Lions hold off on SOS despite latest scrumhalf injury

Yahoo

29-06-2025

British and Irish Lions coach Andy Farrell has downplayed the need to send out a scrumhalf SOS despite Tomos Williams suffering a hamstring injury during Saturday's 54-7 win over the Western Force.
Williams injured his left hamstring while acrobatically diving over for his second try of the night in the eight-tries-to-one romp over the Force.
The 30-year-old was clearly in pain as he limped from the field in the 47th minute, putting the rest of his tour in doubt.
Thanks for a great game, @westernforce 🤝#Lions2025 pic.twitter.com/48AnPhbTle
— British & Irish Lions (@lionsofficial) June 28, 2025
Fellow scrumhalf Jamison Gibson-Park was unavailable for the match due to a recent glute injury, but it's hopeful he will be fit to tackle the Queensland Reds on Wednesday night.
If there is any doubt on Gibson-Park, it would leave Alex Mitchell as the last No.9 standing at present.
Scrumhalf Ben White is currently with the Scotland international side in New Zealand for a match against the Maori All Blacks, and could be called upon if needed.
But Farrell played down the need to call in reinforcements just yet, expressing confidence in Gibson-Park's fitness, and saying he wants to wait longer to see the severity of Williams' injury.
"Jamison's fit and ready to go, and has been training fully now for the best part of the week, so we're happy with that," Farrell said.
"But you don't know until you know (about Williams' injury).
"We have to let these things settle down and see what the outcome is, giving it a little bit of space.
"We need to talk about that and assess that and make the right call for the group. We have our fingers crossed."
One of the brightest points out of Saturday's game for the Lions was the performance of No.8 Henry Pollock, who looked every bit the future superstar he's being touted to become.
Pollock's bullocking runs proved troublesome for the Force, and the 20-year-old showcased his creativity with a chip-and-chase that led to a second-half try to lock Joe McCarthy.
"I thought he was brilliant," stand-in Lions captain Dan Sheehan said.
"He does his own thing. He has his own way of playing. He's probably different to a lot of the forwards.
"I enjoy that kind of rugby, off the cuff, see what's in front of you, and make it happen.
"And with his sort of skill set and speed, he can, he can certainly make it happen."
The Lions will head to Brisbane on Sunday ahead of Wednesday night's clash with the Queensland Reds at Suncorp Stadium.
Farrell was happy with his team's performance against the Force, with the five-try blitz in the second half particularly impressive.
But he is also well aware there are plenty of areas to improve.
The Lions were dominated in the possession and territory stakes in the first half, and their more fancied scrum could only break even against the Force.
The tourists also struggled with their kick-off receives, and lost Pollock on the stroke of half-time to a yellow card due to an accumulation of team infringements.
"Our discipline for one," Farrell said when asked about areas to improve on.
"You mentioned kick-offs there, so it's a good warning for us, isn't it?
"I thought we got a bit lateral at times, not engaging enough, and tried to be too tidy attack-wise at times."