British and Irish Lions tour player ratings: Owen Farrell ’emphatically silenced nepotism claims’ as we score every one of the 2025 backs
British and Irish Lions backs Owen Farrell, James Lowe, Jamison Gibson-Park and Bundee Aki.
Following the conclusion of the British and Irish Lions tour, we rated every one of the players that Andy Farrell used in Australia and against Argentina in Dublin.
Having already covered the forwards, here is how we rated the backs.
Half-backs
Jamison Gibson-Park: The brilliant number nine was somewhat rusty during the early stages of the tour as he recovered from an injury setback, but once he hit his stride, he was spectacular. After an astonishing shift in the second Test, ex-Wallabies boss Eddie Jones picked the scrum-half as his Player of the Series after marshalling the Lions to victory. That came off the back of a starring role in the series opener. While he was far from his best in the finale, he showed his worth in the two prior Tests and proved it was well worth the risk to select him despite his injury concerns. 8
Alex Mitchell: The only player across the entire squad to have cracked the matchday 23 for every single one of the 10 matches. He was an unused substitute a few times during the tour, but never let the side down when he did get minutes on the park. He shone in the win over the Waratahs and impressed in his brief cameos in Tests I and III. The 28-year-old scored two tries and assisted a further three in his eight outings for the tourists. 7
Finn Russell: Like Gibson-Park, Russell was superb for the Lions in the first two Tests, but unlike his half-back partner, the Scotsman was fantastic in the touring matches. He struggled with a backtracking pack and in tough conditions in the series finale, but the playmaker was masterful in the matches prior. While he marshalled the Lions’ attack wonderfully, the one disappointment he will have was accuracy from the tee, finishing with a 78% success rate after starting the tour with extreme precision. Overall, he will be and should be pleased by his performances after being a key cog in the team’s success. 8
Fin Smith: The 23-year-old Englishman was always going to struggle to crack the Test team with Russell ahead of him in the pecking order. Smith started against Argentina, the Waratahs, AUNZ XV, and the First Nations & Pasifika XV (FNP). The AUNZ game was probably the pick of the lot as he steered the tourists to an emphatic victory. Smith was particularly effective defensively, but was inaccurate off the tee and struggled to get the attack firing in the same manner as Russell. Overall, solid but didn’t really hit the form he would have liked. 6
Tomos Williams: After a blockbuster cameo off the bench against Argentina, the Welshman continued his scintillating form in the tour opener against the Western Force. He crossed for two tries in what was shaping up to be another magnificent performance, but in the act of scoring his second try, his tour was cruelly cut short courtesy of a hamstring injury. He was making an early push to be involved in the Test matches, which made his injury all the more gutting. 8
Ben White: Williams’ replacement, the Scottish international featured three times for the Lions, debuting off the bench against the Waratahs before starting against the AUNZ XV and FNP. He really impressed in the former match and was solid in the latter. Unfortunately for him, it was always going to be unlikely that he’d usurp the likes of Gibson-Park and Mitchell in the Test team, but he certainly had a good crack at it. Overlooked for the original squad, White made the most of his opportunity in the red jersey. 7
Centres
Bundee Aki: Frankly, age looks to be catching up with Aki, who looked to have tired more and more as the tour progressed. He was solid against Argentina but was rather average against the Reds and Brumbies. Still, he seemingly did enough to secure a spot among the replacements for the series opener, where he was solid defensively but was part of a bench that failed to fire. He was entrusted with the starting number 12 jersey, with Sione Tuipulotu ruled out of the second and third Test, and honestly, he underperformed. He was caught out defensively for two of Australia’s tries and conceded a penalty that the Wallabies added three more points from. He did make a telling carry in the build to Tadhg Beirne’s try in that game, but was similarly poor in the series finale. The Wallabies capitalised on one of his many errors in Sydney to score, while the outside backs struggled to get into the game as he stumbled with his distribution. 3
Huw Jones: The Scotsman scored four tries in his seven appearances for the Lions, including a brace against the Waratahs. The 31-year-old went on to start all three Tests following the injury to Garry Ringrose, but he was excellent in the touring matches to press his claim for a starting role regardless. His combination with Tuipulotu was a joy to watch once again, but he wasn’t able to spark the same connection with Aki. His shift in the third Test hurts his overall score, but he was still good enough throughout to post a strong rating. 7
Garry Ringrose: A real shame that the Irishman was unable to make the Test squad, but he deserves massive credit for his selfless decision to withdraw from the starting line-up for the second game versus the Wallabies. An incredibly professional decision from a team-first man. He was fully deserving of a Test start too, after standout performances scoring three times in four matches and shining defensively. 7
