Warburton told his Test spot is not guaranteed

through the Maori game unscathed. Dan Biggar fills Farrell’s place on the bench.

When Gatland named his team to face the Maori earlier yesterday, he hinted he was keeping Farrell in reserve with the first Test in mind.

“We felt Owen’s had a bit of rugby at the moment,” he said. “We’ve got to make sure we’re not fully showing our hand. We’ve got to keep some combinations back and keep the All Blacks guessing a little about what our final squad might be.

“Johnny Sexton needs more rugby and we’re building on that. He was really good off the bench the other day and his combination at 10 and 12 with Owen was pretty seamless.”

With Billy Vunipola ruled out before the tour party left, losing another lynchpin in Farrell would be a terrible blow to the Lions’ prospects.

And Gatland may also have to do without his tour captain for the first Test having given Sam Warburton, who is among the replacements tomorrow, no guarantees he will face the All Blacks. “One of the reasons we selected Sam as captain of the squad is that he is an absolute quality player,” said Gatland.

“But this tour isn’t about him, it’s about putting the squad first. If Sam is not involved in the first Test, he will fully understand that.”

Back rower Peter O’Mahony will skipper the side tomorrow and the pack looks close to Gatland’s Test unit.

“We will get to see if these are going to be a lot of the combinations for the first Test,” he said. “They’ve just got to gel and keep working together.

“We’re all aware the players have had one or two chances. Some were lucky they were involved in a combination that went really well and sometimes you’ve got to reward that.

“For the players not involved the message is that we’ve seen in the past how significantly the team can change. You never know when your chance is going to come.”

With the injured Stuart Hogg on his way home, Leigh Halfpenny starts at full-back alongside George North and Anthony Watson on the wings. Liam Williams can consider himself unlucky not to be involved but Watson was excellent off the bench against Crusaders and deserves a chance.

Sexton partners his Ireland team-mate Conor Murray at half-back and Jonathan Davies, back from a blow to the head suffered in Christchurch, lines up at centre outside Ben Te’o.

“This is my first tour and I still don’t really know how a lot of things work,” said Te’o, who was born in Auckland. “I just have a plan to play hard and then get ready for what comes after that.

“I’ve never played against the Maori and I’ve never played in Rotorua, so it’s all new to me. If I get an opportunity in the Tests I would be very proud.”

Te’o and Davies are an exciting midfield blend, and helped create a line break within a minute of playing together against the Crusaders before the latter was forced off.

But the Lions will have their hands full against a blockbuster Maori side that features the electric Damian McKenzie at fly-half, and Rieko Ioane and Nehe MilnerSkudder out wide.

LIONS: Replacements: