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Blair Kinghorn and Jack Willis, of Toulouse, could take part in the Top 14 final and thus miss part of the Lions tour, if selected - Sportsfile via Getty Images/Harry Murphy
The British and Irish Lions face a battle to access their France-based players for the start of the tour of Australia after head coach Andy Farrell admitted they are willing to negotiate their early release.
Any player involved in the Top 14 final will miss the Lions warm-up matches against Argentina in Dublin on June 20, and the Western Force in Perth on June 28. French clubs are likely to seek compensation for the early release of their players, particularly in the climax of their season, but it is understood that the Lions have not set aside any money for that contingency.
As Telegraph Sport first revealed, Farrell turned to his Irish lieutenants in Simon Easterby, John Fogarty and Andrew Goodman as well as Scotland forwards coach John Dalziel. England senior coach Richard Wigglesworth completed the coaching team, which was formally unveiled in London on Wednesday morning, meaning there is no Wales coach on a Lions tour for the first time since 1997.
The five coaches spent all day at the Rosewood Hotel in central London on Tuesday for a primary discussion on squad permutations, which produced a long list of around 75 names, including players currently playing in France. Players from the Top 14 include the Toulouse pair of Blair Kinghorn and Jack Willis, the Toulon trio Kyle Sinckler, David Ribbans and Ben White, and former England captain and three-time Lions tourist Owen Farrell, who has just returned from injury for Racing 92, who could all come into the reckoning. Dalziel also confirmed that Courtney Lawes, the former England flanker, who is currently playing for Brive in Pro D2, is among the names on the long list.
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Toulon’s Kyle Sinckler no longer plays for England but could still come into the reckoning for the Lions - AFP via Getty Images/Christophe Simon
However, Farrell says that any commitments in the French leagues will not preclude players from selection when he announces his squad on May 8.
“We’re open minded about all of that,” Farrell said. “As we start to whittle it down the dynamics become a little bit different, but we don’t know if we’re going to have sufficient players in certain positions, where we’re able to get on a plane and somebody could join us for game three etc. We don’t know if a player that fits the bill of being interchangeable, being able to play three or four different positions, is that what we need? I don’t know. We could even have a conversation with some clubs over there, they might release them. These things will be ongoing.”
He added: “Maybe a team in France might be open to a conversation about letting people go early. If someone gets through to the final in France, they would probably get to us for game three [against NSW Waratahs]. How that all fits is something we will carry on discussing.”
Top 14 clubs are historically reluctant to release their talent before the season commitments conclude, with France unable to call on players involved in the league’s showpiece final for their summer tour of New Zealand. In 2017, former Wales back Leigh Halfpenny had a special clause in his contract that allowed him to be released early from his Toulon commitments to join the tour in New Zealand.
Farrell suggested that he would be more likely to select a couple of players from France rather than seven or eight. “It’s just the dynamics of what the team needs at the time when we get to the point of pulling the trigger as far as May 8 is concerned,” Farrell said. “We could have six players who are able to play three different positions and all of a sudden three of those are gone, the dynamic completely changes. We could have a number in the back of our heads now, 38, 40, 42, that could change in regard to what I’ve just said there. So this will be an ongoing process and I’ve no doubt it will keep on changing after the announcement as well.”
Farrell admits son Owen is still in contention
Potentially the biggest selection flashpoint would be that of his son Owen, who has endured a difficult first season with Racing 92, having retired from England duty following the 2023 World Cup. Farrell jnr made his comeback from a groin injury in Racing’s victory over Clermont last weekend but remained off kicking duties. When asked about whether the 33-year-old is in contention, Farrell said: “Same as everyone else. He’s just coming back from injury. You keep an eye on everything, and him like every other player as well, so yeah.”
It is clear that Farrell will pick whomever he deems the best candidate, rather than accounting for any outside pressure, which is reflected by the lack of Wales coaches in his set-up.
“I know that’s idealistic for everyone, but surely this has to be done on merit for who fits,” Farrell said. “Is Simon [Easterby] Welsh? He’s a Yorkshireman, in Wales most of his life and coaches a little bit in Ireland. You’ll see in the weeks to come we’re nearly there with the high-performance team, and the team behind the team. The blend is thorough throughout. That isn’t just to do that, either, that is just on merit because they’re the right people.”
This policy will also extend to the selection of the playing squad, and Farrell is adamant he will not be beholden to ensuring representation from all four nations, which could be bad news for Wales, who are on a record 17-game losing run in Test matches.
“No, I’ve never been like that,” Farrell said. “Surely everyone in here is an individual? Imagine not going on a Lions tour because someone thinks that somebody else not as good deserves a place because of the dynamics [of picking a spread of nationalities]. Surely that’s not fair?”
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