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champion team in the Lions’ starting XV.
Gatland said the front row, the loose forwards and the centre pairing were the most debated areas for selectors after so many candidates emerged as the Lions won five of their first six tour matches.
Welsh flanker Sam Warburton was confirmed as test captain in a back row comprising Irish No 8 Jamie Heaslip and English blindside flanker Tom Croft.
Ireland veteran Brian O’Driscoll will partner Jonathan Davies in the centres, and will be hoping to reproduce the form of his Lions debut against the Australians in 2001, when he shredded the backline defence.
The Lions won that Test in Brisbane, but lost the next two matches in Melbourne and Sydney and are still trying to win their first series since the 1997 tour to South Africa.
O’Driscoll, on his fourth Lions tour, and fellow Irishman Jonathan Sexton at flyhalf are the only non-Wales players in a starting backline that includes five new Lions caps. Centres Manu Tuilagi and Jamie Roberts and winger Tommy Bowe were unavailable due to injuries.
“I don’t think it’s about a national thing,” said Gatland, a New Zealander who was picked to coach the Lions on the basis of his success with the Wales national team.
“It’s about the Lions. Whoever makes the makeup of it is irrelevant to me.
“We’ve looked at just picking the best possible team that we can to win the first test.”
The pack is a mix of youth and experience, with 2009 Lions captain Paul O’Connell in the second row to partner Welshman Alun-Wyn Jones, and Adam Jones joined in the front row by English prop Alex Corbisiero and hooker Tom Youngs – two of the three new caps in the forwards.
“After six matches we have arrived at the first test and have selected our strongest possible,” Gatland said. “The Wallabies at home pose a huge challenge, but the Test team contains 20 of the players that played against the Waratahs in what was our best match to date. We now have a couple of more days of match preparation to ensure we improve again on that performance.” – AP.
Online Reporter