British and Irish Lions head coach Andy Farrell was forced into a dramatic last-minute reshuffle of his midfield after Garry Ringrose reported concussion symptoms, with Owen Farrell among the replacements for the second Test against Australia. 

Farrell had planned on naming an all-Ireland midfield combination of Bundee Aki and Ringrose, who missed the first-Test victory because of a concussion he suffered in the warm-up match against the Brumbies. They were due to replace the Scottish pair of Sione Tuipulotu, who has a tight hamstring, and Huw Jones for Saturday’s match at the Melbourne Cricket Ground, which is expected to attract a crowd of more than 90,000.

After completing his return-to-play protocols, Ringrose came off the bench to play 65 minutes in Tuesday’s match against a First Nations & Pasifika (FNP) XV on Tuesday. Yet having pencilled him in as one of four potential changes from the first Test starting XV, along with prop Andrew Porter and second row Ollie Chessum, Ringrose told Farrell that he was suffering a recurrence of concussion symptoms.

So just minutes before announcing his team, Farrell handed a reprieve to Jones who starts alongside Aki for just the second time on the tour. Asked if it was unselfish of Ringrose to pull out of potentially the biggest game of his career, Farrell said: “I thought exactly the same the minute that he mentioned it because it’s tough to do that. It’s very easy to keep it to yourself and lie and not be honest and open. It was very big of him and the right thing to do, 100 per cent. For the team as well, not just for Garry.

“Garry was actually selected and unfortunately, in training today, he’s had to pull out. It’s head-related again. I actually don’t know at this stage. It was literally as I was walking off the field, he came to me, and once it’s mentioned, that’s that. So there was no incident. He was feeling good, well in advance of Tuesday, and fit and ready to play. No incident through the game at all, nothing yesterday and nothing this morning at all, but with these type of things, players are getting very good at telling the truth of how they feel, so it was a no-brainer to make the change straight away.”

Melbourne-born Tuipulotu, meanwhile, misses out on playing in his hometown after reporting stiffness in his hamstring. “He’ll be absolutely gutted,” Farrell said. “But he also knows that that’s rugby. The fairytale is not always written.”

In an echo of Warren Gatland’s controversial selection of 10 Welsh players for the third Test in the 2013 series, Farrell has largely turned to his tried-and-trusted options from the Irish national team who boast a record nine players in the starting XV, including seven from Leinster.

Alongside Owen Farrell, who captained the Lions in the 24-19 victory against FNP on Tuesday, Ireland second row James Ryan, Wales’ Jac Morgan and Scotland playmaker Blair Kinghorn are added to the bench. The English pair of Ben Earl and Marcus Smith, who were replacements in the first Test, drop out of the matchday squad. 

“With Blair back fit, it gives you a different dynamic on the bench covering the back three, which is pretty important,” Farrell said. “Owen giving you the option there to cover 10-12.”

The Lions are aiming to wrap up their first series since 2013 with victory at the Melbourne Cricket Ground against a Wallabies team who welcome back second row Will Skelton and back-rower Rob Valetini. Joe Schmidt, the Australia head coach, has also named six forwards on his bench and Farrell is expecting an increased physical challenge from the Wallabies.

“Well, I mean, it is what it says on the tin,” Farrell said. “It’s obvious what they’re going to bring and why they’re selected, so I suppose they’re delighted with that, and the 6-2 bench just backs that up a little bit, doesn’t it? So it’s not unexpected.”

Genge’s demotion is surprising after an effective display in the first Test while Farrell has previously described him as the “emotional driver” of the team. “Ports had the role reversal last week and came on and did a great job,” Farrell said. “He’s used to starting with a bang and the nature of Ellis and how he plays the game, he’ll add to us, certainly dynamically, when he comes onto the field.”

Porter forms an all-Irish front row alongside hooker Dan Sheehan and tighthead prop Tadhg Furlong. Chessum partners captain Maro Itoje in the second row. Jamison Gibson-Park continues at scrum-half while the back three of James Lowe, Tommy Freeman and full-back Hugo Keenan is unchanged. The back row of Tadhg Berine, Tom Curry and Jack Conan also remains the same.

Accusations of favouritism are bound to be levelled at Farrell who has kept faith with Ireland wing Lowe in the side, despite a poor individual performance, and promoting Ryan, who has had a nondescript tour to date. However, Farrell was vindicated by his selections of flankers Curry and Beirne who delivered outstanding performances in the first Test despite quiet tours coming into the series. Winning, in Farrell’s eyes, is all that matters.

“No other Lions have done back-to-back victories in tours of the same country,” Farrell said. “Due to the good work of the 2013 touring party, we get the privilege to be in a position to try and accomplish that.”