17 July 2025
Good Morning G&GRs and welcome to Thursday. Apologies in advance for the double outing this week, the rest of the crew are busy or have commitments, so here we go.
In the week before a Lions test, the first Lions test in Australia for 12 years, there’s plenty of rugby news to be had, Lions team forecasts, player updates and Wallabies team forecasts to go through.
We’ll update the page throughout the day as the teams get announced, or we’ll create a separate page but, either way, team announcements will be posted on
Possible Lions Side
Edit: Official Lions squad
BRITISH & IRISH LIONS SQUAD TO FACE WALLABIES
LIONS (15-1): Hugo Keenan, Tommy Freeman, Huw Jones, Sione Tuipulotu, James Lowe, Finn Russell, Jamison Gibson-Park, Jack Conan, Tom Curry, Tadhg Beirne, Joe McCarthy, Maro Itoje, Tadhg Furlong, Dan Sheehan, Ellis Genge
Replacements: Ronan Kelleher, Andrew Porter, Will Stuart, Ollie Chessum, Ben Earl, Alex Mitchell, Marcus Smith, Bundee Aki
Officially, the Lions side gets named on Thursday, however, as with everything sites around the world are putting up exclusive leaks or views on who should make the side. Rather than go with one of their selections, we’ve reached out to our in house Welsh rugby expert, so here’s Eloise Pasteur’s forecast side.
- Ellis Genge
- Dan Sheehan
- Tadhg Furlong
- Maro Itoje (c)
- Joe McCarthy
- Jack Conan
- Jac Morgan
- Henry Pollock
- Jamison Gibson-Park
- Finn Russell
- Tommy Freeman
- Sione Tuipulotu
- Huw Jones
- James Lowe
- Blair Kinghorn
- Ronan Kelleher
- Finlay Bealham
- Pierre Schoeman
- Ollie Chessum
- Ben Earls
- Ben White
- Marcus Smith
- Jamie Osborne, or a loose forward.
Which looks like a pretty good squad. We’ll update the G&GR site once the team is officially announced.
Wallabies news
There’s a persistent rumour the Australia will be without Rob Valetini, the Wallabies’ best over the last 2 years, who hasn’t recovered from his calf injury and will miss selection. It’s also rumoured that Langi Gleeson is carrying a niggle and might miss out. It’ll make for some interesting choices for Joe Schmidt and the coaching team as they try to get off to a winning start on Saturday night at Suncorp.
Edit – the team has been announced
Wallabies team to play British & Irish Lions at Suncorp Stadium in Brisbane on Saturday July 19 at 7:45pm AEST
1. James Slipper (144 Tests) – #843; Bond Pirates
2. Matt Faessler (14 Tests) – #969; USQ Saints
3. Allan Alaalatoa (81 Tests) – #896; West Harbour Juniors
4. Nick Frost (26 Tests) – #953; Hornsby Lions
5. Jeremy Williams (11 Tests) – #973; Wahroonga Tigers
6. Nick Champion de Crespigny* – Canberra Grammar School
7. Fraser McReight (26 Tests) – #937; Albany Creek Brumbies
8. Harry Wilson (c) (23 Tests) – #933; Gunnedah Red Devils
9. Jake Gordon (29 Tests) – #925; Canterbury Juniors
10. Tom Lynagh (3 Tests) – #977; University of Queensland
11. Harry Potter (3 Tests) – #989; Moorabbin Rams
12. Len Ikitau (40 Tests) – #944; Tuggeranong Vikings
13. Joseph-Aukuso Suaalii (5 Tests) – #988; The Kings School
14. Max Jorgensen (8 Tests) – #984; Balmain Wolves
15. Tom Wright (38 Tests) – #939; Clovelly Eagles
Substitutes
16. Billy Pollard (7 Tests) – #958; Lindfield Junior Rugby Club
17. Angus Bell (37 Tests) – #940; Hunters Hill Rugby Club
18. Tom Robertson (31 Tests) – #898; Dubbo Junior Rugby Club
19. Tom Hooper (11 Tests) – #964; Bathurst Bulldogs
20. Carlo Tizzano (6 Tests) – #982; University of Western Australia
21. Tate McDermott (42 Tests) – #936; Flinders Rugby Club
22. Ben Donaldson (17 Tests) – #962; Clovelly Eagles
23. Andrew Kellaway (39 Tests) – #943; Hunters Hill Rugby Club
Possible Wallabies Squad
We ran a poll within the G&GR crew and came up with our thoughts on who should make the team, so here goes.
| Position | Hoss | Nutta | RAWF |
| 1. | Angus Bell | Angus Bell | Angus Bell |
| 2. | Dave Porecki | Matt Faessler | Matt Faessler |
| 3. | Allan Alaalatoa | Taniela Tupou | Taniela Tupou |
| 4. | Nick Frost | Will Skelton | Nick Frost |
| 5. | Will Skelton | Nick Frost | Will Skelton |
| 6. | Nick Champion de Crespigny | Tom Hooper | Nick Champion de Crespigny |
| 7. | Fraser McReight | Fraser McReight | Fraser McReight |
| 8. | Harry Wilson | Harry Wilson | Harry Wilson |
| 9. | Jake Gordon | Ryan Lonergan | Jake Gordon |
| 10. | Tom Lynagh | Tom Lynagh | Tom Lynagh |
| 11. | Max Jorgensen | Dylan Pietsch | Joseph-Aukuso Suaalii |
| 12. | Hunter Paisami | Hunter Paisami | Hunter Paisami |
| 13. | Len Ikitau | Len Ikitau | Len Ikitau |
| 14. | Joseph-Aukuso Suaalii | Max Jorgensen | Harry Potter |
| 15. | Tom Wright | Tom Wright | Tom Wright |
| 16. | Billy Pollard | Billy Pollard | Billy Pollard |
| 17. | James Slipper | James Slipper | James Slipper |
| 18. | Taniela Tupou | Allan Alaalatoa | Allan Alaalatoa |
| 19. | Jeremy Williams | Lukhan Salakai-Loto | Jeremy Williams |
| 20. | Tom Hooper | Nick Champion de Crespigny | Tom Hooper |
| 21. | Tate McDermott | Tate McDermott | Carlo Tizzano |
| 22. | James O’Connor | James O’Connor | Tate McDermott |
| 23. | Andrew Kellaway | Joseph-Aukuso Suaalii | James O’Connor |
I’m sure there’re a few selections you’ll disagree with, and I know there’s risk with a 6:2 bench but, I think they might, and it’s the perfect opportunity for JOC to shine. Hoss and I had similar views on JAS, I just think that Harry Potter has had a better season than Max Jorgensen. I think that we need to start with Tupou, or give Zane Nonggorr a crack off the bench.
Anyway, it’ll be interesting to see which way it all goes. As always, I look forward to the comments.
Cheers
RAWF
