Head coach Andy Farrell has revealed that Garry Ringrose has withdrawn from the Great Britain and Ireland squad due to face Australia on Saturday at the last minute with concussion.
Farrell planned to field the all-Irish centre pairing of Bundee Aki and Ringrose in place of Scots Sione Tuipulotu and Huw Jones to ensure the Lions could close out the series at the Melbourne Cricket Ground.
However, the concussion symptoms that prevented Ringrose from helping his team to a 27-19 victory in the first Test match returned during the final training session on Thursday.
Farrell was leaving the training pitch to formally announce his squad when Ringrose himself reported the problem, prompting late changes to the Lions' midfield. The symptoms resurfaced even though the Ireland star played 64 minutes against the First Nation and Pacific XVs on Tuesday.
That means Jones will continue to play at outside centre, with Aki joining him in a repeat of the combination that began the 52-12 thrashing of the Queensland Reds on July 2. Aki was included in the squad because Tuipulotu is sidelined with a hamstring strain.
“Harry was actually chosen but unfortunately he had to pull out after training,” Farrell said.
“It's head related again. It happened literally when I was leaving the pitch. He came up to me and once it was mentioned, that was it.
“There were no incidents. He felt fine before Tuesday. He was fit and ready to play.
“There were no incidents during the game on Tuesday, nothing happened yesterday (Wednesday) and nothing this morning, but in these situations players are good at being honest about their feelings, so the decision to make changes immediately was obvious.
“It's very easy to keep things to yourself and lie and not be honest and open. It was very noble of him and it was the right thing to do, 100%. And for the team, not just for Harry.
“It's a shame about Harry, of course, but we've always said that the main thing is the team, and nothing but the team.”
Owen Farrell has been named on the bench at fly-half and centre-back in his first Test appearance since helping England finish third at the 2023 World Cup.
Farrell is joined by Blair Kinghorn, who has displaced Marcus Smith from the same position at fullback, confirming his fitness against the First Nations and Pacific XV on Tuesday. Kinghorn missed the first Test match with a knee injury.
Aki's inclusion in the starting line-up is one of three changes to the team that won in Brisbane.
Joe McCarthy is out with a leg injury so Ollie Chessum drops into the second row and Andrew Porter replaces Ellis Genge at centre-back.
Round 23 will feature Wales for the first time in the series after Jack Morgan was chosen over Ben Earl to strengthen the back line.
Sourse: breakingnews.ie
