British and Irish Lions 2017: Peter O'Mahony captains side against Maori All Blacks with Sam Warburton on bench
Warren Gatland makes 15 changes for the clash in Rotorua
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Your support makes all the difference.Peter O’Mahony will captain the British and Irish Lions for the first time when they take on the Maori All Blacks on Saturday, with Sam Warburton named among the replacements alongside Owen Farrell as he continues to close in on a Test start against the All Blacks.
Head coach Gatland makes 15 changes to his starting line-up for the fourth match in succession as he continues to rotate his squad in order to keep them fresh for the three-Test series with the All Blacks and ensure that injuries are kept to a minimum.
Munster skipper O’Mahony leads the side in the absence of Warburton and Wales skipper Alun Wyn Jones, while Sexton is named at fly-half alongside Irish teammate Conor Murray. Ben Te’o is named again at inside centre and looks to be the favourite for the 12 shirt against the All Blacks, while he partners the returning Jonathan Davies after he passed his return-to-play protocols following his head injury last weekend. George North and Anthony Watson are named on the wing, with Leigh Halfpenny at full-back in the absence of the departed Stuart Hogg who has been ruled out of the rest of the tour with a facial injury.
The front-row sees Mako Vunipola, Jamie George and Tadhg Furlong join up once again, with Maro Ijoe and George Kruis in the second-row as Jones is given a rest. O’Mahony joins Sean O’Brien and Taulupe Faletau in the back-row.
“At this stage of the Tour it is important to build on the foundations that have been laid in the last few weeks.
“We were obviously disappointed with the loss against the Highlanders and realise that we need to improve in several areas, including our discipline, but we feel that overall we are building well towards the Test matches.
“Every game is a big challenge, which is what we wanted, and this is an experienced Lions team with eight of the starting 15 involved in the last Test in Australia in 2013.”
Gatland added: “Peter is a proven captain with Munster who never takes a backward step and we believe that those leadership qualities will serve us well on Saturday against a quality and determined Maori All Blacks team.”
British and Irish Lions squad vs Maori All Blacks:
Leigh Halfpenny; George North, Jonathan Davies, Ben Te’o, Anthony Watson; Johnny Sexton, Conor Murray; Mako Vunipola, Jamie George, Tadhg Furlong; Maro Itoje, George Kruis; Peter O’Mahony, Sean O’Brien, Taulupe Faletau.
Replacements: Ken Owens, Jack McGrath, Kyle Sinckler, Iain Henderson, Sam Warburton, Greig Laidlaw, Owen Farrell, Elliot Daly.
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