Munster unchanged again for Sharks quarter-final
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Telegraph
an hour ago
- Telegraph
I know Owen Farrell has his spark back – his Lions call-up could be a masterstroke
Just over two weeks ago, I sat down with Owen Farrell to discuss his return to Saracens after a tumultuous season in Paris. It was a new Owen Farrell, far removed from the troubled soul who felt it was necessary to walk away from playing for England, something he loved so dearly, for the sake of his mental health. The glint was back in his eye. He told me he wanted to start enjoying his rugby again and felt the best way to find a new start was coming back home. He was still recovering from some lingering concussion symptoms that had forced him to miss Racing 92's last six games in the Top 14, but was delighted to be training again. He couldn't wait for the start of the new season with Saracens. But significantly, when I asked him if he would be ready to answer the call if his father, Andy, the Lions head coach, got in touch during the tour, it seemed that fresh start could come sooner than expected. Farrell could have dismissed out of hand a return to the international stage, given the experience he endured during the 2023 World Cup including the furore that accompanied his red card for a high tackle on Taine Basham in the warm-up game against Wales. He was eventually banned for England's first two games in France, but the fallout over the process, which included World Rugby appealing against the independent disciplinary's decision to downgrade the challenge to a yellow card, had in Farrell's words, created the 'perfect storm' including booing by supporters when he had served his two-match ban. There is no bigger stage in international rugby than playing for the Lions, but Farrell signposted that he was ready to return if required. 'It is all very hypothetical, isn't it?' he said at the time. 'A lot would need to happen, and I need to make sure I am ready to go if that does come around. That is the only point that matters.' The only other point that mattered is that Farrell senior had him on the radar long before the squad was announced on May 8. 'Owen was in the conversation obviously, an experienced player like that, looking for his fourth tour and with his leadership qualities,' Andy Farrell said. But it got to a point, like with a few others, where he is still trying to find his way back to fitness. 'There are 38 picked which leaves a couple of slots open for us down the track, if and when needed. Owen and a few other guys would be in that type of bracket.' For that reason, as soon as Elliot Daly was injured in the victory over Queensland Reds on Wednesday night, suffering a suspected fractured arm, the prospect of calling up Farrell junior came first to mind. In this post-match press conference, Andy Farrell insisted that they still had plenty of full-back cover, with Hugo Keenan and Blair Kinghorn in the squad, even if neither have yet played again. But what the squad would miss, if Daly's tour was brought to a cruel premature end, was his experience as a three-times tourist. As his replacement, Farrell will not only provide cover at fly-half and inside centre, and bring big-game goal-kicking skills, but also that priceless knowledge of what it takes to win a Lions tour in Australia, having been part of Warren Gatland's 2013 series victory. It might be a tough call-up for Marcus Smith, but the Farrell/Farrell father-and-son dynamic has always been utterly professional. It is certain that Farrell junior's selection will have also have had support from key assistant coaches such as Richard Wigglesworth, his former team-mate at Saracens, and Johnny Sexton, his former Lions team-mate and fierce international rival. Of the original 38 picked by Farrell, only three – the captain Maro Itoje, Daly and Ireland prop Tadhg Furlong – are survivors from the last proper Lions tour, of New Zealand, in 2017, while 26 were first-timers. It is a second tour for nine players but because of the Covid restrictions at the time, the 2021 tour of South Africa did not remotely resemble the travelling and match-schedule challenges that the squad are facing in Australia. It is going to be a challenge for Farrell to prove his match fitness in such a short space of time, but even his presence in training will be impactful by bringing the hard-edged Lions nous and leadership that this squad is missing. Of the 38 picked by head coach Andy Farrell, only three – the captain Maro Itoje, his Saracens team-mate Elliot Daly and Ireland prop Tadhg Furlong – are survivors from the last proper Lions tour, of New Zealand, in 2017. Farrell has selected 26 first-timers and nine for which this is their second tour. But because of the Covid restrictions at the time, the 2021 tour of South Africa did not remotely resemble the travelling and match-schedule challenges that will face Farrell's squad in Australia. In contrast, the selection of Warren Gatland's 41-strong squad for the 2017 tour included 13 players who had experienced a traditional tour before, and two – Alun Wyn Jones and Leigh Halfpenny – who were on their third. And what a redemption story it would be if Farrell, who was cheered by Lions supporters when he appeared on the stadium screens for the pre-tour match against Argentina in Dublin, ends up kicking the match-winning penalty in the third Test.
