Paul O'Connell has been named captain of the Lions for their tour opener against the Barbarians on saturday. O'Connell is the only Irish player named in the starting XV with four on the bench.
No player from last weekend's Rabo or Premiership finals has been named to start so its difficult to read too much into Warren Gatland's selections. The only surprise might be Richie Gray being picked ahead of Alun Wyn Jones to play alongside O'Connell in the second row.
The Lions:
15 Stuart Hogg, 14 Alex Cuthbert, 13 Jonathan Davies, 12 Jamie Roberts, 11 Sean Maitland, 10 Owen Farrell, 9 Mike Phillips, 8 Toby Faletau, 7 Justin Tipuric, 6 Dan Lydiate, 5 Paul O'Connell (c), 4 Richie Gray, 3 Adam Jones, 2 Richard Hibbard, 1 Mako Vunipola.
Replacements: 16 Tom Youngs, 17 Cian Healy, 18 Matt Stevens, 19 Alun Wyn Jones, 20 Jamie Heaslip, 21 Conor Murray, 22 Johnny Sexton, 23 George North
Picture credit: David Maher / SPORTSFILE
