BRISBANE, Australia (AP) — Tom Lynagh will start at flyhalf for Australia against the Lions in the series-opening test on Saturday, 36 years after his famous father wore the Wallabies No. 10 jersey against the combined British and Irish rugby team.
Both squads were announced within a couple of hours on Thursday, with the Lions unveiling a squad that doesn't contain a Welsh player for the first time in tests against either Australia, New Zealand or South Africa since 1896.
Wallabies coach Joe Schmidt was forced into some significant changes by injuries to regular backrower Rob Valetini, lock Will Skelton and flyhalf Noah Lolesio.
Andy Farrell's Lions lineup is bigger, more experienced and close to full strength, similar to the squad that beat the Brumbies in Canberra last week.
England lock Maro Itoje is captain of the 23-man squad that contains eight Irish players in the starting lineup and three on the bench. Welsh backrower Jac Morgan missed out on a loose forward combation comprising No. 8 Jack Conan and flankers Tom Curry and Tadhg Beirne, meaning this Lions squad will have only players only from Ireland, England and Scotland.
Morgan got “as close as you could imagine,” to selection, Farrell said. “You’re actually gutted for players like that.”
Flyhalf Finn Russell will spearhead a backline with his Scotland teammates Huw Jones and Sione Tuipulotu combining in the centers.
The Lions are 5-0 ahead of the three-test series since a 28-24 loss to Argentina in a warmup in Dublin. They had wins over all of Australia’s Super Rugby franchises — the Western Force,Queensland Reds, Waratahs and Brumbies — before Saturday’s 48-0 demolition of an AUNZ invitational XV in Adelaide.
Nick Champion de Crespigny will make his debut on the blindside flank to replace Valetini, bringing a different style of game and allowing Wallabies skipper to take up more of the ball-carrying responsibility. Hooker Matt Faessler also returns to the starting XV.
The 22-year-old Lynagh will start a test for the first time after coming off the bench three times previously. He'll form a new halves combination with Jake Gordon in the biggest moment of his fledgling international career.
“I’m really excited for Tom. He’s got a quiet confidence about him, that gives us a quiet confidence as well,” Schmidt said. “He’s given us the confidence that he’s going to run the game for us. He’s incredibly brave — to a fault.”
The Lions won the series 2-1 on their last tour to Australia in 2013, avenging a 2-1 series loss to the Wallabies in 2001.
Michael Lynagh was part of the Australian team that lost the 1989 series 2-1 to the Lions, and he went on to help guide the Wallabies to a 1991 World Cup triumph.
His son was born in Italy, went to school in England and moved in 2021 to Australia, where he has flourished at the Queensland Reds and earned three test caps.
Tom Lynagh will be the first Wallaby to follow in his father’s footsteps in playing against the Lions.
“Probably not ideal to be starting your first test match for the Wallabies against the British and Irish Lions," Schmidt said, but "if not now, when?”
Veteran prop James Slipper will get another chance at the Lions after being included in a reshuffled pack, bringing his experience of the 2013 series to the current crop of Wallabies.
Flanker Fraser McReight was confident the backrow would lose nothing in terms of physicality with Champion de Crespigny replacing for Valetini.
“He loves to whack. He loves the physical nature of the game,” McReight said of his new backrow partner. “Once he crosses that white line, he’s a beast.”
“It's a great occasion and a proud moment for Maro Itoje, who will captain the test side, but also for those players who get the opportunity to represent the group on Saturday," Farrell said. “We have seen a flood of Lions supporters on the streets of Brisbane this week and we are looking forward to seeing a Sea of Red in the stands.”
The opening game in the 2001 series in Brisbane felt more like a home game for the Lions, with the Gabba stadium filled with fans wearing red. It propelled the Lions to a win over the 1999 World Cup champions. But the Australians rallied and win the Melbourne and Sydney tests to clinch the series.
Twelve years ago, on the last tour, the Lions again won in Brisbane — 23-21 — when Wallabies' goalkicker Kurtley Beale slipped and missed a last-minute penalty attempt. The Wallabies won the second test in Melbourne before the Lions dominated in Sydney to clinch the series.
The second test is set for July 26 in Melbourne, followed by Sydney on Aug. 2.
Squads:
Australia: Tom Wright, Max Jorgensen, Joseph-Aukuso Sua'ali'i, Len Ikitau, Harry Potter, Tom Lynagh, Jake Gordon; Harry Wilson (captain), Fraser McReight, Nick Champion de Crespigny, Jeremy Williams, Nick Frost, Allan Ala'alatoa, Matt Faessler, James Slipper. Reserves: Billy Pollard, Angus Bell, Tom Robertson, Tom Hooper, Carlo Tizzano, Tate McDermott, Ben Donaldson, Andrew Kellaway.
British and Irish Lions: Hugo Keenan (Ireland), Tommy Freeman (England), Huw Jones (Scotland), Sione Tuipulotu (Scotland), James Lowe (Ireland), Finn Russell (Scotland), Jamison Gibson-Park (Ireland); Jack Conan (Ireland), Tom Curry (England), Tadhg Beirne (Ireland), Joe McCarthy (Ireland), Maro Itoje (England, captain), Tadhg Furlong (Ireland), Dan Sheehan (Ireland), Ellis Genge (England). Reserves: Ronan Kelleher (Ireland), Andrew Porter (Ireland), Will Stuart (England), Ollie Chessum (England), Ben Earl (England), Alex Mitchell (England), Marcus Smith (England), Bundee Aki (Ireland).
