by Furlong’s fellow Irish international Finlay Bealham.
To boost front row numbers England and Sale Sharks’ Asher Opoku-Fordjour came into the training camp while Furlong and Bath’s Will Stuart were involved in their club’s preparations for the United Rugby Championship (URC) and Gallagher Premiership finals.
Furlong didn’t feature in the URC final, but Stuart played the last 19 minutes of Bath’s 23-21 win over Leicester Tigers.
Farrell’s selection means if Furlong comes off the bench, then he will have had some minutes on the field this month before the flight to Australia.
STARTING STRONG
If all goes wrong and Furlong breaks down and is unable to tour, then Farrell will be able to call up a replacement to travel with the squad, and if it is Opoku-Fordjour then he will be up to speed after his time in camp.
No-one wants to see Furlong break down, and Lions fans will have good memories of his test performances in 2017 in particular.
However, Farrell is showing his pragmatic side, because the last thing he wants is to start the tour waiting in Perth airport for Furlong’s replacement to arrive.
British & Irish Lions Starting XV (1-15) Ellis Genge, Luke Cowan-Dickie, Finlay Bealham, Maro Itoje, Tadhg Beirne, Tom Curry, Jac Morgan, Ben Earl, Alex Mitchell, Fin Smith, Duhan van der Merwe, Bundee Aki, Sione Tuipulotu, Tommy Freeman, Marcus Smith
British & Irish Lions Replacements (16-23) Ronan Kelleher, Pierre Schoeman, Tadhg Furlong, Scott Cummings, Henry Pollock, Tomos Williams, Elliot Daly, Mack Hansen
Argentina Starting XV (1-15) Mayco Vivas, Julian Montoya, Joel Sclavi, Franco Molina, Pedro Rubiolo, Pablo Matera, Juan Martin Gonzalez, Joaquin Oviedo, Gonzalo Garcia, Tomas Albornoz, Ignacio Mendy, Justo Piccardo, Lucio Cinti Luna, Rodrigo Isgro, Santiago Carreras
Argentina Replacements (16-23) Bautista Bernasconi, Boris Wenger, Francisco Coria Marchetti, Santiago Grondona, Joaquin Moro, Simon Benitez Cruz, Matias Moroni, Santiago Cordero