Lions boss Farrell hails McCarthy, Hansen after Australian tour opener
HENRY POLLOCK MIGHT have hogged the limelight in the British and Irish Lions Australian tour opener, but coach Andy Farrell was equally impressed with Ireland pair Joe McCarthy and Mack Hansen, who both staked claims for a Test spot.
Hulking English back-rower Pollock, 20, lived up to the hype in Perth, helping the tourists to an emphatic 54-7 win over Western Force on Saturday.
While he put himself in the shop window for a Test call-up, playing a part in two of the Lions' eight tries, it was McCarthy who claimed man-of-the-match honours.
The tireless Irish lock's fingerprints were all over the game, making key defensive plays and powering over for a well-earned five-pointer.
It put him in pole position to claim a contested tight five slot in the first Test against the Wallabies in Brisbane on 19 July.
'He just stays in the game the whole time,' Farrell said of McCarthy.
'He's a lot more composed in what he does but at the same time he's never wavered in the intent within his game.
'In the set-piece, you saw him come away through the maul, stealing the ball, running down the wing and cutting back inside, looking for offloads and going through rucks and being the force that he is.
'He's developing his all-round game and he'll only grow from here on in.'
Advertisement
Farrell also had high praise for Irish winger Hansen, who had an ordinary first-half but came alive in the second.
'I mean there were some fantastic tries, but the play of the day by a country mile was Mack Hansen,' he said.
'Back and forward, full length of the field, fighting for his team on his own, that's what a Lion should 100% do for his team.'
While noting some flashes of individual brilliance in the first game of their nine-match tour, Farrell also pinpointed teething problems to fix before their next match against the Queensland Reds in Brisbane on Wednesday.
He highlighted ill-discipline, with six penalties conceded in the first-half before they got in their groove after the break.
'Happy with the scoreline and happy with how we actually got to that point because it wasn't all going our own way,' said Farrell.
'We gathered ourselves well and sorted a few things out on the run and played some nice rugby in the end.
'We had more composure (in the second-half), we were less desperate,' he added.
'We gave a good few penalties away through a lack of discipline certainly… once we stopped giving them the field position and territory they wanted, I felt we defended really well and we were composed enough to score some nice tries.'
– © AFP 2025
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
RTÉ News
an hour ago
- RTÉ News
Ireland miss out on promotion at European Athletics Team Championships
Ireland finished fifth in Division 2 of the European Athletics Team Championships in Slovenia on Sunday, narrowly missing out on promotion to the top tier of the continental competition. Strong performances from the likes of Sarah Lavin (Emerald AC), Nicola Tuthill (UCD AC), Cian McPhillips (UCD AC) and the mixed 4x400m relay team kept the 43-strong team in contention right up to the last few events. Lavin took Ireland's only win of the weekend, earning maximum points in the women's 100m hurdles. The Limerick sprinter clocked a time of 12.82 seconds to claim victory. Team captain Marcus Lawler (Clonliffe Harriers AC) was sixth in the men's 200m, while in the women's event Lauren Roy (City of Lisburn AC) finished just outside her personal best, clocking 23.32 seconds to finish fifth. The mixed 4x400m relay team of Jack Raftery (Donore Harriers), Cliodhna Manning (Kilkenny City Harriers), Callum Baird (Ballymena and Antrim AC) and Sharlene Mawdsley combined to clock a time of 3:14.81, finishing second in their heat and fourth overall. Cian McPhillips (UCD AC) made a strong return from injury to finish third in the men's 800m. The Longford native closed strongly in the final 100m to cross the line in a time of 1:46.37. In the women's 1500m, Laura Nicholson (Bandon AC) finished fourth on her Irish senior international debut, the 25-year-old clocking 4:20.48. Finley Daly (Sligo AC) ran bravely to also place fourth in the men's 3000m steeplechase. The Galway-based athlete clocked a time of 8:51.89. In the field, Nicola Tuthill (UCD AC) fouled her opening two throws but composed herself well to finish the competition in third position, her best throw coming in the fourth round at 70.50m. Team captain Niamh Fogarty (Raheny Shamrock AC) produced a lifetime best of 14.29 metres in the women's shot put to finish seventh, while Conor Callinan (Leevale AC) also recorded the best result of his career, clearing 4.90 metres in the pole vault. In the men's javelin, Conor Cusack (Lake District AC) impressed to claim a eighth-place finish, throwing a best of 72.43 metres.
