'He's the right man', Lions coach Farrell defends decision to call up son Owen
Daly, an outside back-outside centre who was on his third Lions tour, was sent home on Thursday after suffering a broken arm against the Queensland Reds on Wednesday.
The decision to replace him with a flyhalf-inside centre who has not played a test since 2023 and is coming off an injury-ravaged season in French club rugby was always going to court controversy.
Andy Farrell told reporters in Sydney that he felt there was good cover for Daly in the outside backs and at outside centre but that his experience would be sorely missed.
"It's what we need for the squad, when you look at the experience that Elliot has had," he said.
"The experience isn't just the playing side, it's how you make the group feel, the little chats that you have around the place to make sure everything is gelling together. And obviously Owen will bring a bit of that to the group."
Farrell said the former England captain, who has played 118 tests, would not have been called up if he was not fit and would definitely be in contention to play despite not having seen any action for nine weeks.
"If you didn't have a chance, then what's the point?" he asked.
"He's the right man at this moment in time for us, he looks after himself and prides himself on keeping himself in good nick anyway.
"There are plenty of players who have not played for quite some time. And the experience of knowing what you can do helps in that regard."
Farrell junior's sometimes abrasive attitude has often divided opinion, even in England, and the decision to call him up will certainly not be popular with some fans of Ireland, Scotland and Wales.
"I hope people can get past that," his father said. "I think that there's been a lot of that nonsense for some time. That was in the past.
"I think we all just need to move on and embrace what the Lions is all about, and what we've got coming ahead."
The 33-year-old playmaker will join the squad in Sydney on Friday, too late to play a role in the match against the New South Wales Waratahs on Saturday.
After that, the Lions play tour matches against the ACT Brumbies and an invitational Australia-New Zealand team before the first test against the Wallabies in Brisbane on July 19.
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
CNA
4 hours ago
- CNA
Tupou gets chance to stake claim for Lions series with Waratahs
SYDNEY :The Wallabies thought they had a tighthead prop for a generation when Taniela Tupou packed his bags and headed to Australia to join his brother after completing his education in New Zealand. This weekend, however, he will not be facing Fiji in Australia's only warm-up for the British and Irish Lions test series but instead taking on the tourists in a New South Wales Waratahs shirt. The 29-year-old was released by Wallabies coach Joe Schmidt on Monday in the wake of a Super Rugby season for the Waratahs which, by his own admission, was well below par. Waratahs coach Dan McKellar was grateful for his return and is hoping Tupou on Saturday can show the form which has earned him 58 test caps since his debut against Scotland in 2017. "(I want him) to go out there in set piece first and foremost, back that up with physicality and show the ability to repeat it," McKellar, a former prop himself, said after naming his team on Thursday. "They are the three things I talk to tight forwards about every day. I want him to be really good around the scrum, lineout, maul and then impose himself on the game as we know he can do with ball in hand and without it." Schmidt would no doubt echo those hopes as he prepares a nation which has never been blessed with huge stocks of front-row talent for three tests against the Lions, who lack nothing in that regard. Nicknamed "Tongan Thor" as a rampaging schoolboy forward in New Zealand, Tupou's best moments in a gold shirt earned him one of Rugby Australia's most lucrative contracts, which is reported to earn him A$1 million ($657,300) a year. Injury curtailed his 2023 World Cup but he was close to his powerful best as recently as the end of last year when Australia beat England at Twickenham and ran Ireland close in Dublin. A Tupou intercept in the latter match is still etched in the memory of Andy Farrell, who was finishing up with the Irish before his Lions sabbatical that day. "He's very disruptive, to say the least, and good at what he does," the Lions coach said on Thursday. "Ireland played against him last year and we saw the pace that he had, he went straight up the middle of the field there. He's not just a disruptive scrummager, he's certainly got power and pace on both sides of the ball." Schmidt will name a fresh squad for the Lions test series next Friday and Tupou's performance on Saturday night at Sydney Football Stadium could go a long way to deciding if he is in it. ($1 = 1.5214 Australian dollars)
CNA
5 hours ago
- CNA
Schmidt says injured Wallabies trio to be fit for Lions series
MELBOURNE :Australia loose forward Rob Valetini, lock Will Skelton and scrumhalf Jake Gordon will miss Sunday's test against Fiji through injury but should be fit to face the British & Irish Lions, coach Joe Schmidt said. Valetini and Skelton have been nursing calf injuries, while Gordon is recovering from a hamstring strain, Australian media reported. Schmidt declined to confirm the nature of the injuries on Friday but said Valetini and Skelton had trained away from the main group in the lead-up to the Fiji test in Newcastle. Valetini, who was starting blindside flanker against Ireland in the Wallabies' last test in November, has been replaced by Langi Gleeson, while lock Jeremy Williams will partner Nick Frost in the second row. Valetini and Skelton's absence robs the Wallabies of experience and power against Mick Byrne-coached Fiji, who shocked them 22-15 at the World Cup in France and are their last warm-up before the first Lions test in Brisbane on July 19. "I'd be very confident all three of those guys will be ready to train at the start of the week for that first lead-in to the British and Irish Lions first test," Schmidt told a press conference in Newcastle. "But for this week, it was probably a week too soon." Gordon was Schmidt's preferred scrumhalf last season but Tate McDermott will wear the number nine jersey, with 35-year-old Nic White backing up from the bench. Noah Lolesio has been retained at flyhalf. "Jake trained with the side today, so he's very close to being able to (play)," said Schmidt. COHESION The Wallabies' season-opening test sees number eight Harry Wilson retained as captain but the appointment may not hold for the Lions series, Schmidt said. With hooker Brandon Paenga-Amosa released from the squad, Dave Porecki starts in the number two jersey in his first test since the 2023 World Cup. He lines up next to veteran props James Slipper and Allan Alaalatoa. Rugby league convert Joseph Suaalii and Len Ikitau resume their midfield partnership, with Max Jorgensen and Harry Potter the starting wingers, and Tom Wright at fullback. Schmidt was cagey about whether his match-day squad was a preview of his preferred team for the Lions but suggested whoever he picked would face a huge challenge against Andy Farrell's men. The Lions opened their Australia tour by racking up more than 50 points in tour match victories over the Western Force and Queensland Reds. "They've been pretty impressive. I think two games in the first 20 minutes they haven't really started that well," said Schmidt. "But even saying that ... they've actually missed a few opportunities. "I think the more cohesion they develop, the more they'll be dangerous in finishing some of those opportunities. "I think (their players) are really competing for spots ... They've got incredible strength and depth." 15-Tom Wright, 14-Harry Potter, 13-Joseph Suaalii, 12-Len Ikitau, 11-Max Jorgensen, 10-Noah Lolesio, 9-Tate McDermott, 8-Harry Wilson (capt), 7-Fraser McReight, 6-Langi Gleeson, 5-Jeremy Williams, 4-Nick Frost, 3-Allan Alaalatoa, 2-David Porecki, 1-James Slipper.
