Simon Zebo to make debut for Lions against 'tahs

Thu, Jun 13, 2013, 2:00 AM
AAP
by AAP

The British & Irish Lions have announced the team to play the HSBC NSW Waratahs at Allianz Stadium in Sydney on Saturday.

The Lions enter their fifth match of the tour unbeaten following wins against the Barbarians in Hong Kong, Western Force, Queensland Reds and Combined Country. Tour captain Sam Warburton will lead the team.

Irish wing Simon Zebo, who joined the tour party on Tuesday, will make his Lions debut.

His Test colleague Rob Kearney will make his first appearance of the tour on the bench after recovering from a leg injury that made him unavailable for selection until this point of the tour.

British & Irish Lions Tour Manager Andy Irvine said: "The tour has now moved on to Sydney, where we face another tough examination in front of a parochial sell-out crowd. The squad has a lot of respect for the NSW Waratahs who have proven down the years to be tough opponents.

“The match represents the final Saturday match prior to the 1st Test in Brisbane. Naturally, the players know that Test places are still up for grabs and they will be eager to press for selection against the Wallabies.”

Head Coach Warren Gatland said: “It would be great to remain unbeaten and take that momentum into the 1st Test. However, more importantly we are looking to finalise key playing combinations and strengthen our patterns of play during the next two matches.

“This match, the fourth of our lead-up matches in Australia, will assist in this process. To beat the Waratahs we know we have to improve on our strong performance last Saturday against the Reds. This side is more than capable of doing that.”

British & Irish Lions versus HSNC NSW Waratahs, June 12, Sydney

15. Leigh Halfpenny (Cardiff Blues/Wales)

14. Sean Maitland (Glasgow Warriors/Scotland)

13. Jonathan Davies (Scarlets/Wales)

12. Jamie Roberts (Cardiff Blues/Wales)

11. Simon Zebo (Munster/Ireland)

10. Jonathan Sexton (Leinster/Ireland)

9. Mike Phillips (Bayonne/Wales)

1. Mako Vunipola (Saracens/England)

2. Tom Youngs (Leicester Tigers/England)

3. Adam Jones (Ospreys/Wales)

4. Alun Wyn Jones (Ospreys/Wales)

5. Paul O’Connell (Munster/Ireland)

6. Tom Croft (Leicester Tigers/England)

7. Sam Warburton (Cardiff Blues/Wales, capt)

8. Jamie Heaslip (Leinster/Ireland)

Replacements

16. Richard Hibbard (Ospreys/Wales)

17. Alex Corbisiero (London Irish/England)

18. Dan Cole (Leicester Tigers/England)

19. Geoff Parling (Leicester Tigers/England)

20. Dan Lydiate (Dragons/Wales)

21. Ben Youngs (Leicester Tigers/England)

22. Owen Farrell (Saracens/England)

23. Rob Kearney (Leinster/Ireland)

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