Andy Farrell has named his strongest British and Irish team Lions team yet with Wednesday's match against the ACT Brumbies in Canberra shaping up to be a dry run for the first Test against Australia.

British & Irish Lions coach Andy Farrell has named eight Irishmen in his starting side to face the ACT Brumbies on Wednesday, the tour match for which he was expected to select a line-up close to his first-choice team for the test series.

Coach Stephen Larkham said Monday the ACT Brumbies have a "big opportunity" against the British and Irish Lions, but admitted they face a tough task with a team stripped of key Wallabies. "The boys have been back in training for a couple of weeks and they are aware of how big an opportunity this is for them to take on the Lions,