British and Irish Lions: Andy Farrell says non-internationals and French-based players remain under consideration

Non-international players and players based in France remain under consideration for the summer’s British and Irish Lions tour to Australia, head coach Andy Farrell has told Sky Sports.

Farrell confirmed his Lions coaching team on Wednesday, made up of England senior assistant coach Richard Wigglesworth, Ireland coaching trio Simon Easterby, Andrew Goodman and John Fogarty, and Scotland forwards coach John Dalziel.

The likes of Scotland full-back Blair Kinghorn and Toulouse back-row Jack Willis – the latter ineligible for England due to playing outside of the country – could potentially miss three Lions tour games should Toulouse make the Top 14 final.

The Top 14 final takes place on Saturday June 28, while the Lions kick off their tour by facing Argentina in Dublin on Friday June 20, followed by a game against Western Force in Perth on June 28. The tourists then play Queensland Reds four days later on July 2.

The likes of Kyle Sinckler, Henry Arundell, Courtney Lawes and Farrell’s own son Owen are also based in the Top 14. For the Lions head coach, French-based players have not been ruled out.

“Oh yeah [we’re considering players who aren’t playing international rugby]. Everything’s open. Why would we not? We’ll see how those dynamics unfold in the coming months and make a decision closer to the time,” Farrell told Sky Sports.

“Who’s fit, who’s available, what’s the dynamics of what we need at the start? Are we able to miss a week or two? Will people coming in late add or detract from the dynamics of the squad?

“All those things are in play.”

Farrell added the varying levels of form and inconsistency in the Six Nations have not made his selection job harder, rather it is something he prefers.

“It doesn’t make my job harder, it makes it better, because when we select the squad, we’re going to have a hell of a squad,” he said.

“There’s going to be great players that are going to miss out and you’re going to feel for them. But then the work just starts. Then we see where the real competition is.

“Who’s going to step up to the plate when they put the shirt on, when they get the chance, etc. The competition that’s going to go throughout the squad whilst on tour is what I’m really looking forward to.”

In terms of the Lions captaincy, Farrell says he is yet to decide who will lead the team.

“Not just yet. It’s something I’m mulling over constantly,” he said.

“Why would we do it so early? It’s got to be right for the team. Not just that, when we start to narrow it down, who’s the best fit for the personnel we’ve got? Of course [we have a shortlist].”

When asked where he stood in terms of his potential squad selections, the 2023 World Rugby Coach of the Year admitted he and his coaches have drawn up a list of some 75 names.

Such a list will need to be narrowed down to 37/38 players by Thursday May 8, when the squad will be revealed in front of a live audience of fans for the first time at The O2 arena and broadcast live on Sky Sports News.

“We bounced around with a wider squad yesterday (Tuesday) and came up with about 75 men or something like that. Every single one of them deserves to be on that list,” Farrell said.

“There’s going to be a hell of a lot of good players who don’t make the plane and that’s exactly where we want to be. We want to be as competitive as we possibly can.

“Obviously, we’re going to be watching other games that are coming up before May 8.”

British & Irish Lions tour of Australia on Sky Sports

Sky Sports will exclusively show the 2025 British and Irish Lions tour of Australia, with all three Tests against the Wallabies and six warm-up matches to be shown exclusively live.