Farrell wants late-arriving Leinster stars to feel Lions pressure
ALTHOUGH HE KEEPS abreast of what's being said and written in the media, Andy Farrell has never appeared to be greatly bothered by much of it.
Among the few times he clearly did care was when his son, Owen, came under fire for a high tackle while playing for England against Wales before the 2023 World Cup. Farrell took aim at what he felt was a pile-on against his son.
In the coming weeks, Andy might find himself caring what Owen himself has to say in the media.
Farrell junior has signed up as a pundit with Sky Sports, so will be offering his opinion and analysis of how Farrell senior's British and Irish Lions are playing.
'He'll be nervous about that, uncomfortable,' joked the Lions head coach yesterday.
'I will put it on record and I'll watch it back, definitely.'
Owen will be hoping that the Lions get off to a strong start tomorrow night against Argentina and carry momentum onto the plane to Australia on Saturday. It would make his life as an analyst much easier if the Lions had a very happy tour.
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A strong winning start is certainly what his father is looking for in Dublin tomorrow. With a 15-player contingent from Leinster, Bath, and Leicester having joined earlier this week, Farrell has finally had his full 38-man squad in situ.
The late arrivals have been integrated gradually, although Farrell was glad that most of them didn't look hungover after their celebrations.
'They weren't too bad, actually,' said the Lions boss. 'I was pretty impressed!'
James Lowe at Lions training this week. Billy Stickland / INPHO Billy Stickland / INPHO / INPHO
The 23-man squad to face Argentina tomorrow night includes 21 of the players who were at last week's training camp in Portugal.
Leinster hooker Rónan Kelleher is the only player who was involved in last weekend's URC or Premiership final to go straight into the matchday squad, while Tadhg Furlong will make his return having sat out Leinster's recent games.
All of this week's newcomers to the wider squad have been playing catch-up.
'It's tough for them coming in because these lads [who were already in camp] are fully up to speed and bonded,' said Farrell.
'These [new] lads have subtly worked their way in and 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.'
Many of the players who aren't involved tomorrow are expected to be key men on the Lions tour.
Finn Russell, Jack Conan, Andrew Porter, Dan Sheehan, Jamison Gibson-Park, and James Lowe are in many people's predicted Test teams, while Huw Jones, Will Stuart, Garry Ringrose, Hugo Keenan, Josh van der Flier, James Ryan, Joe McCarthy and Ollie Chessum will all be pushing hard too. Blair Kinghorn, who is still on Top 14 duty with Toulouse, is another who will contend.
Farrell wants those players to bring the confidence of winning titles with Leinster, Bath, and possibly Toulouse into the Lions group.
Fin Smith and Andy Farrell in UCD. Dan Sheridan / INPHO Dan Sheridan / INPHO / INPHO
But he also wants them to feel serious pressure to catch up after a strong performance from his opening-night matchday 23 tomorrow.
'As much pressure as they possibly can, and they should want that from each other,' said Farrell of how he wants a benchmark set tomorrow.
'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.
'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.'
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The timing of the URC and Premiership finals meant Farrell's hands were tied for this Argentina clash but he is adamant that tomorrow is the first audition for the Test side.
The Lions boss said his thinking towards selection for the Tests 'changes all the time' and he wants players to start putting their hands up in tomorrow's uncapped game.
'This is all about putting your best foot forward as a group,' he said.
'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.'
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