Farrell seeks backing for son Owen after Lions call
Farrell said he had "no hesitation" summoning the former England captain once it became clear that Elliot Daly must return home because of a fractured forearm sustained against the Queensland Reds on Wednesday.
The Lions are reeling from the news that Daly's third tour is over just as he was playing his way into the Test team, robbing them of a player Andy Farrell described as a "legend" for the elite of British and Irish rugby.
But rather than replacing him with a similar alternative such as Wales' Blair Murray or Scotland's Tom Jordan, Andy Farrell has turned to a 33-year-old whose last Test was at the World Cup almost two years ago.
Owen Farrell was booed by England fans during the tournament and became a target on social media, which his father described as a "disgusting circus", and he stepped back from the international game to prioritise his mental wellbeing before joining French club Racing 92.
A polarising figure, he is now en route to Australia where Andy Farrell wants his prior treatment to be consigned to the past.
"I hope people can get past that. There has been a lot of that nonsense for some time," the Lions head coach said.
"That was in the past. We all just need to move on and embrace what the Lions is all about and what we have got coming ahead.
"We feel that the timing is right now, that we can all move on and push on, not just with Owen's career but what we're trying to achieve here with the Lions."
Owen Farrell will arrive in Sydney on Friday, bringing with him the experience accumulated during 112 caps for England, whom he captained from 2018 to 2023.
He will be embarking on his fourth Lions tour having made six Test appearances across the 2013, 2017 and 2021 expeditions and will bring leadership, experience and organisation.
However, his ill-fated season at French club Racing 92 was undermined by injuries and indifferent form and he missed the end of the season with a concussion sustained on May 4. He has since rejoined Saracens.
"Owen's fit or else he wouldn't be picked. I know that the guys have been keeping close touch with him in regard to that and he's been training full bore for quite some time now," Andy Farrell said.
"He's the right man at this moment in time for us. We know how much he looks after himself and prides himself on keeping in good nick anyway.
"At this stage there are plenty of players who haven't played for quite some time and experience - knowing what you can do - helps in that regard."
Saturday's clash with New South Wales Waratahs has come too soon and the third match in Australia will see Ireland's Tadhg Beirne take charge.
Blair Kinghorn and Hugo Keenan will make their Lions debuts on the left wing and at full-back respectively.
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ABC News
an hour ago
- ABC News
Owen Farrell joins British and Irish Lions squad in Australia after injury to Elliot Daly
Former England captain Owen Farrell has been summoned by the British and Irish Lions to replace Elliot Daly on the tour of Australia. Daly broke his left forearm on Wednesday in the 52-12 win over the Queensland Reds in Brisbane. ABC Sport will have live blog coverage of the British and Irish Lions' tour of Australia this July and August. "It is heartbreaking for the group that Elliot's tour is over," Lions coach Andy Farrell said in a statement. "He is a Lions legend who has added so much to the group on and off the field over the past few weeks and over the course of three tours. "Owen will now come in and add to our options and bring his own Lions experience to the group." Farrell will join his fourth tour, having played 18 times for the Lions, including six Tests across the 2013, 2017 and 2021 tours. However, he has not played an international since leading England at the 2023 Rugby World Cup, after which he took a break from Test rugby. He earned 112 England caps and is the country's all-time points record-holder. Farrell has not played any rugby in two months. He was concussed on May 4 while playing for Racing 92 in his last game for the French Top 14 side. He recently signed a new deal to return to his old English club, Saracens. Tadhg Beirne will lead the Lions on Saturday against the NSW Waratahs in Sydney, returning to the second row to partner fellow Ireland lock James Ryan. Fullback Hugo Keenan, wing Blair Kinghorn and reserve scrumhalf Ben White will make their Lions debuts. Keenan was withdrawn from the Queensland game after falling ill, which prompted Daly's inclusion and ill luck. Kinghorn only joined the Lions this week after helping Toulouse win the Top 14 title last weekend. White arrived this week after the tour-ending injury to Tomos Williams. Northampton clubmates Alex Mitchell and Fin Smith are the halves and Scotland duo Sione Tuipulotu and Huw Jones are the centres. AP
