Van der Flier Lions cut creates ripples with Ireland but Ryan gets late reward
Andy Farrell has managed to traverse that precarious tight-rope – the British & Irish Lions head coach and leading Ireland towards the 2027 World Cup – for the past eight months without a serious wobble.It has been remarkable to see how Farrell has been able to lean heavily on his Irish contingent of Lions, and just about keep everyone onside.Scotland have had Finn Russell, Huw Jones, Blair Kinghorn and Sione Tuipulotu to cheer. There is an English captain, in Maro Itoje, Tom Curry repaid every last scintilla of faith shown in him, while Ellis Genge has been tub-thumping and brilliant. Alex Mitchell made it into all 10 match-day squads while Owen Farrell, like many of us predicted, arrived better-late-than never to stake his claim. Steve Borthwick can deal with building Fin and Marcus Smith up, when they get back to England camp.Tom Curry vindicated Farrell’s decision to start him at seven with two powerful displays in the first two Tests (Photo Cameron Spencer/Getty Images)Tomos Williams was an early flyer for Wales and Jac Morgan forced his way into the Test squad. Most Welsh fans I’ve spoken to would like greater representation, before explaining (with a few curse words tossed in) their lot barely deserve it.Then we have Ireland. 15 players were named as Lions, back in May, and three more have since joined the squad. Caelan Doris was a certainty until his shoulder was banjaxed on the same day as Leinster’s Champions Cup dreams.If you were to pick a strongest Ireland XV for November’s Soldier Field rematch with New Zealand, 13 of the starters will come away from Australia having contributed massively or feeling they were all set to, until injury struck. Andrew Porter, Dan Sheehan, Tadhg Furlong, James Ryan, Joe McCarthy, Tadhg Beirne, Jack Conan, Jamison Gibson-Park, James Lowe, Bundee Aki and Hugo Keenan were all Test series starters. Garry Ringrose was named in the second Test team, only to pull out after a recurrence of post-concussion symptoms. Mack Hansen would have featured in the series had he not injured his foot.In terms of Farrell’s post-sabbatical job with Ireland, the latest team selection is only his second time to drop a hefty rock in the pool. Ripples will spread for months, yet.By leaving Josh van der Flier out of all three of his Lions Test squads, Farrell has cast a pall over Ireland’s best openside.The first came when the initial squad was announced, back in May. Farrell and his assistant coaches (three of whom are involved with Ireland) effectively told the world neither Sam Prendergast nor Jack Crowley were fly-halves worth staking their Lions reputations on. It was the right call, but one that will have wounded both men. Crowley, in particular, was hard done by. The Cork native started every game of the 2024 Six Nations, helping Ireland retain their title, and both Tests in South Africa, only to be jettisoned after last November’s defeat to New Zealand. Ireland were leading 13-12 when Ciarán Frawley replaced Crowley, after 57 minutes, but few remember that detail.Farrell will not revel in the incessant No.10 debates in Ireland, when he returns. In fairness, he has Oasis at Croke Park to look forward to, before all that.When he zips up his Ireland tracksuit, the other big issue that needs sorting is blindside. Peter O’Mahony has wound up his last Scot/Welshman/Bok/All Black.Van der Flier started three matches on tour and came off the bench in two more (Photo Cameron Spencer/Getty Images)By leaving Josh van der Flier out of all three of his Lions Test squads, Farrell has cast a pall over Ireland’s best openside.Ahead of the first Test in Brisbane, 21 of rugby’s leading pundits and writers stuck their necks out and picked Lions teams to face Australia. Tom Curry made only seven of the selections. The 27-year-old had few barnstorming moments in the tour’s warm-up games but, looking and listening back on interviews, was always quietly confident. He knew why he had been selected. He would have plenty of tasks, but his primary role was attack dog.Curry went out and blew away not only the Australians but anyone left who dared doubt him. James Slipper and Fraser McReight were both left rattled and there were borderline shots on Tom Lynagh and Billy Pollard, either side of a try and try assist. “Immense,” Farrell marvelled. “Absolutely immense.”Farrell would