BBC News
an hour ago
- BBC News
Ex-England captain Farrell set for Lions call-up
Former England captain Owen Farrell is in line for a remarkable call-up to the British and Irish Lions tour of Elliot Daly ruled out with an arm injury, coach Andy Farrell is set to turn to his son, who will be going on his fourth Lions tour. More to follow.
BBC News
an hour ago
- BBC News
The boxer who survived helicopter crash and testified at Pistorius trial
With the crushing weight of loss and grief pressing down on him, Kevin Lerena sank heavily into the couch in his dressing South African heavyweight had just gone the distance in a razor-thin contest against Australian prospect Justis Huni in Saudi Arabia. He rocked Huni in the final round but could not land the decisive most boxers, coming so agonisingly close to victory is tough to swallow. For Lerena, though, there was a sense of deep relief.A day earlier he received the devastating news that his mother had died in South Africa."I was just glad that the fight was over and I could go home and lay my mother to rest," he told BBC fact that Lerena stepped into the ring at all speaks volumes about his mental strength, but he says withdrawing was never an option."I was not at home to be with her when she suddenly passed, but I kept quiet and put on my strong armour to represent myself, my country and my family," he added."It was tough, though. It took an emotional toll on me. I'm only human and I felt it in the fight. I felt drained and fatigued."On 19 July Lerena will face Briton Lawrence Okolie at Wembley Stadium in the latest chapter in an extraordinary life full of highs, lows and true cinematic has dropped a future heavyweight world champion three times in the first round. He has walked away from a helicopter crash. And he has been a key witness in one of the most high-profile murder trials of the 21st Century. 'I gave Dubois his toughest fight' Born and raised in Johannesburg, rugby was Lerena's first passion. But when that dream faded he shifted focus to boxing and discovered a talent for 32, he has racked up 33 professional wins with three defeats and is no stranger to the big fight fans will remember Lerena for nearly pulling off a seismic upset against Daniel Dubois - the current IBF heavyweight champion - at Tottenham Hotspur Stadium in was floored three times inside the first round, visibly stunned after the first knockdown and nursing what appeared to be a knee pressed forward but Dubois dropped him in the third and finished it with a barrage that forced the referee to intervene."I was fighting back but the referee stopped it," Lerena reflected."It was what it was. I can't harp on about it. In my mind, I know I gave Daniel his hardest and toughest test to date."Lerena's strong performances against Dubois and Huni raised his reputation as a credible heavyweight Fury is a fan and enlisted Lerana for sparring in the build-up to the Briton's two fights against Oleksandr Usyk. Lerena distances himself from Pistorius case Lerena could be a much bigger name if he chose to lean into the headlines his life has generated but says that is not his "style" and he would rather distance himself from his 2014 he appeared in courtroom testimony during the murder trial of Oscar testified that Pistorius was responsible for a gun being fired at a restaurant a year before the Paralympic sprint champion shot and killed girlfriend Reeva Steenkamp."It was a negative time. I do not want to bring negativity into my life, and I do not have any affiliation with those people," he said."What happened then during that time for Oscar and for the Steenkamp family was terrible, but it's got nothing to do with me and I don't believe in building your profile on such events."Later, Lerena mentions walking away from a helicopter crash with minor injuries in 2021, an experience which would define most but for him is just another footnote."It was a training accident. I have got my pilot licence. It's a pity because it shouldn't have happened," he said."We were doing a simulation, and the conditions were wrong and a lot was against us. But I guess if you put yourself in those situations there is always that risk." Okolie up against the 'warrior spirit' Lerena goes into the ring as the underdog against former cruiserweight world champion Okolie. A victory over the Londoner would only add to his remarkable Lerena does lose, though, it will not be for want of heart or effort."I have that warrior spirit. I always try my best to dig deep. I have not been handed a silver spoon in life and I have not been handed a silver spoon in boxing either," he Lerena is clear he wants his fists to do the talking, his life - from near-death experiences to courtroom drama - has played out like a Hollywood who would play him in a movie, Lerena picks Twilight star Taylor battles may not involve vampires or teenage angst but - outside of the ring at least - Lerena's story is every bit as dramatic.
