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RTÉ News
11-07-2025
- Sport
- RTÉ News
Eddie O'Sullivan: Andy Farrell cannot afford to lose if he picks "10 or 11 Irish guys"
Former Ireland head coach Eddie O'Sullivan has warned Lions boss Andy Farrell of the pitfalls of selecting "10 or 11 Irish guys" in the Test series, especially if it ends in defeat. The Lions have won all four games played down under so far, following a Dublin defeat to Argentina, but pressure has started to come on the former rugby league star after patchy and uninspiring performances in their recent victories over the NSW Waratahs and the ACT Brumbies. Speaking on this week's RTÉ Rugby Podcast, O'Sullivan feels it's hard to split the fact it is a squad, both in coaching and playing, that is dominated by Farrell's successful Irish side, and could lead to pressure at every turn. "Threading across all these selections is that if Andy Farrell ends up with 10 or 11 Irish guys on the team, they cannot lose," O'Sullivan said. "If they lose with 10 or 11 Irish guys, he will get eviscerated," said the former Ireland head coach. "This is a very heavy Irish Lions tour. I'm not just talking about the number of players, but practically the whole staff is Irish. "So it becomes a green tour if he does that, and then, if they lose the first test with 10 or 11 Irish guys, it will be chaos." It is a risk Andy Farrell may take, and as O'Sullivan recognises, it will largely come from a place in trust, which Farrell's Irish contingent have earned over the past five and a half years of his reign. "He [Andy Farrell] might think his best team against Australia is 10 or 11 Irish guys who he knows really well, who he can trust, and who he knows will go to the well for him. "He knows what he is going to get out of them exactly. They're familiar with is thinking, they're familiar with his rugby philosophy. "But if he pulls the trigger on that, he is going to have to deliver. That is what's going to be in the back of his mind, you can't get away from that", added O'Sullivan. The former Ireland head coach was part of Clive Woodward's backroom staff for the 2005 tour of New Zealand, one that went down in infamy in the years following, and knows the pitfalls and pressures of a Lions tour. "If they lost this test series, it would be worse than 2005", said O'Sullivan who was one of seven assistant coaches on that tour of New Zealand. "I was there, and at least we were playing in New Zealand, and that New Zealand team were, at that point, the best team in the world, without question. "That's the context of it, and now the Lions are nervy and edgy against a team that they should beat. "There's a lot pressure building on this tour now." "If they lose with 10 or 11 Irish guys, he will get eviscerated..." @TheRealEddieOS on the pressure facing Andy Farrell's Irish-heavy Lions ahead of next week's first Test🦁🇦🇺 📺🎧 Full RTÉ Rugby pod: — RTÉ Sport (@RTEsport) July 10, 2025 On Thursday, after an injury doubt was cast over Scottish full-back Blair Kinghorn, Farrell called up Naas clubman Jamie Osborne to the travelling party. With that inclusion, the Leinster utility-back becomes the 17th Irish international in the squad, and 13th from Leinster alone. This follows last week's call-up for England centurion fly-half Owen Farrell, who replaced Saracens teammate Elliot Daly, despite a lukewarm season at Racing 92. For O'Sullivan, this call is more about the depth chart at 10 than anything else. "I think bringing Owen Farrell in is basically an admission that he [Andy Farrell] has lost confidence in Fin Smith and Marcus Smith. He knows that Finn Russell is his starting 10, but I think he went out with the idea that his pecking order would have been Finn Russell, then Fin Smith, then Marcus Smith. "I think he's found that Fin Smith probably isn't up to that level yet. "Then what happened is Elliot Daly gets hurt, and he sees an opportunity. "Owen Farrell won't bat an eyelid coming into a Lions test, and he can cover the midfield in terms of both 10 and 12." As is often the case with Lions tours, the selection game is what draws attention more than the tactical nuance, with Farrell junior and Osborne the latest calls to bring attention, and potential scrutiny, onto the Lions coaching staff. Akin to Rassie Erasmus calling up out-half Handre Pollard for hooker Malcolm Marx back at the 2023 Rugby World Cup, as O'Sullivan cites, sometimes you have to take the opportunity to make squad changes where you see fit. The Lions face an AUNZ Invitational XV side on Saturday morning in the final run out before the eagerly anticipated first test with the Wallabies on Saturday, 19 July.
