O’Driscoll out of British & Irish Lions third Test

The British and Irish Lions have named their team to play in the final Test against the Wallabies with Irish legend Brian O’Driscoll being dropped and Alun Wyn Jones taking over the captaincy.

The 34-year-old Leinster centre was hoping to crown his fourth Lions tour with a first series win in 16 years but instead of picking up his 134th Test cap he will have to be content with cheering from the sidelines.

O’Driscoll, sole survivor from the tour against the Wallabies in 2001, took his Lions Test tally to eight in the opening two games this year. The 2005 captain, he has yet to win a series with the Lions and this is the first time he has been dropped.

Alun Wyn Jones will be captain for the first time and one of a record-equalling 10 Welsh players in the starting line-up, with an 11th on the bench.

The last time Wales had 10 men in a Lions line-up was the first Test against Australia in Brisbane in 1950, which the Lions won 19-6.

Head coach Warren Gatland made five changes to a winning side between the first and second Tests and now he has made a further six changes after losing 16-15 in Melbourne last weekend.

Out of the second Test starting XV go O’Driscoll, scrum-half Ben Youngs, his brother and hooker Tom Youngs, prop Mako Vunipola, No 8 Jamie Heaslip and the injured skipper Sam Warburton.

In come the fit-again trio of centre Jamie Roberts, scrum-half Mike Phillips and prop Alex Corbisiero. Wales No 8 Toby Faletau will win his first Lions cap in a back row that sees Sean O’Brien move off the bench to claim Warburton’s No 7 shirt.

England front-rowers Vunipola and Tom Youngs drop to the bench where they are joined by newcomers Richie Gray, Justin Tipuric and Manu Tuilagi. The experienced Tom Croft and first Test tryscorer Alex Cuthbert lose their places on the bench from last week.

“It all comes down to Saturday – the winner takes all. We know we can leave nothing in the tank and that only a complete performance will get us across the line,” said Gatland.

“Picking this team was not easy and ultimately, with several players available after recovering from injury, the head overruled the heart in many selection decisions.

“Brian O’Driscoll is a great player and has had a wonderful career but for the final Test in Sydney we just felt Jamie Roberts’s presence offered us something more.”

Gatland was the first coach to pick O’Driscoll for an international match way back in 1999 and he has now become the first one to drop him 14 years later.

“We told him this morning and he was obviously disappointed, as anyone would be. But he appreciated the fact that he was spoken to before the announcement,” said the coach.

“It’s the first time that any coach has had that decision with him in 15 years of rugby. It’s not easy for that to be the first time, but he’s still going to be very important for us for the next 72 hours in terms of his experience and leadership.

“It wasn’t about leadership – it was about picking what we felt was the best team.”

“Alun Wyn gets his opportunity on Saturday. He leads from the front and he’s been outstanding in the lead up games and was one of the first names on the sheet when he picked the team for the first two Tests.”

British and Irish Lions

Leigh Halfpenny; Tommy Bowe, Jonathan Davies, Jamie Roberts, George North; Jonathan Sexton, Mike Phillips; Toby Faletau, Sean O’Brien, Dan Lydiate; Geoff Parling, Alun Wyn Jones (capt); Adam Jones, Richard Hibbard, Alex Corbisiero.

Replacements: Tom Youngs, Mako Vunipola, Dan Cole, Richie Gray, Justin Tipuric, Conor Murray, Owen Farrell, Manu Tuilagi.