Owen Farrell to join British & Irish Lions tour — as Sky Sports pundit
Owen Farrell will join the British & Irish Lions for their match against Argentina in Dublin next Friday — as a Sky Sports pundit.
The former England captain, 33, has been signed up by Sky for the pre-tour game at the Aviva Stadium to be part of their pitch-side punditry line-up. He will therefore run the rule over the tactics his father, Andy, uses for the Lions' first outing against Los Pumas.
Farrell's season in the Top 14 with his club Racing 92 has ended, with the Parisian side finishing a disappointing tenth in the league, meaning they will not be in the end-of-season play-offs. Farrell has never appeared as a television analyst before. It had been widely expected that his father Andy, the Lions head coach, would call him up for the Australia tour, especially if there were injuries at fly half or centre, but so far that has not been necessary.
Owen Farrell, who toured with the Lions in 2013, 2017 and 2021, will initially only appear on Sky at the Dublin match alongside the recently retired Ireland scrum half Conor Murray, also a three-time Lion, and will not travel to Australia.
Farrell is in negotiations to return to Saracens, after enduring a frustrating and injury-hit season.
When the Lions are down under Sky Sports will use Warren Gatland, Ronan O'Gara, Dan Biggar and Will Greenwood, with Lions Sir Ian McGeechan, Sam Warburton and Kyle Sinckler covering the matches from the studios in London, as well as former Scottish flanker John Barclay and England women's player Danielle Waterman.
Times columnist Warburton, the Lions captain in 2013 and 2017, will be Sky's main analyst who will dissect the performances of the touring side from the studios the broadcaster uses for Monday Night Football.
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