Andy Farrell's Test team taking shape with powerhouse back line

Telegraph

5 hours ago

There was no sense of a celebratory or carnival send-off for the British and Irish Lions when Andy Farrell named his first side to face Argentina in Dublin on Friday night.
Technically it is a non-cap match, but good luck telling that to Farrell. The Lions head coach has picked a side dripping with potential Test-match combinations, a powerhouse back line featuring four players who weigh in at over 100kg, and his tour captain Maro Itoje.
Half-backs Alex Mitchell and Fin Smith, of Northampton Saints and England, are given a first start together, the midfield of Bundee Aki and Sione Tuipulotu combines the squad's two most destructive ball-carriers, while outside stand two physically imposing wingers in Tommy Freeman and Duhan van der Merwe. It is the heaviest back line selected since Warren Gatland's series-winning picks for the third Test against Australia in 2013.
Behind this imposing heft, Farrell has opted to sprinkle some stardust by starting Marcus Smith at full-back, reuniting the Smith-Smith 10-15 combination that England featured three times in the Six Nations. It is as if Farrell is the rugby fan having a first go at picking a side stacked with the 'fantasy rugby' subplots that make Lions tours so special.
The pack is equally formidable, even with none of those involved in last week's Premiership and United Rugby Championship finals in the starting XV. A second-row combination of Itoje and Tadhg Beirne would be many people's Test selection, and a back row of Tom Curry, Jac Morgan and Ben Earl is laced with ball-carrying power, pace and breakdown menace.
Ellie Genge and Luke Cowan-Dickie will also relish the first opportunity to lay down their markers in the front row.
Yet the stamp of intent for this first act of the 2025 Lions tour comes from Farrell himself, both by his front-footed selection but also his tone. No excuses, no fear of picking up an injury before the flight to Perth the following day. In previous tours it has potentially been a game that is best to avoid for your hopes of making the Test side. But Farrell was keen to emphasise the sense of opportunity that this 23 can grab before the Leinster, Leicester and Bath players become available for the opening match against the Western Force in Perth.
Huw Jones (Achilles), Hugo Keenan (calf) and Jamison Gibson-Park (glute), who are currently unavailable because of injury, are also expected to be available, according to Farrell, 'in the next week or so'. Blair Kinghorn's season for Toulouse has not yet finished.
'I want this team to put as much pressure as they possibly can [on the players watching the game from the stand], and they should want that from each other,' Farrell 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.
'You can tell with the buzz in the group, what it means to them and the excitement around the place, it just shows what it means. We have seen it in the preparation, how diligent they have been, how quickly they have come together as a group and the bond they have got already in a short space of time. Best foot forward and all that, it is all about the performance on Friday night. That is how we are going to get judged, how we want to do the shirt proud and represent the group properly on Friday night.'
Farrell said he wanted to see 'cohesion and connection' from the side, including a bench that includes Henry Pollock and heavyweight experience of Tadhg Furlong, who has not played since May 3 because of a calf injury, Pierre Schoeman, Elliot Daly and Mack Hansen.
'(I want) an ability to attack the game from the off and be the best version of themselves individually and collectively,' Farrell added. 'You can give yourself any excuse in terms of time together. But we've had good preparation. If you want to be a good Lions player, you have to hit your straps straight from the off. We want to see these players compete.'
Beirne knows Farrell more than most, and he is one of a number of players who experienced the 2021 'Covid' tour of South Africa. He is desperate to seize the moment of playing on a proper tour with supporters for the first time.
'The expectation we would have of each other is that you can adapt to any system you're given and that's the challenge laid in front of us,' Beirne said. 'That's the challenge of being a Lion.
'Every four years there's going to be a new system, the coach is going to want to play a certain way and if you want to be a Lion, you're going to have to adapt or you'll get left behind.
'I would say if you came in here thinking that you could just play your club system or your country system, then you're probably already at a loss.
'So I think everyone comes into these things with a massive open mind and look forward to getting to play these new systems, getting to try something new and eager to learn.
'If you're not floating ideas of players in your position, you're already at a loss as well. We're in such a privileged position to come into these environments and learn from one another and get better as rugby players. Adaptation is a big part of that. We all want to be on the same page.'