If a week is a long time in politics, then four years can sometimes seem an age. In the week that Tadhg Furlong starts his ninth successive Lions Test, and is one of nine Irish players in the starting XV, it may seem faintly ridiculous and more than a tad parochial to highlight those who haven’t made it.
Yet Mack Hansen and Garry Ringrose have been desperately unlucky to be ruled out of all three Tests. At 27 the opportunity may or may not knock again for Hansen, whereas Ringrose would assuredly have started two, or possibly all, of the Tests but for recurring concussion symptoms.
In making just two changes to his starting XV, by promoting James Ryan and Blair Kinghorn, and in recalling Ben Earl to a 6-2 bench, Andy Farrell has made a statement of intent for Saturday’s series finale in Sydney’s Accor Stadium (kick-off 8pm local time/11am Irish).
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It means he’s only had to use 27 players in this series and 14 players in the current 41-man squad have missed out on the Test series. But of the others it’s doubtful anyone will be more entitled to feel aggrieved than Josh van der Flier, and at 32 the 2022 World Player of the Year will probably never have the chance again.
What will make his disappointment more acute is that he again misses out even though the Lions already have an unassailable 2-0 lead and Farrell has named two opensides on the bench ahead of him in Jac Morgan and Earl.
Given he has picked Van der Flier in 50 of his 56 matches as Ireland’s head coach, this must have been one of Farrell’s more difficult conversations.
Even so, on a sodden Sydney day outside the squad’s hotel which the Lions used a dozen years ago and Ireland used on their 2018 tour, it came as no surprise when Farrell revealed: “Josh has epitomised what it takes to be a Lions tourist,” and added that the flanker was both disappointed and delighted.
Their conversations had focused on “the nature of the position and how competitive that is and the balance of the backrow”.
“He knows exactly what we think of him and his response to all that has always been to train the house down and prepare the team as best he could. The other thing he said after his disappointment yesterday would have been that he has had the time of his life. It says everything about the man.”
Joe McCarthy will also have a sense of frustration after his foot issue ultimately restricted him to just 45 minutes in the first Test, albeit at 24 and given reasonable luck with his body, he will surely have more Lions tours.
Hence, the aforementioned Ryan deservedly starts after making such an eye-catching impact off the bench in the last 25 minutes of the second Test with his defensive line speed and physicality on both sides of the ball. He carried three times in the 13-phase attack which culminated in the Lions’ fourth try by Tadhg Beirne and made the final, crucial carry in the build-up to Hugo Keenan’s match-winning score in the 80th minute.
Ryan has focused on bringing that steely-eyed physicality to his game, be it carrying or tackling, and doing the donkey work at the breakdown. He has become something of an old-fashioned lock, as well as being a good set-piece operator.
“He’s seen his niche in his game and not trying to be somebody else,” said Farrell. “He does all the unseen work, all the graft stuff and has done it with a bit of venom in his game. He’s not tried to be a ball-playing forward like some of the secondrows have been, but he hits hard defensively, and hits rucks really well. We all need a bit of that.”
Farrell’s selection underlines his desire to complete a first unbeaten Lions series since the vintage 1974 tourists to South Africa.
Asked if he targeted Grand Slams in the same way as Irish coach, Farrell smiled and joked: “You are going to use that now aren’t you in the next Six Nations?”
But he added: “I never think you should shy away from shooting from the stars because you might end up on the moon. That’s pretty good as well.
“That’s the quality that we’re chasing. I don’t think you should shy away from challenging each other. And if you don’t get there, then hopefully it’s somewhere near. It sets the mentality in my mind of what delivering means and you’ve always got a level to aim at.”
Farrell has always had a huge connection with Australian rugby, be it League or Union, and has thoroughly enjoyed returning here and bumping into so many blasts from the past, such as his former Great Britain coach David Waite.
Asked if Australia had earned the right to host another Lions tour, Farrell seemed genuinely flabbergasted by the very debate.
“I don’t think it was ever off the agenda in my opinion. Every single team, country, province, has their ups and downs. But Australia, the sporting nation that they are, are always going to come back. That [display] last weekend was no surprise to us, and why we expect them to be better again.
“Have a look at the year they’ve got coming up. They’re going to be a force to be reckoned with come the World Cup in 2027. It would be tragic not to tour here. We’ve had a blast. To me it’s insulting to talk about it in that kind of way.”
Farrell declined to venture whether he might assume this role again four years hence in New Zealand. “Give me a break would you. Let me get through Saturday. Honestly for me it has been absolutely brilliant. I have absolutely loved every single minute and I knew I would because I just love everything that the Lions is about. Thinking about the future is not something that is on my mind until I get home and have a bit of reflection on the whole thing.”
And that will be early next week, not least as he has tickets for one of the Oasis concerts in Croke Park.
LIONS: Hugo Keenan (Ireland); Tommy Freeman (England), Huw Jones (Scotland), Bundee Aki (Ireland), Blair Kinghorn (Scotland); Finn Russell (Scotland), Jamison Gibson-Park (Ireland), Andrew Porter (Ireland), Dan Sheehan (Ireland), Tadhg Furlong (Ireland); Maro Itoje (England, capt), James Ryan (Ireland); Tadhg Beirne (Ireland), Tom Curry (England), Jack Conan (Ireland).
Replacements: Rónan Kelleher (Ireland), Ellis Genge (England), Will Stuart (England), Ollie Chessum (England), Jac Morgan (Wales), Ben Earl (England), Alex Mitchell (England), Owen Farrell (England).
AUSTRALIA: Tom Wright; Max Jorgensen, Joseph-Aukuso Suaalii, Len Ikitau, Dylan Pietsch; Tom Lynagh, Nic White; James Slipper, Dave Porecki, Taniela Tupou; Nick Frost, Will Skelton; Tom Hooper, Fraser McReight, Harry Wilson (capt).
Replacements: Billy Pollard, Angus Bell, Zane Nonggorr, Jeremy Williams, Langi Gleeson, Tate McDermott, Ben Donaldson, Andrew Kellaway.
Referee: Nika Amashukeli (GRU)
Assistant Referees: Ben O’Keeffe (NZR), Andrea Piardi (FIR)
TMO: Marius Jonker (SARU)
