Andy Farrell has named a largely predictable and dependable British & Irish Lions squad, save for the omission of son, Owen.
But this is not a vintage Lions group, at least compared with the two most recent touring parties to visit Australia in 2001 and 2013. It is a squad to be respected, but certainly one not to be feared.
While there is still time for Owen to join the squad, and injuries are likely through the final weeks of the northern season, his absence from the original 38-man party will be welcomed news for Wallabies coach Joe Schmidt and right across the Kiwi’s playing group.
The sight of Owen Farrell’s gleamy stare was the source of Australian angst for nearly a decade, as he helped secure two series wins Down Under, the first a clean sweep in 2016.
Beyond that, the front row, too, is short on scare factor. Where the Wallabies have previously been weak in the engine room, in 2025 they are far better equipped to manage the tourists’ set-piece, particularly if Taniela Tupou can find some form in the closing weeks of Super Rugby Pacific. Allan Alaalatoa, meanwhile, is back to his very best.
Where the 2001 Lions featured the world-class Phil Vickery, Tom Smith and Jason Leonard, and the likes of Alex Corbisiero, Adam Jones, Mako Vunipola, and a young Dan Cole all featured in 2013, Andy Farrell’s group will rely on Furlong and Ellis Genge, with Zander Fagerson and Pierre Schoeman offering reasonable cover.
Behind them in the second-row, Maro Itoje is an inspired choice leader, who knows what it’s like to win a series Down Under, having done so twice in 2016 and 2022. Alongside him will be Tadgh Beirne, Jack McCarthy, Ollie Chessum, James Ryan, or Scott Cummings, but none of these men is a Martin Johnson nor Alun-Wyn Jones type figure.
The Lions back-row is industrious, but this is where Australia can ram home their advantage. In the Wallabies’ win over England at Twickenham last November, the trio of Rob Valetini, Fraser McReight and skipper Harry Wilson were superb.
McReight’s absence against the Scots a week later was telling, as they were outgunned by an athletic and speedy back-row – none of whom Farrell has included — before the Queenslander returned a week later and played all over Josh van der Flier, only for the Irishman to somehow be named man-of-the-match. Meanwhile this season, Carlo Tizzano has been second best to only the incomparable Ardie Savea, not just in terms of Super Rugby back-rowers, but Super Rugby players full-stop.
There is also the lack of a true enforcer at No. 8 in this Lions squad. Jamie Heaslip and Taulupe Faletau did the business in 2013, while back in 2001 Scott Quinnell was a powerhouse off the back of the scrum. Ben Earl and Jack Conan are fine players, but neither will have the Wallabies quaking in their boots.
The 2001 Lions also had the mauling brilliance of Neil Back at No. 7, only for Justin Harrison to defy the tourists a potentially series-winning drive with his “hand of Goog” lineout steal a couple of minutes from fulltime.
Just what halves combination Farrell settles on for the first Test holds great intrigue, as it does Schmidt and the Wallabies. Jamison Gibson-Park has been the standout No. 9 up north for the past couple of years, but there is no Irish option, for now, at No. 10., as Farrell has deemed rising star Sam Prendergast not yet ready to tour.
Is there a world where Farrell combines Gibson-Park and Finn Russell in the same backline? That duo is going to need at least three warm-up games to solidify their combination and even then, does anyone ever truly know what Russell is going to do?
Compare this with “the Jonny’s” of tours past; Wilkinson in ’01 and Sexton in ’13; who were walk-up starts in the No. 10 jersey, and the tourists’ chief issue is laid bare. The one caveat to that is that Scotland have won four of their last five matches against the Wallabies. The one they didn’t? Russell wasn’t playing.
The Lions will however feel they have an edge in midfield. While the Wallabies’ Len Ikitau is world class, and NRL convert Joseph-Aukuso Suaalii has undeniable X-factor, their midfield combination is just three Tests old – and the former Sydney Roosters star has spent all but one game at fullback for the Waratahs this year.
Up against any from the experienced Bundee Aki, Huw Jones, Garry Ringrose and the Australian-born-and-raised Sione Tuipulotu, the Lions will feel they can expose Suaalii defensively, with the focus already on the 21-year-old’s tackling technique.
The Lions back three presents an intriguing mix of options, each blessed with speed and in the case of James Lowe, that little bit of brilliance. But this is an area where Australia are also blessed with an array of attacking gems, who will match up well with whomever is positioned across from them.
If Tom Wright plays like he did in Europe last year – and as recently as the Brumbies’ win over the Waratahs – then it can be the Wallabies who open the Lions up out wide and on counterattack, and not the other way round.
Local bookmakers tab.com.au have installed the tourists as $1.40 favourites. Shrewd Australian punters will feel $2.80 is massive overs for Australia – and the Wallabies players themselves should use it as further motivation, particularly after the naming of a Lions squad that is not of the same league as 2001 or 2013.
Admittedly it was a generational team that beat the tourists in 2001, while Robbie Deans’ final foray as Wallabies coach ended in disaster in Sydney 12 years later. This Wallabies group sits somewhere between those two, but it should be quietly confident it can walk away with the Tom Richards Cup and a real shot in the arm for Australian rugby.
In the meantime, they’ll be hoping Owen Farrell heads off on summer holiday.
Source: espn.com