Owen Farrell was booed like a pantomime villain as he came on to take part in a fourth British and Irish Lions tour, but his performance had plenty of northern pundits cheering for his place in the 23 in the first Test next Saturday.
An underwhelming fixture with the AUNZ Invitational team, where the Lions strolled to a 48-0 win and, in the words of Clive Woodward, the hosts “did well to score zero”, left little to reflect on except the likely make-up of Andy Farrell’s team to face Joe Schmidt’s selection at Suncorp Stadium on Saturday.
Farrell was a controversial call-up by his father Andy, but he looked as composed and controlled as expected in a late cameo at inside centre.
“One of the standouts was Owen Farrell, he added to the team because he did the simple things well,” three-time Lions flyhalf O’Gara told Sky Sports.
“He looked like he had all the time in the world. Moving the ball quickly, he makes other players look good. That was a massive positive for the Lions, having a competitor like Farrell with them.
Owen Farrell of British & Irish Lions reacts during the tour match between AUNZ XI and British & Irish Lions at Adelaide Oval on July 12, 2025 in Adelaide, Australia. (Photo by Cameron Spencer/Getty Images)
“He was exceptional. People underestimate his composure. So much of what happens in a Test match is about your capacity to be composed and Farrell is a master at that.
“He looked fit, he looked hungry. It will be a completely different Test next week but it’s these moments where the Test animals get excited, so watch out for him, he could take his game to another level.”
His Sky colleague, and former Lion, Dan Biggar said Farrell has come into the frame for Brisbane following the concussion that has ruled out Garry Ringrose.
“I didn’t question Farrell’s ability in the squad, I questioned the timing of it, replacing Elliot Daly who plays 15, 11 and 13, with a guy who plays 10 and 12,” Biggar said on Sky.
“He looked really good tonight, Owen. He moved the ball really well. He’s a world-class operator.
“If you pick him on a 6-2 bench, you are light in the back three if you get an injury, especially with no Garry Ringrose there to cover the wing. You rely on a bit of luck whenever you go with a 6-2 or 7-1 split.
“Clearly next Saturday is going to be a huge step up compared to tonight, where The Lions were disciplined, accurate made the AUNZ team look quite ordinary considering they have some really good players.”
Gavin Mairs, in the UK Telegraph, said: “It has been anything but a straightforward process, but finally the British and Irish Lions Test squad is taking shape – and remarkably it seems poised to include Owen Farrell.
“Farrell Jnr had already joined an illustrious list of players who have toured four times or more – Willie John McBride, Mike Gibson, Brian O’Driscoll and Alun Wyn Jones – and during his first appearance in Australia, a 31-minute cameo here at the Adelaide Oval, he did not miss a beat.
“On his first match in an international shirt since the 2023 World Cup in France, Farrell looked assured, confident and impactful, and had a hand in three of the Lions’ eight tries.
“One can only imagine what he was thinking when he was sprung from the bench in the 49th minute, intriguingly coming on with Marcus Smith, to a mix of cheers and boos, with the Australian supporters keen to embrace him as a pantomime villain.
“These considerations also make it almost certain that Owen Farrell will now take his place on the bench against Australia in the first Test in Brisbane, possibly alongside Marcus Smith.
“If Andy Farrell, as expected, goes for a five-three split on the bench, Owen would cover both fly-half and inside centre. The decision then becomes whether he also includes Marcus Smith to cover fly-half and full-back or Hansen, who can cover wing and full-back. Hansen had an all-court game against the AUNZ. He is one of Farrell Snr’s trusted lieutenants in Ireland.”
Mack Hansen of British & Irish Lions makes a break during the tour match between AUNZ XI and British & Irish Lions at Adelaide Oval on July 12, 2025 in Adelaide, Australia. (Photo by Matt King/Getty Images)
The UK media were scathing of the AUNZ team and the poor contest they were able to provide to the Lions, as the tourists looked to hone in on a 23 for Brisbane.
“The phoney war is now over. Saturday’s victory over a combined Australian and New Zealand Invitational side was the final chance for the Lions to get prepared,” wrote Woodward in the Daily Mail.
“It was a tough challenge for Farrell’s men on paper given some of the quality in their opposition. But the Lions were excellent on the whole and the combined team were just miles off the pace. They did well to score zero! There is no way the Lions should play against scratch teams as despite how well the Lions played, the opposition was just not up for the occasion in any shape or form.
“It might seem rather simple to say, but if the Lions nail their scrum, line-out and restarts, they will beat Australia. That’s because they have better players. But any team can lose to an inferior side if they aren’t on the money with their basics. That’s the risk the Lions face.”
Stephen Jones, in The Times, was also less than impressed by how the occasion panned out.
“Our evening in Adelaide at the cricket ground was meant to be way, way better than this. A record attendance for any rugby match in Adelaide of over 43,000 was present, and you can tell all day as they gathered in the city that they were desperate for a good time.
Lukhan Salakaia-Loto of AUNZ gets away from Ronan Kelleher of the Lions during the tour match between AUNZ XV and British & Irish Lions at the Adelaide Oval on July 12, 2025 in Adelaide, Australia. (Photo by Mark Brake/Getty Images)
“If they had one, then it was not really related to the rugby because the tepid nature of the whole thing and the lack of impact of the combined Australia and New Zealand teams was almost total.
“When this fixture was first announced, people who knew little about modern rugby and modern Lions started salivating about a coming together of great Wallabies and All Blacks but there was never the remotest chance they would compete.
“The difference between this gaudy and colourful waste of time and the first Test on Saturday could hardly be more dramatic.
“And frankly, in the end you felt sorry for the Lions who were desperate to make an impression to secure a Test place. There is no way that you could make a significant change to the Test team based on this evidence, and the lack of real power and passion so far on this tour is now becoming more and more marked.”
The match was devoid of tension – so much so that when Luke Cowan-Dickie went down with a potentially serious injury and was removed from the pitch on a medicab, the crowd were whooping it up to Sweet Caroline.
“Cowan-Dickie was taken off on a motorised stretcher after his head had come into accidental contact with Lukhan Salakaia-Loto in a tackle,” Jones noted. “He was taken off after protracted treatment, and to accompany this sad sight the brazen idiot operating the public address system played Sweet Caroline. Where on earth do they get these fools from?”
Jones expressed fears that the contest could be even worse when a First Nations and Pasifika team faces the Lions later in the tour.
Former England flyhalf Stuart Barnes, writing in The Times, said the true worth of the Lions squad would not be known until Saturday’s Test.
“The Lions, scoring eight tries in Adelaide in a 48-0 victory, were not as good as the army of hype merchants would have you believe. Or, if they were, it came with a warning,” wrote Barnes.
“The opposition were little more than a gathering of hollow men. This was a reminder that rugby, at its best, is a team game.
“Some big names contrived to present nothing much of a challenge. Not until Saturday in Brisbane will we know whether this is a brilliant, average or worse Lions team.
“Joe Schmidt will be delighted that Australia has not offered one serious test for Andy Farrell’s men. The “best of the best” have been splashing around in the shallows since touching down in Australia. Whether the pool of Wallaby talent suggests there is a deep end, we’ll have to wait and see. Suffice to say, it isn’t looking like one of the great series.”
