Who is playing, when and where?
The British & Irish Lions are playing against Argentina at the Aviva Stadium on Friday. Kick-off is at 8pm. It will be the first game the Lions play before travelling to Australia, and the first time the Lions have played a match in Ireland.
How can I watch?
TG4 will broadcast the match, in exclusive free-to-air live coverage in a co-production partnership with S4C, starting at 7.20pm. Sky Sports have rights to the whole tour – you can watch Friday’s game on Sky Sports Main Event from 7pm. And you can follow live blog coverage on the Irish Times website.
How are the Lions looking, and what are their chances?
As you would expect from a side with the best players from four nations, the Lions are strong on paper but it is always a question of how well they gel together. They will arguably face a tougher test against Argentina, the fifth-ranked team in the world (ahead of England), than they will against Australia, who are ranked eighth. Argentina have never won on Irish soil but came close at the same stadium last November, losing narrowly by 22-19.
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What is the team news?
Andy Farrell has named three Irish players in his first Lions squad for the match against Argentina at the Aviva Stadium on Friday (8pm kickoff).
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Bundee Aki, Tadhg Beirne and Finlay Bealham are included in the side, where Bealham will make his Lions debut. Tadhg Furlong will make the bench after an injury-hit season which saw him play only nine times for Leinster and Ireland. Mack Hansen and Rónan Kelleher are also on the bench, with most of Leinster’s players unavailable for selection.
British & Irish Lions: Marcus Smith; Tommy Freeman, Sione Tuipulotu, Bundee Aki, Duhan van der Merwe; Fin Smith, Alex Mitchell; Ellis Genge, Luke Cowan-Dickie, Finlay Bealham; Maro Itoje (capt), Tadhg Beirne; Tom Curry, Jac Morgan, Ben Earl
Replacements: Ronan Kelleher, Pierre Schoeman, Tadhg Furlong, Scott Cummings, Henry Pollock, Tomos Williams, Elliot Daly, Mack Hansen
Argentina: Santiago Carreras; Rodrigo Isgró, Lucio Cinti, Justo Piccardo, Ignacio Mendy; Tomás Albornoz, Gonzalo García; Mayco Vivas, Julian Montoya (capt), Joel Sclavi; Franco Molina, Pedro Rubiolo; Pablo Matera, Juan Martin Gonzalez, Joaquin Oviedo. Replacements: Bautista Bernasconi, Boris Wenger, Francisco Coria Marchetti, Santiago Grondona, Joaquin Moro, Simón Benitez Cruz, Matias Moroni, Santiago Cordero.
What’s the Lions squad?
Forwards (21):
- Tadhg Beirne (Munster Rugby/Ireland)
- Ollie Chessum (Leicester Tigers/England)
- Jack Conan (Leinster Rugby/Ireland)
- Luke Cowan-Dickie (Sale Sharks/England)
- Scott Cummings (Glasgow Warriors/Scotland)
- Tom Curry (Sale Sharks/England)
- Ben Earl (Saracens/England)
- Finlay Bealham (Connacht/Ireland)
- Tadhg Furlong (Leinster Rugby/Ireland)
- Ellis Genge (Bristol Bears/England)
- Maro Itoje (Saracens/England)(capt)
- Rónan Kelleher (Leinster Rugby/Ireland)
- Joe McCarthy (Leinster Rugby/Ireland)
- Jac Morgan (Ospreys/Wales)
- Henry Pollock (Northampton Saints/England)
- Andrew Porter (Leinster Rugby/Ireland)
- James Ryan (Leinster Rugby/Ireland)
- Dan Sheehan (Leinster Rugby/Ireland)
- Pierre Schoeman (Edinburgh Rugby/Scotland)
- Will Stuart (Bath Rugby/England)
- Josh van der Flier (Leinster Rugby/Ireland)
Backs (17):
- Bundee Aki (Connacht Rugby/Ireland)
- Elliot Daly (Saracens/England)
- Tommy Freeman (Northampton Saints/England)
- Jamison Gibson-Park (Leinster Rugby/Ireland)
- Mack Hansen (Connacht Rugby/Ireland)
- Huw Jones (Glasgow Warriors/Scotland)
- Hugo Keenan (Leinster Rugby/Ireland)
- Blair Kinghorn (Toulouse/Scotland)
- James Lowe (Leinster Rugby/Ireland)
- Alex Mitchell (Northampton Saints/England)
- Garry Ringrose (Leinster Rugby/Ireland)
- Finn Russell (Bath Rugby/Scotland)
- Fin Smith (Northampton Saints/England)
- Marcus Smith (Harlequins/ England)
- Sione Tuipulotu (Glasgow Warriors/Scotland)
- Duhan van der Merwe (Edinburgh Rugby/Scotland)
- Tomos Williams (Gloucester Rugby/Wales)
Cover:
- Jack van Poortvliet (Leicester Tigers/England)
Can you still get tickets for the game?
Far from being the sell-out anticipated, tickets are still available for the game. High prices may be a factor. In addition to premium-level tickets being returned, the cheapest remaining single tickets on Ticketmaster are priced at €148, while those seeking two tickets together will have to pay a minimum of €190 on Ticketmaster to be able to sit with a friend or family member.
