Andy Farrell’s elevation to head coach of the British and Irish Lions is anything but a surprise.
The recently-crowned World Rugby coach of the year was odds-on favourite to land one of the sport’s most prestigious posts after establishing Ireland as global heavyweights.
His impressive impact in Dublin has attracted admirers far and wide and he will spearhead the 2025 tour of Australia with the full support of his predecessor.
“It is the opportunity now for someone else to be head coach and Andy Farrell would have my backing for the job,” Warren Gatland, who selected Farrell as one of his assistants for the Lions tours in 2013 and 2017, said in October.
“You cannot deny what Ireland have achieved as a nation over the last few years. There is no doubt that Andy has done a fantastic job.”
Farrell’s true emergence as the outstanding candidate to succeed Gatland came in 2022 when he masterminded Ireland’s stunning series success in New Zealand.
The historic achievement launched a 17-match winning streak which brought Guinness Six Nations Grand Slam glory, victory over each of rugby’s leading nations and a prolonged spell at the top of the world rankings.
Defeat to the All Blacks in the Rugby World Cup quarter-finals in October 2023 finally halted the record-breaking run of victories.
Yet that disappointment did little to damage the rising stock of a born leader renowned for emotional intelligence, superb man-management skills, a shrewd rugby brain and an unflappable mentality.
“Everyone runs into camp and never wants to leave – it’s an incredible place to be,” recently-retired Ireland captain Johnny Sexton said of the environment fostered by Farrell.
“I’ve not really seen a manager tick all the boxes like he does.”
Born in Wigan in May 1975, Farrell represented his hometown club in rugby league with distinction.
He made his first-team debut in November 1991 at the age of 16 – two months after the birth of son Owen, the current England captain – and regularly lifted silverware, in addition to twice being named Man of Steel.
Farrell switched codes to play for Saracens in 2005 but the transition was severely hampered by foot surgery and back problems, including a prolapsed disc after a car crash.
Injuries limited him to just eight Test caps in rugby union and kept him sidelined for the latter stages of England’s run to the 2007 World Cup final, where they finished as runners-up to South Africa.
Farrell was later joined at Saracens by a teenage Owen and then remained with the Premiership club following retirement in 2009 to begin his coaching career before joining the England set-up under Stuart Lancaster ahead of the 2012 Six Nations.
Four years later, the 48-year-old headed across the Irish Sea seeking to rebuild his reputation after being dismissed by newly-appointed England coach Eddie Jones in the aftermath of a dismal home World Cup.
Farrell, who initially served as Ireland’s defence coach under Joe Schmidt before stepping into the leading role following the 2019 World Cup, has since given the RFU cause for regret.
Following a rocky transitional period amid the coronavirus pandemic, his vision of a slick system of short, swift interplay clicked into gear in devastating fashion and to widespread acclaim.
His well-earned reward has been two contract extensions from the IRFU – initially until 2025 and then 2027 – and now an opportunity to lead the Lions.
The Englishman is tasked with returning the multi-nation team to winning ways following a 2-1 defeat to the Springboks in 2021.
“He loves everything about the Lions and he epitomises what’s great about it,” said two-time tourist Tommy Bowe, who was coached by Farrell on the victorious trip to Australia in 2013.
“He’s very much about working extremely hard on the pitch but also being able to have a laugh off the pitch and I think that’s what the Lions is.”
Borthwick names unchanged starting England team for Australia clash
Steve Borthwick has named an unchanged starting team for England's match against Australia on Saturday with two changes on the bench.
England enter their second November Test looking to bounce back from their narrow 24-22 defeat to New Zealand last weekend.
Borthwick, however has elected to name the same group that started against the All Blacks, though Henry Slade will shift to inside centre, while Ollie Lawrence moves to outside centre.
Marcus Smith retains his place at fly-half while Jamie George continues to lead the side at hooker, but there is no place for Theo Dan or Ben Curry.
The pair are replaced by Luke Cowan-Dickie and Ollie Sleightholme as England move from a six-two split between forwards and backs to a five-three combination.
Hooker Cowan-Dickie will make his first England appearance since November 2022 if he is introduced off the bench.
“Facing Australia is always a massive challenge, and we’ll work diligently this week to ensure we’re physically and tactically prepared to take on the Wallabies,” said Borthwick.
