Andy Farrell faces Owen question as selection debates pile up for Lions squad

Head coach must decide if his son commands a place, the back-row blend and whether a left-field pick is required

As Andy Farrell prepares to name his British & Irish Lions touring squad it is worth reflecting on the events of 12 years ago. Then as now, the destination was Australia and Farrell was an important cog in Warren Gatland’s management team. It was also the last time the Lions actually won a series, the solitary occasion they have ticked that illustrious box this century.

And do you remember who, ultimately, made the difference in the all-important final Test in Sydney, with the best-of-three series poised at 1-1? None other than the strong-scrummaging Alex Corbisiero, who had been omitted from the original squad and owed his presence to an ankle injury sustained by Ireland’s Cian Healy early in the tour.

Missing out on initial selection, accordingly, need not be the end of the world. There will be players not chosen this Thursday who end up pulling on the famous red jersey. And, conversely, one or two who never make the plane. In 2013 the highest-profile fall guy was Dylan Hartley, banned for 11 weeks after being sent off for allegedly swearing at Wayne Barnes in the Premiership final just prior to the squad’s departure.

This time the clock is ticking loudly for the estimable Caelan Doris, the frontrunner for the tour captaincy six months ago. The Irishman requires shoulder surgery which will prevent him playing for Leinster again this season and leaves the door open for Farrell to install England’s Maro Itoje as his Lions figurehead.

It is a rarefied honour and touring with the Lions in any capacity remains among rugby’s ultimate accolades. The squad announcement also concludes one of the great recurring parlour games. This particular squad, pregnant with possibilities, has been the subject of endless conjecture for at least the last nine months. As most parents will testify, tossing around names can be fun but choosing ones that impress everybody is impossible.

Which, as it happens, brings us straight to one of Farrell’s primary conundrums: should he pick his own son, Owen? There are few, if any, parents as allergic to nepotism as Farrell Sr – he has always steadfastly maintained that, as a coach, he treats Owen like any other player – but equally he wants as many “Test-match animals” in the squad as possible.

On the one hand Farrell Jr has had an injury-disrupted season with Racing 92, sustained a concussion at the weekend and has not played Test rugby since the 2023 World Cup. On the other he is good mates with Johnny Sexton, recently drafted on to the Lions management team, and has played at both 10 and 12 for the Lions at the highest level. The jungle drums continue to suggest he is in the conversation.

It leaves Farrell Sr with a pivotal decision to make at 10. Finn Russell surely has the necessary body of work, particularly with a posse of other Scotland backs in the frame. A similar argument can now be made for Fin Smith, who has just steered Northampton to the Champions Cup final and has an intuitive relationship with his club-mates Alex Mitchell and Tommy Freeman, both likely Lions.

Which leaves room for one more fly-half from the following: Owen Farrell, Marcus Smith, Sam Prendergast, George Ford and Jack Crowley. Farrell Sr is a confirmed Prendergast fan and, given his ‘other’ job as Ireland head coach, knows the young man’s game inside out. So does the aforementioned Sexton: neither will want to been seen as anything less than fully supportive of a playmaker of rich potential.

The clincher, as ever, will be what best suits the collective good. With Jamison Gibson-Park and a clutch of fellow Irishmen set to tour as well, familiarity would be a huge bonus given the limited time available to gel pivotal combinations. Picking James Lowe, Bundee Aki, Hugo Keenan and one from Garry Ringrose or Robbie Henshaw will ensure familiar faces whenever Prendergast looks up. For that reason, if Farrell or Ford’s experience under pressure is not deemed essential, he may yet shade it.

There are plenty more fierce debates to be had, not least surrounding the back-row blend. Back in 2013 Gatland opted to leave behind the then-England captain Chris Robshaw in favour of the pacier Justin Tipuric with one eye on the Wallabies’ threat at the breakdown where the great George Smith would be lurking. This time Fraser McReight, who had a highly influential game against England last November, will be the potential menace.

So how does Farrell respond? It will be a surprise if Ireland’s Josh van der Flier, an autumn try-scorer against the Wallabies, does not make it and Tadhg Beirne will definitely be on the flight south, along with Tom Curry and, probably, Ben Earl and Wales’s Jac Morgan. But that would leave just two spots unclaimed with a host of worthy candidates including Jack Conan, Jack Willis, Sam Underhill, Ben Curry and Taulupe Faletau all in contention.

Underhill and Tom Curry have been a fantastic combination in the past and could be again. Unless Farrell Sr, after last weekend, sits back in his chair momentarily and strokes his chin contemplatively. If, as he has suggested, form is one of his main selection criteria is there not a case for picking a player on a steep upward trajectory rather than someone who may have plateaued already?

