The British & Irish Lions have touched down in Australia with head coach Andy Farrell revealing there remain lingering injury concerns over Jamison Gibson-Park and Hugo Keenan.
Farrell’s squad arrived into Perth after a 20-hour journey from Dublin via Doha ahead of Saturday’s opening fixture on Australian soil against the Western Force.
There’s doubt over whether Ireland duo Gibson-Park and Keenan will be able to take part at Optus Stadium because of respective glute and calf problems, but Scotland centre Huw Jones has recovered from an Achilles issue and is available.
Bundee Aki looks on during the British & Irish Lions training session at The Campus, Quinta do Lago on June 12, 2025 in Faro, Portugal. (Photo by David Rogers/Getty Images)
“We’ll see how they pull up in midweek,” Farrell said of Gibson-Park and Keenan.
“Huw Jones is good, he’s been training. He trained fully with us last week so he’s up and running.”
Farrell confirmed the team against Western Force will mostly be made up of players from Leinster, Bath and Leicester, who joined up with the Lions after last Saturday’s United Rugby Championship and Premiership finals.
There were no fresh injuries arising from Friday’s 28-24 defeat by Argentina at the Aviva Stadium, with Farrell keen not to dwell on the disappointing tour send-off.
“We’re here to build for what’s going to be a fantastic Test series. We want to play some good rugby along the way,” he said.
“We’ll find out more about each other as we keep on going. Of course, we’ll analyse what went on against Argentina and why, but that’s all part of the journey – to understand where we need to go next.
“It’s great to be here, this is what it’s all about. We’re here for a good time. Hopefully we can start this part of the tour off really well on Saturday.”
Bundee Aki, meanwhile, said it was “frustrating” that he did not link up better with midfield partner Sione Tuipulotu in the loss to the Pumas.
The so-called ‘southern hemisphere’ centre partnership got off to a stuttering start in the defeat.
“We all know how Sione is as a player, he’s class,” Aki said.
“The frustrating thing for me was I wasn’t able to connect well with him. He’s an unbelievable player and there’s no excuse, we’ve got to get better as a partnership going forward.
“He speaks out loud, which is good because that’s what we need, him being himself and I just feed off him and he feeds off me. So it’s brilliant.
“We’ve just got to be better at it and keep learning together, the more we grow as a partnership and then as a group, it’s going to be better and beneficial for the group.”
(Photo By Seb Daly/Sportsfile via Getty Images)
English star Tom Curry warned his teammates they cannot afford to waste a moment in their search for respect as they target an immediate response to the Pumas’ loss.
“The thing with this sport and this tour is that it comes and goes so quickly. You’ve got to make the most of it,” the England flanker said.
“Every meeting and every session. Before you know it we’ll be playing in Australia so we can’t let moments pass us by.
“We speak a lot about respect with our own teammates. We’ve only got six weeks together. Respect is so hard to earn but so easy to lose.
“It’s really important that every session and meeting we turn up and push in the right direction.
“We have got to pull tighter, it’s the only way. I feel like this group has taken so many steps off the field. I haven’t got a bad word to say about anyone.”
