Winger James Lowe keeps Duhan van der Merwe out of the British & Irish Lions Test side, as they look to wrap up the series against Australia at the iconic MCG on Saturday.

Lowe had been criticised by the British media for a lukewarm performance in the first Test, while Van der Merwe impressed in Tuesday’s narrow win over the First Nations & Pasifika XV.

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Veteran England playmaker Owen Farrell returns to the match-23 after being left out for the series opener, offering head coach Andy Farrell an experienced option at both flyhalf or inside centre.

Farrell, who captained the Lions in a midweek win over a First Nations and Pasifika XV, delivered an assured 80-minute performance – his first full game since April. He replaces Marcus Smith, who passed his head injury assessment after featuring off the bench in Brisbane.

Elsewhere, Hugo Keenan keeps the No 15 jersey with Blair Kinghorn named among the reserves. Mack Hansen misses out with a foot niggle.

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Saturday’s showdown is set to be a bruising encounter, with the forecast predicting wet weather in Melbourne. Coach Andy Farrell underlined the importance of delivering their best, expecting a fierce backlash from the Wallabies.

“We’ve put ourselves in a good position,” said Farrell.

“But we know there’ll be a massive reaction from this Wallaby team. Everyone saw their quality last week. We’ll need to be better.”

Having won all seven games on tour since a shock defeat to Argentina in Dublin, the Lions now stand one win away from sealing a historic series triumph with a match to spare.

LIONS — 15 Hugo Keenan, 14 Tommy Freeman, 13 Huw Jones, 12 Bundee Aki, 11 James Lowe, 10 Finn Russell, 9 Jamison Gibson-Park, 8 Jack Conan, 7 Tom Curry, 6 Tadhg Beirne, 5 Ollie Chessum, 4 Maro Itoje (c), 3 Tadhg Furlong, 2 Dan Sheehan, 1 Andrew Porter
Bench: 16 Ronan Kelleher, 17 Ellis Genge, 18 Will Stuart, 19 James Ryan, 20 Jac Morgan, 21 Alex Mitchell, 22 Owen Farrell, 23 Blair Kinghorn

Photo By Brendan Moran/Sportsfile via Getty Images

Our team for the Second Test at the MCG!#Lions2025 #WeGoBeyond pic.twitter.com/qzYeYQX6jM

— British & Irish Lions (@lionsofficial) July 24, 2025