Farrell faces B&I Lions selection dilemma
REACTION: British and Irish Lions coach Andy Farrell was mulling his options ahead of “the biggest game of our lives”, with some selection conundrums for the second Test against Australia.
The tourists have won all seven games in Australia so far, including a polished 27-19 victory over the Wallabies in the first Test at Brisbane.
They can wrap up the series at the Melbourne Cricket Ground on Saturday and write their names in the history books.
“If you can’t get up for what’s coming, we’re all in the wrong place,” Farrell said after a second-string Lions weathered a storm against a First Nations and Pasifika XV on Tuesday.
“To me, this is the biggest game of our lives for every one of us who is part of our squad.”
The Lions beat the Pasifika side 24-19 to maintain their perfect record on Australian soil, but it wasn’t always pretty with the hosts’ physicality and never-say-die attitude creating problems.
“There will have to be plenty of improvement to get to the point where there’s a win on the cards because we know that Australia are going to be a lot better,” Farrell added.
“We started to play the game a little bit like an exhibition match and it was never going to be like that. We weren’t earning the right to play.”
Farrell said before the match it was a late chance for players to make a case for selection in the Test 23 and a decision must now be made on whether Scottish fullback Blair Kinghorn did enough to oust Ireland’s Hugo Keenan from the starting side.
British media reports suggested first-choice lock Joe McCarthy and wing Mack Hansen will not be fit for Saturday, with those positions also at stake.
Farrell’s son Owen, who was overlooked for the first Test, skippered the side on Tuesday and was both composed and influential.
Four-time Lions head coach Ian McGeechan said the “Test-match animal” made a strong case to be included in the matchday squad.
Asked about his son’s performance, Farrell only said: “Nice little chip off the left peg. Some good things from him.”
Should Owen Farrell get the nod, Marcus Smith appears the likely fall guy.
Smith came on as a replacement against Pasifika but departed for a Head Injury Assessment (HIA), which Farrell said he passed and was available for selection.