“The passion and energy from the crowd at Allianz Stadium last weekend was absolutely brilliant, from the opening whistle to the final moments, and we can't wait to be back at home this Saturday."
England squad in full:
George Furbank, Immanuel Feyi-Waboso, Ollie Lawrence, Henry Slade, Tommy Freeman, Marcus Smith, Ben Spencer; Ellis Genge, Jamie George (captain), Will Stuart, Maro Itoje, George Martin, Chandler Cunningham-South, Tom Curry, Ben Earl.
Replacements: Luke Cowan-Dickie, Fin Baxter, Dan Cole, Nick Isiekwe, Alex Dombrandt, Harry Randall, George Ford, Ollie Sleightholme
Smith not pinning blame on Ford for England loss
Marcus Smith does not blame England's narrow defeat to New Zealand on Saturday on George Ford, despite his late missed kicks.
Ford replaced Smith, who had scored 17 points and set up England's only try in their 24-22 loss, hitting a potential match-winning penalty against the post before narrowly missing a drop goal.
England had held an eight-point advantage when Smith left the field, but Mark Tele'a's 76th-minute try before Damian McKenzie added five late points proved enough to get the All Blacks over the line.
The hosts' autumn series got off to a losing start as Ford struggled to find his clinical edge in the dying moments, but Smith does not lay any blame at his team-mate's feet.
"Sometimes that's the life of a kicker, we've all experienced that. It's part and parcel of the job," said Smith.
"I've learned so much off George. He's an unbelievable kicker, both off the tee and out of hand. It was one of those days.
"It's nothing to do with him why we didn't win the game. It's a team effort. Every kicker in the world has experienced that.
"We practise [drop-goals] as kickers every single day, but sometimes it doesn't go for you. We're all human and people miss."
Saturday marked a third consecutive narrow loss to New Zealand for England, with their last win an emphatic victory over Japan in June.
Despite that run, Smith remains confident that England can take lessons from these defeats to set themselves up for success in the future.
"International rugby is very different to the Premiership and the experiences we're experiencing now are very painful, but we'll be better for them," Smith added.
"Keep the faith. We've fallen again on the wrong side of the result, but we'll learn from it 100%.
"These experiences will tighten us as a group, and it will be worth it in the long run. We will be better for it."
England 'banging on the door' of rugby's elite, says proud Borthwick
Steve Borthwick reckons England are "banging on the door" of the elite nations after their close loss to New Zealand.
England went down 24-22 to the All Blacks in Saturday's Test match at Twickenham.
Mark Tele'a scored the decisive try for New Zealand, who beat England twice in July, in the 76th minute.
England missed the chance to win it late on when George Ford missed a drop-goal attempt, after he had struck the post with a penalty.
But coach Borthwick, who was immensely proud of his team, feels England showed they are capable of mixing it with the best teams in the world, despite losing four of their last five Tests.
"It is a mixture of immense pride at the performance against a very tough New Zealand team and one of incredible disappointment," Borthwick told BBC Radio 5 Live.
"They are the emotions we balance and will work through over the next few days.
"When we started two years ago we wanted to get England right to the top of world rugby again. You can see the team banging on the door."
With the pre-match build-up having been dominated by Joe Marler's jibe at New Zealand's pre-match haka routine, tries from Tele'a and Will Jordan put New Zealand in control.
Marcus Smith's penalties kept England in contention, though, and he set up the hosts' only try when he intercepted a loose pass and teed up Immanuel Feyi-Waboso.
Yet England ultimately failed to hold on to an eight-point advantage, with Ford having to be consoled by his team-mates after the match.
Next up for England are Australia, with fixtures against South Africa and Japan also in store.
"We really have to find a way of winning these close ones," said captain Jamie George. "We put ourselves in a really good position after 60 minutes.
"Eight points is a lot in Test match rugby but we probably went chasing the game a bit and gave away too many penalties. We have to be smarter in that respect."
England walked up to the halfway line to face the haka, something George explained was planned prior to Marler's comments.
"That was always our plan before Joe's comments but we did it in a respectful way," said George. "I saw a smile on Scott Barrett’s face, I was smiling, and it was done in good spirits."
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