Sheehan captains Lions, Pollock at number eight for Western Force tour match

SYDNEY :Ireland hooker Dan Sheehan will captain the British & Irish Lions on debut in their tour match against Western Force in Perth on Saturday, while young England loose forward Henry Pollock has been named to start at number eight.

Coach Andy Farrell has completely overhauled his team with only Sione Tuipulotu and Tadhg Beirne surviving in the starting line-up from the side that lost 28-24 to Argentina in Dublin last week.

"We'll see on Saturday how we responded," Farrell told a press conference.

"I suppose the guys that are playing taking the field this week are a little bit fortunate in the sense that they understand how we want to get better.

"They've got to take responsibility for that and grab a hold of their chance to make sure that they take this team forward."

Beirne moves from lock into an unorthodox back row also featuring 20-year-old Pollock and openside Josh van der Flier, while Australia-born Tuipulotu shifts from outside to inside centre in a midfield partnership with Garry Ringrose.

Finn Russell starts at flyhalf in his first appearance on his third Lions tour and is paired with Wales scrumhalf Tomos Williams, who made his debut off the bench against Argentina.

Marcus Smith, who played at fullback against the Pumas, drops to the bench with his England teammate Elliot Daly handed the number 15 shirt.

Another Australia-born player, Mack Hansen, makes his first Lions start on the right wing with James Lowe replacing Duhan van der Merwe on the left.

Sheehan and his Leinster teammates Ringrose, Lowe, Joe McCarthy and Van Der Flier will all play their first Lions match at Perth Stadium, having joined the squad late after their URC Championship triumph.

"It's a massive privilege and honour, at the start of the week I was just focusing on doing everything I could to put on a red jersey for the first time," Sheehan said.

"With the added role of being captain, I don't think it changes that much and I'll just bring the boys with me."

A further four players - lock Ollie Chessum, centre Huw Jones and props Andrew Porter and Will Stuart - could make their Lions debut off the bench.

The Force named a team studded with test players earlier on Thursday, their side reinforced at the last minute by the release from the Wallabies camp of playmaker Ben Donaldson.

"It's a great side, full of Australians that have been, plenty of Australians that are in the here and now, and people with the ambition to be future Australian test players," said Farrell.

"It's a huge occasion for the Force ... so we expect their performance to be up another 25-30 per cent."

Farrell said that scrumhalf Jamison Gibson-Park and fullback Hugo Keenan, who have both been struggling with minor injuries, should be fit to face the Queensland Reds in next Wednesday's tour match in Brisbane.

Team: 15–Elliot Daly, 14–Mack Hansen, 13–Garry Ringrose, 12–Sione Tuipulotu, 11–James Lowe, 10–Finn Russell, 9–Tomos Williams, 8–Henry Pollock, 7–Josh van der Flier, 6–Tadhg Beirne, 5–Joe McCarthy, 4–Scott Cummings, 3–Tadhg Furlong, 2–Dan Sheehan (captain), 1–Pierre Schoeman.

Replacements: 16–Ronan Kelleher, 17–Andrew Porter, 18–Will Stuart, 19–Ollie Chessum, 20–Jack Conan, 21–Alex Mitchell, 22–Huw Jones, 23–Marcus Smith.