Sione Tuipulotu: Simply put, the Lions’ attack was at its absolute best when Tuipulotu was on the pitch. He was mightily effective whether he was carrying the ball to the line or playing it out the back. He was consistently above average in every one of his outings for the Lions and was sorely missed in the last two Tests. 7
Owen Farrell: Emphatically silenced the nepotism claims following his call-up for the injured Elliot Daly. He made a strong impact off the bench against the AUNZ XV before being the best of an underwhelming lot in the victory over FNP, where he really showed his class. The latter shift earned him a place on the bench for the last two Tests, where he played a key role in the come-from-behind victory over the Wallabies. The commanding playmaker also shone in the final touring match, but was ultimately left with too much to do. 8
Jamie Osborne: One of the many ‘training cover’ call-ups who featured against the FNP XV, Osborne grabbed a brace in the match, latching onto Farrell’s deft chip over the top before doubling his tally. That was the only involvement the 23-year-old was afforded, but one cannot help but think he will be touring in four years’ time. He had flashes of brilliance for the Lions in that match, but it was an error-ridden shift. 6
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Outside backs
Elliot Daly: Like Williams, Daly was the victim of a most untimely injury. He was excellent off the bench in the defeat to Argentina, but continued his brilliant run of form upon arriving in Australia. He was a standout against the Western Force, but tragedy struck when he was drafted into the starting line-up against the Reds after Hugo Keenan’s injury. There were flashes of brilliance again despite butchering a try before he suffered the crushing elbow injury that ended his tour. 7
Tommy Freeman: If you were to sum up the Englishman’s tour in one word, it would be ‘solid’. Freeman is such a well-rounded outside back, and that certainly showed throughout the tour. He scored just two tries in his six appearances, both coming against the Reds, but was above average in every facet of the game. 6
Mack Hansen: Injuries hampered his tour as he missed the opening game against Argentina through injury, and the Tests against the Wallabies for the same reason. Hansen had a hit-and-miss game in the victory over the Western Force but shone against his former employers, the Brumbies and enjoyed his best performance against the AUNZ XV, which was ultimately his final appearance on the tour. 6
Marcus Smith: While he will have been pleased that he became a Test Lion with his cameo off the bench in the first game against the Wallabies, Smith will be massively disappointed that he got just one start, against Argentina. The 26-year-old also got precious few opportunities in his preferred role of fly-half. Still, he made good impacts when he did come off the bench for the tourists. 6
Hugo Keenan: Injury and illness meant that Keenan got his tour off to a sluggish start, and the effects of losing 5kgs for the latter really showed in his Lions debut against the Waratahs. He bounced back to put in a far more Keenan-esque performance in the win over the AUNZ, which cemented his place in the Test starting XV, aided by the absence of Blair Kinghorn, Hansen and Daly. He put in a rather sloppy shift in the first Test, which included being stripped of the ball for Max Jorgensen’s try and had several soft moments. His second Test started in a similar manner, too as he botched a try but epically turned things around, denying the Wallabies a 50:22 before etching his name in Lions’ folklore as he sped past the Australian defence to score the series-winning try. A remarkable story for the Ireland star who was also one of the solid backline players in the third Test match. 7
Blair Kinghorn: Tipped to be the frontrunner for the starting full-back role for the Test matches ahead of the tour, Kinghorn’s involvement was hampered by his late arrival and then the injury he sustained that ruled him out of the series opener. While he did impress against the Waratahs and off the bench in Test II, he struggled in the final game of the tour as he failed to win the aerial battle. 6
James Lowe: The epitome of blowing hot and cold. Lowe was red-hot, producing moments of magic in the second Test which led to a crucial try for Beirne. That came after he assisted two tries against the Western Force and scored a try against the Brumbies. But with the good came the bad. He was suspect on defence several times throughout the tour and was incredibly wasteful in the first Test. Despite his heroics in the series decider, the bad outweighed the good, and he was subsequently dropped from the matchday squad. 5
Duhan van der Merwe: Much like Lowe, it was a rollercoaster tour for Van der Merwe, who was outstanding in attack, scoring a tour-high of five tries, but lacked in other areas of his game that denied him a place in the Test squad. He struggled under the high ball and in covering the backfield. Even a hat-trick against the AUNZ XV was not enough to change the Lions coaching staff’s minds. In the end, his shortcomings denied him the opportunity of playing in the Tests. 6
Darcy Graham: The Scotsman surely feels like he has no luck at all after narrowly missing out on the squad, and when the opportunity arose to pull on the red jersey, it ended in heartbreak. He looked completely gutted on the sidelines after he was forced off the pitch with an injury after scoring a try, and shone in a brief 16-minute cameo. 6
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