Lions Name Team to Take On Queensland Reds in Brisbane

The British & Irish Lions have named the team to play the Queensland Reds at Suncorp Stadium in Brisbane on Saturday.

Tour captain Sam Warburton will lead the team and becomes the 800th British & Irish Lion in the proud history of the side celebrating its 125th anniversary year.

Warburton will make his tour debut against the Reds along with prop Gethin Jenkins, while lock Geoff Parling, prop Matt Stevens, hooker Tom Youngs and his brother and scrum-half Ben Youngs will all make their run-on debuts for the Lions.

“We have played two matches so far and done very well but the stakes get higher on Saturday against the Reds, who are a leading Super Rugby side. It is the type of game we require at this point in the tour and it will be a measure of how we are progressing on the field,” said Tour Manager, Andy Irvine. “Tour captain Sam Warburton is the last of the 2013 tourists that has yet to pull on the famous red jersey. He is now fit and raring to play and it is great that he marks the occasion by becoming the 800th British & Irish Lion.”

Head Coach Warren Gatland added, “Two wins and two victories is great but those two matches are building blocks as we head towards the Test series. We always said we would give every player a start in the first three matches and this team reflects that. It also provides us with the opportunity to continue to look at different combinations. For the Reds match this includes a new centre pairing and a different front five. At the same time we have several players playing their second matches on tour and some proven combinations starting the match. Ben Youngs and Owen Farrell are the incumbent England halfbacks and we have an all-Welsh backrow.”

British & Irish Lions v Queensland Reds, 8 June 2013, 19:30 at Suncorp Stadium, Brisbane

15. Stuart Hogg (Glasgow Warriors/Scotland) 14. Alex Cuthbert (Cardiff Blues/Wales) 13. Manusamoa Tuilagi (Leicester Tigers/England) 12. Jonathan Davies (Scarlets/Wales) 11. Tommy Bowe (Ulster/Ireland) 10. Owen Farrell (Saracens/England) 9. Ben Youngs (Leicester Tigers/England) 1. Gethin Jenkins (Toulon/Wales) 2. Tom Youngs (Leicester Tigers/England) 3. Matt Stevens (Saracens/England) 4. Richie Gray (Scotland) 5. Geoff Parling (Leicester Tigers/England) 6. Dan Lydiate (Dragons/Wales) 7. Sam Warburton (Cardiff Blues/Wales) 8. Tangaki Taulupe Faletau (Dragons/Wales) Replacements 16. Richard Hibbard (Ospreys/Wales) 17. Makovina Vunipola (Saracens/England) 18. Adam Jones (Ospreys/Wales) 19. Paul O’Connell (Munster/Ireland) 20. Justin Tipuric (Ospreys/Wales) 21. Conor Murray (Munster/Ireland) 22. Jonathan Sexton (Leinster/Ireland) 23. George North (Scarlets/Wales)

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.
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.