There’s never been such an Irish-tinged influence on a British and Irish Lions tour, and this has raised the stakes for Andy Farrell and Irish rugby over the next three weeks. Perish the thought, but if the Lions lose this series against a Wallabies side ranked eighth in the world, we’ll never hear the end of it.
In the last week this sizeable subplot to the 2025 Aussie odyssey has risen to new heights with the addition of Jamie Osborne and Thomas Clarkson. That means that, in addition a cluster of assistant coaches and back room staff, Farrell has extended the number of Irish players in the squad from an initial 15 to a fairly remarkable 18.
[ Farrell calls up three Scots amid Hansen injury worriesOpens in new window ]
This also means that Leinster, with a total of 14 players, not only outnumber any other club/province/region as bulk suppliers to this Lions squad, but equal England’s increased tally of 14 players.
Slow Lions build-up finally culminates in Test week
Recall, if you will, how Ciaran Fitzgerald copped so much flak during and after the 1983 tour to New Zealand when a non-vintage Lions team lost the series 4-0 and Superman could have captained the tourists for all the difference it would have made. By contrast, head coach Jim Telfer escaped scot-free, as it were, as did manager Willie-John McBride.
The anti-Irish blame game even extended to Paul O’Connell on the 2009 tour to South Africa when, if to nothing like the same extent, his captaincy was unfairly condemned in one or two media outlets in the UK.
It’s one of the anomalies of this tour that the English media pack is bigger than its country’s playing contingent, whereas the Irish media pack is heavily outnumbered by the aforementioned 18 players.
There has been sniping over this unprecedented Irish influence since the original 38-man squad was unveiled amid so much glitz in London’s O2 Arena, as if it upset the natural order of things when England are usually the bulk suppliers. Yet Clive Woodward’s reliance on his English 2003 World Cup-winning side proved entirely flawed, while there was nothing like the same outcry when Warren Gatland picked 15 players, including Sam Warburton as captain, for the 2013 tour. Then again the Lions did win that series.
Even so, Ireland’s body of work in the last four years – 3-1 v England, 5-0 v Scotland and 4-0 v Wales, plus a series win in New Zealand and a series draw in South Africa – far exceeds that of the other three countries.
The sniping, which is more prevalent on social media, was heightened after Osborne and, especially, Clarkson were called in over the last weekend.
[ Farrell ponders selection issues ahead of first TestOpens in new window ]
It is ironic to think that barely a year ago the IRFU performance pirector David Humphreys placed a temporary ban, since lifted, on the provinces signing non-Irish qualified props, and now three of the four tight-heads in this Lions squad are Irish – Tadhg Furlong, Finlay Bealham and Clarkson.
The message from the Lions is that Clarkson has been called up to provide additional cover at tighthead. This is presumably to preserve Furlong and Will Stuart, along with the rest of the Test 23, from any involvement in the only remaining midweek match, namely next Tuesday’s game against the First Nations and Pasifika XV in Melbourne four days before the pivotal second Test in the same city.
This has been given added credence by the subsequent addition of Rory Sutherland, Ewan Ashman and Darcy Graham, who were with the Scotland squad in New Zealand. It all has strong echoes of Gatland calling up four Welsh and two Scottish players at a similar juncture on the 2017 tour from their countries’ tours to Australia and New Zealand, as well as three English players and the retired Shane Williams in 2013.
Gatland had planned that from the outset but the addition of the so-called Geography Six generated quite a furore on the basis that it devalued that tour and the Lions jersey. Gatland subsequently expressed his regret over the move too.
Farrell was defence coach on that tour, yet clearly the addition of Clarkson and the three Scots had been pre-planned to ringfence the Test-match squad. No less than Gatland, Farrell is damned if he does and damned if he doesn’t.
If Andrew Porter, Ellis Genge, Furlong or Will Stuart were injured in next Thursday’s match, the head coach would have been criticised for risking them. Yet scrapping midweek matches for the duration of the series would make the Tour seem cruelly long for those not in the Test match-day squads.
Perhaps if Clarkson’s call-up had been announced in tandem with the three Scottish players, rather than in isolation, there wouldn’t have been such an over-reaction to his addition.
Some of the sniping, admittedly, appears to have emanated from Ireland in the form of an anti-Leinster begrudgery. But the inclusion of 18 players, even if 14 are from one province, should be a source of celebration in Irish rugby.
There would have been long odds on Clarkson making the Lions squad at the start of the season, when he had only started 19 games for Leinster. Yet after his breakthrough campaign, when benefiting from the misfortune that befell Furlong, the 25-year-old’s call-up to the Lions squad is entirely justified.
Clarkson has won eight Test caps, including four in the Six Nations against England, Scotland, Wales and France, so really if anyone across the water was unaware of him, that’s more down to them. Clarkson is also in form, having ended the season by starting all of Leinster’s last five games in their URC-winning title run-in, including the quarter-final, semi-final and final against the Bulls.
True, Joe Hayes started England’s series-clinching win in Argentina last weekend and does have eight caps more, but Clarkson also has the additional benefit of working with Farrell and the Ireland and Lions scrum coach John Fogarty. This is why Lions head coaches often lean towards the players they’ve worked with and know best.
For sure, no less than Osborne, Clarkson’s call-up may be beneficial for him and Ireland come the next World Cup in Australia two years hence, but it still makes perfect sense.
So far, it’s just been sniping. But the reaction to Clarkson’s call-up was a foretaste of what could be coming were the Lions not to win this series. These last few days have confirmed, more than ever before, they’re lurking in the long grass.
