AS ANDY FARRELL worked his way through the positives from a tight 24-19 win over an impressive First Nations & Pasifika XV, mentioning Garry Ringrose, Jamie Osborne, and Ben White along the way, he forgot to mention the Lions’ number 12, Owen Farrell.
And when he was asked about the man sitting beside him, Andy initially deferred to Owen.
“He asked you,” was Owen’s smiling response.
So Andy had no choice.
“Some good things obviously, a nice little chip off the left peg,” said the Lions head coach.
“Some nice touches on the ball as well, but always work-ons, there are always work-ons.”
Owen Farrell has had a big impact on the Lions since arriving on tour as an injury replacement for Elliot Daly. It’s understood he was pivotal in last week’s preparation for the first Test win over the Wallabies despite not being involved in the matchday 23. Farrell apparently drove everyone in training. No surprise.
And as he showed again tonight in Melbourne, class is permanent. His silky touches were supplemented by an excellent work rate, some clever tactical decisions, and he got stuck in when there was a high tackle on Darcy Graham.
Farrell showed why the Lions must strongly consider him for the number 22 shirt in Saturday’s second Test against the Wallabies.
Marcus Smith, who wore 22 last weekend in Brisbane, came off the bench against the First Nations & Pasifika XV but didn’t last long before going off for a head injury assessment.
“He’s fine, he has passed everything,” said Farrell when asked about Smith post-match.
So there is a decision to make. Yet after last weekend’s second-half fade against the Wallabies, with the Lions bench making little impact, bringing in Farrell’s leadership, drive, experience, and skill into the matchday squad would make sense.
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Owen Farrell has a good chance of second Test involvement. Billy Stickland / INPHO
Billy Stickland / INPHO / INPHO
Farrell said the Lions coaches will wait until tomorrow morning to completely finalise their selection for the second Test, allowing the medical team to assess anyone who took bumps tonight.
“There’s all sorts that goes into it, some performances, there’s no doubt about that,” said Farrell of making this selection.
“But there’s also what’s right for this second game and what that presents and the make-up of the squad and how it feels, you know, is a few changes going to freshen it up or do we go with the same guys?
“All that comes into the pot and it’s whatever’s best for the team that we think that we need in a game like that at the MCG with over 90,000 people there.”
It seems unlikely that Farrell will make many changes in his pack. The starting front row of Ellis Genge, Dan Sheehan, and Tadhg Furlong were excellent in the first Test. The back row of Tadhg Beirne, Tom Curry, and Jack Conan were outstanding.
Maro Itoje will captain again from the second row, although Joe McCarthy remains a doubt.
The Lions have a day off tomorrow before training on Thursday, so there is still time for McCarthy’s foot injury to come good.
“He hasn’t trained so far, but with the nature of the week, which is a bit different, we will see how he is for Thursday,” said Farrell.
If McCarthy is ruled out, the most obvious call would see Ollie Chessum come into the starting XV.
James Ryan is another option. He was yellow-carded tonight, but did show his physical edge at other times. Farrell knows what he can do. Ryan could bring impact off the bench if McCarthy is ruled out. Scott Cummings had a good game at Marvel Stadium and will probably feel like his hand is up.
Joe McCarthy remains a doubt. James Crombie / INPHO
James Crombie / INPHO / INPHO
Jamison Gibson-Park and Finn Russell will go again in the halfbacks, but there is a sense of intrigue around the outside backs.
Fullback Blair Kinghorn made his return from a knee injury in Melbourne tonight and is certainly in the Test mix.
“It was great for him to get 80 minutes,” said Farrell of Kinghorn. “He was very assured and I’m sure he’ll gain a lot of confidence. It’s good for him to get that out of the way. You never know until you know.
“He’s done unbelievably well at how diligent he’s been to get back so quickly. Fair play to him and the medical staff for getting him to that point. He’d be delighted to get 80 minutes.”
Outside centre Garry Ringrose also got back from his concussion against the First Nations & Pasifika side. He was sprung from the bench as early as the 18th minute when Darcy Graham was injured and looked very sharp.
“I thought he performed really well,” said Farrell of Ringrose.
The other man who the Lions have been hoping will be in second Test contention is right wing Mack Hansen, but Farrell didn’t sound overly optimistic about his chances of returning from his foot injury.
“Mack’s progressing,” said Farrell. “Whether he’s progressing quick enough, we’ll see towards the end of the week.”
There is scope for the Lions boss to bring one of the Irish centres – Bundee Aki and Ringrose – into his starting XV, or perhaps even both of them if he wants a total injection of fresh energy.
The starting back three in the opening Test was James Lowe, Tommy Freeman, and Hugo Keenan, but Kinghorn is someone the Lions seemingly saw as having a big role to play against the Wallabies.
Blair Kinghorn returned from injury. James Crombie / INPHO
James Crombie / INPHO / INPHO
It might be that he replaces Keenan at fullback or Freeman on the right wing, but there’s also the option for Farrell to use Kinghorn in the number 23 shirt. Between himself and Owen Farrell at number 22, the entire backline would be covered given Freeman’s ability to shift to outside centre.
The experienced and classy Jamie George might also come into consideration if Farrell wants to shake up his bench.
All will be revealed on Thursday afternoon but whatever selection he settles on, Farrell believes the Lions need to go up another level against the Wallabies. He senses that Joe Schmidt’s men will be better.
“If you can’t get up for what’s coming, we’re all in the wrong place,” said Farrell.
