Owen Farrell has been handed a shock call-up to the British and Irish Lions tour as an injury replacement for Elliot Daly.
Daly suffered a forearm injury in the Lions’ 52-12 win over the Queensland Reds, and X-rays have since confirmed a tour-ending injury for the versatile Englishman.
His Saracens teammate Farrell has therefore been given an unlikely call to join up with the party in Australia in a sensational decision by head coach Andy Farrell.
The 33-year-old fly-half has not featured in international rugby since the 2023 World Cup and endured a difficult time with Racing 92 last season before sealing a return to Saracens after a single campaign in France. He has not played at all for nine weeks.
He was close, however, to making the initial 38-man squad named by his father for the tour to Australia, and has now earned a fourth Lions selection as an injury replacement.
“It is heartbreaking for the group that Elliot’s tour is over. He is a Lions legend who has added so much to the group on and off the field over the past few weeks and over the course of three tours,” head coach Farrell said.
“Owen will now come in and add to our options and bring his own Lions experience to the group.”
While his vast experience – Farrell has featured in six Tests in Lions red to go along with 112 England caps – and competitive spirit will be useful additions, his call-up is intriguing for what it says about the options available to Andy Farrell.
Daly’s utility in covering 13, wing and full-back had made him an excellent squad man, and he had impressed at 15 after featuring in all three games so far. The 32-year-old had not been picked for the Reds game only to be called in late after illness struck down Hugo Keenan.
The Lions head coach expressed his confidence in his full-back options after the win in Brisbane despite both Keenan and Blair Kinghorn, a late arrival after helping Toulouse to the Top 14 title, being yet to feature. By calling up his son, Farrell is perhaps suggesting that he sees Marcus Smith as primarily a full-back with Finn Russell and Fin Smith the other fly-half options on tour.
It may be, too, that there is a slight worry over a problem for Russell, who had ice on his wrist after being replaced at Suncorp Stadium, though it is not thought to be a major injury concern.
Farrell can also cover inside centre with just four specialist options named initially in the squad. Back row Ben Earl spent the final few minutes of the Reds game stationed at 12, as he has done several times for England over the last year.
The Lions take on the Waratahs on Saturday in Sydney as the tour continues apace, with just a fortnight until the first Test against the Wallabies back in Brisbane.
Keenan and Kinghorn both start, with the Scotland back stationed on the wing and the Irishman, recovered from his illness, at full-back.
Lock Tadhg Beirne captains the side with Henry Pollock deployed at blindside flanker in a mobile back row that also includes Earl and Josh van der Flier.
Lions XV to face the Waratahs in Sydney (11am BST, Saturday 5 July): 1 Pierre Schoeman, 2 Luke Cowan-Dickie, 3 Finlay Bealham; 4 Tadhg Beirne (capt.), 5 James Ryan; 6 Henry Pollock, 7 Josh van der Flier, 8 Ben Earl; 9 Alex Mitchell, 10 Fin Smith; 11 Blair Kinghorn, 12 Sione Tuipulotu, 13 Huw Jones, 14 Mack Hansen; 15 Hugo Keenan.
Replacements: 16 Dan Sheehan, 17 Ellis Genge, 18 Tadhg Furlong, 19 Joe McCarthy, 20 Scott Cummings, 21 Jac Morgan; 22 Ben White, 23 Marcus Smith.
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