The Irish Sun
an hour ago
- The Irish Sun
‘Down to earth' Brit tennis ace Emma Raducanu takes train home from Eastbourne loss after star's Porsche ‘taken back'
EMMA Raducanu swaps her Porsche for a train back from her Eastbourne loss. Advertisement 3 Tennis ace Emma Raducanu was spotted catching a train back to London following her recent loss in Eastbourne Credit: TillenDove 3 The star had a practice session ahead of her Wimbledon match today Credit: PA 3 Emma with the Porsche she was given after her 2021 US Open win Credit: Victor Goico She had a practice session ahead of her Wimbledon match today. The Porsche she was given after her 2021 US Open win Emma was spotted buying a coffee with coach Mark Petchey and mum Renee Zhai on the platform. A source said: 'This shows Emma's success has not got to her head, and she is still very much focused and down to Earth. Advertisement READ MORE ON EMMA RADUCANU 'The train was the quickest way back to London, so she took it instead of asking for a car, which some other players would have done.' The unseeded and injury-hit ace will face teen starlet Raducanu said she sees a lot of her younger self in her fellow Brit, but is confident of ending her Wimbledon debut at the first hurdle. Advertisement Most read in Sport It was recently announced that the superstar pair for the revamped US Open mixed doubles event in August. Emma Raducanu giggles as she addresses Carlos Alcaraz relationship ahead of Wimbledon And SunSport The British No1 missed the Spaniard's victory over Jiri Lehecka as she had headed to Eastbourne to play in her final event before Wimbledon. Advertisement Speaking before her round one match against Ann Li, Raducanu lifted the lid on her partnership with Alcaraz. After the world No2 joked that Raducanu "took a while" to give him a response, she said: "I mean, of course, I had to ask my team if they wanted me to play. "But for me, when he asked me, I was going to say yes, I just had to kind of go through the formality of asking my coach, so I didn't just make the decision." When it was put to Raducanu that fans have frequently joked that she and Alcaraz are "destined for each other", the British star laughed and replied: "I'm glad the internet is having fun and we're providing entertainment for everyone." Advertisement On how they became friends, Raducanu added: "I've known him for years and actually in Wimbledon 2021 it was like kind of the first time I started getting to know him, and I had a good run there and then also again in the US Open in 2021. "And I remember he was always playing the day before me and I was playing like the second day of the round. "And I would see him win and then I would have motivation to win and get myself into that position too. "And I remember he beat Stef [Tsitsipas] in the third round and it was like a big win, his breakout kind of win on a big stage and it was really cool to kind of, I guess, go through that tournament together and then I kept going through the US Open, but we were staying in touch for the whole time and yeah, it's nice." Advertisement
Irish Daily Mirror
an hour ago
- Irish Daily Mirror
Lions - Jack Willis is sensational for Toulouse in Top 14 final win
Jack Willis was in outstanding form for Toulouse who beat Bordeaux 39-33 after extra-time in the Top 14 final. Thomas Ramos kicked two penalties in the added time to seal the win but Willis, starting in the Toulouse back-row was superb, scoring two of Toulouse's four tries. This is a player, excluded from the original Lions squad selection, who has started 25 of the 27 games he has played for Toulouse this season - and he has bagged 10 tries in the was at no7 for last weekend's game at Stade de France but had started half-a-dozen games at no6 and played twice at no8 is not in the current England set-up because they have decided, as part of a general policy, not to pick players who are based at foreign clubs. His last cap came in March 2023 when, indeed, he was at Toulouse but this was considered an exceptional circumstance as he had moved there following the collapse of his English club, having not returned to play in England at the beginning of the following season, he has been excluded from their international set-up since. Blair Kinghorn, who also plays for Toulouse, is a Scotland international regular and started at left-wing against Bordeaux - moving to full-back when Romain N'tamack got injured and Ramos moved to out-half - and has no such international bar on him from the hasn't an easy decision to make with regard to Willis. Selecting the exile might not be popular with the English Rugby Union - thought to be Farrell's next employers after then he has been shown as a man of his own mettle before and a lot will rest on how he viewed the collective Lions back-row performances to games in, Ben Earls, Jac Morgan and Tom Curry had have nightmares against Argentina and Tadhg Beirne, switched from second-row to back-row, didn't show too well against the same time there has to be satisfaction that 20 year-old Henry Pollock who was asked to play the executive role at no8 for the Lions against Force was within touching distance of Man of the Match.A practical neophyte who, according to the textbook, is 'supposed' to trade at this level by filling in at no6 for a sustained Kaboom!Pollock made 13 carries for 74 metres, two clean breaks beating four defenders, 17 tackles with just one miss and posted a try-assist. Only Joe McCarthy made more carries, only the back-three made more metres, only James Lowe equalled his clean break/defenders beaten tally, only Josh van der Flier beat his tackle count. This from a player who wasn't even in the England matchday squad for the 2025 Six Nations game here in fact, he was with the England U20 squad for Rounds 1&2 of the U20 Six Nations and, called into the senior squad, came on as a sub against Wales in the last of their Six Nations no7 for England U20s against Ireland U20 at Virgin Media Musgrave Park last January 30, he was instrumental in the English win, the scoreline finishing Foy (Munster), Bobby Power (Connacht) and Eanna McCarthy (Connacht) started in the Ireland back-row that night, Oisin Minogue (Munster) came in as a 65th minute sub for Power - none of that quartet have even been in a matchday squad at their was also a second bright performance last Saturday in Perth from Josh van der Flier, his first-quarter tackling and covering was sensational and just outstanding thereafter. He made a staggering 18 tackles in the first 55 minutes. Jack Conan came in as a sub late in the game which means he has yet to make a 2025 start for the Lions albeit he is expected to be named at no8 to face Queensland Reds on Wednesday picture still remains unclear as to whether Hugo Keenan will be fit and it is unlikely Blair Kinghorn will be considered having played alongside Willis for Toulouse in the Top 14 final. Bundee Aki and Huw Jones are the likely centre combination, it is hoped Gibson-Park will be fit for scrum-half, with the likelihood Ellis Genge, Luke Cowan, Will Stuart will comprise the front-row, James Ryan gain a spot in the second-row and with Conan at no8. The selection of the openside and blindside flankers will be revealing.
