LIONS TEAM NEWS: Gatland wants reaction

British & Irish Lions’ Maro Itoje and George Kruis have been paired in the second row for tomorrow’s match against the Maori All Blacks (kick-off 8.35am BST).

Ireland’s Peter O’Mahony captains the Lions with tour skipper Sam Warburton named amongst the replacements.

“At this stage of the tour it’s important to build on the foundations that have been laid in the last few weeks,” said Lions' Head Coach Warren Gatland, who will be itching for his side to bounce back from Tuesday’s narrow defeat to the Highlanders.

“We were obviously disappointed with the loss against the Highlanders and realise that we need to improve in several areas, including our discipline, but we feel that overall we are building well towards the Test matches.

“Every game is a big challenge, which is what we wanted, and this is an experienced Lions team with eight of the starting 15 involved in the last Test in Australia in 2013.”

15. Leigh Halfpenny – Toulon, Wales, #775
14. Anthony Watson – Bath Rugby, England, #816
13. Jonathan Davies – Scarlets, Wales, #778
12. Ben Te’o – Worcester Warriors, England, #815
11. George North – Northampton Saints, Wales, #792
10. Johnny Sexton – Leinster, Ireland, #791
9. Conor Murray – Munster, Ireland, #790

1. Mako Vunipola – Saracens, England, #787
2. Jamie George – Saracens, England, #819
3. Tadhg Furlong – Leinster, Ireland, #818
4. Maro Itoje – Saracens, England, #825
5. George Kruis – Saracens, England, #817
6. Peter O’Mahony (Capt) – Munster, Ireland, #832
7. Sean O’Brien – Leinster, Ireland, #796
8. Taulupe Faletau – Bath Rugby, Wales, #779

Replacements

16. Ken Owens – Scarlets, Wales, #829
17. Jack McGrath – Leinster, Ireland, #827
18. Kyle Sinckler – Harlequins, England, #814
19. Iain Henderson – Ulster, Ireland, #808
20. Sam Warburton – Cardiff Blues, Wales, #800
21. Greig Laidlaw – Gloucester Rugby, Scotland, #810
22. Dan Biggar – Ospreys, Wales, #821
23. Elliot Daly – Wasps, England, #822

The # followed by a number denotes the order in which the player was called up since the first tour in 1888.

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