Owen Farrell is on his way to join up with the Lions, prompting an out-pouring of shock and incredulity – and one overwhelming question. Why?
It makes no sense. It is a staggering call-up with profound implications. First and foremost, the 33-year-old is on his way to fill the void left by an injury to Elliot Daly, but the England back who has illuminated this tour so far wears 11, 13 or 15 and Farrell jnr wears 10 or 12. The suspicion is that he was always destined to be summoned, once any back beyond the scrum-halves was sent home.
This is a player who generates such diverse and entrenched opinion, so let’s stick to facts and simple logic. He last played international rugby at the 2023 World Cup, around 20 months ago, then stepped away from England duties due to the hostility he had faced from his own fans.
The captain was booed throughout tournament – as those following the national team didn’t believe in him as the right man to run the show at 10, while Marcus Smith was shunted out to full-back. The backlash from the stands was uncomfortable and excessive, but it reflected the public mood at the time. Farrell became England’s leading points-scorer during the last global showpiece, but it only earned him fleeting reprieve from the negative onslaught.
His decision to withdraw from the Test firing line made sense for him and his young family. There was a sympathetic response to the news that he was suspending his long, decorated spell of national service, indefinitely. But nothing since has led to a clamour for him to return. It is a long time since Farrell delivered an imperious display. There certainly hasn’t been one since he left his beloved Saracens more than a year ago, on an ill-fated relocation to Paris.
His move to France didn’t work out, as Racing 92 and Farrell both struggled. Injuries hampered the marquee English signing right from the out-set, so he couldn’t fulfil his usual goal-kicking role, even when he was able to make it on to the field. Trouble with his groin led to prolonged absences and a painstaking hunt for a medical resolution which ultimately took him to Qatar.
Former England captain Owen Farrell has earned a call-up to the British and Irish Lions squad
But Farrell’s call-up was a major shock and it does not make sense for a variety of reasons
The 33-year-old has been called up by his father to fill the void left by the injured Elliot Daly
Eventually, the problem was sorted, after an aborted first comeback, only for Farrell to sustain a blow to the head in a Challenge Cup semi-final encounter with Lyon, which ended his season early. That was in early May. It’s now July.
He has only played a handful of times in this calendar year. He’s not even completed the return-to-play protocols as he didn’t have a team to do contact training with. Speaking last month, after being released a year early by Racing, to rejoin Saracens, he said: ‘I’ve not finished off the protocols, so I’ve got to go through some stuff. I’m still working and training on my own.
‘It would probably be better if I was with a team at the minute, but if I was to play, I’d have to go through the protocols to get back to contact (training). I shouldn’t be far away from that. I think all I need to do is come through the contact bits.’
Recapping the whole sorry saga of medical setbacks during his time in Paris, he added: ‘It was from the off really. I got an over-loading problem at the end of pre-season and played for 10 weeks or so. I stopped kicking pretty early.
‘It was to do with my pubis and my groin. It was hard to shake off and I stopped (playing) and had an injection to try to settle it down. It didn’t. It felt good for about a week but then I started picking up other stuff because of it.
‘Then I had an operation, came back, wasn’t quite right, so I took myself to see a specialist in Doha, then started working to make myself right. I came back and started getting back to feeling good, a bit, then got concussed and finished the season like that.’
Farrell has gone back home to take on a player-coach role and he will surely thrive, but this? It’s a wild development, seemingly based on no credible, up-to-date evidence and it could create tensions within the Lions set-up.
It is a gamble by Andy Farrell to pick his son; one that he didn’t need to take. Finn Russell has been imperious and the two Smiths – Fin and Marcus – offer creative variety as back-up options. Bringing in Farrell jnr suggests the head coach doesn’t truly trust the younger 10s to deliver when the chips are down. Savage.
The father-son dimension is going to create an awkward side-show. There’s no escaping the fact that people will see this as preferential treatment. It will mean that there is an elephant in every room, wherever the Lions go, all around Australia. Those involved and those supporting from near and far want to feel like it is a meritocracy and that a VIP lane doesn’t exist.
Farrell has been on three Lions tours before but he hasn’t played internationally since 2023
His inclusion could unsettle the unity that has been developed in the camp. For example, Finn Russell may wonder about the implications of such a dominant character being in the squad
This is about pedigree and entries on the CV. Of course, Owen Farrell ticks those boxes emphatically. He is a Test centurion. He has been on three previous Lions tours. He has won titles with Saracens and with England. He has captained his country in a World Cup Final. He is the country’s record points-scorer. He has done almost all that can be done in a career.
Farrell is universally respected within the game as a supreme competitor and a warrior. He will bring a forceful presence as someone who epitomises the ‘Test match animal’ tag. But he is not the only one of those.
A penny for George Ford’s thoughts, in response to this news. Over in Argentina, he is poised to win his 100th cap for England, as testament to his enduring class. He is a supreme playmaker and he is highly experienced, with tactical nous and leadership credentials. He has been in vintage form. But he’s not coming here.
What a gamble. What if Farrell does contact training and can’t get through that last return-to-play hurdle? What if he is deemed available to play but is just miles off the pace? What if he is pitched into action, having hardly played in 2025, misjudges a tackle and goes high as he seeks to make a statement, then ends up in disciplinary trouble?
These are valid, relevant concerns. It’s not being alarmist to say that this ploy could backfire badly. Of course, it could come together. It could work a treat. It could go down as a master-stroke in due course. But so many stars will have to align for that scenario to come to pass. There can be hope, but no great expectation.
While the Smiths will be understandably doubtful about their prospects for the remainder of this tour, Russell will also wonder about the implications of such a dominant character into the squad. Not only will Farrell form a strong working relationship with his father, he will also resume a natural alliance with Johnny Sexton, who is an influential advocate of his friend and former, long-term rival. Russell’s position is secure right now, but all it takes is one off day and he might start worrying about some powerful dynamics all around him.
This didn’t need to happen. It feels like the nuclear button has been pressed when there wasn’t a crisis. The Lions have hit the ground running with two half-century wins here in Australia. They have various backs regaining match sharpness ahead of the Tests against Australia. They should have powerful momentum by the time of the series opener in Brisbane on July 19. They can take down the Wallabies without turning to a veteran who may not still have what it takes.
There’s going to be an almighty commotion about this call-up – a lot of ‘external noise’ and fierce debate. It will polarise views. It will over-shadow the build-up to the fixture against the Waratahs on Saturday and perhaps every other subsequent game. Why? WHY??
