Lions Name Team to Take On Waratahs in Sydney

The British & Irish Lions have named the team to play the HSBC NSW Waratahs at Allianz Stadium in Sydney on Saturday.

The Lions enter their fifth match of the tour unbeaten following wins against the Barbarians in Hong Kong, Western Force, Queensland Reds and Combined Country.

Tour captain Sam Warburton is expected to lead the team, while Irish wing Simon Zebo, who joined the tour party on Tuesday, will make his Lions debut.

Rob Kearney will make his first appearance of the tour on the bench after recovering from a leg injury that made him unavailable for selection until this point of the tour.

“The tour has now moved on to Sydney, where we face another tough examination in front of a parochial sell-out crowd. The squad has a lot of respect for the NSW Waratahs who have proven down the years to be tough opponents,” said British & Irish Lions Tour Manager, Andy Irvine. “The match represents the final Saturday match prior to the 1st Test in Brisbane. Naturally, the players know that Test places are still up for grabs and they will be eager to press for selection against the Wallabies.”

Head Coach Warren Gatland said, “It would be great to remain unbeaten and take that momentum into the first Test. However, more importantly we are looking to finalise key playing combinations and strengthen our patterns of play during the next two matches. This match, the fourth of our lead-up matches in Australia, will assist in this process. To beat the Waratahs we know we have to improve on our strong performance last Saturday against the Reds. This side is more than capable of doing that.”

Billy Twelvetrees Called Up to British & Irish Lions Squad

Billy Twelvetrees has been called up to the British & Irish Lions squad as backline cover.

The England and Gloucester Rugby centre will arrive in Sydney today after flying in from Argentina.

British & Irish Lions Head Coach Warren Gatland said: “The nature of a Lions tour means that there will inevitably be knocks which take time to recover from. The whole squad have worked hard but a lot of the backs have doubled up over the last two games, either starting or from the bench. Billy played well in the first Test for England and he provides that versatility to cover a variety of positions.”

British & Irish Lions v HSNC NSW Waratahs

15. Leigh Halfpenny (Cardiff Blues/Wales) 14. Sean Maitland (Glasgow Warriors/Scotland) 13. Jonathan Davies (Scarlets/Wales) 12. Jamie Roberts (Cardiff Blues/Wales) 11. Simon Zebo (Munster/Ireland) 10. Jonathan Sexton (Leinster/Ireland) 9. Mike Phillips (Bayonne/Wales) 1. Mako Vunipola (Saracens/England) 2. Tom Youngs (Leicester Tigers/England) 3. Adam Jones (Ospreys/Wales) 4. Alun Wyn Jones (Ospreys/Wales) 5. Paul O’Connell (Munster/Ireland) 6. Tom Croft (Leicester Tigers/England) 7. Sam Warburton (Cardiff Blues/Wales, capt) 8. Jamie Heaslip (Leinster/Ireland)

Replacements

16. Richard Hibbard (Ospreys/Wales) 17. Alex Corbisiero (London Irish/England) 18. Dan Cole (Leicester Tigers/England) 19. Geoff Parling (Leicester Tigers/England) 20. Dan Lydiate (Dragons/Wales) 21. Ben Youngs (Leicester Tigers/England) 22. Owen Farrell (Saracens/England) 23. Rob Kearney (Leinster/Ireland)

Pictures from Lions v Barbarians in Hong Kong

As there are so many Pictures of The British and Irish Lions v The Barbarians in Hong Kong we have cut them up into different pages for your viewing pleasure. Other pages include: Page 1, Page 2, Page 3, Page 4, Page 5, Page 6, Page 7 and Page 8.

The British and Irish Lions and the Barbarians Tour 2013 Fixtures

Saturday, 1 June: Lions v Barbarians - Hong Kong Stadium, Hong Kong (59-8).
Wednesday, 5 June: Lions v Western Force - Patersons Stadium, Perth (69-17).
Saturday, 8 June: Lions v Queensland Reds - Suncorp Stadium, Brisbane (22-12).
Tuesday, 11 June: Lions v Combined Queensland-NSW Country - Hunter Stadium, Newcastle (64-0).
Saturday, 15 June: Lions v New South Wales Waratahs - Allianz Stadium, Sydney (47-17).
Tuesday, 18 June: Lions v ACT Brumbies - Canberra Stadium, Canberra.
Saturday, 22 June: First Test: Lions v Australia - Suncorp Stadium, Brisbane.
Tuesday, 25 June: Lions v Melbourne Rebels - AAMI Park, Melbourne.
Saturday, 29 June: Second Test: Lions v Australia - Etihad Stadium, Melbourne.
Saturday, 6 July: Third Test: Lions v Australia - ANZ Stadium, Sydney.