OPINION: Changes that Andy Farrell should make to secure his first win as British & Irish Lions head coach

Andy Farrell’s men arrived Down Under and were greeted with a raucous crowd wanting pictures and autographs at Perth international airport, as last Friday’s humbling 28-24 defeat against Argentina seemed a distant memory.

However, only one of the 38 tourists did not touch down in Western Australia on Sunday night, as Scotland’s Blair Kinghorn is now preparing for Toulouse’s Top 14 grand final against Bordeaux Begles on Saturday night. Even before the Argentina game, when the Lions met up for training camps in Quinta do Lago, Portugal and Dublin, Farrell still had selection headaches for that pivotal 15 jersey.

Hugo Keenan arrived with the rest of the squad on Sunday, but did so still not fully fit. He’s been out of action since the end of May due to a calf injury. This suggests that Harlequins’ Marcus Smith may get another opportunity at fullback, despite having an underwhelming performance against Argentina. Elliot Daly is also another option for Farrell when it comes to the 15 jersey.

Irishman, Jamison Gibson-Park, also landed in Perth and is still carrying a glute muscle injury, which saw his season with Leinster in the United Rugby Championship (URC) cut short a few days before the final. Farrell hasn’t called upon any replacements (at the time of writing) at this stage, as these two key positions for the touring squad are a growing concern.

The options at scrum-half are minute for the Lions with only Alex Mitchell and Tomos Williams fit and ready to go. When Welshmen and the Premiership player of the Season, Williams, entered the field of play at the Aviva last Friday, he certainly made an impact.

It felt like Williams was playing like he had a point to prove, albeit in a team that is new to one another. His offloading capabilities and high tempo of play have put him in the conversation for starting the first Test.

Against the Western Force, it will be a perfect time for Farrell to let Williams loose and see what he is capable of from the first whistle. Joining him in the half-back’s should be Bath’s Finn Russell, who helped guide his side to the Gallagher Premiership title not so long ago. Now that’s a mouthwatering pairing.

Cohesion in the backline is enormous for any team wishing for success, and it didn’t feel like that with both Bundee Aki and Sione Tuipulotu as the centres. Too many times, they were guilty of overrunning the ball and forcing passes when they were not needed.

This should allow maybe for Farrell to experiment with the likes of Gary Ringrose and Huw Jones. Both outside centres, so it will likely be an Aki and Jones for one (vs Western Force) and a Tuipulotu and Ringrose pair for another (vs Queensland Reds). On the wings, Tommy Freeman played spectacularly whereas Duhan van der Merwe got off to a slow start, and is now likely to be sidelined for Saturday evening’s match.

There is good news for Farrell, as recent pre-tour games like the one against Argentina come with their negatives. When the Lions met Japan back in 2021 at Murrayfield, Warren Gatland lost his tour captain, Alun Wyn Jones early in the encounter, which was a complete and utter nightmare. Thankfully, this time around against Los Pumas, everyone came out unscathed, with only Fin Smith and Henry Pollock having some facial bruises.

With that said, the starting XV against the Force will probably be primarily made up of the contingent of Bath, Leinster and Leicester players, all of whom missed the tour curtain raiser last Friday. Debuts could be handed out to Ollie Chessum in the second row, as the Tigers man will be joined in the second row by captain Maro Itoje, who surprisingly got replaced against Argentina.

Inform Will Stuart should start at tighthead, despite Tadhg Furlong being back fit and firing, on the other side at loosehead, Ellis Genge is almost guaranteed another outing after a stellar performance, especially when it came to scrum time. However, Andrew Porter will likely wear the one jersey, just for game time and exposure to the elements Down Under. This can then lead to healthy competition during training as Genge looks nailed on to start in the first Test.

At hooker, Ireland’s Dan Sheehan, who captained his national side in the 2025 Guinness Six Nations is expected to start.

He should fit right in the front row, after he played his part in Leinster’s triumph over the Bulls in the URC final. It must be said, something on the top of Farrell’s list of improvements is at lineout time, as the Lions were unable to use it as a catalyst to build off.

There was some unavailability in the back row, which allowed players like Jac Morgan, Ben Earl, Tom Curry, and Pollock all to have crucial minutes. With both Josh van der Flier and Jack Conan back in the mix for selection, it’ll be interesting to see how Farrell selects his six, seven and eight as they look to hit the ground running at Perth’s Optus Stadium.