Williams, Adams, Aki, Price, Jones and Owens come into XVRussell, Simmonds and Beard named on benchWarren Gatland has overhauled his side for the
British &
Irish Lions’ decider against
South Africa, making six changes to his starting XV to face the Springboks on Saturday. Liam Williams, Josh Adams, Bundee Aki and Ali Price all come into the backline, with Wyn Jones and Ken Owens selected in the forwards.
Tellingly, four of the players coming into the side have played under Gatland during his time at Wales – it is less the head coach rolling the dice, more reverting to what he knows – but there are notable places on the bench for Finn Russell, Sam Simmonds and Adam Beard. All three are hoping to make their Lions Test debuts, and Russell and Simmonds, especially, give the bench more of an attacking threat. There is no place in the 23 for the
England captain, Owen Farrell, however, who is stranded on 99 Test caps.