Debutant Dan Sheehan will lead Lions in first tour fixture against Western Force

Irish hooker joins eight other first-timers in matchday 23
Jamison Gibson-Park and James Ryan left out with injuries

Eight Ireland players have been selected in the British & Irish Lions starting XV to face Western Force in the first fixture of the squad’s Australia tour on Saturday. The Leinster hooker Dan Sheehan will lead out the team on his Lions debut with eight more first-time Lions featuring in the matchday 23 and 20-year-old Henry Pollock handed a start at number eight.

Sheehan will be among those making his Lions debut alongside his club-mates Garry Ringrose, James Lowe, Joe McCarthy and Josh van der Flier. The bench contains another four newcomers in the shape of England’s Ollie Chessum and Will Stuart, Scotland’s Huw Jones and Ireland’s Andrew Porter.