Just imagine the galvanising effect on the rest of the squad – and the public ripple effect – were he to opt for the 20-year-old Henry Pollock, whose star is rising by the week? There is a neat precedent, albeit from rugby league. Farrell himself was just 19 when he played in all three Ashes Tests for Great Britain against Australia in 1994 and was made GB skipper at just 21.

The best Lions squads have also always contained a left-field catalyst of some description: a teenage Tony O’Reilly back in 1958, John Bentley in 1997, the relative union novice Jason Robinson in 2001, just months after his England debut. Pollock would maintain that tradition and, quite frankly, give the Lions precisely the extra ball-carrying dynamism – or HP sauce if you prefer – they may need.

It is a pity that Manny Feyi-Waboso is unlikely to be fit to do likewise but hopefully the Scotland centre Sione Tuipulotu – and the versatile Tom Jordan – will be. At the other end of the age scale, looking at some of the midweek fixture turnarounds, there is a plausible case for Courtney Lawes as a versatile, hard-hitting presence and another potential midweek skipper. The 36-year-old may play in the ProD2 for Brive nowadays but he remains universally respected and a Test match animal to his core. Either way, Itoje also now has the chance to become an all-time Lions legend. The 2025 Lions may lack depth in one or two areas but when it comes to leadership and competitive edge – both in the head coach’s chair and among Farrell’s chief lieutenants – they should be well stocked.

Ups and downs

There is plenty of chat in England right now about ‘franchise clubs’ playing in a soon-to-be-remodelled Premiership with no relegation. In other words, the ‘closed shop’ that has long been desired in certain quarters would officially become a reality. The Rugby Football Union’s chief executive, Bill Sweeney, suggested last week that promotion and relegation “doesn’t currently work” in the English game, hardly a surprise given the significant decrease in funding for Championship clubs during his tenure.

Negotiations remain ongoing, however, and there remain those who firmly believe a two-tier solution is a better way forward. “There’s one fundamental disagreement with the Premiership and that is that we are against a closed league,” said Simon Gillham, the new chair of the Tier 2 board representing clubs below the Premiership. “It’s anti-sport. We in Tier 2 cannot envisage a system where there’s not aspiration and there’s not jeopardy.” It may be a tough argument to win in the current financial climate but here’s hoping Gillham’s vision broadens a few minds and alerts people to the wider benefits for the English game as a whole. The potential upside – a joint broadcasting deal, greater collaboration, a more joined-up product, clear longer-term benefits for the national team etc – could be substantial.

One to watch

The Champions Cup final between Northampton and Bordeaux-Bègles in Cardiff on 24 May should be a cracker given the quality of the respective teams’ backlines. Saints scored five tries against Leinster’s much-vaunted defence and Bordeaux, with or without Damian Penaud, have Europe’s most prolific try-scorer in the form of Louis Bielle-Biarrey. It is also the 25th anniversary of Northampton’s first – and so far only – triumph in the tournament back in 2000 and the Saints will be roared on at the Principality Stadium by, among others, the turn-of-the-century squad who punctured Munster’s dream with a 9-8 win at Twickenham. With Bath having made the Challenge Cup final against Lyon, there is even the possibility of an English ‘double’ for just the second time in the last 21 years. Which would give a fresh twist to the debate about whether the Premiership is now an inferior competition to the Top 14 and United Rugby Championship.

Memory lane

On the first standalone Lions tour of Australia in 1989, the captaincy debate went in favour of Finlay Calder, the Scottish flanker, over Will Carling. Calder, then 31, was selected by his countryman, head coach Ian McGeechan, for his ability to unite the squad – and to speak his mind, even when that meant admitting mid-tour that England’s Andy Robinson might be more deserving of his place in the back row. As it was Calder became the first Lions captain since Willie John McBride in 1974 to lead them to a series victory; defeating the Wallabies 2-1 with a 19-18 victory in the deciding Test.

Still want more?

Robert Kitson was present for Northampton’s stunning Champions Cup victory over Leinster. “I’ve never played in a game that hard in my life,” said Henry Pollock of that Saints display.

A significant number of former elite players who have participated in World Rugby’s new brain health ­service programme have been identified as being “at risk” of cognitive problems in later life, reports Andy Bull.

And the RFU ‘old farts’ council is likely to be scrapped as part of a governance shake-up, writes Gerard Meagher.

Subscribe

To subscribe to the Breakdown, just visit this page and follow the instructions.

And sign up for The Recap, the best of our sports writing from the past seven days.