As late call-ups to a British and Irish Lions squad go, it’s hardly a low-profile one. Andy Farrell may have raised eyebrows by not including his son Owen in the original squad but he’s arguably raised even more by calling him up now.
With Farrell jnr not having played in the interim, and the original trio of outhalves all still being well and healthy, at face value nothing much appears to have changed since the original 38-man squad was announced, other than Elliot Daly being cruelly forced to return home in the early stages of his third Lions tour after the fractured arm he suffered in Wednesday’s win over the Queensland Reds in Brisbane.
Due to the social media negativity directed at him and the pressure and attention he felt when playing for England, Farrell jnr had walked away from Test rugby by joining Racing 92 for the past season, although that move has been cut short to facilitate a return to Saracens next season.
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Amid inevitable accusations of family favouritism, the attention will now return on the coach’s son, but the senior Farrell said: “I hope people can get past that. There has been a lot of that nonsense for some time. That was in the past. We all just need to move on and embrace what the Lions is all about and what we have got coming ahead.”
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Soon after arriving in the Lions’ plush downtown hotel in Sydney from Brisbane, Farrell seemed in sanguine mood and deflected the inevitable barrage of questions about this selection calmly and logically. The only time he perhaps became a tad uncomfortable was when it was pointed out to him that Farrell jnr hadn’t played Test rugby in 20 months since the last World Cup, and not at all in the last nine weeks.
“There’s plenty of players who don’t play for quite some time,” he said in response. “There are players who didn’t play in this Six Nations, or didn’t play for 12 weeks [on this tour]. I get the questions in isolation but there are stories like that all over the place.”
As for not being deemed fit enough when the squad was announced and being considered fit now, without having played in the interim, the head coach said: “Well he’s fit or else he wouldn’t be picked. I know that the guys have been keeping close touch with him and others in regards to that and he’s been training full-bore for quite some time now.”
Farrell jnr was also feeling the after-effects of a concussion when the squad was initially announced and had been unable to train with any club in order to complete his return-to-play protocols, which he has now done with Saracens.
“He’s been on with the doctor in the last couple of weeks and gone through all the protocols, etc. There might be a little bit of something to do when he first comes back, but everyone’s up to speed with where he’s at; fully fit and raring to go.”
As for the conversation between the two Farrells, it appears to have been typically businesslike and professional.
“Well, he didn’t cry like Finlay,” said the coach in regard to phoning Finlay Bealham to ask him aboard as a late replacement. “I suppose that’s what happens when it’s your fourth tour. He’s delighted like everyone else. It was just a short conversation and he said, “Yep, okay, I’ll get ready, I’ll get packed, ready to go”.’
Johnny Sexton would surely have backed calling up Farrell jnr, for what he does possess is an abundance of ability, match-winning talent and experience, not least of the British and Irish Lions. Daly was one of only a trio of three-time tourists along with Maro Itoje and Tadhg Furlong, and Farrell jnr, as his father indicated, will be joining his fourth tour, and so will immediately inject the squad with a huge presence and aura.
“Well, that’s hopefully what experience gives you, isn’t it? He’s the right man at this moment in time for us,” said the head coach. “We know how much he looks after himself and prides himself on keeping in good nick anyway. I suppose at this stage there are plenty of players who haven’t played for quite some time and experience – knowing what you can do – helps in that regard.’
Strictly speaking too, Farrell jnr is not a like-for-like replacement, given he is a 10/12 who is replacing an 11/13/15. But as his father noted, the Lions have plenty of fullbacks now, with Hugo Keenan (at 15) and the recently arrived Toulouse Top 14 winner Blair Kinghorn (at 11) being named to start against the New South Wales Waratahs in Sydney on Saturday.
“Elliot covers a good few positions, but Blair coming in and others showing they can fill in different positions, that’s the vulnerable position. That could change at the weekend. Tommy Freeman can cover 13, 15, wing, but if someone who covers all sorts of different positions has a knock we might look at someone else down the line. The number isn’t the number, it’s just what’s right for the team.”
“It’s what we need for the squad in the here and now, with Elliot going and Blair coming in, the options we’ve got at 15, there are plenty of options we’ve got at 13, and wing, etc. A little bit vulnerable there in and around the 12 piece and obviously he can play 10 as well.
“When you look at the experience that Elliot’s had ... It isn’t just the playing side, it’s how you make the group feel. The little chats that you have around the place to make sure that everything’s gelled together and obviously Owen would bring a lot of that into the group.”
LIONS (v NSW Waratahs): Hugo Keenan (Ireland); Mack Hansen (Ireland), Huw Jones (Scotland), Sione Tuipulotu (Scotland), Blair Kinghorn (Scotland); Fin Smith (England), Alex Mitchell (England); Pierre Schoeman (Scotland), Luke Cowan-Dickie (England), Finlay Bealham (Ireland); Tadhg Beirne (Ireland, capt), James Ryan (Ireland); Henry Pollock (England), Josh van der Flier (Ireland), Ben Earl (England).
Replacements: Dan Sheehan (Ireland), Ellis Genge (England), Tadhg Furlong (Ireland), Joe McCarthy (Ireland), Scott Cummings (Scotland), Jac Morgan (Wales), Ben White (Scotland), Marcus Smith (England).
