British and Irish Lions team: Five takeaways as Andy Farrell backs ‘reputation over form’ with ‘brutal omission’
British and Irish Lions head coach Andy Farrell and omitted flanker Jac Morgan.
Following the British and Irish Lions’ team selection to face the Wallabies in the much-anticipated first Test, here are our five key takeaways from Andy Farrell’s 23-man squad.
The top line
After a pre-tour Argentina clash and five further matches since arriving in Australia, the wait is finally over and Farrell has named his squad for the first Test of the series. It is pretty much as expected in the sense that it was leaked 24 hours before the announcement, and that team was indeed confirmed officially on Thursday.
The headline of the XV is no doubt in the back-row where Tom Curry is the surprise inclusion considering the exceptional displays of Josh van der Flier and Jac Morgan on tour. Meanwhile, it is also interesting that the head coach’s son, Owen, failed to make the bench, with Bundee Aki, who can only play centre, offering a similar type of threat to starter Sione Tuipulotu.
Elsewhere, there are fewer shocks. Starting in the front-row, Dan Sheehan was always going to be at hooker and Tadhg Furlong at tighthead, providing the latter managed to prove his fitness on tour, which he duly did. Farrell could have gone for an all-Ireland partnership but Ellis Genge has got the nod at loosehead after being destructive in both the loose and tight.
Captain Maro Itoje was a given in the second-row but who he would partner was slightly more open. However, Joe McCarthy has been exceptional over the past few weeks and made that call much easier for the Lions boss. That means Tadhg Beirne, who was in contention for a place in the engine room, has shifted to blindside with the pack being completed by number eight Jack Conan.
Behind the scrum, Jamison Gibson-Park and Finn Russell were pencilled in before the tour as the likely half-back duo and they have duly been partnered together for the first Wallabies Test. Russell is helped by an all-Scottish midfield of Tuipulotu and Huw Jones, with James Lowe, Tommy Freeman and Hugo Keenan the back three.
Finally, the bench sees another two Irishmen and an Englishmen covering the front-row as Andrew Porter, Ronan Kelleher and Will Stuart get an opportunity in the 23. Ollie Chessum and Ben Earl are rewarded for their tour performances and will look to make an impact in the second period, while Alex Mitchell, Marcus Smith and Aki are the backline replacements.
Reputation over form
It is fair to say that Farrell has gone for a mix, rewarding tour form in certain instances, such as McCarthy at lock and Genge at loosehead, but there is a feeling that much of the XV was locked in before they even went on tour.
Of course, a loss of form may have opened the door for others but, in the case of Curry, it appeared as though he was always going to take that openside flanker spot. You can never doubt the England star’s work ethic or his physicality but, in terms of what he has produced on the field over the past few weeks, it is a few steps below that of the outstanding Van der Flier and Morgan.
The Welshman’s omission is particularly brutal, given that he has really stepped up in Australia and been the best performing openside, while Van der Flier has also been a class act, but it is Curry who has edged the battle with Farrell leaning on reputation in certain instances.
There is also an argument for that in regards to the likes of Furlong and Beirne, with Stuart and Chessum having the better tours, but the former was always going to start if match fit while his Ireland team-mate is another favourite of Farrell’s.
Equally at scrum-half, Gibson-Park has looked rusty at times coming back from injury, but there was never any doubt that he wouldn’t be in the XV having been one of the best scrum-halves in the world over the past two years.
Combinations
The key thing that Farrell needed to get right and he has been rather smart about is how he has approached this tour. There is a temptation to put combinations together who play with each other for their country, but by and large he has veered away from that. A lot of those units have had plenty of game time and have gelled nicely following the Lions boss’ tinkering.
There is an English and Irish second-row with Itoje and McCarthy, while the Lions captain’s fellow countrymen, Genge and Freeman, have managed to break up the Irish combinations in the front-row and back three.
It must have been a temptation for the head coach to pick duos or trios who know each other well, but the only position where it felt like it was one partnership or the other was at centre. Aki and Garry Ringrose started the Brumbies match and appeared set to reprise those roles in the first Test, but the latter’s injury has seen them usurped by ‘Huwipulotu’.
Aki could have started alongside Jones with Tuipulotu on the bench, but it made sense to go with the all-Scotland combination in this instance, particularly with Russell at fly-half.
Hybrid role
Farrell has tried dual opensides on occasions but, as the tour went on, it seemed inevitable that he would go with a bigger six and so it proved. It could have been Chessum, who has been excellent throughout the past few weeks, but the head coach has instead opted for Beirne.
The 33-year-old featured entirely at lock during the Six Nations but he has played on the blindside plenty of times and it is a call which makes complete sense. It helps shore up a lineout which has creaked at times and also adds another layer of physicality to an already imposing Lions pack.
They also don’t lose much in terms of athleticism with Beirne excellent around the field and his possible replacement, Chessum, is another individual that can shift in the loose. They are obviously not as quick as someone like Earl, who could come into the back-row with Curry moving to blindside if they are struggling with the smaller, speedier Aussies, but having that hybrid player in the back-row is the right call.
No Bomb Squad
It is not a shock that Farrell has gone with a 5-3 bench split, something he rarely strays from while Ireland boss, but that is likely due to the type of player he has at his disposal. With the Lions, he has more depth and quality to work with, especially up front, and the 6-2 split was very much a possibility.
It must have been tempting to add an extra forward with Morgan, Van der Flier and Henry Pollock adding so much dynamism as replacements. The omission of the latter is especially a surprise in that regard, with the 20-year-old impressing with his ability to produce moments of magic, but Farrell’s decision to stick with tradition has arguably cost him a place.
The Lions should still overwhelm the Wallabies this weekend but the hosts certainly would not have liked seeing six fresh and talented forwards step onto the field in the second period. Depending on how the first match goes, however, and the availability of someone like Blair Kinghorn, who covers full-back, wing and fly-half, it could be something he considers for the next two Tests.