Lions call up Farrell to replace the Daly, Beirne to skipper side in Sydney
The Lions are reeling from the news that Daly, one of their form players Down Under, will miss the rest of the tour after sustaining a fractured forearm in Wednesday's 52-12 victory over Queensland Reds.
Rather than replacing the versatile England star with a similar alternative such as Wales' Blair Murray or Scotland's Tom Jordan, head coach Andy Farrell has turned to his 33-year-old son to fill the gap in his squad.
🤕 Elliot Daly has been ruled out of the Lions tour with a forearm injury.
🇦🇺 Owen Farrell will replace him in the touring squad.
Full story 👇#YourSaracens💫
— Saracens Rugby Club (@Saracens) July 3, 2025
It is a controversial decision given Farrell's most recent Test appearance was in the bronze medal match at the 2023 World Cup, while his ill-fated 2024-25 season with French club Racing 92 was undermined by injuries and indifferent form.
'It is heartbreaking for the group that Elliot's tour is over,' Andy Farrell said.
'He's a Lions legend who has added so much to the group on and off the field over the past few weeks and over the course of three tours.
'Owen will now come in and add to our options and bring his own Lions experience to the group.'
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Lions Tour Podcast: Andy Farrell's men going in the right direction
Munster and Ireland man Tadhg Beirne will captain the side, meanwhile.
He will be joined in the second row by international teammate James Ryan. Fellow Leinster man Higo Keenan, as well as Blair Kinghorn, will make their Lions debuts.
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Irish Times
14 minutes ago
- Irish Times
Andy Farrell welcomes his cub back into the Lions fold
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Irish Daily Mirror
25 minutes ago
- Irish Daily Mirror
Diogo Jota and brother's bodies arrive at church as mourners gather
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Extra.ie
an hour ago
- Extra.ie
Why Ireland selectors got it wrong against Georgia
Ireland have named a strong team to take on Georgia in Tbilisi and it needed to be. This is not the type of soft-serve, summer jaunt usually associated with summer development tours. Georgia are a grizzled outfit, packed with players hardened by exposure to the Top14 and ProD2 leagues in France. In their last four outings, they beat Tonga at home, lost by three points to Italy away, pushed Australia all the way in Sydney and beat Japan away. Paul O'Connell. Pic: INPHO/Ben Brady They are a team built around the traditional brute force of their forwards but in recent years they have unearthed genuinely exciting young backs – including the highly regarded Davit Niniashvili, who has just joined Ronan O'Gara's La Rochelle. But perhaps the most dangerous aspect of the Georgian side that takes on Paul O'Connell's youthful Ireland outfit tomorrow is the sense of grievance they carry with them. Their head coach Richard Cockerill has never been backwards about coming forward (going right back to his confrontation with All Black Norm Hewitt in 1997) and has been beating the drum loudly heading into this fixture. Davit Niniashvili is highly regarded. Pic: Alberto Gardin/EurasiaWhat Cockerill and Georgian rugby want is a seat at the top table and he believes they are being deliberately kept on the outside looking in because it does not suit the powers that be to allow these 'rough and ready' upstarts into the Six Nations at the expense of one of the established, and well heeled, existing residents. Cockerill wants a play-off with the bottom side in the Six Nations and it is a fair call — the problem is the Six Nations blazers are not as keen and cannot appear to consider the prospect of travelling to Tbilisi instead of Rome, or of Wales dropping to the second tier. The longer Georgia are excluded, the more they are at risk of losing their government's funding because winning the second tier Rugby Europe competition is not enough to keep the tap on. Cockerill will have his Georgians target Sam Prendergast. Pic: Seb Daly/Sportsfile It gives Cockerill's side a hell of an incentive to beat a top-tier nation like Ireland and they are going to throw everything at it. On that basis, it is more than a little surprising that Sam Prendergast has been lobbed in to start. It has been a tumultuous season for the young Leinster man, some sublime attacking play counterbalanced by defensive howlers. Cockerill will have his Georgians target Prendergast directly whereas Portugal will be far less physical next week. Starting Jack Crowley at 10 against Georgia and protecting Prendergast would have been the more pragmatic move — unless the intention, two years out from the World Cup, is to try to improve his defence the hard way. Leinster flyer Tommy O'Brien will be desperate to make a statement after a strong season with his province. Pic:It is a bit of a gamble because if Prendergast gets run over by the Georgians, it will further dent his confidence. Elsewhere, Ireland have named six debutants in their match-23 with Leinster flyer Tommy O'Brien desperate to make a statement after a strong season with his province.
