Maro Itoje will lead the British & Irish Lions out against the Reds on Wednesday, but the group has bid farewell to Welsh scrumhalf Tomos Williams.
The tourists suffered a major injury blow just one match into their tour of Australia, with in-form Williams ruled out for the remainder of the trip.
Williams, who was named English Premiership Player of the Season, suffered a hamstring injury while dotting down for his second try during the Lions’ emphatic 54-7 victory over the Western Force in Perth on Saturday.
The dynamic No 9 was instrumental in the Lions’ attacking flow and had shown glimpses of his top form off the bench in their tour opener against Argentina.
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His withdrawal is a significant setback for head coach Andy Farrell, who loses one of his most influential backline generals at a crucial stage of the tour.
Toulon halfback Ben White has been drafted in as cover and is en route to Brisbane from Auckland, where he had been training with the Scotland squad ahead of their clash against the New Zealand Māori.
There is some relief for the Lions, though.
Ireland’s Jamison Gibson-Park has shaken off the injury that kept him sidelined and is expected to feature in Wednesday’s midweek clash against the Reds at Suncorp Stadium (kick-off 12pm SA time).
Additionally, Scotland fullback Blair Kinghorn will soon join the squad after helping Toulouse clinch the French Top 14 title.
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Maro Itoje returns to the captaincy of an overhauled Lions team that includes Duhan van der Merwe.
Tour skipper Itoje takes the armband from hooker Dan Sheehan, who is rested for the match in Brisbane on Wednesday.
Only flyhalf Finn Russell has been retained from the starting XV that crushed the Western Force 54-7 on Saturday.
“This is proper touring, isn’t it? Games are coming thick and fast, three games in eight days, and it keeps on rolling after that,” he said. “Being adaptable is the key.”
While the Lions were dominant winners against the Force, Farrell is expecting a tougher assignment from a Reds team coached by Les Kiss, who will take over as Wallabies boss from Joe Schmidt next year.
“They’re a great side. I mean, that’s obvious if you’ve watched the games, not just this year, but last year as well,” he said. “So this will be 100 percent a big step up for us on Wednesday night. Any side that Les coaches, he’s always going to be very well prepared.”
Jack Conan gets his first start of the tour at No 8 and is joined in the back row by Tom Curry and Jac Morgan.
Hugo Keenan gets the nod at fullback, supported by wings Tommy Freeman and Van der Merwe, while Bundee Aki and Huw Jones form a new centre partnership.
When the two sides met in 2013, the Lions won 22-12.
LIONS — 15 Hugo Keenan, 14 Tommy Freeman, 13 Huw Jones, 12 Bundee Aki, 11 Duhan van der Merwe, 10 Finn Russell, 9 Jamison Gibson-Park, 8 Jack Conan, 7 Jac Morgan, 6 Tom Curry, 5 Ollie Chessum, 4 Maro Itoje (c), 3 Will Stuart, 2 Ronan Kelleher, 1 Andrew PorterBench: 16 Luke Cowan-Dickie, 17 Ellis Genge, 18 Finlay Bealham, 19 James Ryan, 20 Ben Earl, 21 Alex Mitchell, 22 Fin Smith, 23 Garry Ringrose
REDS –15 Jock Campbell (c), 14 Lachie Anderson, 13 Josh Flook, 12 Hunter Paisami, 11 Tim Ryan, 10 Harry McLaughlin-Phillips, 9 Kalani Thomas, 8 Joe Brial, 7 John Bryant, 6 Seru Uru, 5 Lukhan Salakaia-Loto, 4 Josh Canham, 3 Jeffery Toomaga-Allen, 2 Matt Faessler, 1 Aidan RossBench: 16 Josh Nasser, 17 George Blake, 18 Sef Fa’agase, 19 Ryan Smith, 20 Angus Blyth, 21 Connor Vest, 22 Louis Werchon, 23 Isaac Henry
Photo: David Rogers/Getty Images
