Owen Farrell will join the Lions tour replacing the injured Elliot Daly in a sensational development down under. The former England captain is set to jet to Australia after full-back Daly was ruled out of the rest of the trip with a broken arm.
Farrell’s dad Andy, head coach of the Lions, has ignored the claims of players more used to playing 15, like Tom Jordan, currently in New Zealand with Scotland, or Wales’ Blair Murray, who is in Japan, and picked his boy who plays 10 or 12.
But the younger Farrell does bring huge experience of touring with the Lions having been on trips in 2013, 2017 and 2021 whilst Daly was one of only three players in the current squad on their third tour, along with Maro Itoje and Tadhg Furlong
Andy Farrell said: “It is heartbreaking for the group that Elliot’s tour is over. He is a Lions legend who has added so much to this group on and off the field over the last few weeks and over three tours.”
Farrell Jnr will land in Australia boasting 112 England caps, six for the Lions and 1271 international points and three Six Nations titles and a World Cup final appearance.
But he has no recent form to speak of having had a shocking season with Racing 92 in France which ended with him re-signing with Saracens with a year of his contract left.
He also had his campaign wrecked by a groin injury and concussion in France.
Farrell took a break from Test rugby after the 2023 World Cup when he was booed by England fans for mental health reasons and has not been since in internationals with his French contract meaning he could not be picked by Steve Borthwick,
Full-back Daly went off after 67 minutes of the 52-12 win over the Reds in Brisbane on Wednesday, was scanned a local hospital and given the bad news on Thursday.
Elsewhere boss Farrell named his side to take on the Waratahs in Sydney on Saturday a few hours after the Lions flew into New South Wales from Brisbane. Ireland full-back Hugo Keenan, who was ill and replaced by Daly for the Reds game, and Scotland wing Blair Kinghorn get first starts of the tour in a side captained by lock Tadhg Beirne.
Scotland scrum-half Ben White, who replaced Tomos Williams, is on the bench and could get his first tour action whilst Henry Pollock is named at blindside flanker in a back row with Josh van der Flier and Ben Earl.
Lions v Waratahs: Saturday, 11am
Starting XV: Keenan; Hansen, Jones, Tuipulotu, Kinghorn; F.Smith, Mitchell; Schoeman, Cowan-Dickie, Bealham, Beirne (capt), Ryan, Pollock, Van der Flier, Earl
Replacements: Sheehan, Genge, Furlong, McCarthy, Cummings, Morgan, White, M.Smith