7NEWS
3 hours ago
- 7NEWS
Sinner destroys Aleksandar Vukic while Alex de Minaur sinks French qualifier Arthur Cazaux at Wimbledon
It started well enough. Though Aleksandar Vukic edged Jannik Sinner's opening serve off his racquet edge as if it were one of Australia's batters nicking off in Grenada, he then won the next point and, after a service game each, it was 1-1. Then it got ugly. Making a Wimbledon Centre Court debut against the top-seeded world No.1 is something to tell the grandkids about, but 93-ranked Vukic may not want to go into too many details. It took the Sydneysider two sets to get into the groove and by then giantkilling was off the agenda. He finished stoutly, saving five match points, but was ultimately defeated by Sinner's 12th ace and succumbed 6-1 6-1 6-3 in exactly 100 minutes. There were some solid serves from Vukic, but only three aces, and a deft volley or two, but for the first hour Sinner was operating on a different plane. Vukic had hoped the top seed would not yet be moving easily on grass, but he slid around the court like a joyrider taking a corner. He had Vukic scurrying left and right with arrowed drives and every so often, quite often in fact, would unleash a forehand of such explosive power and accuracy it brought gasps from the crowd. 'Game Sinner' said the chair umpire, again and again as Sinner reeled off eight on the spin, 1-1 had become 6-1 2-0. When Vukic finally broke the spell the applause was loud, and sympathetic. Even the AI line-judges seemed to be favouring the Italian. His close calls were just in, Vukic's just out, but you felt the frequent close calls were because Sinner was going for the paint while Vukic was going for broke. Vukic tried to vary his game, but it was as if Sinner could read his mind as he anticipated drop shots, passing shots, most shots. The second set went the way of the first but in the third Vukic stayed with the reigning US and Australian Open champion to 3-3. Then Sinner, having held for 4-3, broke him and, bar Vukic's final display of defiance, it was all over. Blinkers on for Demon after comforting fiancee Katie Alex de Minaur has revealed the difficulty of having to blank out the disappointment of his fiancee being knocked out of Wimbledon as he focused to keep his own title ambitions afloat at the grass-court grand slam. British star Katie Boulter bowed out, surprisingly beaten by Argentine lucky loser Solana Sierra, on Wednesday on the eve of de Minaur's own second-round match, which, after an absent-minded start, he won in four sets against French qualifier Arthur Cazaux. The exit of the high-profile Boulter was a headline tale in the British sports - and news - pages where her relationship with de Minaur as the most celebrated couple in tennis often features too. After the loss, she told reporters gloomily: 'Sometimes I just have to accept that my moment might not come.' De Minaur, who attended her match on Wednesday, was left to try to console his 28-year-old other half, to whom he got engaged just before Christmas. 'There's no real rule book that you can go on, but it's not ideal, it's not nice,' said the sympathetic 26-year-old Sydneysider. 'I felt for Katie yesterday, and I've been in those positions myself. It's not easy by any means to forget about it. It's something that kind of stays with you. 'On my side, there's obviously the part of doing my best to comfort her and try to be there for her, the same way she is there for me through the good stuff and the bad stuff. 'It definitely does have a little bit of impact on yourself, and you've got to do your best to try and have a mental reset and kind of shift your focus towards yourself, realising you do have a match the following day that you've got to prepare for. 'It's not going to be an easy one, it's going to be a battle. So, it's a lot of different aspects to deal with, which aren't easy. I think I can get better at it, but that's experience.' De Minaur has become much more of a favourite with the British crowds since the pair became an item. 'I've felt an amazing shift of support the last three or four years, and spending a lot more time here in the UK, it's been quite special,' said de Minaur, calling Wimbledon his 'second home slam' after getting a rousing reception following his 4-6 6-2 6-4 6-0 win. 'It feels like I'm growing roots here. All the way from spending some time together, being at home with Katie, knowing the location a lot better, it definitely gives you an overall better feeling as you go into this tournament.'
