Owen Farrell will run the rule over the first match for the British & Irish Lions, against Argentina next week, after joining Sky Sports’ punditry team. The 33-year-old will be at the Aviva Stadium next Friday to give his views on how the side, coached by his dad, Andy, fares.
Farrell jnr has been part of the three previous tours, having made his Lions debut against Australia in 2013, but was omitted from the 38-man squad last month after a torrid first season with Racing 92. Finn Russell, Fin Smith and Marcus Smith were preferred as the fly-halves. His insight into how the Lions perform against the Pumas will be intriguing.
When announcing his squad, Farrell snr left the door open for his son – who has made six Lions Test appearances – to be called upon at a later stage but he was not among the additional players recruited for the training camp in Portugal this week.
Instead, he will be pitchside in Dublin as part of a Sky Sports line-up for the tour that includes Sam Warburton, Dan Biggar, Ronan O’Gara, Will Greenwood, Kyle Sinckler, John Barclay, Conor Murray and Nolli Waterman, as well as the former Lions coaches Warren Gatland and Ian McGeechan.
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Farrell is not scheduled to be in Australia, ensuring he will be available for selection. He has not featured for Racing since suffering a head injury during their Challenge Cup semi-final loss to Lyon last month. While still under contract at Racing, Farrell has informed the Top 14 club of his desire to leave early and return to the Premiership. Saracens are keen to re-sign the former England captain, but will need to agree personal terms as well as a compensation package with Racing.
The former England head coach Eddie Jones will be working on the tour for TalkSport, the station announced last month. Jones has had two spells in charge of the Wallabies, either side of his six-and-a-half year stint leading England. - Guardian
