British and Irish Lions: An alternative coaching ticket including ‘world-class’ defence guru
Coaches Tom Harrison, Shaun Edwards and Paul O'Connell, who work for England, France and Ireland respectively.
British and Irish Lions head coach Andy Farrell has named his assistant coaches for the upcoming tour of Australia, with a heavy Ireland cohort named.
John Dalziel, Simon Easterby, John Fogarty, Andrew Goodman and Richard Wigglesworth will all join Farrell’s ticket later this year, but as with anything Lions-related, there are some major names omitted from the cohort.
But that got us thinking; how would an alternative group look? Well, with that thought in mind, here is our alternative Lions coaching unit.
Forwards: Paul O’Connell
Ireland forwards coach – well, technically interim head coach now – Paul O’Connell was one of the leading contenders to take up this role for Farrell this summer before the announcement, and for very good reason too.
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The former Lions captain is one of the greatest to ever wear the red jersey, and has also excelled as a coach in recent years under the tutelage of Farrell as he has helped take Ireland’s pack up a gear, particularly in the lineout.
Scrum: Tom Harrison
England scrum guru Tom Harrison would have also made a fine choice to join Farrell’s staff, given his record this year. Under Harrison, the likes of Ellis Genge and Will Stuart have rapidly improved in the set-piece and helped turn this area into a real weapon for England, particularly this Six Nations.
Harrison is also a young coach, so this experience would have been huge for his development. We’re sure he’ll go at some point though.
Defence: Shaun Edwards
I know he wasn’t really allowed to be a contender, but this is an entirely hypothetical piece after all! France defence coach Shaun Edwards would have been a superb addition to this coaching ticket, with his defensive systems changing the very fabric of the game of rugby union.
On top of his world-class approach to defence, Edwards just commands high standards wherever he goes and that would really help set the tone for the Lions. In another world, he would have toured as head coach.
Attack: Matt Sherratt
With England’s Richard Wigglesworth and Ireland’s Andrew Goodman already on tour, and Gregor Townsend also unavailable due to Scotland commitments, picking an attack coach was hard, so we’ve drafted in the expertise of Matt Sherratt.
Despite Wales’ horrific end to the campaign against England, Sherratt’s stocks rose massively during his spell in charge of the national side as he got them playing with a clear attacking game.
Sherratt is also renowned for his man-management and getting on with the playing group, which is an incredibly important skill for a Lions coach to have, but he also encourages fast, free-flowing rugby too.
Skills: Kevin Sinfield
Rounding off our alternate coaching group is England assistant Kevin Sinfield, who again could be a great help to this Lions squad.
He has already shown decent coaching experience during his time at both Leicester and England, but the fact the playing squad called for him to stay around despite him edging towards an exit showed how important he is to any given group.
On top of that, he is another who just expects excellence, and that would resonate throughout.