AU Financial Review
10-07-2025
- Sport
- AU Financial Review
Waugh's wager: What the Lions Tour means for rugby union's future
On a typical night at Sydney's Allianz Stadium, the NSW Waratahs are lucky to have 17,000 people in the stands. When the club took on the British and Irish Lions last weekend, there were more than 40,500. The turnout did not reflect the home side's chances – most did not believe the Waratahs stood a chance. But they put up a decent fight, ultimately losing by 11 points to a team made up of Britain and Ireland's best rugby union players.
The Advertiser
08-07-2025
- Sport
- The Advertiser
Trans-Tasman foes turn friends to tackle touring Lions
NSW Waratahs playmaker Tane Edmed says he's like a "kid in a candy shop" as he soaks up the opportunity to play and learn from some of New Zealand's best, including former All Blacks coach Ian Foster. An AUNZ Invitational XV squad will tackle the might of the British and Irish Lions in Adelaide on Saturday night - the first time the trans-Tasman selection have gathered since 1989. Edmed is one of 18 Australians in the squad, with several out to push their case for a call-up for the Wallabies in the three-match series against the Lions starting in Brisbane on July 19. That includes Test forwards Lukhan Salakaia-Loto, Matt Philip and Seru Uru. With Wallaby coach in-waiting Les Kiss at the helm, the squad has 12 Kiwis including Crusaders captain David Havili, former All Blacks enforcer Shannon Frizell and Test backrower Hoskins Sotutu. One-Test Edmed hasn't been in the selection picture so far this year but after being a part of the Waratahs outfit which sent a scare through the Lions in Saturday's 21-10 defeat, is excited to gain another opportunity against the tourists. "Getting the chance to come here, meet boys from New Zealand, meet new coaches, new systems - it was really exciting," Edmed said on Tuesday. "And then the chance to play the Lions again, and not many people get to do that, so yeah, really special. "I'm a kid in the candy store at the moment with Fozzy (Foster) and Les (Kiss) and all the coaches, just trying to soak up as much as I can. A lot of people like (Crusaders captain) Dave Havili ... just trying to hang on every word and just learn as much as I can in this week." Assistant coach Foster, who finished up with the All Blacks in 2023, said preparation would be more about building bonds between players than working on an intricate game plan. "Getting to know each other is the main thing, we're not going to go heavy on organisation as we can only do so much in a short time period," Foster said. "It's the guys just wanting to play for the guy next to them and generating a little bit of that sort of Anzac feel about it. "We're putting aside the rivalries and saying 'let's do something together' and it's not a festival game for us - it's one that we want to express ourselves, but it's a real opportunity to play a pretty special team against the Lions and, who knows, achieve something nice." Meanwhile, Harry Potter has switched from the Western Force to the Waratahs for the next two Super Rugby Pacific seasons, after signing a contract extension with Rugby Australia. The Wallabies winger, part of the Test team that pipped Fiji on Sunday, will be available for selection for the next Rugby World Cup, in Australia in 2027. The Melbourne product has spent the past two seasons with the Western Force after starring with UK club Leicester Tigers. NSW Waratahs playmaker Tane Edmed says he's like a "kid in a candy shop" as he soaks up the opportunity to play and learn from some of New Zealand's best, including former All Blacks coach Ian Foster. An AUNZ Invitational XV squad will tackle the might of the British and Irish Lions in Adelaide on Saturday night - the first time the trans-Tasman selection have gathered since 1989. Edmed is one of 18 Australians in the squad, with several out to push their case for a call-up for the Wallabies in the three-match series against the Lions starting in Brisbane on July 19. That includes Test forwards Lukhan Salakaia-Loto, Matt Philip and Seru Uru. With Wallaby coach in-waiting Les Kiss at the helm, the squad has 12 Kiwis including Crusaders captain David Havili, former All Blacks enforcer Shannon Frizell and Test backrower Hoskins Sotutu. One-Test Edmed hasn't been in the selection picture so far this year but after being a part of the Waratahs outfit which sent a scare through the Lions in Saturday's 21-10 defeat, is excited to gain another opportunity