The Advertiser
3 hours ago
- The Advertiser
Blinkers on for Demon after comforting fiancee Katie
Alex de Minaur has revealed the difficulty of having to blank out the disappointment of his fiancee being knocked out of Wimbledon as he focused to keep his own title ambitions afloat at the grass-court grand slam. British star Katie Boulter bowed out, surprisingly beaten by Argentine lucky loser Solana Sierra, on Wednesday on the eve of de Minaur's own second-round match, which, after an absent-minded start, he won in four sets against French qualifier Arthur Cazaux. The exit of the high-profile Boulter was a headline tale in the British sports - and news - pages where her relationship with de Minaur as the most celebrated couple in tennis often features too. After the loss, she told reporters gloomily: "Sometimes I just have to accept that my moment might not come." De Minaur, who attended her match on Wednesday, was left to try to console his 28-year-old other half, to whom he got engaged just before Christmas. "There's no real rule book that you can go on, but it's not ideal, it's not nice," said the sympathetic 26-year-old Sydneysider. "I felt for Katie yesterday, and I've been in those positions myself. It's not easy by any means to forget about it. It's something that kind of stays with you. "On my side, there's obviously the part of doing my best to comfort her and try to be there for her, the same way she is there for me through the good stuff and the bad stuff. "It definitely does have a little bit of impact on yourself, and you've got to do your best to try and have a mental reset and kind of shift your focus towards yourself, realising you do have a match the following day that you've got to prepare for. "It's not going to be an easy one, it's going to be a battle. So, it's a lot of different aspects to deal with, which aren't easy. I think I can get better at it, but that's experience." De Minaur has become much more of a favourite with the British crowds since the pair became an item. "I've felt an amazing shift of support the last three or four years, and spending a lot more time here in the UK, it's been quite special," said de Minaur, calling Wimbledon his "second home slam" after getting a rousing reception following his 4-6 6-2 6-4 6-0 win. "It feels like I'm growing roots here. All the way from spending some time together, being at home with Katie, knowing the location a lot better, it definitely gives you an overall better feeling as you go into this tournament." Alex de Minaur has revealed the difficulty of having to blank out the disappointment of his fiancee being knocked out of Wimbledon as he focused to keep his own title ambitions afloat at the grass-court grand slam. British star Katie Boulter bowed out, surprisingly beaten by Argentine lucky loser Solana Sierra, on Wednesday on the eve of de Minaur's own second-round match, which, after an absent-minded start, he won in four sets against French qualifier Arthur Cazaux. The exit of the high-profile Boulter was a headline tale in the British sports - and news - pages where her relationship with de Minaur as the most celebrated couple in tennis often features too. After the loss, she told reporters gloomily: "Sometimes I just have to accept that my moment might not come." De Minaur, who attended her match on Wednesday, was left to try to console his 28-year-old other half, to whom he got engaged just before Christmas. "There's no real rule book that you can go on, but it's not ideal, it's not nice," said the sympathetic 26-year-old Sydneysider. "I felt for Katie yesterday, and I've been in those positions myself. It's not easy by any means to forget about it. It's something that kind of stays with you. "On my side, there's obviously the part of doing my best to comfort her and try to be there for her, the same way she is there for me through the good stuff and the bad stuff. "It definitely does have a little bit of impact on yourself, and you've got to do your best to try and have a mental reset and kind of shift your focus towards yourself, realising you do have a match the following day that you've got to prepare for. "It's not going to be an easy one, it's going to be a battle. So, it's a lot of different aspects to deal with, which aren't easy. I think I can get better at it, but that's experience." De Minaur has become much more of a favourite with the British crowds since the pair became an item. "I've felt an amazing shift of support the last three or four years, and spending a lot more time here in the UK, it's been quite special," said de Minaur, calling Wimbledon his "second home slam" after getting a rousing reception following his 4-6 6-2 6-4 6-0 win. "It feels like I'm growing roots here. All the way from spending some time together, being at home with Katie, knowing the location a lot better, it definitely gives you an overall