England’s Maro Itoje and Ireland’s Tadhg Beirne have been selected as the starting British and Irish Lions lock partnership for Friday’s opening tour clash vs Argentina, live on Sky Sports, with the two world-respected players having roomed together already.

Both spoke to media on Wednesday a couple of hours after Andy Farrell’s maiden Lions starting selection as head coach was confirmed – Itoje will captain the Lions for the first time when the Pumas visit the Aviva Stadium in Dublin.

Competition will be fierce across the squad, but Itoje and Beirne is a potential second row pairing so filled with quality they could well prove the starting duo for the opening Lions vs Australia Test on Saturday July 19.

The likes of James Ryan, Joe McCarthy and Scott Cummings will have a say in that, of course, but in terms of pure rugby talent, Itoje and Beirne appear to tick most boxes.

Beirne – included in the World Rugby Dream Team of the Year for 2022 and 2024 – is a breakdown unicorn as far as turnovers go, and allies that ability to a physical edge and set-piece solidity. Itoje – included in the World Rugby Dream Team of the Year for 2021 and a Lions phenomenon in 2017 – is a sensational athlete, momentum giver and ruck menace. The two recognise qualities in each other too.

“I’ve really enjoyed spending time with Tadhg,” Itoje said, sat alongside Farrell at the Aviva Stadium. “He’s a fantastic player, that’s clear for everyone to see.

“His ball skills – the way he moves the ball and controls it – and he has that level of physicality to his game which is really impressive.

“Obviously we spent a bit of time together on the last tour (2021) and built a good relationship and it’s been amazing that we’ve been able to continue that this tour.

“Probably one of the most impressive things I’ve seen from Tadhg has been his leadership and how he is around the group. How he leads the boys in a very calm but mature way.”

Later on Wednesday, Beirne spoke to media and revealed Itoje’s distinct brand of leadership within professional sport.

“[His captaincy has been] Brilliant, he’s been leading the team really well,” Beirne said.

“One thing I’ve been very impressed by is he speaks incredibly well, and he doesn’t curse I’ve noticed. Coming from someone who, when you do get a bit amped up, you tend to curse a lot.

“He’s very well-spoken and he’s led the team really well so far.

“It’s been great. I was rooming with him the first couple of nights and then obviously we were both on the last tour as well, so we’re quite familiar with each other at this stage.

“We’ve been playing against each other quite a bit [over the years]. I played most of the last tour at six so I’ve been enjoying locking out the second row with him so far and I’m really looking forward to Friday.

“It’s [the partnership] been going pretty well in training, we’ve been enjoying it. We’ve been bouncing ideas off each other for the line-out and stuff, and so far the relationship has been really good.

“I’m super excited. Getting to play in Ireland is extra-special for us Irish players. It’s been great the last week-and-a-half, really enjoyable, so I’m looking forward to getting stuck in.”

The Lions environment is a different one to captain, Itoje admits, compared to at Saracens or England due to the sheer number of leaders and experience present within the squad.

Within his answer, though, perhaps lies a hint as to his Lions captaincy style – there’s a stirring quality to sections of his words.

“Every environment, every team presents its different opportunities and challenges. Here, we’re very fortunate we’re surrounded by such quality, both in terms of talent but also in terms of the way people think.

“As you would expect, you have to be talented to be here, but also, to be here players tend to have a strong mindset, they tend to have a robustness about them.

“Obviously, all those things are fantastic and you don’t have to tell players to get ready, you don’t have to tell players to move because all these instinctive things to them are just natural.

“It felt amazing [to become a Lion]. It felt like a dream fulfilled. I finally got my number. I was finally part of this exclusive and elite club. It was just a tremendous feeling. But it also was a tremendous opportunity and responsibility.

“The jersey has weight to it. It has significance to it. It has meaning to it.

“As players, it’s our responsibility to push it forward. It’s our responsibility to live up to the badge.”

A Lions lock partnership of Itoje and Beirne? A tantalising prospect for Lions supporters, no doubt.

British and Irish Lions squad to face Argentina in Dublin on Friday – live on Sky Sports

British and Irish Lions: 15 Marcus Smith, 14 Tommy Freeman, 13 Sione Tuipulotu, 12 Bundee Aki, 11 Duhan van der Merwe, 10 Fin Smith, 9 Alex Mitchell; 1 Ellis Genge, 2 Luke Cowan Dickie, 3 Finlay Bealham, 4 Maro Itoje (c), 5 Tadhg Beirne, 6 Tom Curry, 7 Jac Morgan, 8 Ben Earl.

Replacements: 16 Ronan Kelleher, 17 Pierre Schoeman, 18 Tadhg Furlong, 19 Scott Cummings, 20 Henry Pollock, 21 Tomos Williams, 22 Elliot Daly, 23 Mack Hansen.

British & Irish Lions tour of Australia on Sky Sports

Sky Sports will exclusively show the 2025 British and Irish Lions tour of Australia, with all three Tests against the Wallabies and six warm-up matches to be shown exclusively live.