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Five talking points ahead of the British and Irish Lions' meeting with Japan

By PA
(Photo by Craig Mercer/MB Media/Getty Images)

The British and Irish Lions launch their 2021 tour when they face Japan on Saturday before departing for South Africa 24 hours later.

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Here the PA news agency examines five talking points heading into the Murrayfield appointment.

Lift off
After months of uncertainty over where the tour would be staged – and if it would even take place at all – the 2021 Lions are poised to finally step on to the playing field in defiance of the coronavirus pandemic. Now it is up to Alun Wyn Jones and his team-mates to plant a flag in the sand by delivering a momentum-building victory over Japan in Edinburgh.

Scotsmen on parade
Only the third ever home Lions fixture had promised to be a celebration of Scottish rugby, but their four starters have reduced to two after Hamish Watson and Zander Fagerson sustained injuries, leaving just Duhan van der Merwe and Rory Sutherland in place with Ali Price on the bench. It is a disappointing development for a 16,500 crowd eager to acknowledge Scotland’s largest squad representation since 1989, but Watson and Fagerson will get their chances again soon.

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Maro Itoje | All Access | Episode 2 – What is it like playing for Saracens rugby club?

Jim Hamilton sits down with Vitality ambassador and former teammate Maro Itoje before he jets off to South Africa for the British & Irish Lions Series.
The Saracens lock told us all about Saracens rugby club and the defining effect it has had on his rugby career.

Video Spacer

Maro Itoje | All Access | Episode 2 – What is it like playing for Saracens rugby club?

Jim Hamilton sits down with Vitality ambassador and former teammate Maro Itoje before he jets off to South Africa for the British & Irish Lions Series.
The Saracens lock told us all about Saracens rugby club and the defining effect it has had on his rugby career.

Enjoy the send-off
The Lions must embrace the reception awaiting them at Murrayfield, where the sport’s largest crowd since the pandemic began will gather to send off the elite of British and Irish rugby, as when they reach South Africa they will be playing in empty stadiums. An escalating number of coronavirus cases, particularly in the Gauteng region that encompasses Johannesburg, have removed any faint hope that fans will be allowed into stadiums and have forced a tightening of the tourists’ bubble restrictions.

Generals to take centre stage
Of all the combinations picked to face Japan, it is half-backs Conor Murray and Dan Biggar that has the greatest look of a Test axis in waiting. Murray has beaten Gareth Davies and Price for the number nine jersey while Biggar has benefited from Owen Farrell and Finn Russell being late arrivals into camp. It is early days, but a strong showing at Murrayfield would place the Irish and Welsh veterans in pole position to start the first Test.

Japan plot early setback
Gregor Townsend described swashbuckling Japan as the toughest opening opponents in Lions history, and while Jamie Joseph’s men have not played a match since their 2019 World Cup quarter-final defeat by South Africa, they are a quality side who fully warrant the attack coach’s evaluation. There are 10 survivors from the loss to the Springboks, including captain Michael Leitch, and they will remain loyal to the joyful high-tempo game that lit up the global showpiece 18 months ago.

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J
JW 6 minutes ago
How the four-team format will help the Wallabies defeat the Lions

Have to imagine it was a one off sorta thing were they were there (saying playing against the best private schools) because that is the level they could play at. I think I got carried away and misintrepted what you were saying, or maybe it was just that I thought it was something that should be brought in.


Of course now school is seen as so much more important, and sports as much more important to schooling, that those rural/public gets get these scholarships/free entry to play at private schools.


This might only be relevant in the tradition private rugby schools, so not worth implementing, but the same drain has been seen in NZ to the point where the public schools are not just impacted by the lost of their best talent to private schools, there is a whole flow on effect of losing players to other sports their school can' still compete at the highest levels in, and staff quality etc. So now and of that traditional sort of rivalry is near lost as I understand it.


The idea to force the top level competition into having equal public school participation would be someway to 'force' that neglect into reverse. The problem with such a simple idea is of course that if good rugby talent decides to stay put in order to get easier exposure, they suffer academically on principle. I wonder if a kid who say got selected for a school rep 1st/2nd team before being scouted by a private school, or even just say had two or three years there, could choose to rep their old school for some of their rugby still?


Like say a new Cup style comp throughout the season, kid's playing for the private school in their own local/private school grade comp or whatever, but when its Cup games they switch back? Better represent, areas, get more 2nd players switching back for top level 1st comp at their old school etc? Just even in order to have cool stories where Ella or Barrett brothers all switch back to show their old school is actually the best of the best?

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