against the tourists. "Getting the chance to come here, meet boys from New Zealand, meet new coaches, new systems - it was really exciting," Edmed said on Tuesday. "And then the chance to play the Lions again, and not many people get to do that, so yeah, really special. "I'm a kid in the candy store at the moment with Fozzy (Foster) and Les (Kiss) and all the coaches, just trying to soak up as much as I can. A lot of people like (Crusaders captain) Dave Havili ... just trying to hang on every word and just learn as much as I can in this week." Assistant coach Foster, who finished up with the All Blacks in 2023, said preparation would be more about building bonds between players than working on an intricate game plan. "Getting to know each other is the main thing, we're not going to go heavy on organisation as we can only do so much in a short time period," Foster said. "It's the guys just wanting to play for the guy next to them and generating a little bit of that sort of Anzac feel about it. "We're putting aside the rivalries and saying 'let's do something together' and it's not a festival game for us - it's one that we want to express ourselves, but it's a real opportunity to play a pretty special team against the Lions and, who knows, achieve something nice." Meanwhile, Harry Potter has switched from the Western Force to the Waratahs for the next two Super Rugby Pacific seasons, after signing a contract extension with Rugby Australia. The Wallabies winger, part of the Test team that pipped Fiji on Sunday, will be available for selection for the next Rugby World Cup, in Australia in 2027. The Melbourne product has spent the past two seasons with the Western Force after starring with UK club Leicester Tigers. NSW Waratahs playmaker Tane Edmed says he's like a "kid in a candy shop" as he soaks up the opportunity to play and learn from some of New Zealand's best, including former All Blacks coach Ian Foster. An AUNZ Invitational XV squad will tackle the might of the British and Irish Lions in Adelaide on Saturday night - the first time the trans-Tasman selection have gathered since 1989. Edmed is one of 18 Australians in the squad, with several out to push their case for a call-up for the Wallabies in the three-match series against the Lions starting in Brisbane on July 19. That includes Test forwards Lukhan Salakaia-Loto, Matt Philip and Seru Uru. With Wallaby coach in-waiting Les Kiss at the helm, the squad has 12 Kiwis including Crusaders captain David Havili, former All Blacks enforcer Shannon Frizell and Test backrower Hoskins Sotutu. One-Test Edmed hasn't been in the selection picture so far this year but after being a part of the Waratahs outfit which sent a scare through the Lions in Saturday's 21-10 defeat, is excited to gain another opportunity against the tourists. "Getting the chance to come here, meet boys from New Zealand, meet new coaches, new systems - it was really exciting," Edmed said on Tuesday. "And then the chance to play the Lions again, and not many people get to do that, so yeah, really special. "I'm a kid in the candy store at the moment with Fozzy (Foster) and Les (Kiss) and all the coaches, just trying to soak up as much as I can. A lot of people like (Crusaders captain) Dave Havili ... just trying to hang on every word and just learn as much as I can in this week." Assistant coach Foster, who finished up with the All Blacks in 2023, said preparation would be more about building bonds between players than working on an intricate game plan. "Getting to know each other is the main thing, we're not going to go heavy on organisation as we can only do so much in a short time period," Foster said. "It's the guys just wanting to play for the guy next to them and generating a little bit of that sort of Anzac feel about it. "We're putting aside the rivalries and saying 'let's do something together' and it's not a festival game for us - it's one that we want to express ourselves, but it's a real opportunity to play a pretty special team against the Lions and, who knows, achieve something nice." Meanwhile, Harry Potter has switched from the Western Force to the Waratahs for the next two Super Rugby Pacific seasons, after signing a contract extension with Rugby Australia. The Wallabies winger, part of the Test team that pipped Fiji on Sunday, will be available for selection for the next Rugby World Cup, in Australia in 2027. The Melbourne product has spent the past two seasons with the Western Force after starring with UK club Leicester Tigers.
