British and Irish Lions head coach Andy Farrell has allayed fears over Marcus Smith’s availability for the second Test against Australia after confirming that the playmaker had passed his head injury assessment (HIA).
Smith was taken down the tunnel in the 73rd minute just seven minutes after being introduced against the First Nations and Pasifika XV in Melbourne.
It was subsequently confirmed that the 26-year-old, who featured off the bench in the first Test win over the Wallabies, had required an HIA after taking a bang to the head.
Had he failed the HIA, Smith would have had to undergo a mandatory 12-day stand down period, ruling him out of the second Test. However, Farrell suggested there were no concerns over his availability after coming through the assessment.
“He is fine, he has passed everything,” Farrell said.
The First Nations & Pasifika side gave the Lions’ heavily-rotated team a stern examination at Marvel Stadium, falling five points short in a 24-19 defeat with few of those involved for the tourists staking a Test claim.
A tidy performance from captain Owen Farrell could see him come into consideration for a bench role, while Blair Kinghorn and Garry Ringrose both played significant and valuable minutes on their return from injury.
Head coach Farrell is not yet sure, though, if Joe McCarthy and Mack Hansen will be in contention to feature at the MCG on Saturday. McCarthy has been dealing with a foot injury after sustaining a problem in the first Test, while Hansen was unavailable for that game - both are yet to train this week, suggesting that their involvement is in serious doubt.
Farrell and his coaching staff will assemble for a selection meeting on Wednesday before the Lions train again and name their side publicly on Thursday.
The Lions made a strong start to their final midweek game of the tour but squandered a 14-point lead before half time in a clunky performance, even though they eventually prevailed.
Of the showing, Farrell said: “I thought 14 points up and finding space everywhere, we started to play the game a little bit like an exhibition match and it was never going to be like that so, I was pretty pleased with how we addressed that at half time and started showing some proper intent in our game.
“Whether we got the rewards for it is a different story but we fought our way back into the game. I am delighted for a lot of lads who have just played their first game, some have just played their first game on tour, delighted to keep the wins rolling.”
Some of those who featured in the win are now likely to go home, with Farrell suggesting that late call-ups Gregor Brown, Rory Sutherland and Ewan Ashman may be among them.
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