better feeling as you go into this tournament." Alex de Minaur has revealed the difficulty of having to blank out the disappointment of his fiancee being knocked out of Wimbledon as he focused to keep his own title ambitions afloat at the grass-court grand slam. British star Katie Boulter bowed out, surprisingly beaten by Argentine lucky loser Solana Sierra, on Wednesday on the eve of de Minaur's own second-round match, which, after an absent-minded start, he won in four sets against French qualifier Arthur Cazaux. The exit of the high-profile Boulter was a headline tale in the British sports - and news - pages where her relationship with de Minaur as the most celebrated couple in tennis often features too. After the loss, she told reporters gloomily: "Sometimes I just have to accept that my moment might not come." De Minaur, who attended her match on Wednesday, was left to try to console his 28-year-old other half, to whom he got engaged just before Christmas. "There's no real rule book that you can go on, but it's not ideal, it's not nice," said the sympathetic 26-year-old Sydneysider. "I felt for Katie yesterday, and I've been in those positions myself. It's not easy by any means to forget about it. It's something that kind of stays with you. "On my side, there's obviously the part of doing my best to comfort her and try to be there for her, the same way she is there for me through the good stuff and the bad stuff. "It definitely does have a little bit of impact on yourself, and you've got to do your best to try and have a mental reset and kind of shift your focus towards yourself, realising you do have a match the following day that you've got to prepare for. "It's not going to be an easy one, it's going to be a battle. So, it's a lot of different aspects to deal with, which aren't easy. I think I can get better at it, but that's experience." De Minaur has become much more of a favourite with the British crowds since the pair became an item. "I've felt an amazing shift of support the last three or four years, and spending a lot more time here in the UK, it's been quite special," said de Minaur, calling Wimbledon his "second home slam" after getting a rousing reception following his 4-6 6-2 6-4 6-0 win. "It feels like I'm growing roots here. All the way from spending some time together, being at home with Katie, knowing the location a lot better, it definitely gives you an overall better feeling as you go into this tournament." Alex de Minaur has revealed the difficulty of having to blank out the disappointment of his fiancee being knocked out of Wimbledon as he focused to keep his own title ambitions afloat at the grass-court grand slam. British star Katie Boulter bowed out, surprisingly beaten by Argentine lucky loser Solana Sierra, on Wednesday on the eve of de Minaur's own second-round match, which, after an absent-minded start, he won in four sets against French qualifier Arthur Cazaux. The exit of the high-profile Boulter was a headline tale in the British sports - and news - pages where her relationship with de Minaur as the most celebrated couple in tennis often features too. After the loss, she told reporters gloomily: "Sometimes I just have to accept that my moment might not come." De Minaur, who attended her match on Wednesday, was left to try to console his 28-year-old other half, to whom he got engaged just before Christmas. "There's no real rule book that you can go on, but it's not ideal, it's not nice," said the sympathetic 26-year-old Sydneysider. "I felt for Katie yesterday, and I've been in those positions myself. It's not easy by any means to forget about it. It's something that kind of stays with you. "On my side, there's obviously the part of doing my best to comfort her and try to be there for her, the same way she is there for me through the good stuff and the bad stuff. "It definitely does have a little bit of impact on yourself, and you've got to do your best to try and have a mental reset and kind of shift your focus towards yourself, realising you do have a match the following day that you've got to prepare for. "It's not going to be an easy one, it's going to be a battle. So, it's a lot of different aspects to deal with, which aren't easy. I think I can get better at it, but that's experience." De Minaur has become much more of a favourite with the British crowds since the pair became an item. "I've felt an amazing shift of support the last three or four years, and spending a lot more time here in the UK, it's been quite special," said de Minaur, calling Wimbledon his "second home slam" after getting a rousing reception following his 4-6 6-2 6-4 6-0 win. "It feels like I'm growing roots here. All the way from spending some time together, being at home with Katie, knowing the location a lot better, it definitely gives you an overall better feeling as you go into this tournament."