AP rugby: https://apnews.com/hub/rugby
Australia's Noah Lolesio reacts as he is tackled during the rugby international between the Wallabies and Fiji in Newcastle, Australia, Sunday, July 6, 2025. (AP Photo/Mark Baker)
Australia coach Joe Schmidt, second right, talks with his assistants following the rugby international between the Wallabies and Fiji in Newcastle, Australia, Sunday, July 6, 2025. (AP Photo/Mark Baker)
WASHINGTON (AP) — President Donald Trump's photo portrait display at the Smithsonian's National Portrait Gallery has had references to his two impeachments removed, the latest apparent change at the collection of museums he has accused of bias as he asserts his influence over how official presentations document U.S. history.
The wall text, which summarized Trump's first presidency and noted his 2024 comeback victory, was part of the museum's “American Presidents” exhibition. The description had been placed alongside a photograph of Trump taken during his first term. Now, a different photo appears without any accompanying text block, though the text was available online. Trump was the only president whose display in the gallery, as seen Sunday, did not include any extended text.
The White House did not say whether it sought any changes. Nor did a Smithsonian statement in response to Associated Press questions. But Trump ordered in August that Smithsonian officials review all exhibits before the nation celebrates the 250th anniversary of the Declaration of Independence on July 4. The Republican administration said the effort would “ensure alignment with the president’s directive to celebrate American exceptionalism, remove divisive or partisan narratives, and restore confidence in our shared cultural institutions.”
Trump's original “portrait label," as the Smithsonian calls it, notes Trump's Supreme Court nominations and his administration's development of COVID-19 vaccines. That section concludes: “Impeached twice, on charges of abuse of power and incitement of insurrection after supporters attacked the U.S. Capitol on January 6, 2021, he was acquitted by the Senate in both trials.”
Then the text continues: “After losing to Joe Biden in 2020, Trump mounted a historic comeback in the 2024 election. He is the only president aside from Grover Cleveland (1837– 1908) to have won a nonconsecutive second term.”
Asked about the display, White House spokesman Davis Ingle celebrated the new photograph, which shows Trump, brow furrowed, leaning over his Oval Office desk. Ingle said it ensures Trump's “unmatched aura ... will be felt throughout the halls of the National Portrait Gallery.”
The portrait was taken by White House photographer Daniel Torok, who is credited in the display that includes medallions noting Trump is the 45th and 47th president. Similar numerical medallions appear alongside other presidents' painted portraits that also include the more extended biographical summaries such as what had been part of Trump's display.
Sitting presidents are represented by photographs until their official paintings are commissioned and completed.
Ingle did not answer questions about whether Trump or a White House aide, on his behalf, asked for anything related to the portrait label.
The gallery said in a statement that it had previously rotated two photographs of Trump from its collection before putting up Torok's work.
“The museum is beginning its planned update of the America’s Presidents gallery which will undergo a larger refresh this Spring,” the gallery statement said. “For some new exhibitions and displays, the museum has been exploring quotes or tombstone labels, which provide only general information, such as the artist’s name.”
For now, references to Presidents Andrew Johnson and Bill Clinton being impeached in 1868 and 1998, respectively, remain as part of their portrait labels, as does President Richard Nixon's 1974 resignation as a result of the Watergate scandal.
And, the gallery statement noted, “The history of Presidential impeachments continues to be represented in our museums, including the National Museum of American History.”
Trump has made clear his intentions to shape how the federal government documents U.S. history and culture. He has offered an especially harsh assessment of how the Smithsonian and other museums have featured chattel slavery as a seminal variable in the nation's development but also taken steps to reshape how he and his contemporary rivals are depicted.
In the months before his order for a Smithsonian review, he fired the head archivist of the National Archives and said he was firing the National Portrait Gallery's director, Kim Sajet, as part of his overhaul. Sajet maintained the backing of the Smithsonian's governing board, but she ultimately resigned.
At the White House, Trump has designed a notably partisan and subjective “Presidential Walk of Fame” featuring gilded photographs of himself and his predecessors — with the exception of Biden, who is represented by an autopen — along with plaques describing their presidencies.
The White House said at the time that Trump himself was a primary author of the plaques. Notably, Trump's two plaques praise the 45th and 47th president as a historically successful figure while those under Biden's autopen stand-in describe the 46th executive as “by far, the worst President in American History” who “brought our Nation to the brink of destruction.”
Barrow reported from Atlanta.
People react to a photograph of President Donald Trump on display at the Smithsonian's National Portrait Gallery's "American Presidents" exhibit on Sunday, Jan. 11, 2026 in Washington. (AP Photo/Rod Lamkey, Jr.)
Visitors to the National Portrait Gallery walk past the portrait of President Donald Trump, Sunday, Jan. 11, 2026, in Washington. (AP Photo/Rod Lamkey, Jr.)
Visitors stop to look at a photograph of President Donald Trump and a short plaque next to it are on display at the Smithsonian's National Portrait Gallery's "American Presidents" exhibit on Sunday, Jan. 11, 2026 in Washington. (AP Photo/Rod Lamkey, Jr.)
A photograph of President Donald Trump and a short plaque next to it are on display at the Smithsonian's National Portrait Gallery's "American Presidents" exhibit on Sunday, Jan. 11, 2026 in Washington. (AP Photo/Anna Johnson)
President Donald Trump speaks during a meeting with oil executives in the East Room of the White House, Friday, Jan. 9, 2026, in Washington. (AP Photo/Evan Vucci)
