Tom Lynagh set for shock Wallabies start, Lions star Mack Hansen in grave doubt for Brisbane series opener
Updated . First published at
BRISBANE: Two major team developments emerged on Tuesday with news that Tom Lynagh is set to wear the Wallabies No.10 jersey in the first Test and British and Irish Lions star Mack Hansen is set to be ruled out.
Lynagh missed Australia's warm-up win over Fiji in Newcastle as he recovered from a broken hand and Ben Donaldson - who replaced the injured Noah Lolesio in that match - was widely tipped to start at Suncorp Stadium.
But The Roar reported that Lynagh would get first crack in the hot seat, just minutes after Wallabies halfback Tate McDermott endorsed the qualities of his Queensland Reds teammate.
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Michael and Tom Lynagh at Ballymore. Queensland Rugby Union
Lynagh is the son of Wallabies legend Michael, who played against the Lions in 1989, with the tourists winning 2-1.
"I'm really excited to see how he goes on Saturday," McDermott told a packed press room at the team hotel.
"Knowing the type of bloke he is, his family would be really proud of the journey he's been on. He's obviously a guy that comes with a lot of expectation, having the last name Lynagh and the way he's gone about his work, has been brilliant.
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Tom Lynagh poses for a portrait. Getty
"Yeah, we need to support him... he's incredibly young (22). He's still got a hell of a long way to go in terms of his journey and his development...
"Everyone speaks to their dad, you know, so he'd have a wealth of experience for him. But I imagine in his position, he doesn't want to just be Michael's son, you know, he wants to be something else."
Lynagh has played just three Tests.
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Meanwhile, Lions winger Hansen is unlikely to play in Brisbane after injuring his foot in Saturday's match against the AUNZ Invitational XV in Adelaide.
The Lions have not publicly ruled him out but Hansen did not train on Tuesday.
Coach Andy Farrell has plenty of cover with James Lowe and Tommy Freeman expected to start on the wings.
But Canberra product Hansen had been in excellent form on home soil and is a Farrell favourite.
Both coaches will name their teams on Thursday.
Key Wallabies trio Rob Valetini, Will Skelton and Jake Gordon missed the win over Fiji.
Gordon is fit and firing after his hamstring injury and is likely to start but Valetini, the two-time John Eales Medallist, is in doubt with his calf issue.
"Will trained fully today, so he's a bit further ahead from Rob," Wallabies coach Joe Schmidt told Stan Sport.
"But Rob, you know, he's hitting 90 per cent speeds plus. So it's a look at how they go Thursday and that'll springboard selection from there. You want to show confidence in the guys who are training really well and training hard."
Henry Pollock takes 'BIL' the lion for a walk in Brisbane. Sam Worthington
Morgan Turinui asked Schmidt whether he would consider two openside flankers in Fraser McReight and Carlo Tizzano.
"We ended up with those two on the pitch at the same time against the Fijians in the last quarter, so that was dipping our toe in for that sort of selection," he replied.
"Because Carlo's had such a good season, Fraser was such a big part of our group last year."
