Advertisement
Look out Sydney here he comes.
Owen Farrell is back to renew his long time rivalry with Australia, after receiving the call from his dad Andy, the Lions head coach.
The call came after Elliot Daly’s broken arm ruled him out of the tour, and means he is the second Lion to leave camp injured after Tomas Williams earlier in the week.
AMONG THE LEGENDS
For the 33-year-old Farrell, this is his fourth Lions series which puts him alongside modern greats Brian O’Driscoll and Alun Wyn Jones.
He was part of the winning 2013 tour to Australia where he stayed on the bench for the first and second tests but came on at flyhalf in the winning third test.
In 2017 Farrell started the first test at flyhalf, then moved into the centre for the second and third, where he formed a memorable 10-12 axis with now Lions coach Johnny Sexton.
That year he was the main kicker for the Lions and scored 27 points in the three tests.
Come 2021 in South Africa he came off the bench in the first and second tests. Dan Biggar was first choice in the number 10 jersey.
WHICH FARRELL IS IT?
It has been nearly two years since Farrell played international rugby.
Farrell’s last match came against Argentina in the 2023 Rugby World Cup when his two conversions and four penalties helped England beat Los Pumas 26-23.
Since then, he missed the 2024 Guinness Men’s Six Nations to take a mental health break and then took himself out of selection by joining Racing 92 in France at the start of last season.
His move back to Saracens had no baring on his call up, as Farrell senior said he was in discussions before that move.
However, Farrell only played 17 times for Racing and scored 41 points. His most recent appearance was on 4 May in the Parisians’ loss to Lyon in the EPCR Challenge Cup semifinals.
It raises questions of what shape he will be in because no matter what he brings off field, he will need to bring something tangible on field.
That said, might it be a case that there’s a highly driven individual, back to fitness and settled back home, who is desperate to get back on the pitch and show he’s still got it?
RAISING THE INTENSITY
If there’s one thing that Farrells don’t like, it is standards dropping. Look at his first Lions match in 2013.
The Lions have just come off the Hong Kong Stadium pitch after a lacklustre opening match win over the Barbarians and there, standing dripping in sweat, the 2009 captain Paul O’Connell blasts his more experienced teammates for not showing the drive and desire that the then 21-year-old did.
The Lions have started slowly in all three matches. There’s muddled thinking at restarts something the Wallabies will have noted.
It is the same at the breakdown where referee instructions have been ignored, something which cost Henry Pollock 10 minutes in the sin bin against Western Force.
It is amazing what a quick blast of Wigan-accented invective, or instruction, can do for focusing minds, as plenty of his England and Saracens teammates would attest.
SHAKING UP THE BENCH
Daly’s form at fullback gave Farrell senior a pleasant choice, of which substitutes to fit around his ability to also play in the centre and wing.
It opened up the chance for a six-two split on the bench, something he is doing against the New South Wales Waratahs on Saturday.
Farrell’s ability to play flyhalf and centre, but not one of the outside back roles, means that if he is on the bench then that option is not realistic.
Unless, of course, he starts.
PENNY FOR MARCUS’ THOUGHTS
Marcus Smith is having a funny old tour, to round off a funny old season.
Come Christmas, it was widely accepted that the flyhalf was England’s brightest spark in a fairly dull November series. A few months on he’d lost his starting 10 jersey to Fin Smith and shifted to fullback.
The Harlequin was picked to tour as one of three flyhalves, along with Finn Russell and Fin Smith, but we have yet to see him start there.
He is again on the bench against the Waratahs in a six-two split. He started at fullback against Argentina and came off the bench for Russell with 20 minutes to go against Western Force.
Now, another flyhalf has joined the tour.
One the one hand adding fullback to the positions he can play has put him into the versatile player conversation, but means we forget how good he can be in his favoured position.
There must be times when he wonders whether he wants to kiss or kick Kevin Sinfield, the man who originally suggested he try playing there.
BOTTOM LINE SINGS LOUDEST
For now, though, there is little that Smith, or anyone else in direct competition with Farrell can do.
Farrell senior’s job is to win the test series.
If he thinks calling up his son and someone who is there more on past exploits than current form can help achieve that, then there is little that anyone else can do.
Bon voyage Owen.