O’Connell Captains Lions

Paul O’Connell has been named to captain the Lions side that face the Barbarians this Saturday in Hong Kong.

Conor Murray has been named in the replacements for his first inclusion in a Lions squad and he is one of 17 players named on their first British and Irish Lions tour. Casey Laulala will also feature in the game as he starts for the Barbarians.

Head Coach Warren Gatland said: “I am really excited by the first selection of the tour. Naturally it comprises largely those players not involved in last weekend’s Aviva Premiership and RaboDirect PRO12 finals and we have a lot of players making their debuts for the Lions. At the same time we have a hard core of experience with the six former Lions sharing 430 caps between them and 19 Lions Tests.

“There are also some proven combinations such as the Welsh centre pairing and backrow. Some of the boys who played last weekend are on the bench as cover and generally everyone in the camp is raring to go.”

The Lions face the Barbarians on Saturday in Hong Kong, ko 12.30pm (Irish time)

British & Irish Lions:
15. Stuart Hogg (Glasgow Warriors/Scotland)
14. Alex Cuthbert (Cardiff Blues/Wales)
13. Jonathan Davies (Scarlets/Wales)
12. Jamie Roberts (Cardiff Blues/Wales)
11. Sean Maitland (Glasgow Warriors/Scotland)
10. Owen Farrell (Saracens/England)
9. Mike Phillips (Bayonne/Wales)
1. Mako Vunipola (Saracens/England)
2. Richard Hibbard (Ospreys/Wales)
3. Adam Jones (Ospreys/Wales)
4. Richie Gray (Scotland)
5. Paul O’Connell (Munster/Ireland) Captain
6. Dan Lydiate (Dragons/Wales)
7. Justin Tipuric (Ospreys/Wales)
8. Toby Faletau (Dragons/Wales)

Replacements
16. Tom Youngs (Leicester Tigers/England)
17. Cian Healy (Leinster/Ireland)
18. Matt Stevens (Saracens/England)
19. Alun Wyn Jones (Ospreys/Wales)
20. Jamie Heaslip (Leinster/Ireland)
21. Conor Murray (Munster/Ireland)
22. Johnny Sexton (Leinster/Ireland)
23. George North (Scarlets/Wales)