'He knows exactly what we think of him': Farrell lauds non-Test Lion Van der Flier

Owen Farrell, assistant coach Jonathan Sexton and Josh van der Flier. Pic: Billy Stickland/Inpho

Andy Farrell lauded Josh van der Flier as the epitome of a British & Irish Lions tourist after explaining why the former World Rugby men’s player of the year will not be playing a minute of Test rugby in Australia.

The head coach has stuck with a tried and tested starting back row for Saturday’s third and final Test against the Wallabies with Tom Curry retained in van der Flier’s position at openside flanker alongside Irish duo Tadhg Beirne, on the blindside, and No.8 Jack Conan.

That trio will have started all three Tests barring any last-minute disruptions while the replacement back-rower for the series opener in Brisbane was Ben Earl, and Jac Morgan in last Saturday’s dramatic second-Test win at the MCG in Melbourne. 

On Thursday, Farrell switched from a 5:3 bench to a 6:2 split of forwards and backs but again looked past van der Flier in favour of both Earl and Morgan. 

The Leinster star, world player of the year in 2022, has been a Farrell favourite since he became national team head coach after the 2019 World Cup, starting van der Flier in 44 of the 50 Ireland Tests, calling him off the bench a further three times against Italy (twice) and Romania for a 2023 World Cup pool game. 

Indeed the only matches the 32-year-old has missed were against Tier Two opponents Fiji and the USA and the Italians again in a World Cup warm-up two summers ago.

Yet though van der Flier will return home to Ireland a proud British & Irish Lion, number 874, he will be one of a dozen squad members not to have played a minute of Test rugby against the Wallabies.

Finley Bealham, Luke Cowan-Dickie, Scott Cummings, Henry Pollock, Fin Smith, Pierre Schoeman and Duhan van der Merwe of the original squad of 38 plus late arrivals Thomas Clarkson, Jamie George, Jamie Osborne and Ben White are the non-Test squad members. 

Elliot Daly and Tomos Williams were early departures from the tour due to injury, while Mack Hansen and Garry Ringrose have also missed out due to fitness issues and would likely have started. 

Farrell credited them all for their commitment to the cause throughout the tour but said of van der Flier: “Josh has epitomised what it takes to be a Lions tourist.

“Him, like the rest of the guys who haven’t put the shirt on as far as the Test matches are concerned, is disappointed but at the same time delighted. The conversation I had with him over the last three or four weeks, and obviously there have been many conversations with everyone, it is just about the nature of the position and how competitive that is and the balance of the back row.

“He knows exactly what we think of him and his response to all that has always been to train the house down and prepare the team as best he could and the other thing he said after his disappointment yesterday would have been that he has had the time of his life. It says everything about the man.” 

Farrell has made no apology for his selection policy and in using just 27 players across the three Tests has utilised four fewer than his Lions predecessor, Warren Gatland, in South Africa four years ago.

“We all came together from day one and said it's not just about the squad, the only thing that matters is the squad and that's it, full stop.

“So we've all been in this together from day one. Every single one of us, there's been no separation, we've all trained together, it doesn't matter whether you've played the day before or whatever, you've always helped the next team that's going out there and you all know that the modern-day game is always about the 23 that take the field, not the 15 anymore.

“But it's way beyond that for us. It was about the 38 or the 41 or the 44, whichever way you want to look at it.”