Andy Farrell has named his first British & Irish team to face Argentina in Dublin. See who is in the staring line-up here
Marcus Smith, Tom Curry and Sione Tuipulotu are among those selected to start in Andy Farrell’s first British & Irish Lions team against Argentina on Friday night.
Smith starts at full-back with Blair Kinghorn still on duty with club side Toulouse and Hugo Keenan still absent after missing last weekend’s URC final for Leinster.
Tour skipper Maro Itoje leads the team as expected alongside Tadhg Beirne in the second row. Tom Curry, Jac Morgan and Ben Earl form the back-row while 20-year-old Henry Pollock makes the bench.
Glasgow and Scotland centre Tuipulotu takes the 13 jersey with Bundee Aki at inside centre. The combination – with the pair thought to be battling it out for the Test 12 jersey – comes as fellow centre Huw Jones is struggling with a small injury. Duhan van der Merwe starts on the wing having only played 11 minutes of rugby since the end of the Six Nations.
Leinster hooker Ronan Kelleher is on the bench and is the only squad member to have played in either of last weekend’s URC or Premiership final to feature in the match day 23.
Three-time tourist Tadhg Furlong makes the bench despite worries that the Ireland tight-head was still struggling with a calf injury.
Related: The British & Irish Lions squad in full
On the selection, Farrell said: “Maro has led the group well during our time in Portugal and then Dublin this week. This is also our first opportunity to show what the 2025 Lions are about and what we want to stand for as a team.
“We know that Argentina will challenge us up front and out wide – so Friday night will be a tough contest, but also a great occasion for all the fans.”
Read more: All you need to know about the 2025 British & Irish Lions
The Lions kick off the 2025 tour to Australia with a game against Argentina at the Aviva Stadium in Dublin on Friday 20 June. It will be the first time the Lions have ever played in Ireland and mirrors the 2005 fixture between the same teams in Cardiff.
After the game, the Lions will depart for Australia with their next game being against Western Force in Perth on Saturday 28 June.
British & Irish Lions team v Argentina
Andy Farrell's first Lions squad is in… and it's dominated by England players! pic.twitter.com/9uOs6pvtj3
— Rugby World (@Rugbyworldmag) June 18, 2025
- Ellis Genge (Bristol Bears & England)
- Luke Cowan-Dickie (Sale Sharks & England)
- Finlay Bealham (Connacht & Ireland)
- Maro Itoje (c) (Saracens & England)
- Tadhg Beirne (Munster & Ireland)
- Tom Curry (Sale Sharks & England)
- Jac Morgan (Ospreys & Wales)
- Ben Earl (Saracens & England)
- Alex Mitchell (Northampton Saints & England)
- Fin Smith (Northampton Saints & England)
- Duhan van der Merwe (Edinburgh & Scotland)
- Bundee Aki (Connacht & Ireland)
- Sione Tuipulotu (Glasgow Warriors & Scotland)
- Tommy Freeman (Northampton Saints & England)
- Marcus Smith (Harlequins & England)
Replacements: 16. Ronan Kelleher (Leinster & Ireland), 17. Pierre Schoeman (Edinburgh & Scotland), 18. Tadhg Furlong (Leinster & Ireland), 19. Scott Cummings (Glasgow Warriors & Scotland), 20. Henry Pollock (Northampton Saints & England), 21. Tomos Williams (Gloucester & Wales), 22. Elliot Daly (Saracens & England), 23. Mack Hansen (Connacht & Ireland)
British & Irish Lions v Argentina key information
- British & Irish Lions v Argentina, Friday 20 June
Aviva Stadium, Dublin
Kick-off: 8pm BST / 9pm SAST / 5am AEST (Saturday) / 7am NZST (Saturday) / 3pm ET / 12pm PT
UK broadcaster: Sky Sports/Now
Australia broadcaster: Stan Sport
How to watch the British & Irish Lions v Argentina
In the UK and Ireland, all Lions matches will be exclusively broadcast on Sky Sports and Now TV. Visit the Sky website for more information.
For information on how to watch the full tour, including the game against Argentina, visit our How to Watch the Lions hub page here.
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