“To me, this is the biggest game of our lives, every one of us that’s part of our squad, so we’ll make sure that we address the week like that.”
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Farrell to make final selection calls for 'biggest game of our lives'
AS ANDY FARRELL worked his way through the positives from a tight 24-19 win over an impressive First Nations & Pasifika XV, mentioning Garry Ringrose, Jamie Osborne, and Ben White along the way, he forgot to mention the Lions’ number 12, Owen Farrell.
And when he was asked about the man sitting beside him, Andy initially deferred to Owen.
“He asked you,” was Owen’s smiling response.
So Andy had no choice.
“Some good things obviously, a nice little chip off the left peg,” said the Lions head coach.
“Some nice touches on the ball as well, but always work-ons, there are always work-ons.”
Owen Farrell has had a big impact on the Lions since arriving on tour as an injury replacement for Elliot Daly. It’s understood he was pivotal in last week’s preparation for the first Test win over the Wallabies despite not being involved in the matchday 23. Farrell apparently drove everyone in training. No surprise.
And as he showed again tonight in Melbourne, class is permanent. His silky touches were supplemented by an excellent work rate, some clever tactical decisions, and he got stuck in when there was a high tackle on Darcy Graham.
Farrell showed why the Lions must strongly consider him for the number 22 shirt in Saturday’s second Test against the Wallabies.
Marcus Smith, who wore 22 last weekend in Brisbane, came off the bench against the First Nations & Pasifika XV but didn’t last long before going off for a head injury assessment.
“He’s fine, he has passed everything,” said Farrell when asked about Smith post-match.
So there is a decision to make. Yet after last weekend’s second-half fade against the Wallabies, with the Lions bench making little impact, bringing in Farrell’s leadership, drive, experience, and skill into the matchday squad would make sense.
Farrell said the Lions coaches will wait until tomorrow morning to completely finalise their selection for the second Test, allowing the medical team to assess anyone who took bumps tonight.
“There’s all sorts that goes into it, some performances, there’s no doubt about that,” said Farrell of making this selection.
“But there’s also what’s right for this second game and what that presents and the make-up of the squad and how it feels, you know, is a few changes going to freshen it up or do we go with the same guys?
“All that comes into the pot and it’s whatever’s best for the team that we think that we need in a game like that at the MCG with over 90,000 people there.”
It seems unlikely that Farrell will make many changes in his pack. The starting front row of Ellis Genge, Dan Sheehan, and Tadhg Furlong were excellent in the first Test. The back row of Tadhg Beirne, Tom Curry, and Jack Conan were outstanding.
Maro Itoje will captain again from the second row, although Joe McCarthy remains a doubt.
The Lions have a day off tomorrow before training on Thursday, so there is still time for McCarthy’s foot injury to come good.
“He hasn’t trained so far, but with the nature of the week, which is a bit different, we will see how he is for Thursday,” said Farrell.
If McCarthy is ruled out, the most obvious call would see Ollie Chessum come into the starting XV.
James Ryan is another option. He was yellow-carded tonight, but did show his physical edge at other times. Farrell knows what he can do. Ryan could bring impact off the bench if McCarthy is ruled out. Scott Cummings had a good game at Marvel Stadium and will probably feel like his hand is up.
Jamison Gibson-Park and Finn Russell will go again in the halfbacks, but there is a sense of intrigue around the outside backs.
Fullback Blair Kinghorn made his return from a knee injury in Melbourne tonight and is certainly in the Test mix.
“It was great for him to get 80 minutes,” said Farrell of Kinghorn. “He was very assured and I’m sure he’ll gain a lot of confidence. It’s good for him to get that out of the way. You never know until you know.
“He’s done unbelievably well at how diligent he’s been to get back so quickly. Fair play to him and the medical staff for getting him to that point. He’d be delighted to get 80 minutes.”
Outside centre Garry Ringrose also got back from his concussion against the First Nations & Pasifika side. He was sprung from the bench as early as the 18th minute when Darcy Graham was injured and looked very sharp.
“I thought he performed really well,” said Farrell of Ringrose.
The other man who the Lions have been hoping will be in second Test contention is right wing Mack Hansen, but Farrell didn’t sound overly optimistic about his chances of returning from his foot injury.
“Mack’s progressing,” said Farrell. “Whether he’s progressing quick enough, we’ll see towards the end of the week.”
There is scope for the Lions boss to bring one of the Irish centres – Bundee Aki and Ringrose – into his starting XV, or perhaps even both of them if he wants a total injection of fresh energy.
The starting back three in the opening Test was James Lowe, Tommy Freeman, and Hugo Keenan, but Kinghorn is someone the Lions seemingly saw as having a big role to play against the Wallabies.
It might be that he replaces Keenan at fullback or Freeman on the right wing, but there’s also the option for Farrell to use Kinghorn in the number 23 shirt. Between himself and Owen Farrell at number 22, the entire backline would be covered given Freeman’s ability to shift to outside centre.
The experienced and classy Jamie George might also come into consideration if Farrell wants to shake up his bench.
All will be revealed on Thursday afternoon but whatever selection he settles on, Farrell believes the Lions need to go up another level against the Wallabies. He senses that Joe Schmidt’s men will be better.
“If you can’t get up for what’s coming, we’re all in the wrong place,” said Farrell.
“To me, this is the biggest game of our lives, every one of us that’s part of our squad, so we’ll make sure that we address the week like that.”
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andy farrell decisions Lions Lions 2025 Matchday 23 Rugby Selection