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No thanks.
British & Irish Lions head coach Andy Farrell has revealed that he wanted to include Owen Farrell in his original squad to tour Australia this summer.
Owen had endured a difficult season at Racing 92 before returning to Saracens this season, but remained on the Lions radar because of his vast amount of experience in the famous red jersey.
Ultimately, he was left out of the squad, but was called up as a replacement shortly after the tour had begun and went on to play an important role as the Lions won the series 2-1.
In an extract for his upcoming autobiography, The Only Way I Know, in The Times, Andy Farrell details that difficult conversation with his son, and reveals that all the coaches were in agreement that he should be in the initial squad.
“I wanted to bring him, despite his difficult and injury-disrupted season in Paris…” Farrell writes.
“Every other coach favoured picking Owen too. Ordinarily, that would have been it: we would have simply named him along with the others. But I knew it was not yet a done deal. I told the coaches I would have to ring Owen first…
“This was a very hard phone call. When I asked Owen if he would come, he broke down in tears. He said he did not think it would be right for him, for the squad, or for me as head coach.
“It was a tough thing to hear. I told him to think it through, to take his time, and if he changed his mind then I would put him on the standby list to cover an injury.
“At the press conference at the O2 arena, after my appearance on stage, I was asked if Owen had been under consideration. Obviously, I didn’t feel I could tell the full story.”
