One of the worst kept secrets in rugby union was confirmed on Thursday when Andy Farrell was named the British and Irish Lions head coach for their 2025 tour of Australia.
It is a measure of the impact the 48-year-old former dual code international’s impact as a coach that Farrell has long been regarded as the favourite for the job, with Lions predecessor Warren Gatland championing him as his successor.
Farrell came to rugby union as a player in 2005 after a brilliant career in rugby league, where he made his Great Britain debut aged just 18 and captained Wigan, one of the English 13-a-side code’s leading clubs, at 21.
His first season at Saracens was blighted by injury but Farrell went on to win eight caps in his new code and was a member of the England squad that reached the final of the 2007 Rugby World Cup.
He made his mark as a coach with Saracens and England after retiring from playing in 2009.
An impressed Gatland named him as one of his assistants for the 2013 Lions tour of Australia, with Farrell making his mark upon the combined side, featuring leading players from England, Scotland, Ireland and Wales, ahead of the third and deciding Test.
With the series all square at 1-1, after the Lions’ narrow defeat in the second Test, Farrell gave an impassioned speech emphasising the importance of defence.
“On D (defence), we cannot allow our emotional energy to dip whatsoever,” he said.
“You know why? Because there is no tomorrow. There is no tomorrow. We are taking them boys to the hurt arena this weekend…It isn’t about being here, it’s about winning.”
The Lions won 41-16.
But Farrell insisted Thursday he had no plans to repeat the speech, saying: “I’ve probably grown up a little bit since then.”
– Irish heights –
Farrell was also a member of Stuart Lancaster’s backroom staff only to be let go by incoming boss Eddie Jones following the team’s first-round exit on home soil at the 2015 World Cup.
Farrell then put his England experience to good use as defence chief under Ireland coach Joe Schmidt, more than once coming up against his son Owen, who was wearing the rose of England and may yet emerge as a key Lion in Australia.
Together, Schmidt and Farrell steered Ireland to three Six Nations Championships, including one Grand Slam, and recorded a first win over New Zealand.
But Ireland reached even greater heighs under Farrell, who succeeded the New Zealander in 2019, as he encouraged the squad to break out of the rigid game-plan of his predecessor.
During the 2021 end-of-year Tests, veteran Ireland back-row Peter O’Mahony said: “It’s probably the most enjoyable month of my career so far, which has been a while now.”
And in 2022, Farrell guided Ireland, who lost the opening Test, to a first series win in New Zealand, having identified the talents of Jamison Gibson-Park and Mack Hansen.
Ireland went into the 2023 World Cup as the number one ranked team in the world although Farrell was unable to guide them past the quarter-finals when they lost narrowly to New Zealand.
Nevertheless, Farrell’s contract with the Irish Rugby Football Union was extended to 2027 in December with IRFU performance director David Nucifora saying at the time: “We’d be ecstatic if Andy was named coach of the Lions so hopefully that accolade is the next one for him.”
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