Laughs, tears and frustration as Farrell settles into unique demands of Lions job
THE PLANE HASN'T even landed in Australia and already we're getting a genuine insight into how Andy Farrell is running his first Lions tour as head coach.
As opening nights go, Friday was an experience that clearly stung Farrell, the first outing for the 2025 Lions ending in a 28-24 defeat to Felipe Contepomi's brilliant Argentina. It was a result and performance which left Farrell cutting a frustrated figure in the press room, stating his players 'should have been better' and swatting away any excuses for the disjointed display.
Others might have shrugged it off as no major deal given the circumstances – a first run out, minus a core of the squad, in a game that wasn't capped. That Farrell took such disappointment from the loss made clear how he's approaching his time in the Lions hot seat. To Farrell, losing as a Lion should feel gutting, regardless of the situation.
To leave Dublin nursing a loss made for an intriguing end to the first leg of this Lions campaign, as Farrell attempts to mould a new collection of players into a cohesive, functioning unit.
Over the last two weeks we've heard from players who are working with Farrell for the first time, while the first episode of the Lions' own YouTube series provided a more revealing glimpse behind the curtain than two underwhelming Netflix Six Nations series managed. Every now and then we hear these stories about how the Ireland boss operates second or third hand, but here it was in HD.
Many of the squad are working with Farrell for the first time. Dan Sheridan / INPHO Dan Sheridan / INPHO / INPHO
An early clip shows Farrell congratulating Finlay Bealham for his late call up, telling the squad how the Connacht prop's emotional reaction epitomises what this tour should mean to them. The moment peaks when Farrell adds he welled up himself on the other end of the phone.
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In another he asks players to single out new teammates who have impressed or earned their respect across the first week of being together as a group. In a clever piece of squad management, Farrell starts with two of his own Ireland students, Mack Hansen and Bundee Aki.
Hansen later cropped up in another video where he stepped in as interviewer for his head coach, with Farrell immediately shutting down Hansen's suggestion he could serve as captain before gently goading the Connacht man that his distinctive look is actually fairly common back in Australia.
As much as Farrell's priority is to walk away from this tour with a series win, he's also making a point of ensuring his players enjoy the experience.
Farrell looked to be enjoying it himself. On Wednesday he sprinkled his team announcement press conference with light moments, whether it be talking about topping up his Portugal tan in 'Costa del Dublin' or calling out a journalist who entered the room late, offering him the choice of 'a fine or forfeit'.
Yet more interesting was the edge to his words, which stretched out over 27 minutes sat alongside his captain, Maro Itoje. Farrell called for last night's selected 23 to put 'as much pressure as they possibly can' on those still waiting for their first chance in the red jersey.
He was asked if there was any fear some of his contingent might have one eye on keeping fit for the Saturday morning flight to Perth. His full reply: 'No.' From the start, the message has been that there is a job to do here.
Farrell enters the room for his pre-match press conference earlier this week. Alamy Stock Photo Alamy Stock Photo
The mood had shifted post-game on Friday. Farrell's words to the media were to the point and strongly critical. Bundee Aki says Farrell's message to the outside world was more or less exactly what had been delivered back in the dressing room moments beforehand.
'You know Faz, I'm sure you guys see Faz and he's exactly the same in front of you guys as he is with us,' Aki said.
He gives it to us straight, there's no mucking around or no hiding here, he just tells you how it is.
'We're adults, we're old enough to be able to take it on the chin and move on quickly.'
For all Farrell's skills when it comes to man management and creating a bond within a group, at the core of it all is the hard competitor who became an all-time great in the bruising world of rugby league. That part of Farrell's personality will come increasingly to the fore as this tour ramps up, and it was that part of Farrell which firmly placed the Wigan native in Lions folklore on his first tour in 2013, when he served as an assistant coach to Warren Gatland and helped lead the tourists to a first series victory since 1997.
While still relatively raw in terms of his coaching life and the only one of Gatland's four assistants on that tour without previous Lions experience, Farrell's famous 'Hurt Arena' speech a few days out from the decisive third Test against Australia proved a pivotal moment for the group. Farrell feels he's become 'less dramatic' since producing that rallying call, but the sentiment which stirred those words is still central to his ability to motivate a group.
Farrell's input in 2013 ensured he'd be high up the queue when Gatland went about putting together his staff for the 2017 venture to New Zealand. The Lions battled to a drawn series against the All Blacks and some players came home feeling Farrell was one the best coaches they had worked with.
We'll never know the impact he might have made on the soulless, Covid-hit tour to South Africa in 2021, but he was essentially a shoo-in to take over from Gatland for this summer's trip to Australia.
His promotion has added a fresh feel to the early days of this long campaign. Many of the 2025 class have never worked with Farrell before – last night's matchday 23 included 12 players from England, Scotland and Wales who were playing a Lions game for the first time. Ireland and Munster lock Tadhg Beirne says Farrell is already making a strong impression on those not used to his ways.
'Faz is an incredible coach. You can see it from the other guys who haven't experienced him, how they're enjoying his way of doing things, the environment he creates and his coaching. He just gets the best out of you.
He'll be no different on this tour. I think he'll get the best out of all the players here. He creates an unbelievable environment for us to be ourselves. It's probably why you do see a lot of players' performance elevate when it goes out to the big stage.'
Farrell knows he needs to make a quick impact if he is to handle the distinctively unique test of being Lions head coach. Last night he acknowledged how the first fortnight of camp has presented different questions and challenges to what he knows from the day job with Ireland.
'It's obviously been very different,' Farrell said. 'Lads coming in, you don't quite know who's coming in and then people come in, you deal with that and obviously the (URC and Premiership) finalists coming in after that.
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Farrell didn't hide his frustration after Friday's defeat. Ben Brady / INPHO Ben Brady / INPHO / INPHO
'Effectively you've got two sets of players that are on completely different timescales but that's the nature of what's ahead of us as well. You've got to deal with the jetlag first and foremost but then the games come thick and fast. It's never going to be what we're used to.
'I think the last couple of weeks sets us in good stead in terms of the rhythm, or the lack of it.'
As for how he handled that opening game?
'Obviously not good enough. I always take full responsibility, that's my role. It doesn't matter what department or whatever, I'm in charge of the job lot so it obviously wasn't good enough and I need to be better.'
Argentina handed Farrell a tricky start, but one which should sharpen the minds ahead of the tests that lie ahead. Now it's on to Australia, where the next chapter of Farrell's intriguing coaching career waits to be written.
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