David Campese slams ‘weak’ Owen Farrell pick and apologises to British & Irish Lions star after ‘compelling’ performances
British and Irish Lion Owen Farrell and Wallabies legend David Campese
Wallabies legend David Campese has slammed Andy Farrell after his decision to call up his son Owen to the British and Irish Lions squad in Australia.
Simply why?
For the life of me, I cannot fathom why Andy Farrell would call up an ageing fly-half-cum-centre to replace a classy back-three player.
Yes, Owen Farrell has been a world-class 10 in his time. Yes, he’s been an outstanding British and Irish Lion. Yes, he’s been a champion of Europe, a World Cup finalist and a Premiership legend. But the ever-present word there is ‘has’.
Owen’s form since quitting England and Saracens for Racing 92 has been – well, I’m not sure there’s been any form whatsoever. He’s struggled with the pace of French rugby and the standard of the Top 14, he’s not been able to get any sort of purchase into a style of game that’s run by a production line of world-class nines and he’s left Paris with his tail between his legs and a reputation that’s suffered as a result.
I also have to question judgment here. I have always been respectful of the Farrell name. This is a weak pick by Daddy – and weak isn’t what I’d expect from them.
It also puts huge pressure on Owen, who can’t have a bagful of confidence after the Racing 92 experience, and that sort of thing can also disrupt camp.
Daly loss
Now, I really feel for Elliot Daly; he’s once again proven what a brilliant operator he is – he makes others around him thrive, and the relationship he was already building with the Lions‘ nines and 10s in the squad was clear to see.
Against all the teams he’s faced, he’s been the man in the backline facilitating opportunity for others and he does so at speed – much in the way Timmy Horan used to do from a slightly different position. But why would you go for Owen Farrell to replace that skill set when the Lions backline already lacks a bit of pace?
The other question I have to ask is what message is this sending out to the likes of Marcus and Fin Smith? Finn Russell is already established, and he’s the probable Test option, but why take two brilliant young 10s and then bring a 33-year-old who hasn’t played an international for almost two years into a functional and stable team?
You then have to look at styles; Owen is a kicking fly-half, and I want to be clear, at his prime, one of the very best of that type. So far, the Lions have played some lovely handling and carrying-based footy. In point of fact, they’ve been bang average in their aerial game, which adds further cloud over this call.
Willis wildcard
You may as well have used the same wild card principle to pull Jack Willis into the side – at least he’s a world class player playing at the apex of his abilities and could really offer value by adding a 6’3” option at six, something the Lions are really short of given that there’s only Jack Conan in their primary back-rowers that’s a proper lineout option, something Jack’s been improving greatly at doing at Stade Toulousain.
People forget that French sides play exclusively left and right flank, not open and blindside, so he spends half his life on the blind, so very he’s accustomed to the angles and demands. Plus, he’s probably quicker than Faz these days!
Lions upslope
I thought the Lions did well against the Reds. But that’s got to have context in terms of the world-class loosies and backline players Queensland were missing, as they are in camp for the Fiji Test prep.
Hunter Paisami was a real thorn in the Lions’ defence, and I thought that on the flank, Seru Uru went well. He’s in a queue in a position the Wallabies are stacked in, but he’d certainly let no one down if he was needed.
For the Lions, both scrum-halves went really well, as did both tens. Maro Itoje is one of those players that the Poms simply don’t appreciate. Even when he looks as if he’s had a quiet game, you can check the stats and he’s hit every single metric going that you’d expect from a world-class lock and he’s already showing what a great choice of leader he is.
Sorry Jac!
In the back-row, I’ll take my hat off to Jac Morgan after his response to criticism – and I’ll buy him a beer in Brisbane! He was, as I said, pretty anonymous against Argentina – maybe a bit of fatigue, maybe learning the systems. But against the Reds, he was absolutely compelling, and I’m happy to eat my words after a performance like that.
Whilst the Lions have great choices at seven, eight and six are headscratchers for them still. Conan makes hard yards and takes others with him, but 12 carries for 36m isn’t setting the world alight. He tackled well though, but I do believe Ben Earl is equally good through contact, better at the breakdown and a little more dynamic, but doesn’t offer the lineout option that Tadhg Beirne does.
Given how well both Joe McCarthy and Ollie Chessum have performed, I just wonder if Beirne will move to the back-row, something he’s done often for Ireland? That means that the Lions could stack the bench with real impact from Earl and Pollock, leaving the others to do the heavy lifting at the start.
C’mon Aussie
My last point is about the litany of Rugby League stuff we’ve seen so far from both the Force and the Reds. The Lions have coped well with anything thrown at them, and the Aussie teams simply must go back to the DNA of Wallaby Union, not Kangaroo league stuff, if we’re going to push the Lions.
That means playing heads-up rugby with attacking variety. Use the aerial game, use the carrying game, use the pace and width, but stop playing this crash ball pod-based League system game.
It’s not the way we’ve been brought up to play – we are a nation and team that prides ourselves on intellect, intuition and ambition, and so far, we’ve seen very little of that, which is really disappointing.