Irish Examiner
07-07-2025
- Sport
- Irish Examiner
Scratchy Lions win has simplified the Test selection equation for Farrell
FOR some reason Dame Edna Everage sprung to mind in the wake of the British & Irish Lions less-than-marvellous weekend display against the NSW Waratahs. As Edna once waspishly told a fellow grand dame: 'I'm trying to find a word to describe your outfit … affordable.' It was not dissimilar to the lacklustre Lions in Sydney: all dressed up and nowhere to hide. It has been an awkward few days all round, with increasing amounts of potential comedic ammunition available to Aussie hecklers. 'Mr Farrell, welcome to our hotel, we've held the family suite for you.' 'Mate, was the pitch really damp on Saturday or were you blokes just wallowing in your own mediocrity?' It is reaching the point where the Lions need to start delivering a few short sharp punchlines of their own. 'Maybe we should play Fiji instead?' was briefly a possibility as the Wallabies hovered on the brink of losing their warmup Test in Newcastle. But it is a dangerous game to play when, self-evidently, there continues to be a risk of the Lions rocking up underdone to Brisbane for the first Test on Saturday week. Australia may not be the best team in the world – they went into the weekend ranked eighth – but where does that leave the Lions if the series heads south? Among other things, it makes the first Test absolutely pivotal. This is not a hard and fast law – as recently as their last tour in 2021 the Lions won the opening Test in South Africa only to go on and lose the series – but we should expect Joe Schmidt's Australia to grow stronger over the course of a three-Test series. Hence the importance of picking the smartest-possible starting XV – and a complementary bench – for that challenge. In some ways Saturday's scratchy 21-10 win over the Waratahs has simplified the equation. Let's just say it was not the worst game to miss. There are occasions when players' reputations are enhanced simply by sitting in the stands and the Waratahs game was one of them. Read More Andy Farrell felt NSW Waratahs deliberately watered pitch to hinder Lions So the moment has come for Andy Farrell to cease his ruminative beard-stroking, replace the light pencil with proper ink and get down to it, dah-ling. There is still the Brumbies game this Wednesday to assist deliberations further but the time for experimentation has all but expired. The front row, in theory, should be straightforward. The Lions may have waxed and waned to date but their scrums have gone pretty well. Dan Sheehan is first among equals at hooker and Ellis Genge and Andrew Porter, probably in that order, are both tough hombres at loose-head. But the picture at tighthead is murkier: do the Lions go with the proven farmer strength of Tadhg Furlong, the maturing Will Stuart or the previously little considered Finlay Bealham? If Furlong is back anywhere close to his best, Farrell will be tempted. But at this point a wider Irish question presents itself. The Lions could possibly select as many as 10 or even 11 players from the Ireland side who finished the Six Nations with a laboured 22-17 win over Italy. No disrespect to the Azzurri but there is rather less snap and crackle about some of Ireland's leading lights than a year ago. That could mean the usual assumptions about the benefits of cohesion do not hold as much water. And if Maro Itoje and Joe McCarthy are bolted on to start in the second-row it also raises other related back-row questions. On tour form alone Ollie Chessum might just be edging in front of Tadhg Beirne, and Jac Morgan a gnat's nostril ahead of Josh van der Flier. Read More Wallabies score late to snatch win against surging Fiji as Lions await Of course it matters not, in theory, where a qualified Lion hails from. But assuming Jack Conan starts at number eight is there realistically enough time left to develop the kind of ingrained understanding the all-Irish trio possess? Possibly not, a scenario which will be niggling away in the back of Farrell's mind. At least nobody disputes Jamison Gibson-Park will start at 9 and Finn Russell at 10; all things being equal, the back three should comprise of James Lowe, Blair Kinghorn and Tommy Freeman. Which leaves the midfield and the bench. Do the Lions go for a they-shall-not-pass central defensive brick wall of Bundee Aki and Gary Ringrose or reunite Russell with Sione Tuipulotu and Huw Jones? It would seem even Farrell remains undecided. At the weekend he acknowledged that Test matches tend to be tighter tactical affairs than the lead-up games. 'We are good when we are direct,' he murmured. But the Lions could do with some extra pace – hence the likelihood of Henry Pollock being among the replacements – and Jones offers that. Farrell will further have noted the way in which Fiji ran at the Wallabies and kept their potentially influential centres quiet as a result. Scott Cummings (right) and his Lions teammates show their frustration during the match Lions 'must do better' is Andy Farrell's verdict as Waratahs deny watering pitch Read more The Lions should also keep in mind their captain Itoje's pledge at the initial squad announcement back in May. 'I want us to play with passion and energy and the zeal you would expect of a Lions squad,' said Itoje back then. The cameras in the visiting dressing room at the weekend did not catch a tremendous amount of that and one or two individuals look to have plenty on their youthful minds. So stick or twist? Strip back the gameplan or keep the faith? Put Farrell Jr on the Test bench ahead of Fin Smith for pure psychological effect? It says everything about the concertina-ed nature of this Lions trip that such debates still remain live at this late stage. But ultimately the answer is simple: go all out or go home. As the great Dame Edna might have put it: 'Don't chicken out now, possums!' Guardian
