07-05-2025
What Owen Farrell and Jack Willis can learn from history of Lions bolters
W hat's the French for bolter? With one day left until the British & Irish Lions squad is announced, bolt-flation is at a record high. The 2025 edition has the added glaze of British stars strewn over the Channel in various forms of exile. There have been France-based players on every tour this century, but these were Celtic, not Anglo-Saxon. The RFU's policy, disqualifying Top 14 talent from representing their country, animates the surge.
Pre-eminent are two former England captains in Owen Farrell and Courtney Lawes. Farrell suffered a head injury at the weekend in a season plagued by issues and defeats. One has the feeling that even if you interviewed him on the field during an actual Lions Test, he wouldn't admit he had
