The second match on Australian soil of the Qatar Airways British & Irish Lions Tour to Australia 2025 will take place on Wednesday with the Lions looking to continue building momentum against the Queensland Reds.
The Lions bounced back in style from their 1888 Cup defeat to Argentina against Western Force last Saturday as they recorded an impressive 54-7 victory at Perth’s Optus Stadium.
They have now travelled to Brisbane, where head coach Andy Farrell has again rung the changes in naming a side captained by Maro Itoje.
Scotland fly-half Finn Russell is the only player from the starting XV against the Force to ‘back up’ against the Reds at Suncorp Stadium with 14 changes being made from the weekend.
That includes Lions debuts for Ireland pair Hugo Keenan and Jamison Gibson-Park who will line up at full-back and scrum-half respectively after recovering from injury.
READ MORE: Keenan vows to savour Lions debut
There are also first starts in the front row for Andrew Porter, Ronan Kelleher and Will Stuart, and for Scotland’s Huw Jones who will partner the returning Bundee Aki in the midfield.
Two other players playing from the start for the first time in the Tour are England lock Ollie Chessum and Ireland No.8 Jack Conan after both played off the bench against the Force.
A third Lions debutant for the clash against the Reds is second row James Ryan, who has been named among the replacements.
READ MORE: The Making of James Ryan
For the Reds, Matt Faessler and Hunter Paisami have been released by from the Australia squad and will line up at hooker and inside centre respectively.
There are four other players capped by the Wallabies in their starting line-up in Lukhan Salakaia-Loto, Josh Canham, Seru Uru and Josh Flook, with two more – Josh Nasser and Angus Blyth – named on the bench.
It has been 12 years since the Lions faced the Reds, who finished fifth in Super Rugby Pacific this year, and they won 22-12 in what was a hard-fought contest.
Farrell, however, will be hoping his men will continue their free-scoring form from the weekend.
Where to watch
Sky Sports will be showing all the action live in the UK, Ireland and Gibraltar throughout this Tour.
Welsh language channel S4C will broadcast extensive same-day highlights of each game every evening.
For a full breakdown, click here.
What they said
The British & Irish Lions Head Coach Andy Farrell said: "This is proper touring. Games are coming thick and fast.
"Three games in eight days and it keeps on rolling after that, so this is the exciting part of the Tour for us. We've just been outlining to the lads this morning, actually, what the weeks are going to look like.
"Not much training out there on the field, but plenty of mental preparation. We see it as a great opportunity for ourselves to be fast-tracking our ambition, our potential as a team."
Queensland Reds Head Coach Les Kiss said: "If you look at history, it’s a unique and special group as Queensland players and coaches who get the chance against a Lions team.
“It’s a one-off match but we’ve had a line of sight with their games against Argentina and the Western Force.
"In this match, we have to be very good at the breakdown and aerially. They’ve shown their attacking side too.
“We have to meet those challenges but we’ll put our brand of rugby out there as well. We’ll keep backing ourselves.
Key battle: Hunter Paisami v Bundee Aki
One of two players in the current Australia squad named in the Reds’ line-up, inside centre Hunter Paisami will be out to impress and will present a formidable defensive barrier.
At 5ft 10in and 15st 6lb, the 27-year-old might not be the biggest but he has a reputation for being a fierce tackler, something that will come in handy against his opposite number.
Bundee Aki is making his second start of the Tour for the Lions and already has a try to his name in the 28-24 loss against Argentina at the Aviva Stadium.
He may be 35 but he has lost nothing of the destructive power that makes him one of the go-to guys in terms of busting through the gain line.
It’s an old, admittedly overused line, that of an unstoppable force meeting an immovable object, but that could be the case when these two centres of Samoan descent collide in Brisbane.
Oval Insights
The Lions have played 37 previous matches in the state of Queensland with their only two defeats being at the hands of today’s opponents, the Reds, at Exhibition Ground in 1899 and Ballymore in 1971.
Lions have played Queensland Reds on 14 previous occasions, winning 12 and losing two.
The tourists have played four previous games at Suncorp Stadium, two in 1966 against Queensland and the Wallabies, and two in 2013 against the Reds and the Wallabies and have won all four.
The Reds had the second-best tackle success rate (81.9%) in Super Rugby this year. They averaged 22 tackles missed (3rd) and four line breaks conceded (1st) per game.
The Reds scored ten maul tries (1st) in Super Rugby last season. They averaged 4.6 metres per maul (1st), and had a maul success rate of 92.3% (2nd).
Lachie Anderson was the top try scorer (eight) for the Queensland Reds last season. He made 11 line breaks (1st), beat 21 defenders (3rd), and won seven turnovers (3rd).
James Lowe made three line breaks (1st), five offloads (1st), and assisted two tries last weekend. Mack Hansen made the most carry metres (100) and also assisted two tries.
Elliot Daly scored a brace last weekend. He made 96 carry metres (2nd), made one line break and assisted four (1st).
Josh Van Der Flier made 23 tackles (1st) last weekend. He also beat three defenders, assisted two breaks and a try.
Teams
Queensland Reds: 15. Jock Campbell (c), 14. Lachie Anderson, 13. Josh Flook, 12. Hunter Paisami, 11. Tim Ryan, 10. Harry McLaughlin-Phillips, 9. Kalani Thomas, 1. Aidan Ross, 2. Matt Faessler, 3. Jeffery Toomaga-Allen, 4. Josh Canham, 5. Lukhan Salakaia-Loto, 6. Seru Uru, 7. John Bryant, 8. Joe Brial
Replacements: 16. Josh Nasser, 17. George Blake, 18. Sef Fa'agase, 19. Ryan Smith, 20. Angus Blyth, 21. Conor Vest, 22. Louis Werchon, 23. Isaac Henry
British & Irish Lions: 15. Hugo Keenan, 14. Tommy Freeman, 13. Huw Jones, 12. Bundee Aki, 11. Duhan van der Merwe, 10. Finn Russell, 9. Jamison Gibson-Park, 1. Andrew Porter, 2. Ronan Kelleher, 3. Will Stuart, 4. Maro Itoje (c), 5. Ollie Chessum, 6. Tom Curry, 7. Jac Morgan, 8. Jack Conan
Replacements: 16. Luke Cowan-Dickie, 17. Ellis Genge, 18. Finlay Bealham, 19. James Ryan, 20. Ben Earl, 21. Alex Mitchell, 22. Fin Smith, 23. Garry Ringrose
