'He's got such an aura' - Farrell's rise to Lions top job
British and Irish Lions v ArgentinaVenue: Aviva Stadium, Dublin Date: Friday, 20 June Kick-off: 20:00 BSTCoverage: Live text commentary on the BBC Sport website and app
For British and Irish Lions boss Andy Farrell, building connections has always been as crucial to fostering a winning environment as tactics and systems. When he speaks to the media, he regularly outlines his desire to see players become the "best versions of themselves". Not the best tacklers, or goal-kickers or scrummagers, but the best "versions". Ask the players about Farrell and they will gush. Johnny Sexton knows him better than most. He was Ireland captain under him and is now part of his British and Irish Lions backroom team."It's been amazing to see already," Sexton said of watching Farrell in Lions camp. "We're only in week one and the standard of training, the atmosphere, the environment that he's created already in terms of getting people to share ideas, whether you're a coach or player, making it really inclusive, everyone has a voice and a say."The last thing Andy wants is fast forward four or five weeks' time when you've won or lost the series, he doesn't want people saying 'we should have done this, we should have done that'. "He wants you to speak now. That's the greatest part about the environment, it's a pretty special place to be at the moment and I'm sure it'll get better over the next couple of months."Farrell's ability to give clarity and confidence to those who come into his orbit extended to the British and Irish Lions decision-makers, who unanimously backed him as the man to lead this summer's tour to Australia.When he was announced as head coach in January 2024, it surprised no-one. Now, nearly 18 months on, the 50-year-old is finally ready to tackle one of rugby's most daunting coaching challenges when he leads the Lions into Friday's pre-tour game against Argentina in Dublin. It is the start of an important new chapter for the Englishman. But everything up to this point shows he never shirks a challenge, and he usually finds success.
Farrell's leadership skills were evident from a young age - and in a different code.Reared in rugby league, he made his debut for Wigan Warriors at just 16, became the youngest Challenge Cup winner a year later in 1993 and captained Great Britain when he was 21. It wasn't all good in the 13-man discipline. Twenty of his 34 Great Britain appearances ended in defeat and he was captain for the 1996 tour which yielded three Test losses to New Zealand. The goal-kicking loose forward dreamed of testing himself in Australia's National Rugby League, which he considered the pinnacle of the sport. But after a move down under failed to materialise, he opted for arguably an even greater challenge: a switch to rugby union with Saracens in 2005. Injuries hampered his bid to become a cross-code phenomenon. He won eight caps for England, and while his 2007 World Cup was cut short by a calf problem, his enthusiasm to become a coaching powerhouse remained undimmed. His first opportunity came at Saracens - initially as Mark McCall's assistant - before he joined Stuart Lancaster's England ticket as defence coach in time for the 2012 Six Nations. "You could tell he was a leader as a player and as a head coach, you need a strong second voice in the changing room, that person who can take the weight off your shoulders a bit. Andy fulfilled that role for me," Lancaster told the BBC's Rugby Union Weekly podcast last year.Lancaster also described Farrell as a "great orator" and that much became clear in 2013 when he delivered his now-famous "hurt arena" speech to the British and Irish Lions squad before the deciding third Test against Australia.The Lions emerged from Sydney with their first tour win in 16 years (it also remains their most recent), while Farrell's star continued to rise when he returned as one of Gatland's assistants in the drawn 2017 series against New Zealand.
His burgeoning status prompted the Irish Rugby Football Union (IRFU) to swoop at the earliest possible opportunity, appointing him Ireland defence coach under Joe Schmidt within a month of his England exit, which came in the aftermath of the 2015 World Cup.While Farrell served a three-year apprenticeship under Schmidt, it soon became clear after taking the top job in 2019 that his coaching style differed greatly from the New Zealander's. He emphasised the importance of marking landmarks like debuts or 50th or 100th caps with presentation ceremonies that often involved the players' families - an approach that would seem well-suited to a Lions environment where a lot of the players don't know each other."There's a different mentality around the place - a different relationship between players and coaches and a different relationship between players and players, going over stuff together," Ireland lock Iain Henderson said during the early stages of Farrell's reign."Before, the guys might have been a wee bit tentative about who they went and asked questions to. For fear of people thinking they don't know their detail, didn't know stuff."Five years on, Sexton's comments echo Henderson's words. It shows that creating a collaborative space in training and giving the players the confidence to express themselves has been the bedrock of Farrell's success with Ireland. Of course, he found the going tough initially, with mixed results during his first two years in charge leading Sexton to jump to his defence.Soon, though, Farrell presided over one of the greatest periods in Irish rugby history, with talk of him as a future Lions boss intensifying after he led Ireland to a historic series success in New Zealand in 2022. And even though the All Blacks ended his side's World Cup campaign at the quarter-final stage in 2023, Farrell's 2022-23 run, that included a Six Nations Grand Slam and a 17-match unbeaten streak, effectively sealed his Lions appointment.
'When he speaks, you tune in'
Since officially starting his Lions duties, Farrell has stuck to what he knows, plucking four coaches - Sexton, Simon Easterby, Andrew Goodman and John Fogarty - from the IRFU and flooding his squad with 16 Ireland players, several of whom will be absent on Friday.He also took the squad on a pre-tour training camp in Quinta do Lago in Portugal, which has served as Ireland's warm-weather base before the Six Nations and World Cup in recent years.It is still early days, but Farrell has clearly made an impression on those coming into contact with him for the first time. "He's got such an aura around the place," said Welsh scrum-half Tomos Williams, "Everyone turns their head when he speaks. He's been class, the level of detail and clarity he gives you is class."I think anyone would if you've got two caps or 100 caps. A person of his calibre, when he speaks, you just instantly tune in."
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