Andy Farrell's demand to Lions: Put your team-mates in the stand under pressure

Irish Daily Mirror

8 hours ago

Andy Farrell wants to see his Ireland stars in the stands put under pressure by the performance of his Lions at the Aviva Stadium.
Ireland boss Farrell has his British and Irish Lions cap on now and so, while personal relationships may count for something on the upcoming tour of Australia, selection will be ruthless as he chases the Test series win against Joe Schmidt's Wallabies.
Friday night's clash with Argentina is the start of the 10-game journey and what Farrell wants is to see "cohesion and connection" from his players - and for them to hit the ground running against a new-look Pumas side.
What he senses is that no-one is trying to save themselves for the flight on Saturday. "Everyone's gung-ho to get going," Farrell declared. "There's no doubt about that.
"Everyone wants to play. I'm sure there will be some lads twitching in the stand dying to get out there, a little bit of jealousy as well, and that's what we want.
"100%, this is all about putting your best foot forward as a group. They're representing the group. This is a full-blown Test match for us, for all that are involved internally. We're lucky to have the quality of the Argentinian side to come over and test that. It's going to be a fantastic occasion."
Farrell has picked six Ireland internationals for the opener - three starters in Munster skipper Tadhg Beirne and Connacht duo Finlay Bealham and Bundee Aki - plus three on the bench, Leinster's Tadhg Furlong and Rónan Kelleher plus Connacht's Mack Hansen.
That means there is a large contingent of Irishmen who sit out tomorrow's encounter. There's Hugo Keenan and Jamison Park, who are coming back from injury - and apart from Kelleher, their seven Leinster team-mates who were involved in last Saturday's URC final victory.
Farrell joked that he was impressed with their levels of sobriety after their brief celebrations before coming into Lions camp the following day.
"It's tough for them coming in," admitted Farrell. "Because these lads are fully up to speed and bonded and these lads have subtly worked their way in and so the more they can come out of themselves or be themselves as soon as possible, the quicker they are going to learn.
"There's quite a bit of experience in terms of being able to do that, so they've certainly added another dimension. We had a great session against Portugal in Quinta on Friday.
"But it's a different level when the squad come back together, and we've got 15 on 15 and that type of talent going at one another. You can see the competitive nature and the talent that's in the room."
Farrell's wish is that when those players not involved get on the plane Down Under that they will be fired up to get their own shows up and running, having been impressed by the Lions against Felipe Contepomi's Pumas.
The message to the matchday squad on Friday is to put as much pressure on those not involved "as they possibly can," added Farrell. "And they should want that from each other," he said.
"They should want this team on the weekend to put everyone who's in the stands under pressure as that's what the shirt should do. It should bring the best out of everyone - and everyone has to rise to that challenge."
Farrell has spent the last 10 days trying to work out teams for the first few games in Australia but admits it's a moving feast. "That's the nature of touring," he said. "We don't know what we're going to have.
"Touch wood we have a fully fit side on Saturday morning flying to Perth, but we've got to be ready for whatever is thrown at us. I've spent a lot of time thinking about what my Test side could be but you can't actually even go there because the competition is that good."
Farrell will certainly be hoping that Tadhg Furlong has a successful comeback off the bench tomorrow, having been out of action for the past four weeks.
"Well, he's a Lions stalwart, isn't he? He's been there and done that," said the head coach of a tighthead who has been a crucial player on the last two Lions tours.
"He spoke up in his first meeting that he was in with the team and said it doesn't matter what anyone has been through, there's no excuses at the weekend. So that's where he's at."