Andy Farrell To Take Charge Of The British And Irish Lions Next Year

He is stepping down from his Ireland duties in 2025 to lead the two teams on their tour of Australia

The Englishman is a former player for both rugby league and rugby union /

By Kemboi Robert

“You've just got to pick the right guy- if you go on a Lions tour and you're a bit 'he's not…' don't go on a Lions tour. You've got to go and say 'I'm a British Lion, I've got a chance to make history, do something very special, have a time I should always remember, hopefully for the right reasons.”

With Andy Farrell taking charge of the British and Irish Lions next year not only are Ireland the dominant force in northern hemisphere rugby currently, but their players will have a closer relationship with their head coach Farrell, the chances of the side being captained by an Irishman are high, and understandably so.

But former Lions captain Martin Johnson has recalled the 1993 tour as an example of how Farrell may want to look further afield when choosing his skipper next year. England had won back-to-back Grand Slams in 1991 and 1992 and were in a similar position that Ireland find themselves in now, but Johnson described how Hastings was a “fantastic Lions captain”.

“I always think Will Carling was a little bit unlucky not to be a Lions captain,” Johnson said at an interview.

“He won two consecutive Grand Slams and wasn’t a Lions captain. Gavin Hastings was and he was a fantastic Lions captain and totally worthy. But to do that and not be a Lions captain is a bit unfortunate.

“I think at that time England were a little bit in the ascendency. In my [Lions] debut, there were seven English forwards in that team, the halfbacks were English, there were maybe eleven Englishmen in that team, but it was a Lions team so having a Scottish captain worked. So maybe not having an Irish captain works.

The main difference between the tour in 1993 and the upcoming tour is that Johnson’s side were coached by Sir Ian McGeechan, who had been Scotland coach up until the end of the 1993 Five Nations, which may have been decisive in picking a Scottish captain much in the same way Warren Gatland chose Welsh captains for this tour.

Farrell, on the other hand, is the coach of the dominant force of British and Irish rugby currently, which may be critical when making his choice.me I should always remember, hopefully for the right reasons.'”