Andy Farrell says he has his “fingers crossed” for Elliot Daly after the utility back suffered a potentially tour-ending injury in the victory over the Queensland Reds. Daly was taken to a Brisbane hospital on Wednesday for scans on a suspected broken arm, but the head coach said the British & Irish Lions do not have a full-back crisis with the first Test against Australia just over a fortnight away.
If, as expected, the 32-year-old Daly is ruled out of the tour it will leave the Lions reliant on two specialist full-backs, Blair Kinghorn and Hugo Keenan, who have yet to play on this tour. Kinghorn has only just arrived in Australia having helped Toulouse win the Top 14 title while Keenan was ruled out of the 52-12 win over the Reds through illness.
It is hoped both players will feature against the NSW Waratahs on Saturday, by which time Daly’s prognosis will be clearer. “He’s got a bang on the forearm and he’s going for an X-ray,” said Farrell. “We’ve all got our fingers crossed for him.”
When asked if he will call up another full-back, Farrell replied: “No, we’ve loads of full-backs. Hugo will be OK tomorrow or the next day and Blair’s ready to go.”
While the Lions have Marcus Smith, Mack Hansen and Tommy Freeman who can all fill in at full-back, Daly’s all-round versatility made him a perfect bench candidate for the Test series. It could be, therefore, that Farrell will consider calling up a similar type of player such as Scotland’s Tom Jordan or Ireland’s Jamie Osborne.
Daly’s teammates, however, are also hoping for a miracle for a popular player on his third Lions tour who has featured in the past 11 Lions matchday squads. “Elliot is a class teammate and a class player. He’s one of those effortlessly talented people,” said Maro Itoje, a colleague of Daly’s for club and country.
“I’m pretty sure he could have been a cricketer. I’m pretty sure he could have been a golfer if he wanted to. I don’t know about football, but he’s a world-class rugby player and he’s shown it time and time again, in Lions shirts, England shirts and even Wasps shirts. He’s an extremely experienced player, but he’s also a great guy.”
Farrell was happy with the way his side raised their game after an error-strewn start and is encouraged by the increasing competition for places in certain positions. “I was pretty impressed with most of those players who had a second chance today. That’s exactly what we want to see, a reaction.
“Maro was one of them, Jac Morgan was everywhere. Bundee Aki was a lot better, Jack Conan looked strong. I suppose what I’m trying to say is that’s exactly what we want. The competition’s started and there’s reactions all over the place. Long may that continue.
“Time on the pitch is our best friend at the minute, isn’t it? The games are coming thick and fast so we’re all learning through the games and not through the training. If you can’t get excited about that you’re on the wrong tour. It’s all about preparing and getting to our best. Winning matters but it’s about getting this squad to its potential come the first Test.”
The Reds head coach, Les Kiss, generously praised the Lions and said the Wallabies will struggle to find many obvious weaknesses. “There’s not going to be many, that’s for sure,” said Kiss, who will succeed Joe Schmidt as Wallaby head coach next year. “You’ve just got to find a way to turn them and have the discipline not to give them easy ball in your half.”
