The first match on Australian soil of the Qatar Airways British & Irish Lions Tour to Australia 2025 will take place against the Western Force on Saturday as the Lions look to hit the ground running.

After a narrow defeat to Argentina in the 1888 Cup clash at Aviva Stadium, the Lions now find themselves in Perth with a new captain and 13 new faces in the starting XV.

Dan Sheehan, the Leinster hooker, will lead the side in his Lions debut, as one of nine Leinster players in the matchday 23 at Optus Stadium.

Tadhg Beirne, who moves from the second row to blindside flanker, and Sione Tuipulotu, shifting in one to inside centre, are the only two starters who were also in the run-on team against Los Pumas.

The half-back pairing of Tomos Williams and Finn Russell is guaranteed to excite, while James Lowe, Garry Ringrose, Joe McCarthy and Josh van der Flier are all set for Lions debuts after being named in the starting XV.

There are four more new faces on the bench, props Andrew Porter and Will Stuart, second row Ollie Chessum and fit-again Huw Jones.

For the Force, Kurtley Beale was a late withdrawal with a hamstring strain, meaning that Ben Donaldson is back with the side, one of six members of Joe Schmidt’s Wallaby squad starting the game.

While they missed out on the play-offs in Super Rugby Pacific, the Force’s outstanding defensive lineout will make them a thorough test for the Lions, who struggled in that area against Argentina.

It has been 12 years since the Lions beat the Force 69-17, in what was also their first game in Australia.

Andy Farrell’s men will be looking for a similarly impressive performance this time around.

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

British & Irish Lions Head Coach, Andy Farrell said: “We know the quality and experience the Force have and the opportunity to play against the Lions always brings out special performances from the Super Rugby sides, so we expect them to be at their best.

“We have had a good week of training and all of the travel and time zone changes have been managed really well, so we are good to go.”

Western Force Head Coach Simon Cron said: “It's a once-in-a-lifetime for a lot of these guys.

“We sat as a group and had a bit of a yarn about how old were you 12 years ago, how old will you be 12 years from now.

“That's the importance of this game and the special type of game that it is. They are under no illusion around that.”

Key Battle – Darcy Swain v Joe McCarthy

At 27, Darcy Swain is no longer the emerging young buck but there are interesting parallels with Joe McCarthy ahead of their meeting in Perth this Saturday.

It is four years since Swain was handed his Wallabies debut, an imposing figure asked to use his physicality to challenge a powerful French outfit Down Under.

McCarthy also made his debut against Les Bleus, earning Player of the Match honours for his performance in a record win in Marseille.

Swain’s initial success has been followed by a period out of the international set-up, during which time he has cut down on the number of cards which had dogged him early in his career.

McCarthy has a similar profile as one of the heavyweight locks available to Ireland and the Lions. This weekend, alongside Scotland’s Scott Cummings, he will look to lay down a marker and show that his power and carrying in close quarters can be invaluable for the Lions – particularly with a certain Will Skelton potentially lying in wait in the Test series.

Stat Attack

• Dan Sheehan becomes only the 26th player to skipper the team on his Lions debut and the first since Ken Owens against the Blues in 2017. Ciaran Fitzgerald was the last Irishman to captain on Lions debut: v Wanganui in 1983.

• Eight starters from Ireland, equals the Irish record achieved on six previous occasions, the last of which was coincidentally also against Western Force in 2013.

• Six Leinstermen in the starting XV equals London Welsh’s record for the most players from one club in a Lions team, set twice on the 1971 tour, against Hawkes’ Bay and Auckland.

• Only ten “midweek” teams have ever beaten the Lions in Australia: Queensland in 1899 & 1971, Metropolis in 1899, Western Districts in 1908, NSW in 1908, 1930, 1950 & 1959, Australia A in 2001 and ACT Brumbies in 2013.

• The Western Force had the best lineout success rate (88.6%) in Super Rugby this season. Darcy Swain and Jeremy Williams stole eight lineouts apiece (joint-most); Will Harris stole seven.

• The Force scored nine maul tries in Super Rugby this season (2nd overall). When in the opposition 22, they opted to catch and drive with nearly 70% of their lineouts

Teams

Western Force: 15. Ben Donaldson, 14. Mac Grealy, 13. Matt Proctor, 12. Hamish Stewart, 11. Dylan Pietsch, 10. Alex Harford, 9. Nic White (c), 1. Tom Robertson, 2. Brandon Paenga-Amosa, 3. Ollie Hoskins, 4. Sam Carter, 5. Darcy Swain, 6. Will Harris, 7. Nick Champion de Crespigny, 8. Vaiolini Ekuasi

Replacements: 16. Nic Dolly, 17. Marley Pearce, 18. Tiaan Tauakipulu, 19. Lopeti Faifua, 20. Reed Prinsep, 21. Henry Robertson, 22. Max Burey, 23. Bayley Kuenzle

British & Irish Lions: 15. Elliot Daly, 14. Mack Hansen, 13. Garry Ringrose, 12. Sione Tuipulotu, 11. James Lowe, 10. Finn Russell, 9. Tomos Williams, 1. Pierre Schoeman, 2. Dan Sheehan, 3. Tadhg Furlong, 4. Scott Cummings, 5. Joe McCarthy, 6. Tadhg Beirne, 7. Josh van der Flier, 8. Henry Pollock

Replacements: 16. Ronan Kelleher, 17. Andrew Porter, 18. Will Stuart, 19. Ollie Chessum, 20. Jack Conan, 21. Alex Mitchell, 22. Huw Jones, 23. Marcus Smith