LONG READ Farrell puts his reputation on the line knowing tougher challenges lie ahead

When Warren Gatland sat in front of the assembled press corps, bleary eyed in a Sydney hotel, the morning after the British & Irish Lions had celebrated a 2-1 series win over the Wallabies, he did so with a sigh, and a smile. This after enduring the most visceral wave of opprobrium a Lions head coach had ever encountered only days earlier. It was the first tour of the social media era, which well and truly debunked the misty-eyed maxim that national rivalries were cast aside by fans when pulling on the iconic red jersey.

Gatland explained that the contentious call to select Jonathan Davies over Brian O’Driscoll for the deciding Test, while pained, had been the right call, explaining that he’d learnt a harsh lesson early on in his coaching career after being swayed by public opinion into making a selection that his ‘gut’ told him was wrong. In future he vowed that if he was going to be pilloried for making an egregious decision, he would prefer it was his decision, rather than one forced upon him.

Twelve years on, as the 38 names were read out to a cacophony of noise generated by 2,000 Lions supporters at the O2, you sensed that Farrell was cut from the same cloth. By the time Tomos Williams’ name had been read out, no-one could accuse the head coach of pandering to public opinion. The roll call of players to miss out on selection was a veritable who’s who of rugby superstars; Jamie George, George Ford, Courtney Lawes, Taulupe Faletau, Darcy Graham, Robbie Henshaw. The list went on. All players who would no doubt have been crestfallen, but the ultimate sacrifice came when omitting his own flesh and blood, in son Owen, from a fourth tour of duty.

Nepotism? Not on his watch. Tanned and relaxed, Farrell said he was surprised how robust the selection meeting was, quipping that he thought he’d be done and dusted after an hour, but seven hours later, no doubt having exhausted the coffee reserves, he and his fellow coaches were left with a gleaming squad of 38. It is an assembly of men he is confident will outfight and outwit the fast-improving Wallabies.

On the selection, Farrell pleaded colour blindness and denied looking at players based on the colour of the international shirts, asserting that each player was selected based on his athletic merits and performances over a considerable amount of time.

Based on that criteria, Welsh fans could have few complaints for registering the lowest head count since 1936. Indeed, there was no sentiment in picking only two Lions from the principality, both were fully merited. With Jac Morgan on a plane in South Africa with the Ospreys, Tomos Williams was found to offer up some instant reaction. Tears in his eyes, Williams struggled to find the right words to convey his emotions, knowing that he was in for some gentle ribbing from team-mates.

Farrell, like Gatland in 2013, who had picked 15 Welsh Lions, is pre-disposed to loyalty and when tossing a coin on the 50-50 calls, came up with Irish heads.

Had Northampton Saints’ Leinster heist on Irish rugby’s hallowed turf coloured Farrell’s thinking? Of course it factored, he admitted, and could well have cost Sam Prendergast his place with mentor Johnny Sexton waiting in the wings to continue his out-half education. Yet Farrell, like Gatland in 2013, who had picked 15 Welsh Lions, is pre-disposed to loyalty and when tossing a coin on the 50-50 calls, came up with Irish heads. James Ryan, Ronan Kelleher and Mack Hansen were not shoo-ins to most neutrals, but were preferred to rivals Dafydd Jenkins, Jamie George and Darcy Graham, and it is hard to blame him. These are men who have tasted regular victories over the All Blacks, Springboks and France in recent years, and jousted with well-funded French giants into the depths of the most competitive continental cup tournament in world rugby. His Ireland players, dominated by 12 Leinster men, now owe him a series win. Farrell knows that he will stand and fall by a single team making up a third of the Lions squad.

England, with a 13-strong contingent, will be happy with their lot. At the back end of 2024, they couldn’t catch a break, somehow snatching defeat from the jaws of victory on a regular basis, notably against the Wallabies, but the derring-do of Northampton’s Saints seems to have revitalised Steve Borthwick’s squad. Elsewhere, social media was awash with clips of meaty forwards, like Ellis Genge and Luke Cowan-Dickie, being playfully manhandled by team-mates – putting personal disappointment aside – to celebrate the achievement.

The biggest cheer, to no-one’s surprise, came when Henry Pollock’s name was read out and the footage of the 20-year-old tyro getting buried by Saints squad members was genuinely heartwarming. Farrell swatted away assertions that with only 31 minutes of international rugby, he was too callow. “If you’re good enough, you’re old enough. He’s ready,” he said with conviction.

The selection of Marcus Smith was also popular amongst the assembled crowd and his surprising switch to 15 has probably earnt him the call over George Ford, who is playing quite beautifully for Sale and can feel hard done by. A 100^th cap for England in Argentina awaits, unless he’s called up as an injury replacement.

With Mike Cron making inroads into strengthening the Wallaby pack, the hope is behemoths Taniela Tupou and Will Skelton can find their form. Indeed, the Lions cannot count on the set-piece being an area of dominance.

After several tours where Scotland were ridiculed for the paucity of their complement, an eight-strong contingent seemed about right. As reigning URC champions, Glasgow Warriors were joint-second with Northampton for club representation. If the ‘Huwipulotu’ double-act can be reprised on Australian turf, alongside Russell and Kinghorn, there will be a tartan-inspired Lions backline attempting to run amok on the hard tracks Down Under.

Looking at the squad as a whole, the backline, while missing the top-end pace of Immanuel Feyi-Waboso and Graham, has experience and versatility in abundance, with 47 Test caps the average out wide. Up front, with 51 caps on average, there is no shortage of grunt and guile. In the engine room, the raw power of the absent George Martin has been offset by the inclusion of maul-wrecker Scott Cummings and line-out tactician Ryan, while up front, Farrell will hope Tadhg Furlong can regain match fitness to anchor the scrum. With Mike Cron making inroads into strengthening the Wallabies pack, the hope is behemoths Taniela Tupou and Will Skelton can find their form. Indeed, the Lions cannot count on the set-piece being an area of dominance.

The back row, where the Wallabies boast Fraser McReight, Rob Valetini and Harry Wilson in a dynamic triumvirate, will be hotly contested. The clamour for Pollock’s inclusion in the Test 23 will only grow if he can continue his vertical trajectory, after only 10 starts for his club and country. At No 8, Jack Conan and Ben Earl will contest the shirt, with Morgan, Van der Flier and Curry ready to tear into the opposition in the quest for a Test shirt. The competition will be white hot.

For those left to stare into the distance, pondering what might have been, there is hope with an average of seven replacements a tour since professionalism. There will be some nervous selected Lions playing out the denouement of the domestic season in the coming weeks, desperate not to join Caelan Doris on the treatment table.

Players and coaches will be strapping in for a tumultuous tour. The Australian media and fans, experts in the dark arts of sledging, will no doubt ramp up the pressure.

Of course, the squad announcement is only the beginning of the journey. Players and coaches will be strapping in for a tumultuous tour. The Australian media and fans, experts in the dark arts of sledging, will no doubt ramp up the pressure. Farrell will be hoping he can follow up Gatland’s achievement as a victorious Lions coach by giving a metaphorical bloody nose to his wily adversary and close friend Joe Schmidt.

On 3 August, the head coach will hope to be addressing his own press conference, ready to enjoy the spoils of victory, safe in the knowledge he stayed true to his convictions.