Irishman Garry Ringrose has been praised for self-reporting signs of concussion which ruled him out of his first Test match for the Lions.
Ringrose left the Lions' line-up, which made three changes from the 27-19 opening win over Australia, with Andrew Porter, Ollie Chessum and Bundee Aki all starting.
On the bench, Owen Farrell is set to make his first international appearance since helping England finish third at the 2023 World Cup, and he will be joined by Jack Morgan, the only Welshman in the squad.
The starting line-up included nine players from Ireland (of which seven were from Leinster), four from England and two from Scotland.
The number of players in the Ireland and Leinster squads would have increased by one had Ringrose not informed manager Andy Farrell shortly before the official squad announcement that he had relapsed with concussion symptoms.
An injury that surfaced after the July 9 win over the ACT Brumbies forced him to miss the first Test match, but after a successful return against the First Nations and Pasifika XV on Tuesday he was set to take Huw Jones' place at outside centre.
Instead, he will watch the match from the stands while Jones continues to play in midfield, ensuring the Lions can end the series with a win at the Melbourne Cricket Ground.
“Harry was indeed selected but unfortunately he had to withdraw from the tournament after training,” said Andy Farrell.
“It's head related again. It happened right when I was leaving the field. He came up to me and as soon as it was mentioned, that was it.
“Players are very good at telling the truth about how they feel, so it was an easy decision to make changes right away.
“It's easy to keep things to yourself, to lie and not be honest and open. It was very noble of him and the right decision, 100%. And for the team, not just for Harry.”
Lions captain Maro Itoje supported the opinion of his head coach.
“I'm sorry he found himself in this situation, but it also shows how selfless this man is.
Sourse: breakingnews.ie