Straits Times
7 hours ago
- Straits Times
Lions welcome imminent arrival of Owen Farrell ahead of Tahs clash
Sign up now: Get ST's newsletters delivered to your inbox FILE PHOTO: Rugby Union - Australia v British & Irish Lions - Third Test - British & Irish Lions Tour To Australia 2013 - ANZ Stadium, Sydney, Australia - 6/7/13 British & Irish Lions Owen Farrell and assistant coach Andy Farrell celebrate after victory and winning the series Mandatory Credit: Action Images / Jason O'Brien/File Photo SYDNEY - British & Irish Lions players welcomed the imminent arrival of Owen Farrell on Friday as they prepared for their third tour game against the New South Wales Waratahs at Sydney Football Stadium this weekend. Farrell was called up for his fourth Lions tour as an injury replacement for Elliot Daly by his coach and father Andy on Thursday in a decision that was always going to divide opinion among fans. Tadhg Beirne, who will captain the Lions against the Waratahs on Saturday while tour skipper Maro Itoje is rested, said the inclusion of such an experienced player could only be a boost for the squad. "Yeah, great, really excited to see him," the Ireland lock told reporters at training on Friday. "Someone of his quality, and his fourth Lions tour, he's only going to bring some serious quality to the squad. So we're looking forward to inviting him in and getting to hang out with him. "Any type of leadership is only going to enhance the squad. And playing with him four years ago, I've seen all that leadership qualities that he brings and the quality of his talent as well." While Beirne played with Farrell in two tests on the 2021 Lions tour to South Africa, his compatriot and second-row partner for Saturday, James Ryan, said he had never been in the same side as the 118-cap England playmaker. "He's one of those guys that's sort of done it all," he said. "So to have him come in camp will be cool, and hopefully you might be able to pick up a few things off him." Ryan won his first Lions cap off the bench in the 52-12 win over Queensland Reds on Wednesday, a second big win in Australia after they opened their account with a 54-7 victory over Western Force. 'FIGHTING CHANCE' Beirne said the team would be looking to take another step up against the Waratahs as the Lions players press for inclusion in the test side. "That's the ultimate goal, isn't it?" he said. "For everyone here, they want to play in those tests, and the only way to do that is to play well in all these games leading up to it. "If you're not producing in these games, you're not giving yourself a fighting chance." The Waratahs have given prop Taniela Tupou a chance to promote his claim for a spot in the Australia test side but high-profile centre Joseph Suaalii has been retained in the Wallabies squad. "We are playing a high-quality test team but they've got two arms and two legs, and you just have to put them under pressure," said Waratahs coach Dan McKellar. Lions: 15–Hugo Keenan, 14–Mack Hansen, 13–Huw Jones, 12–Sione Tuipulotu, 11–Blair Kinghorn, 10–Fin Smith, 9–Alex Mitchell, 8–Ben Earl, 7–Josh van der Flier, 6–Henry Pollock, 5–James Ryan, 4–Tadhg Beirne (captain), 3–Finlay Bealham, 2–Luke Cowan-Dickie, 1–Pierre Schoeman. Replacements: 16–Dan Sheehan, 17–Ellis Genge, 18–Tadhg Furlong, 19–Joe McCarthy, 20–Scott Cummings, 21–Jac Morgan, 22–Ben White, 23–Marcus Smith. Waratahs: 15–Lawson Creighton, 14–Andrew Kellaway, 13–Lalakai Foketi, 12–Joey Walton, 11–Darby Lancaster, 10–Jack Bowen, 9–Teddy Wilson, 8–Hugh Sinclair (captain), 7–Charlie Gamble, 6–Rob Leota, 5–Miles Amatosero, 4–Fergus Lee-Warner, 3–Taniela Tupou, 2–Ethan Dobbins, 1–Tom Lambert. Replacements: 16–Mahe Vailanu, 17–Jack Barrett, 18–Daniel Botha, 19–Matt Philip, 20–Jamie Adamson, 21–Jack Grant, 22–Tane Edmed, 23–Henry O'Donnell. REUTERS
