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Andy Farrell names his first Lions team of 2025 with 14 set for debuts
By Josh Raisey
Maro Itoje will lead the British and Irish Lions for the first time after being named to start against Argentina in Dublin by Andy Farrell.
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The England and Saracens lock will lead a side with eight other England internationals in the starting XV, and a further two on the bench.
A total of 14 players in the matchday squad could make their Lions debuts at the Aviva Stadium, eight of whom are set to start.
After the Gallagher Premiership and United Rugby Championship finals on Saturday, Farrell has refrained from starting players from Bath, Leicester Tigers or Leinster.
Leinster’s Ronan Kelleher and Tadhg Furlong will feature on the bench, however, with the tighthead overcoming a calf injury that cut short his domestic season.
Scotland and Edinburgh winger Duhan van der Merwe is another player who has been passed fit to play, having missed the back end of the URC season after picking up an ankle injury in March, which required surgery. He will start on the left wing, with England’s Tommy Freeman on the other flank.
In Finn Russell’s absence after guiding Bath to Premiership glory, Fin Smith will start at fly-half, with Marcus Smith starting at full-back, ending weeks of speculation as to how the Harlequin will be deployed in this squad.
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With the pair starting, Farrell has not named a fly-half on the bench, and has rather opted for the versatile Elliot Daly and winger Mack Hansen to join scrum-half Tomos Williams among the substitute backs.
“Congratulations to Maro Itoje ahead of leading out the Lions for the first time – it is a truly special moment and one that very few players ever get to experience,” said Farrell.
“Maro has led the group well during our time in Portugal and then Dublin this week. This is also our first opportunity to show what the 2025 Lions are about and what we want to stand for as a team.
“We know that Argentina will challenge us up front and out wide – so Friday night will be a tough contest, but also a great occasion for all the fans.”
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British & Irish Lions XV
15. Marcus Smith (Harlequins/ England) #855
14. Tommy Freeman (Northampton Saints/England)
13. Sione Tuipulotu (Glasgow Warriors/Scotland)
12. Bundee Aki (Connacht Rugby/Ireland) #837
11. Duhan van der Merwe (Edinburgh Rugby/Scotland) #841
10. Fin Smith (Northampton Saints/England)
9. Alex Mitchell (Northampton Saints/England)
1. Ellis Genge (Bristol Bears/England)
2. Luke Cowan-Dickie (Sale Sharks/England) #851
3. Finlay Bealham (Connacht Rugby/Ireland)
4. Maro Itoje (Saracens/England) #825 (c)
5. Tadhg Beirne (Munster Rugby/Ireland) #838
6. Tom Curry (Sale Sharks/England) #853
7. Jac Morgan (Ospreys/Wales)
8. Ben Earl (Saracens/England)
Replacements
16. Ronan Kelleher (Leinster Rugby/Ireland)
17. Pierre Schoeman (Edinburgh Rugby/Scotland)
18. Tadhg Furlong (Leinster Rugby/Ireland) #818
19. Scott Cummings (Glasgow Warriors/ Scotland)
20. Henry Pollock (Northampton Saints/England)
21. Tomos Williams (Gloucester Rugby/Wales)
22. Elliot Daly (Saracens/England) #822
23. Mack Hansen (Connacht Rugby/Ireland)
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3F
12 & 13 could be a brilliant combination.
Could be a serious amount of line breaks and metres gained off these two workhorses.
Ooo I really like this team. Three 7s in the back row and so much power in the backline with two fly halves/playmakers to put that power into different parts of the pitch. This formula could still work with someone like Kinghorn at 15 who has experience at 10 and Russell in the squad.
So excited for this tour!
That team looks great actually, even without so many players.
Keeping a keen eye on that back row and the centre partnership. Back division does tick a lot of boxes with the dual playmaker axis and some real pace and power too.
This is the test of Tom Curry as a third lineout option as well I suppose.
Fair enough considering the players who played last weekend. 11 to 14 must be some of the most powerful backs a team could put out too.