British & Irish Lions Name Team to Play Combined Country in Newcastle

The British & Irish Lions have named the team to play the Combined Country at Hunter Stadium in Newcastle (Australia) on Tuesday.

The fourth match of the tour will see 2009 centre pairing Brian O’Driscoll and Jamie Roberts re-united. They played four times during the tour to South Africa including the 1st and 2nd Tests.

O’Driscoll will captain the Lions for the second time on tour, while replacement props Alex Corbisiero and Ryan Grant will make their first Lions appearances after joining the squad on Saturday.

“We are delighted to have kept our unbeaten record intact. We were pushed all the way by an extremely skillful and committed Reds team that played some brilliant intuitive rugby. However, I was incredibly proud of the way we responded and how we defended right to the bitter end. The win will be a tremendous boost to our confidence for the forthcoming Test series,” said British & Irish Lions Tour Manager, Andy Irvine. “There is no doubt that the Combined Country players match will regard the game as their cup final. But we are getting stronger each week, combinations are starting to take shape and we will be determined to head for Sydney with another sound win.”

Head Coach Warren Gatland said, “The Reds game was always going to be a big challenge and I was delighted at the victory and the way we were tested. It was a very physical match as we knew it would be. We now move on to Newcastle and another challenge ... This team to play Country includes three players - Richie Gray, Alex Cuthbert and Stuart Hogg - who are starting their second game in a row plus another George North who came off the bench early against the Reds. This is the nature of Lions tours as we adapt to injuries and playing twice a week.”

Zebo to Cover for Bowe

Ireland's Simon Zebo will join the British & Irish Lions as cover for Tommy Bowe.

Zebo will fly from Houston, Texas on Sunday evening and arrive in Sydney on Tuesday morning, meeting up with the squad in Newcastle ahead of the game against Combined Country.

Bowe underwent surgery on Sunday morning to stabilise a bone fracture in his hand and his condition will be assessed over the next few days.

British & Irish Lions v Combined Country, 11 June 2013

15. Sean Maitland (Glasgow Warriors/Scotland) 14. Alex Cuthbert (Cardiff Blues/Wales) 13. Brian O’Driscoll (Leinster/Ireland) Captain 12. Jamie Roberts (Cardiff Blues/Wales) 11. George North (Scarlets/Wales) 10. Stuart Hogg (Glasgow Warriors/Scotland) 9. Conor Murray (Munster/Ireland) 1. Alex Corbisiero (London Irish/England) 2. Richard Hibbard (Ospreys/Wales) 3. Dan Cole (Leicester Tigers/England) 4. Richie Gray (Scotland) 5. Ian Evans (Ospreys/Wales) 6. Sean O’Brien (Leinster/Ireland) 7. Justin Tipuric (Ospreys/Wales) 8. Jamie Heaslip (Leinster/Ireland)

Replacements

16. Rory Best (Ulster/Ireland) 17. Ryan Grant (Glasgow Warriors/Scotland) 18. Matt Stevens (Saracens/England) 19. Alun Wyn Jones (Ospreys/Wales) 20. Tangaki Taulupe Faletau (Dragons/Wales) 21. Mike Phillips (Bayonne/Wales) 22. Jonathan Davies (Scarlets/Wales) 23. Leigh Halfpenny (Cardiff Blues/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 (8-59).
Wednesday, 5 June: Lions v Western Force - Patersons Stadium, Perth (17-69).
Saturday, 8 June: Lions v Queensland Reds - Suncorp Stadium, Brisbane (12 - 22).
Tuesday, 11 June: Lions v Combined Queensland-NSW Country - Hunter Stadium, Newcastle.
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.