Lions v Argentina: TV details, kick-off time, team news and more
Who is playing, when and where?
The British & Irish
Lions
are playing against Argentina at the Aviva Stadium on Friday. Kick-off is at 8pm. It will be the first game the Lions play before travelling to Australia, and the first time the Lions have played a match in Ireland.
How can I watch?
TG4 will broadcast the match, in exclusive free-to-air live coverage in a co-production partnership with S4C, starting at 7.20pm. Sky Sports have rights to the whole tour – you can watch Friday's game on Sky Sports Main Event from 7pm. And you can follow live blog coverage on the Irish Times website.
James Lowe in Lions training. Photograph: Billy Stickland/Inpho
How are the Lions looking, and what are their chances?
As you would expect from a side with the best players from four nations, the Lions are strong on paper but it is always a question of how well they gel together. They will arguably face a tougher test against Argentina, the fifth-ranked team in the world (ahead of England), than they will against Australia, who are ranked eighth. Argentina have never won on Irish soil but came close at the same stadium last November, losing narrowly by 22-19.
What is the team news?
The team will be announced at 4.30pm. England's Jack van Poortvliet has been added to the British & Irish Lions squad as cover for Jamison Gibson-Park, who missed Leinster's URC final win over Bulls with a minor glute strain. The injury to the Irish scrumhalf is not considered serious and he will travel to Australia, where he is tipped to start for the games against Australia in July. Hugo Keenan and Tadhg Furlong are also in a race to be fit for the game after missing the final.
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What's the Lions squad line-up?
Forwards (21):
Tadhg Beirne (Munster Rugby/Ireland)
Ollie Chessum (Leicester Tigers/England)
Jack Conan (Leinster Rugby/Ireland)
Luke Cowan-Dickie (Sale Sharks/England)
Scott Cummings (Glasgow Warriors/Scotland)
Tom Curry (Sale Sharks/England)
Ben Earl (Saracens/England)
Finlay Bealham (Connacht/Ireland)
Tadhg Furlong (Leinster Rugby/Ireland)
Ellis Genge (Bristol Bears/England)
Maro Itoje (Saracens/England)(capt)
Rónan Kelleher (Leinster Rugby/Ireland)
Joe McCarthy (Leinster Rugby/Ireland)
Jac Morgan (Ospreys/Wales)
Henry Pollock (Northampton Saints/England)
Andrew Porter (Leinster Rugby/Ireland)
James Ryan (Leinster Rugby/Ireland)
Dan Sheehan (Leinster Rugby/Ireland)
Pierre Schoeman (Edinburgh Rugby/Scotland)
Will Stuart (Bath Rugby/England)
Josh van der Flier (Leinster Rugby/Ireland)
Backs (17):
Bundee Aki (Connacht Rugby/Ireland)
Elliot Daly (Saracens/England)
Tommy Freeman (Northampton Saints/England)
Jamison Gibson-Park (Leinster Rugby/Ireland)
Mack Hansen (Connacht Rugby/Ireland)
Huw Jones (Glasgow Warriors/Scotland)
Hugo Keenan (Leinster Rugby/Ireland)
Blair Kinghorn (Toulouse/Scotland)
James Lowe (Leinster Rugby/Ireland)
Alex Mitchell (Northampton Saints/England)
Garry Ringrose (Leinster Rugby/Ireland)
Finn Russell (Bath Rugby/Scotland)
Fin Smith (Northampton Saints/England)
Marcus Smith (Harlequins/ England)
Sione Tuipulotu (Glasgow Warriors/Scotland)
Duhan van der Merwe (Edinburgh Rugby/Scotland)
Tomos Williams (Gloucester Rugby/Wales)
Cover:
Jack van Poortvliet (Leicester Tigers/England)
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