by Amid the headlines surrounding Andy Farrell’s appointment this week as head coach of the British and Irish Lions for next year’s tour of Australia, there were few details in the way.
Farrell looks set to have a blank canvas to sketch out his coaching and support staff, with the only other confirmed appointment being Ieuan Evans, who will double up as Lions chairman and tour manager. There will also be no rush to fill the vacancies. Farrell will remain Ireland head coach until after the autumn series and intends to take his time to ensure he has the right mix of technical skills and complementary personalities.
Farrell’s message to the players was equally broad. He will have a free hand to select players based in France, even if it means they are unavailable for the opening tour games due to Top 14 commitments – and he has not ruled out selecting an uncapped ‘rookie’ , the last of them. Will Greenwood was on the tour of South Africa in 1997, even if the professionalism has made such choices very rarely.
“The biggest thing that motivates a team is competition for places, and we have the games to do that,” Farrell said.
“If someone comes out of the blue and has a special talent and upsets the apple cart a little bit with someone who accepts that they will be selected, that has to be good for the team.”
The unique challenges of the Lions tour
But if the finer details of what Farrell’s Lions tour will look like remain thin on the ground for now, he has laid down one major cornerstone that will likely shape the entire 10-game tour.
When he was told that history had shown the Lions’ record to be relatively poor given the talent available to them, and the logistical challenges of recent trips had often meant the tourists could race against the odds to be ready for the critical first Test, Farrell insisted on his journey that there would be “no excuse thinking.”
Unlike Warren Gatland on the previous three tours, Farrell will have the benefit of a two-week preparation period with all his UK and Ireland-based players, given the decision by both the Premier League and the URC to bring forward their 2025 finals within a week. But still, Farrell is adamant that any player he selects must have the character to meet the unique challenges of the Lions’ touring side in today’s rugby.
“There’s no excuse not to be ready for that first Test,” Farrell said. “I hear what you’re saying with the past and the statistics that go with that but that doesn’t mean you can’t pick yourself up off the floor, if you can’t you’re the wrong character anyway.
“A three-match Test series is really special because you often see in the history of a three-match series that there is a team that gets through for the first Test, obviously there is confidence and momentum with that, but the side that have lost fight for their lives and you see that they can handle that kind of pressure.
“That’s what it’s all about in the end and the type of personnel we have has to be able to flourish in that type of environment. And then you see, whoever wins the second Test, you see if they have the minerals to bring it to the type of performance when it really matters.”
‘This is touring in its purest form’
The travel, along with commercial duties and the demands of playing two games a week, challenges coach and player alike, which is why Farrell says talent will not be the defining measure. Neither will the tour captain be offered any guarantee of a starting place on the Test side.
“I love playing games,” Farrell added. “I’m looking back not too long ago where teams in a league system or any other type of competition were playing for five trophies and the backlog of games they had was incredible. [compared] for some time. Did they complain?
“They didn’t complain as it was, it was the way it was and since then things have changed so people have an excuse or a whinge about anything. This is touring in its purest form, to me, and it’s the way touring should be done and you have to accept that and have no excuses for where you go next and make sure you’re on your do your best.”
The Lions have been fans not only in rugby, but in the behind-the-scenes video diaries that are popular on streaming services such as Netflix.
Ben Calveley, Lions chief executive, confirmed talks were taking place about a documentary for the 2025 tour.
“It’s not new for us to do things like that,” he said. “We want to do something in 2025 that will bring the fans as close to the action as possible. The exact structure of that is to be decided but we want to do something. The key for us is not to do something we’ve done on previous tours, we want to bring fans as close to the action and give them a truly immersive experience. The exact format is to be determined.”