never say as much within a mile of the media, but one wonders if he doubted Van der Flier’s capability to be the bad guy. To get nasty.Van der Flier is a magnificent player. He was crowned the world’s best in 2022 and followed that up with a damn impressive 2023. He may be ever so slightly off those peak seasons, but he finished strong with Leinster and played well in his tour outings. One looked at Curry – playing with a long-damaged wrist – hurtling into Wallabies with utter abandon, though, and Farrell’s selection made perfect sense.Farrell would never say as much within a mile of the media, but one wonders if he doubted Van der Flier’s capability to be the bad guy. To get nasty. Go into Suncorp Stadium with a sneer and start smashing up the opposition. Presented with a squad brimming with talent, potential and proven winners, Farrell needed a few rough-housers to throw the Aussies off their game.That being said, it is stunning that Farrell has overlooked Van der Flier for all three of his Test squads. Ben Earl and Jac Morgan have both been chosen ahead of the Leinster openside, even with the series won. There must have been choice, internal debates about those back-row spots on the 6-2 bench but Van der Flier and Henry Pollock still missed out.Van der Flier chats to Lions forwards coach John Dalziel during training before the second Test (Photo Brendan Moran/Sportsfile via Getty Images)In the end, from 48 players selected as Lions and 44 assembled in Australia, at one stage, only 27 have been selected across the three Tests. “We’ve all said the only thing that matters is the squad,” Farrell insisted. “That’s it, full stop. So, we’ve all been in this together from day one.”Van der Flier famously responded to being dropped for two Six Nations games, in 2021, and missing the Lions tour to South Africa by completely breaking down his game and rebuilding himself into a world-class operator.He is 32 now, and will have been stung by three consecutive rejections by Farrell. Still, he remains Ireland’s best openside and will, no doubt, return with a harder edge next season.Big-time rugby returns to Australia in 2027. Van der Flier will be determined to leave no questions in Farrell’s mind as to who his No.7 is for the World Cup. That mission has already begun.Not for the first time, Farrell sided with a player he has greater familiarity with. Not for the first time, that player justified his selectionJames Ryan always seemed destined for great deeds, as far back as 2011 when he was ranging about for St Michael’s on their way to Leinster Junior Cup glory. Ryan made his Ireland debut before he had done likewise at Leinster, then went on to win his first 23 games in professional rugby, including a Grand Slam and Champions Cup.Ryan has four league titles to go with Leinster’s 2018 Champions Cup and is a three-time Six Nations winner (including two Grand Slams). Within the next few years, he should surpass 100 Test caps for Ireland. At present, he has won 143 of the 170 games he has lined up for (an 84% win rate).Destined for, and capable of, great deeds. He is a fantastic professional and has, thankfully, recovered well from concussion scares in 2020 and 2021. He was fully deserving of his Lions squad place, but the tour looked to be passing him by.Ryan had a slow start to the tour but impressed off the bench in the second Test win in Melbourne (Photo David Rogers/Getty Images)On 24 July, Ryan’s name was a surprise inclusion in Farrell’s second Test squad. Joe McCarthy was struggling with a foot injury but Tadhg Beirne could have covered second row with Ollie Chessum joining Maro Itoje in McCarthy’s absence. If any lock was primed for promotion to the bench, it looked to be Scott Cummings, who stood out in the wins over the Waratahs, First Nations & Pasifika and AUNZ XV.Not for the first time, Farrell sided with a player he has greater familiarity with. Not for the first time, that player justified his selection. Ryan was fantastic in his 24 minutes on the pitch, as the Lions completed a thrilling second Test comeback. His punching carry, coming up big in the final moments as Finn Russell sought an out-ball, summed up his positive impact.Ryan’s reward is a start at Accor Stadium. A chance to notch that winning percentage closer to Dan Carter and Richie McCaw territory. The word culmination feels apt, until you double-check and confirm the guy is still only 29.