The Guardian
06-07-2025
- Sport
- The Guardian
Scratchy Lions win has simplified the Test selection equation for Andy Farrell
For some reason Dame Edna Everage sprung to mind in the wake of the British & Irish Lions less-than-marvellous weekend display against the NSW Waratahs. As Edna once waspishly told a fellow grand dame: 'I'm trying to find a word to describe your outfit … affordable.' It was not dissimilar to the lacklustre Lions in Sydney: all dressed up and nowhere to hide. It has been an awkward few days all round, with increasing amounts of potential comedic ammunition available to Aussie hecklers. 'Mr Farrell, welcome to our hotel, we've held the family suite for you.' 'Mate, was the pitch really damp on Saturday or were you blokes just wallowing in your own mediocrity?' It is reaching the point where the Lions need to start delivering a few short sharp punchlines of their own. 'Maybe we should play Fiji instead?' was briefly a possibility as the Wallabies hovered on the brink of losing their warmup Test in Newcastle. But it is a dangerous game to play when, self-evidently, there continues to be a risk of the Lions rocking up underdone to Brisbane for the first Test on Saturday week. Australia may not be the best team in the world – they went into the weekend ranked eighth – but where does that leave the Lions if the series heads south? Among other things, it makes the first Test absolutely pivotal. This is not a hard and fast law – as recently as their last tour in 2021 the Lions won the opening Test in South Africa only to go on and lose the series – but we should expect Joe Schmidt's Australia to grow stronger over the course of a three-Test series. Hence the importance of picking the smartest-possible starting XV – and a complementary bench – for that challenge. In some ways Saturday's scratchy 21-10 win over the Waratahs has simplified the equation. Let's just say it was not the worst game to miss. There are occasions when players' reputations are enhanced simply by sitting in the stands and the Waratahs game was one of them. So the moment has come for Andy Farrell to cease his ruminative beard-stroking, replace the light pencil with proper ink and get down to it, dah-ling. There is still the Brumbies game this Wednesday to assist deliberations further but the time for experimentation has all but expired. The front row, in theory, should be straightforward. The Lions may have waxed and waned to date but their scrums have gone pretty well. Dan Sheehan is first among equals at hooker and Ellis Genge and Andrew Porter, probably in that order, are both tough hombres at loose-head. But the picture at tight-head is murkier: do the Lions go with the proven farmer strength of Tadhg Furlong, the maturing Will Stuart or the previously little considered Finlay Bealham? If Furlong is back anywhere close to his best, Farrell will be tempted. But at this point a wider Irish question presents itself. The Lions could possibly select as many as 10 or even 11 players from the Ireland side who finished the Six Nations with a laboured 22-17 win over Italy. No disrespect to the Azzurri but there is rather less snap and crackle about some of Ireland's leading lights than a year ago. That could mean the usual assumptions about the benefits of cohesion do not hold as much water. And if Maro Itoje and Joe McCarthy are bolted on to start in the second-row it also raises other related back-row questions. On tour form alone Ollie Chessum might just be edging in front of Tadhg Beirne, and Jac Morgan a gnat's nostril ahead of Josh van der Flier. Of course it matters not, in theory, where a qualified Lion hails from. But assuming Jack Conan starts at number eight is there realistically enough time left to develop the kind of ingrained understanding the all-Irish trio possess? Possibly not, a scenario which will be niggling away in the back of Farrell's mind. Sign up to The Breakdown The latest rugby union news and analysis, plus all the week's action reviewed after newsletter promotion At least nobody disputes Jamison Gibson-Park will start at nine and Finn Russell at 10; all things being equal, the back three should comprise of James Lowe, Blair Kinghorn and Tommy Freeman. Which leaves the midfield and the bench. Do the Lions go for a they-shall-not-pass central defensive brick wall of Bundee Aki and Gary Ringrose or reunite Russell with Sione Tuipulotu and Huw Jones? It would seem even Farrell remains undecided. At the weekend he acknowledged that Test matches tend to be tighter tactical affairs than the lead-up games. 'We are good when we are direct,' he murmured. But the Lions could do with some extra pace – hence the likelihood of Henry Pollock being among the replacements – and Jones offers that. Farrell will further have noted the way in which Fiji ran at the Wallabies and kept their potentially influential centres quiet as a result. The Lions should also keep in mind their captain Itoje's pledge at the initial squad announcement back in May. 'I want us to play with passion and energy and the zeal you would expect of a Lions squad,' said Itoje back then. The cameras in the visiting dressing room at the weekend did not catch a tremendous amount of that and one or two individuals look to have plenty on their youthful minds. So stick or twist? Strip back the gameplan or keep the faith? Put Farrell Jr on the Test bench ahead of Fin Smith for pure psychological effect? It says everything about the concertina-ed nature of this Lions trip that such debates still remain live at this late stage. But ultimately the answer is simple: go all out or go home. As the great Dame Edna might have put it: 'Don't chicken out now, possums!'
