British & Irish Lions Train At Melbourne’s Xavier College
As they completed their preparations for Tuesday’s encounter with the First Nations & Pasifika XV, the British & Irish Lions trained at Xavier College in Melbourne, and the kickers also had a session at Marvel Stadium.
Six Ireland players will be on duty for the Lions’ final midweek match, as debutant centre Jamie Osborne, Finlay Bealham, James Ryan, and Josh van der Flier all start, while the bench includes another new Lion in Thomas Clarkson, and the returning Garry Ringrose.
Assistant coach Simon Easterby confirmed that Joe McCarthy (plantar fasciitis) and Mack Hansen (foot) sat out training today, but the Lions are hopeful that both players will be in the selection mix for Saturday’s second Test against Australia.
“Joe is just recovering from that foot issue he had on the weekend, and that’s just a wait-and-see type of injury,” said Easterby, speaking following the team announcement for the game against the First Nations & Pasifika XV.
“He’s been pretty good, and he knew what it was initially, and he tried to play through it, and it’s one of those where it was better off that he came off.
“If he’s felt something like that before, he might have realised what it was and then it becomes something that he can probably manage, and he knew that he wasn’t fully functional, even if he wasn’t too bad.
“He didn’t train today, but there’s no reason why later in the week…like anything, with those types of injuries, there’s a little bit of grey around how long they take, and it’s really the individual recovery that will allow us to decide whether it’s right to pick him or not.
“Mack wasn’t involved today, so he’s definitely on the right road to recovery, but tomorrow’s game was probably slightly too soon for him.
“He’s certainly on track (for the second Test). It’s probably one of those where we just have to get through the next 24-48 hours and then make a decision based on how he’s recovering based on the stuff he’s been doing over the last few days.”