Tommy Freeman will start for the British & Irish Lions on Wednesday (2 July, kick-off: 11am BST) as the tourists face Queensland Reds in the first of their midweek clashes, with Northampton Saints teammates Alex Mitchell and Fin Smith named amongst the replacements.
The Lions began their Australian tour with a resounding 54-7 victory over Western Force – in which scrum-half Mitchell scored one of the side’s eight tries – and ring the changes for this week’s match at Suncorp Stadium.
Winger Freeman returns to the side to make his second appearance for the Lions after debuting in the red shirt against Argentina in Dublin, while Saints’ half-back pairing of Mitchell and Smith will wait to enter the action in Brisbane from amongst the replacements.
In the corresponding fixture in 2013, the Lions won 22-12, but required a 100% record off the tee from Owen Farrell as the hosts outscored the visitors two tries to one.
Lions Head Coach Andy Farrell, said: “We know each game on this Tour will be a step up from the game before and three more players are set to make their Lions debuts on Wednesday night, so congratulations to those guys.”
The game kicks off at 11am (BST) and will be broadcast live on Sky Sports in the UK and Ireland.
The British & Irish Lions vs Queensland Reds
Suncorp Stadium
Wednesday 2 July 2025
Kick-off 11am (BST)
15 Hugo Keenan (Leinster Rugby/Ireland)
14 Tommy Freeman (Northampton Saints/England) #858
13 Huw Jones (Glasgow Warriors/Scotland) #878
12 Bundee Aki (Connacht Rugby/Ireland) #837
11 Duhan van der Merwe (Edinburgh Rugby/Scotland) #841
10 Finn Russell (Bath Rugby/Scotland) #835
9 Jamison Gibson-Park (Leinster Rugby/Ireland)
1 Andrew Porter (Leinster Rugby/Ireland) #876
2 Ronan Kelleher (Leinster Rugby/Ireland) #864
3 Will Stuart (Bath Rugby/England) #877
4 Maro Itoje (Saracens/England) (C) #825
5 Ollie Chessum (Leicester Tigers/England) #875
6 Tom Curry (Sale Sharks/England) #853
7 Jac Morgan (Ospreys/Wales) #861
8 Jack Conan (Leinster Rugby/Ireland) #839
Replacements:
16 Luke Cowan-Dickie (Sale Sharks/England) #851
17 Ellis Genge (Bristol Bears/ England) #859
18 Finlay Bealham (Connacht Rugby/Ireland) #856
19 James Ryan (Leinster Rugby/Ireland)
20 Ben Earl (Saracens/England) #857
21 Alex Mitchell (Northampton Saints/England) #860
22 Fin Smith (Northampton Saints/England) #862
23 Garry Ringrose (Leinster Rugby/Ireland) #872
