Lions to unleash dream partnership as captain Maro Itoje plays down injury fears

Jamison Gibson-Park feared his Lions tour was over before it started but is now ready to link up with Finn Russell in a dream team combination. Ireland scrum-half Gibson-Park and Scotland's charismatic 10 Russell start together for the first time when the tourists take on the Reds in Brisbane on Wednesday.

Gibson-Park missed Leinster's URC final win with a glute injury, has been sidelined for three weeks and was only given the thumbs-up to play this week at the weekend. But the 33-year-old was fretting he would miss the tour to Australia and relied on wife, Patti, a former international judo star, to get him through the dark times.

He said: "It was dicey enough for a few days. I had to get a number of scans to clear up what was going on. I was obviously gutted to miss the URC Final - it was a pretty tough hit to take when you've stayed fit then miss the biggest game of the year. They had every radiologist in the country trying to read scans to figure out what was going on!

"But it's ended up being okay. My wife has been involved in elite sport before so she has an understanding that it's a big deal. For a few days there, I thought I might miss this altogether, so I'm glad to be here now. I've had my fair share of injuries and normally I could figure the timeframe to get back, but this one was a bit trickier."

The Gibson-Park/Russell combination was most people's idea of the starting Test half-back partnership and with Tomos Williams out of the tour it looks even more likely to happen.

And the New Zealand-born Irishman Gibson-Park revealed there is more to Russell than the bloke people see on the pitch who plays like he is out for a social game with his mates.

He added: "He plays the game with a smile on his face and it's refreshing to see. But you guys don't see him in the meeting rooms, so there is a serious side to him. But when he's out there playing ball, it's impressive to watch. For all the stuff you see of Finn and his ability to break a game open, he's pretty calculated in the way he manages the game."

Boss Andy Farrell has worked with Gibson-Park since the scrum-half's Test debut in 2020 and knows how vital it was he got fit.

He added: "I don't say this lightly, but Jamison is 100 per cent a world class player. His point of difference is his speed of play, his speed of thought is ahead of the game, so he sees things nice and early. He is quiet but when he speaks, it is worth listening because he has done his homework and understands how we want to play.

"He and Finn understood one and others' traits even before they got on the plane because that is what players do. They look out for how the best do things. They have attacking mindsets but they both know how important game control is."

Lions skipper Maro Itoje has resisted fears of burnout, even though he will play past the new 30-game limit on the current tour. Itoje has had 28 match involvements, totalling over 2,000 minutes with Saracens, England and the Lions and after playing the Reds is set to break the barrier in the first Test on 19 July.

The lock usually goes the distance in games but claims he is energised by being with the tourists and raring to go against the Wallabies. The 30-year-old said: "I have no wrinkles. I felt refreshed coming into this environment.

"Often when you talk about game minutes and load, part of it is the physical load, but a lot of it is the mental load. Coming here with new players, new coaches has been really refreshing for me. I have had a lot of consistency with club and country so just to have a different stimulus has been great."

Itoje is back after sitting out the 54-7 win over Western Force on Saturday and links up with Ollie Chessum at lock, who gets a first start of the tour. Ireland full-back Hugo Keenan gets his Lions debut after recovering from a calf strain in a starting team showing 14 changes from the weekend with Finn Russell the only survivor.

Scotland scrum-half Ben White was expected to join the squad on Monday night after flying from New Zealand to replace Tomos Williams whose tour is over after a hamstring injury. Full-back Blair Kinghorn was on his way after helping Toulouse to the Top 14 title on Saturday night.

Reds vs British & Irish Lions, Wednesday, 11am, Sky Sports

Reds: Jock Campbell (capt); Lachie Anderson, Josh Flook, Hunter Paisami, Tim Ryan; Harry McLaughlin-Phillips, Kalani Thomas; Aidan Ross, Matt Faessler, Jeff Toomaga-Allen, Josh Canham, Lukhan Salakaia-Loto, Seru Uru, John Bryant, Joe Brial

Replacements: Josh Nasser, George Blake, Sef Fa'agase, Ryan Smith, Angus Blyth, Connor Vest, Louis Werchon, Isaac Henry

Lions: Hugo Keenan; Tommy Freeman, Huw Jones, Bundee Aki, Duhan van der Merwe; Finn Russell, Jamison Gibson-Park; Andrew Porter, Ronan Kelleher, Will Stuart, Maro Itoje (capt), Ollie Chessum, Tom Curry, Jac Morgan, Jack Conan

Replacements: Luke Cowan-Dickie, Ellis Genge, Finlay Bealham, James Ryan, Ben Earl, Alex Mitchell, Fin Smith, Garry Ringrose