The Lions are set to be without Blair Kinghorn and Mack Hansen for the first Test here against the Wallabies on Saturday, as the back-three pair have been unable to train before the final selection meeting.
Scotland full-back Kinghorn damaged a knee during the win over the Brumbies in Canberra last Wednesday, while Hansen, the Ireland wing who was born and raised Down Under, suffered a foot injury in the 48-0 demolition of an Australia-New Zealand Invitational XV in Adelaide. The official line from the Lions management on Monday was that Hansen was ‘fine’, but – like Kinghorn – he has been unable to take a proper part in squad sessions.
Head coach Andy Farrell is not due to name his line-up for the series opener until Thursday, but it has emerged that the selections have been made and the players will be informed on Wednesday. On that basis, it appears as if Kinghorn and Hansen will miss out, meaning Hugo Keenan will start at full-back and Tommy Freeman will deservedly claim the right wing place.
Asked if Hansen had an injury, which was denied on Monday, Lions attack coach Richard Wigglesworth said: ‘He hurt his foot in the game. I don’t think it is anything serious, but he was managed today. Hopefully he will be fully integrated pretty quickly. It’s nothing that we are over-concerned about. We need to make sure we have enough numbers at training, but it doesn’t look too serious.’
Pressed on whether Hansen was ruled out of the first Test at Suncorp Stadium, Wigglesworth added: ‘A bit like Blair, we’ll find out tomorrow. He didn’t train fully today so we will know more tomorrow. If they get on the field tomorrow and they’re better, then they’re right in contention. We’ve not finalised anything yet. A doubt is anyone who didn’t train fully today, but he (Hansen) is definitely not ruled out.’
However, it emerged that the coaches have had their final selection debates already. ‘It has been done, I believe,’ said Wigglesworth. ‘We would be lying if we said it was easy. There have been two or three conversations, we’ve picked (the team) and we will tell the lads tomorrow.
Andy Farrell is putting the finishing touches on his plan for the British & Irish Lions tour opener
But the head coach will be forced to go without Mack Hansen (left) and Blair Kinghorn (right)
‘Nothing has been announced, so it’s always subject to change in terms of how they’ve trained and what that’s looked like. That’s why these things are kept back a bit. It’s still not been announced so who knows, we could go back and we’re having another one!’
In reality, despite the caveats, it seems that there has been a concerted attempt to be decisive early in the week, to allow for cohesion and momentum to build, going into the first showdown with the Wallabies, who are also finalising their own line-up. According to the Rugby Roar website, Tom Lynagh – son of the iconic World Cup-winning playmaker Michael Lynagh – is poised to wear the No 10 shirt for the hosts, alongside Jake Gordon at half-back.
The indications are that the hosts’ head coach, Joe Schmidt, will retain the same centres and back-three combination as he fielded for the tense, narrow victory Fiji in Newcastle on July 6. That means Exeter-bound Len Ikitau will continue his midfield alliance with cross-code sensation Joseph-Aukuso Suaalii, with Max Jorgensen and Harry Potter on the wings, and Tom Wright at full-back.