Andy Farrell's treatment of Marcus Smith on Lions tour is odd

Telegraph

20 hours ago

We now have some idea of the level of the Australian team that will face the British and Irish Lions in the looming first Test. It is a team ranked eighth in the world that has just narrowly, and unconvincingly, beaten Fiji, who are ranked ninth. Although they will improve from that run out, nobody can honestly pretend that they are near the Springboks or All Blacks. As such, the only acceptable return for the Lions is at least a series win.
You might claim that this is easy to say from the sidelines, but it is equally easy to hype the contest, ignoring the realistic prism. Three of the countries that make up this Lions' squad are ranked higher than their hosts and the aggregate of their talents should prevail. The Lions are no longer a bunch of amateurs who get together with just a manager and a coach and try to meld themselves into an effective unit. They are a highly professional outfit, that have significant funding, and a coaching and management team that is equally well resourced and experienced.
What makes it difficult to judge the likely outcome of the Test series is that, to a large extent, the warm-up games represent a phoney war, in which neither opponent wants to declare their hand. Andy Farrell, the Lions' head coach, is trying to juggle the need to give every player a chance and giving his preferred selections the opportunity to test their unit skills in real time, as opposed to on the training field. That said, making this judgment has not been helped by the lack of logic in the decisions concerning two players – Marcus Smith and Owen Farrell.
Some say that Marcus Smith was fortunate to be picked from the outset, but it is odd that he has not been given a chance to start a game in his best position at fly-half. He can play at 15, but it is clearly not his strongest deployment.
It could be that he is being lined up for a role from the bench as cover for both positions. This would allow Andy Farrell to choose a 6-2 split because the other back will have to be a scrum-half. If this is not so, it is hard to see why he was selected from the start.
This speculation is muddied by the much-discussed call-up of Owen Farrell. I do not subscribe to the claims of nepotism made by some; both Farrells are too professional for that. It also the right of any manager to pick the players they want because it is their head on the block when this all plays out.
I reiterate a point I made weeks ago – why Owen Farrell was not picked in the squad from the outset, if it was his father's intention to select him at all? His selection could have been justified on the grounds of his experience and track record for the Lions but that was always the case. Nothing has happened since then that makes that case stronger. Had this been done originally, we would not now be waiting for him to have game time and to see whether he has recaptured his form at a level at which he has not played for some time.
Farrell Snr is reported to have said that the call-up was because of a need for experience and that Owen Farrell will be looked at as competing for the 10 and 12 positions. If this is the case, as has been pointed out by several other former Lions' greats, it is impossible to link his selection to the injury and withdrawal of the unlucky Elliot Daly. An earlier selection would have enabled the Lions to have tested a Plan B option of a more structured game; something at which Owen Farrell excels.
If anything, the greatest need for cover is at full-back, because the Scottish centres, Huw Jones and Sione Tuipulotu, are looking a likely pairing and Tommy Freeman can also cover at centre and his form at the moment is unquestionable, whatever position he might play.
If you do want to look for an area where logic can more readily be applied, you should look at the back row, where Andy Farrell has to decide whether to go with two similar flankers like Jac Morgan and Josh van der Flier or pick a more traditional blindside flanker with more bulk. That choice will influence the type of No 8 he wants – a flier like Ben Earl or Henry Pollock or a more powerful ball carrier, like Jack Conan.
Still, all this has given my old mate David Campese the chance to annoy everybody and tell us that 'it's not like it was in my day'. So, it is not all bad.