Selection headache for Farrell ahead of 'biggest game of our lives'
SELECTION HEADACHE: Lions head coach Andy Farrell has a decision to make whether to stay with last weeks winning side or make a few changes. Pic: ©INPHO/Tom Maher
The mantra which usually applies in terms of selecting a team to back up a victory is “If it ain’t broke, don’t fix it”. Yet listening to British & Irish Lions head coach Andy Farrell in the wake of this midweek victory at Marvel Stadium gives one the sense that the golden rule of not changing a winning side is by no means hard and fast.
That is not to suggest the performance produced by Tuesday’s Lions team in overcoming a passionate and physical First Nations & Pasifika XV was an emphatic statement from a side of hopefuls eager to be included for this Saturday’s second Test against Australia at the Melbourne Cricket Ground. Rather it underlined the current fluidity of Farrell’s selection process in this three-Test series.
Foot injuries to both Mack Hansen and Joe McCarthy could rule the wing and lock out of this potential series decider. Hansen missed the 1st Test victory in Brisbane while McCarthy was withdrawn on 42 minutes as he succumbed to plantar fasciitis. Neither have trained this week and with a day for the squad on Wednesday there is just Thursday’s training session for them to prove their readiness ahead of that day’s team announcement.
The nature of the Lions’ 27-19 victory is also food for thought, given their dominance over the Wallabies for the first 42 minutes as they opened a 24-5, four tries to one lead quickly gave way to a listlessness that allowed Joe Schmidt’s side back into the game at Suncorp Stadium. Having the Wallabies bench outgun his own Lions replacements will have concerned Farrell and he will also be mindful that Schmidt is set to welcome back his two biggest ball carriers in Will Skelton and Rob Valetini.
So dealing with a likely absent McCarthy and an underpowered bench all has to enter the conversation when Farrell and his coaches convene on Wednesday to finalise their second Test 23, a process the head coach conceded could be more challenging that last week’s discussions in Brisbane.
“There’s all sorts that goes into it, some performances, there’s no doubt about that,” the Lions boss said on Tuesday night following their victory.
“But there’s also what’s right for this second game and what that presents and the make-up of the squad and how it feels, you know, is a few changes going to freshen it up or do we go with the same guys.
“All that comes into the pot and it’s whatever’s best for the team that we think that we need on a game like that at the MCG with over 90,000 people. So yeah, it should be like that shouldn’t it, it should be challenging.
“I let everyone have their say, I play devil’s advocate, and we thrash it out and we all agree. And that’s it. That’s exactly what we’ll do again tomorrow.”
Straight from the final whistle last week, the Lions acknowledged there was plenty of room for improvement from their first Test performance, however impressive they had been in that opening half.
“Plenty,” Farrell said on Tuesday. “There will have to be plenty to get to the point where a win's on the cards because we know that Australia are going to be...can you put a percentage on it, it's going to be a lot.
“If you can't get up for what's coming, we're all in the wrong place. To me, this is the biggest game of our lives, every one of us, that's part of our squad so we'll make sure that we address the week like that.”
The performance at Marvel Stadium will also serve as a reminder to Farrell’s squad about the importance of staying focused, concentrated and in the moment, even having raced into a 14-0 lead after 11 minutes.
“We weren't earning the right to play. There's an allure of space that we thought was there and it wasn't there because we found space nice and early.
“But we kept playing out the back and big wide passes and getting hit behind the gainline and making it tough for ourselves, especially when they were getting off the line and putting so many people through the ruck. It's very hard to control the ruck when you're going backwards.
“We just needed to keep playing the game that's in front of us and at times the space wasn't there so we needed to do the right thing and play in the right parts of the field. We were our own worst enemy once or twice there but I thought we recovered pretty well.
“It's a feeling of momentum isn't it? Whether it's flowing or not. A 14-point start shouldn't put you in a position where you start thinking that the space is everywhere so we need to be better than that.”
: A Muirhead; F Daugunu (J Debreczeni, 10 - HIA), L Foketi, D Feliuai (J McLeod, 41 - HIA), T Reilly; K Beale – captain; K Thomas (H Goddard, 55); L Ieli (M Pearce, 54), B Paenga-Amosa (R Asiata, 45), T Tupou (M Doge, 45); D Swain, L Salakaia-Loto; S Uru (R Leota, 51), C Gamble, T Taii Tualima (M Vocevoce, 67).
: B Kinghorn; D Graham (G Ringrose, 16), J Osborne, O Farrell – captain, D van der Merwe; F Smith (M Smith, 66, F Smith 72 - HIA), B White; P Schoeman (R Sutherland, 74), J George (E Ashman, 74), F Bealham (T Clarkson, 50); J Ryan (G Brown, 55), S Cummings; J Morgan (B Earl, 50), J van der Flier, H Pollock.
A Mitchell.
: Nika Amashukeli (Georgia).
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