Lions Name Team to Play Melbourne Rebels; Tom Court Called Up

The British & Irish Lions have named the team to play the RaboDirect Melbourne Rebels at AAMI Park in Melbourne on Tuesday.

Dan Lydiate will captain the team instead of Geoff Parling, who has been withdrawn from the starting line-up following Paul O’Connell’s tour ending injury - confirmed by a specialist in Brisbane on Monday morning as an undisplaced fracture of his lower right arm.

Ospreys second row Ian Evans will start against the Rebels in place of Parling, while Tom Croft comes on to the bench for Evans.

Manusamoa Tuilagi makes his return, having not played since sustaining a shoulder injury in the Queensland Reds game. He is joined in the centre by England team-mate Brad Barritt.

Sean O’Brien returns to the No 7 jersey after two runs on the blindside, while fullback Rob Kearney plays his third match of the tour and Owen Farrell starts at fly-half.

Tour Manager, Andy Irvine, said, “We are obviously delighted to start the Test series against the Wallabies with a win but this game is very important to us in terms of keeping the momentum going. Those playing on Tuesday have a major part in delivering this and at the same time keeping the pressure on for Test match selection.” 

Tom Court called up to British & Irish Lions

Ireland prop Tom Court has been called up to the British & Irish Lions.

Court, who was in his home city of Brisbane after Ireland’s tour of North America, comes in following a calf injury to Alex Corbisiero that continues to be treated and assessed.

The Ulster forward will join up with the squad today and go straight on to the replacements’ bench for Tuesday’s game against the RaboDirect Melbourne Rebels in place of Makovina Vunipola, who has been withdrawn.

British & Irish Lions versus RaboDirect Melbourne Rebels

15. Rob Kearney (Leinster/Ireland) 14. Sean Maitland (Glasgow Warriors/Scotland) 13. Manusamoa Tuilagi (Leicester Tigers/England) 12. Brad Barritt (Saracens/England) 11. Simon Zebo (Munster/Ireland) 10. Owen Farrell (Saracens/England) 9. Conor Murray (Munster/Ireland) 1. Ryan Grant (Glasgow Warriors/Scotland) 2. Richard Hibbard (Ospreys/Wales) 3. Dan Cole (Leicester Tigers/England) 4. Richie Gray (Scotland)) 5. Ian Evans (Ospreys/Wales) 6. Dan Lydiate (Dragons/Wales, capt) 7. Sean O’Brien (Leinster/Ireland) 8. Tangaki Taulupe Faletau (Dragons/Wales).

Replacements

16. Rory Best (Ulster/Ireland) 17. Tom Court (Ulster/Ireland) 18. Matt Stevens (Saracens/England) 19. Tom Croft (Leicester Tigers/England) 20. Justin Tipuric (Ospreys/Wales) 21. Ben Youngs (Leicester Tigers/England) 22. Billy Twelvetrees (Gloucester Rugby/England) 23. Stuart Hogg (Glasgow Warriors/Scotland).

The Lions lead the Test 1-0, after beating the Wallabies 23-21 in a thrilling game in Brisbane on Saturday.

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 (Lions won: 59-8).
Wednesday, 5 June: Lions v Western Force - Patersons Stadium, Perth (Lions won: 69-17).
Saturday, 8 June: Lions v Queensland Reds - Suncorp Stadium, Brisbane (Lions won: 22-12).
Tuesday, 11 June: Lions v Combined Queensland-NSW Country - Hunter Stadium, Newcastle (Lions won: 64-0).
Saturday, 15 June: Lions v New South Wales Waratahs - Allianz Stadium, Sydney (Lions won: 47-17).
Tuesday, 18 June: Lions v ACT Brumbies - Canberra Stadium, Canberra (Lions lost: 12-14).
Saturday, 22 June: First Test: Lions v Australia - Suncorp Stadium, Brisbane (LIONS WON: 23-21).
Tuesday, 25 June: Lions v Melbourne Rebels - AAMI Park, Melbourne (Lions won: 35-0).
Saturday, 29 June: Second Test: Lions v Australia - Etihad Stadium, Melbourne.
Saturday, 6 July: Third Test: Lions v Australia - ANZ Stadium, Sydney.