Only 21 games of rugby union have ever been played at the iconic Melbourne Cricket Ground.The British and Irish Lions didn't even exist when the Carlton football club hosted Waratah from New South Wales in June 1878 for that first game of rugby at the MCG.They played two games that weekend, one as a game of rugby, and the other under Victorian rules – the game we now know to be Australian Rules Football.An estimated 6,000 people were in attendance for that game, the result of which was disputed by both teams.The MCG will look a lot different this week, as the Wallabies and British and Irish Lions look to threaten the biggest ever crowd for a rugby game at Australia’s most famous sporting venue, that being the 90,119 that watched Australia host New Zealand in 1997.The Lions have been here twice before, defeating Victoria on their 1899 and in 1930 tours, but they’ve never played a Test at 'The G’.In fact, this will be just the fifth international Test ever to be played at the ground, all four being Bledisloe Cup games between the Wallabies and the All Blacks.Rugby union is practically a minority sport in Melbourne, with pretty much everything playing far behind Aussie Rules during the winter in this town.However, it hasn’t been an easy place for the Lions to visit.In 2001 and 2013 they brought a 1-0 lead to Docklands Stadium (now Marvel Stadium), where the Wallabies tied up the series, but it would take something special for Joe Schmidt’s side to set up a deciding Test in Sydney next week.It was jarring to see how easily the Lions bullied the Wallabies a week ago in that first half as they cruised towards a 17-5 half-time lead, before extending it minutes after the break to effectively kill off the game.'We were probably all a danger to ourselves, this wouldn't have happened.' #RTERugby podcast pundits @jonnyholland10 and @MurphyJohne hail Garry Ringrose for self-reporting a head injury after being included in the Lions starting XV for second Test https://t.co/p0WyhotB51 pic.twitter.com/CFHg0DbpDL — RTÉ Sport (@RTEsport) July 24, 2025They played in a way we simply don't associate with a Joe Schmidt side, with Tom Lynagh floundering behind a pack that was going backwards phase on phase, and their attacking shape appearing disorganised and improvised – not in a good way.There was plenty of heart on display, but heart can only get you so far in a game of collisions, and their late rally to score two tries and put some respectability on the scoreboard was as much down to the tourists taking their foot off the gas rather than the Wallabies finding an extra gear.Farrell was clearly frustrated last Saturday evening at how his side took their foot off the throat in the final half an hour at Suncorp Stadium, and when he referred back to it on Thursday after naming his side for this week’s second Test, he described it as a "dip in focus" from his players."We thoroughly believe that we're way better than what we showed, and we've got another chance to prove that," he said, after naming his side for the second Test yesterday.Joe McCarthy (above) misses out due to the plantar fasciitis which forced him off early in the second half last week, and Farrell has resisted the temptation to move Tadhg Beirne into his usual position at lock, slotting Ollie Chessum in alongside captain Maro Itoje and retaining last week’s exceptional back row trio of Beirne, Tom Curry and Jack Conan.Andrew Porter also starts, perhaps to create a change in the picture they present at the scrum after some decisions went the Wallabies way last week, but equally to unleash Ellis Genge’s explosive qualities on a tiring Australian pack in the second half.In the centre, Bundee Aki (below) comes in for Scotland’s Sione Tuipulotu, where Farrell had plans to pair him with his Ireland team-mate Garry Ringrose, but after the Leinster centre had to drop out due to concussion, Huw Jones came back into this week’s line-up.Despite having played his Irish and Scottish centres together for the majority of this tour, Farrell is backing the Aki-Jones combination to gel."At this stage of the tour, and well before this stage of the tour, actually, the combinations have been absolutely fine together. So Bundee and Huw will hit it off exactly like any other type of partnership."These things happen in the warm-up of any game, the pressure is off and people tend to play freely because of that type of situation. Huw won't miss a beat in that regard," Farrell added.Given the head coach’s frustrations at how little impact he got from his bench last week, his decision to shuffle the replacements is worth noting.Genge is arguably a victim of his own high-octane style of play, held back to keep the energy levels him when he comes on in the second half.With Chessum starting, James Ryan got the nod to step up to the bench, and while it’s been suggested that Scot Cummings is the more in-form of the two, Ryan’s abrasiveness at the breakdown is something Farrell has always valued.The Wallabies get their team photo taken at the Melbourne Cricket GroundFarrell did go for the form option of Jac Morgan as his back row replacement ahead of Ben Earl’s versatility, while the decision to play Owen Farrell over Marcus Smith as the replacement out-half shows the stock Andy is putting in leadership.For their worth, Australia have clearly addressed the power imbalance of last week in their selection.Leinster-nemesis Will Skelton - all 6ft 8in and 135kg of him – comes in at second row, while reigning Australian player of the year Rob Valetini has also recovered from injury to start.Flanker Langi Gleeson has also been declared fit, and is named on the bench, with Andrew Kellaway dropping out to allow for the 6:2 split, something the haven't done since a World Cup warm-up against France in 2023.While Skelton has been a consistent thorn in the side of the many Leinster players in this group, Valetini’s return is more important for the Wallabies for his ball-carrying ability.‘A member of the Concrete XV’, as described by the Sydney Morning Herald’s Iain Payten (above) on this week’s RTÉ Rugby Podcast, the Wallabies tried to share the burden of his ball-carrying in Brisbane last week, Nick Frost and Fraser McReight their two leading carriers in the pack with just 42 metres made from a combined 26 carries.If Valetini can get on the ball and make the Lions defence go backwards, the field could open up, with more time in the hands of Lynagh and more space in midfield for their wildcard, Joseph-Aukuso Suaalii.It should be a better Wallabies team than we saw in Brisbane, but the feeling is that it’s still not good enough, and the performances of Taniela Tupou, Lukhan Salakai-Loto and Darcy Swain for the First Nations and Pasifika XV last week suggest that while there is top level talent in Australia at the moment, it’s not all being picked by the Wallabies.Verdict: LionsAustralia: Tom Wright; Max Jorgensen, Joseph-Aukuso Suaalii, Len Ikitau, Harry Potter; Tom Lynagh, Jake Gordon; James Slipper, David Porecki, Allan Alaalatoa; Nick Frost, Will Skelton; Rob Valetini, Fraser McReight, Harry Wilson.Replacements: Billy Pollard, Angus Bell, Tom Robertson, Jeremy Williams, Langi Gleeson, Carlo Tizzano, Tate McDermott, Ben Donaldson.British and Irish Lions: Hugo Keenan; Tommy Freeman, Huw Jones, Bundee Aki, James Lowe; Finn Russell, Jamison Gibson-Park; Andrew Porter, Dan Sheehan, Tadhg Furlong; Maro Itoje, Ollie Chessum; Tadhg Beirne, Tom Curry, Jack Conan.Replacements: Rónan Kelleher, Ellis Genge, Will Stuart, James Ryan, Jac Morgan, Alex Mitchell, Owen Farrell, Blair Kinghorn.Referee: Andrea Piardi (FIR)Listen to the RTÉ Rugby podcast on Apple Podcasts, Spotify or wherever you get your podcasts.Follow a live blog of Australia v British and Irish Lions on Saturday from 11am on rte.ie/sport and the RTÉ News app
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