Jamie George has been drafted into the British and Irish Lions squad as cover for the injured Luke Cowan-Dickie, while Irish centre Garry Ringrose is also out of the first Test on Saturday.
Hooker Cowan-Dickie appeared to be knocked out in Saturday’s 48-0 win against an AUNZ Invitational XV at Adelaide Oval and left the field in the medical cart with his head in a supportive brace.
He faces a spell on the sidelines and Saracens front-rower George, appointed co-captain for England’s ongoing summer tour to Argentina and the United States, will fly to Australia for his third Lions tour having featured in New Zealand in 2017 and South Africa in 2021.
A brief Lions statement read: “(George) will join up with head coach Andy Farrell’s squad in Brisbane next week.
“George, Lion number 819, was a tourist in 2017 and 2021. He also trained with the squad in Portugal and Dublin ahead of the Qatar Airways Lions Men’s Series Australia 2025.”
Ringrose is unavailable for next Saturday’s first Test against Australia after Farrell confirmed he was struggling with concussion.
(Photo By Ben McShane/Sportsfile via Getty Images)
Ringrose suffered a head injury in Wednesday’s victory over the ACT Brumbies and faces a minimum 12-day stand-down period, preventing him from taking part in the series opener in Brisbane.
“Garry had a delayed reaction. He had headaches for a day and it carried on for the next day so he went through concussion protocols and failed those,” Farrell said.
“Unfortunately for him and for us he’s 12 days so that puts him out of the first Test and back in for the midweek game before the second Test (against First Nations and Pasifika XV on July 22).
“You don’t mess around with these things and it is unfortunate for him and everyone else. He’s in good spirits anyway so we crack on.”
Cowan-Dickie took a heavy blow to the head in Saturday’s win after being hit by Lukhan Salakaia-Loto’s knee, shortly before half-time.
The England front-rower later waved to fans as he walked around the pitch but he is now likely to face a spell out that opened the door for 34-year-old George.
Owen Farrell produced an eye-catching 31 minutes in the first appearance of his fourth Lions tour but Andy Farrell limited his praise of his son to: “He did OK, as did many others.”
Owen Farrell slotted in at inside centre and worked well alongside fly-half Marcus Smith, providing direction and an extra creative spark through his passing and kicking that led to two tries.
Huw Jones is now favourite to start against the Wallabies at outside centre following Ringrose’s concussion and he was the Lions’ most dangerous player until he was replaced by Farrell.
He gelled well with Scotland midfield partner Sione Tuipulotu and Farrell said: “Huw and Sione were very good. We’ve got nice back-up there.”
Bundee Aki and Ringrose looked poised to start the first Test in the centres but the Lions could choose to stick with established national combinations, so Ringrose’s misfortune might see Tuipulotu and Jones selected as a pair.
“Who knows which way we would have gone because it is true what we said about leaving it open,” Farrell said.
“I know people think we had a fixed mind after Wednesday’s game against the Brumbies but that’s not the truth.
“We will sit down and assess that game and then we will have a tough task in picking what’s going to be a good Test side to take on Australia in the first game.”
