MELBOURNE: British & Irish Lions coach Andy Farrell has made three changes to the starting team that beat Australia in the first test and brought his son Owen in on the bench as the tourists look to sew up the series in Melbourne on Saturday.
Irish lock Joe McCarthy injured his foot in the 27-19 victory in Brisbane last week and is replaced by England’s Ollie Chessum in the second row, while Andrew Porter comes in for Ellis Genge at loosehead prop.
Farrell has opted for Bundee Aki in the centres with Huw Jones after Australia-born Sione Tuipulotu was ruled out with a tight hamstring, depriving him of the chance of playing in his hometown.
Playmaker Owen Farrell, who was called up as an injury replacement early in the tour, gets a chance to play his seventh Lions test from the bench.
Flanker Jac Morgan is another change to the bench, ensuring a Welsh presence in the side after the principality was without representation in a test team for the first time since the late 19th century in Brisbane.
Scottish fullback Blair Kinghorn was also named among the replacements for the Melbourne Cricket Ground clash after missing the first test because of a knee injury.
Genge drops to the bench, where James Ryan comes in for Chessum to make a total of 11 Ireland players in the 23-man squad.
“We have put ourselves in a good position after the First test, but we know there will be a massive reaction from this Wallaby team,” said Farrell, who has taken a sabbatical from his job as Ireland coach to lead the Lions.
“Everyone saw the quality they have in Brisbane and we know we will have to be a lot better than we were last week.”
The third and final test takes place at Sydney’s Stadium Australia on Aug. 2.
Team: 15–Hugo Keenan, 14–Tommy Freeman, 13–Huw Jones, 12–Bundee Aki, 11–James Lowe, 10–Finn Russell, 9–Jamison Gibson-Park, 8–Jack Conan, 7–Tom Curry, 6–Tadhg Beirne, 5–Ollie Chessum, 4–Maro Itoje, 3–Tadhg Furlong, 2–Dan Sheehan, 1–Andrew Porter
Replacements: 16–Ronan Kelleher, 17–Ellis Genge, 18–Will Stuart, 19–James Ryan, 20–Jac Morgan, 21–Alex Mitchell, 22–Owen Farrell, 23–Blair Kinghorn
