As it’s now 2025 and a British & Irish Lions year, we thought it high time that Planet Rugby named its starting line-up for the first Test against the Wallabies on July 19.

Some other outlets have already taken the plunge and now it’s our turn to join the fun and pick a team if the Lions were playing the first Test tomorrow and were injury free.

There were some spots that were nailed on and others that remain very much up for grabs so without further ado, here’s our starting XV for the game at Suncorp Stadium.

British & Irish Lions XV for first Test15 Hugo Keenan (Ireland)

He might have missed a chunk of last year due to Sevens commitments but Hugo Keenan still probably keeps his nose in front of his closest challengers, one being Scotland’s Blair Kinghorn who can also cover wing. Also don’t rule out Freddie Steward, who’s in fantastic form for Leicester and is set for a big Six Nations.

14 Immanuel Feyi-Waboso (England)

Head coach Andy Farrell might also be tempted to start Australian-𝐛𝐨𝐫𝐧 Mack Hansen, who will be an invaluable squad member later this year. There is also Darcy Graham to consider but we feel England’s Immanuel Feyi-Waboso currently has the edge over his rivals and will flourish in such a star-studded line-up.

13 Garry Ringrose (Ireland)

There’s a handful of players holding their hand up for the number 13 shirt at the moment. Ollie Lawrence will hope his club connection with a certain fly-half helps his case for selection while Huw Jones and Top 14-based Joe Marchant are good shouts. However, it feels like Garry Ringrose’s time in the famous red jersey as his complete game that includes an outstanding defence wins him this famous jersey. His battle with Joseph Suaalii will be a box office clash to savour.

12 Sione Tuipulotu (Scotland)

An excellent campaign for Glasgow Warriors and Scotland has put Sione Tuipulotu in the driver’s seat for the inside centre position but he’s being pushed hard by Ireland duo Bundee Aki and Robbie Henshaw, who are rock solid options in their own right. Tuipulotu and Ringrose, however, are quite the midfield prospect.

11 James Lowe (Ireland)

Missed out on the 2021 Lions tour to South Africa but he looks a shoo-in this time around and is our starter on the left wing. James Lowe has developed his game to impressive heights and while he might not be the quickest wing around, his booming boot, work-rate and intelligence on both sides of the ball put him ahead of his rivals. Speaking of those it is probably England’s Tommy Freeman, Scotland’s Duhan van der Merwe and Wales’ Josh Adams pushing Lowe for No. 11.

10 Finn Russell (Scotland)

A plethora of options at head coach Farrell’s disposal here, one being his son, Owen, (what a story that would be). Elsewhere, there is fellow Englishman Marcus Smith, who is maturing ever so well as a Test fly-half, Ireland pair Jack Crowley and Sam Prendergast, with an outside shot being Gareth Anscombe. But right now it’s Finn Russell‘s shirt to lose as the Scot looks to make up for 2021’s disappointment where he was only used in the third Test against the Springboks.

9 Jamison Gibson-Park (Ireland)

Has been head and shoulders above his rivals in the last couple of years and Lions fans will hope Jamison Gibson-Park continues in this rich vein of form in 2025. He controls a game astutely at the base and seldom chooses the wrong option. Gibson-Park is currently ahead of Tomos Williams and Alex Mitchell, with other options being Ben White and possibly Conor Murray, who usurps Craig Casey after his Munster club-mate was recently ruled out for up to four months.

The forwards

8 Caelan Doris (Ireland, captain)

Saracens’ Ben Earl has been one of England’s best players this past year but Leinster and Ireland captain Caelan Doris pips him to our team after shining for club and country over the past 12 months, and also gets the nod as our skipper for the famous touring team. Doris was one of Ireland’s stars during their triumphant 2024 Six Nations campaign and will be at the forefront of their title defence again this year.

7 Josh van der Flier (Ireland)

Josh van der Flier will be the first to admit that he was not at his best during the latter part of the 2023/24 season which resulted in him spending time on Leinster’s bench, but World Rugby’s Player of the Year for 2022 comes into 2025 in a rich vein of form. The 31-year-old started all of Ireland’s November Tests as they won three out of four internationals and his outstanding form was rewarded when he was named the Player of the Autumn Nations Series. He edges out the Red Rose’s Tom Curry.

6 Tadhg Beirne (Ireland)

This is a difficult choice as England’s France-based duo Jack Willis and Courtney Lawes as well as Wales’ Jac Morgan are all capable of filling this role with aplomb but we’ve opted for Tadhg Beirne, who is also capable of playing in the second-row. However, the Irishman’s high work-rate either side of the ball is better suited for the blindside flanker role and we expect him to slot into this position seamlessly for the Lions.

5 Maro Itoje (England)

Like his Ireland and Leinster team-mate Van der Flier, James Ryan is enjoying a resurgence but it’s not enough to get in ahead of Maro Itoje, who has played consistently well for Saracens and England over the past year, although both teams have not been at their best during that period. At the age of 30, Itoje is a veteran of two previous Lions tours to New Zealand and South Africa and he represented them in all six their previous Tests. A brilliant lineout exponent, also empties the tank on attack and defence while his experience will also be handy against the Wallabies.

4 Joe McCarthy (Ireland)

Edinburgh and Scotland veteran Grant Gilchrist has been in excellent form of late but he will have to be Joe McCarthy’s back-up as the 22-year-old’s game has come on in leaps and bounds since making his international debut against the Wallabies in Dublin in 2022. Since then, McCarthy was part of Ireland’s 2023 Rugby World Cup squad but announced himself with an outstanding all-round performance in the men from the Emerald Isle’s victory over France in last year’s Six Nations opener. Since then, he has maintained those high standards and is a shoo-in for the Lions’ enforcer role in Australia.

3 Tadhg Furlong (Ireland)

The likes of Scotland’s Zander Fagerson and England duo Will Stuart and Asher Opoku-Fordjour have certainly caught the eye with fine displays at club and international level but none of them have delivered the type of performances which made Leinsterman Tadhg Furlong the Lions’ first choice tighthead prop on their previous tours to New Zealand and South Africa. Furlong has been battling a hamstring issue which ruled him out of Ireland’s Autumn Nations Series campaign and several of Leinster’s fixtures but when he’s fit, he should be the first choice for the Lions’ number three jersey.

2 Dan Sheehan (Ireland)

Like Furlong, Dan Sheehan has been on the sidelines for a considerable time with a knee injury but prior to that setback he put in the type of performances which made him arguably the world’s best hooker. An outstanding ball carrier who knows his way to the try-line, Sheehan is on track to return to Test action for his country during their Six Nations campaign and if he reaches his usual high standards, he should be in the Lions squad. Wales’ Dewi Lake, Ireland’s Ronan Kelleher and England’s Jamie George will be competing for the back-up role.

1 Andrew Porter (Ireland)

Ellis Genge of England Pierre Schoeman of Scotland and Nicky Smith of Wales are all players who would not disgrace the Lions but Andrew Porter is the in-form loosehead prop and his selection for the Lions will be a deserved one. A strong scrummager, who also put his body on the line as a ball carrier and in the execution of his defensive duties, Porter has become a real stalwart for Ireland in the Test arena as he started 11 of their Tests in 2024. He will be hoping to transfer that form to the Lions tour later this year.