Andy Farrell knows exactly what it takes to put together an international coaching staff, and has been on the inside of a British & Irish Lions set-up.
So when it came to deciding who would join him on the 2025 Tour to Australia, he knew exactly what he was looking for.
The Ireland coach, who worked under Warren Gatland on the Lions Tour in 2013 and 2017, has selected the group of assistant coaches who will join him this summer.
From Ireland come Simon Easterby, Andrew Goodman and John Fogarty, England’s Richard Wigglesworth and John Dalziel of Scotland complete a five-strong group of assistants, in addition to Aled Walters and Vinny Hammond who had previously been announced.
While each has a specific role within their national coaching structures, their title for this Tour is assistant coach, a nod to the fact that with such a quick turnaround between games, everyone will have to play their part across the board – with Farrell leading by example.
The Head Coach explained the key questions he asked himself when deciding who to call upon. He said: “How do we want to be? How do we want to play? What are the dynamics of the squad that we are going to have at hand? All that comes into play. Then you try to fix all the jigsaw together.
“A Lions Tour is completely different to anything else, three games in a week. Not being able to do the normal things that you would do to prepare a side that you get to do on a weekly basis or a tournament basis.
“So you need different characteristics for that, one you need to be a good bloke, two you can’t be coaching in silos, as in this is what I need, you need to give a bit of yourself, whatever you are coaching, to other departments because the only thing that matters is the team.
“Three, you are going to be part of a coaching group that is all going to be on the same page no matter what, because there are certainly going to be challenges at times because of the nature of the beast out there, of what a Lions Tour to Australia will be in 2025.”
While Farrell knows the likes of Easterby, Fogarty and Goodman well, it has been more than a decade since he last coached Wigglesworth, while Dalziel is a new face entirely.
In order to find the right people for the job, he was grateful to his fellow home union coaches for their support and guidance.
He added: “I spoke to all the (national) coaches and they have been very good, very kind with their time, making sure that I am equipped to have a good enough knowledge of their players.
“You obviously think you know by coaching against people, but you don’t know the character and what makes them tick and the dynamics of the families, strengths and weaknesses. I’ve really appreciated the honest chats that I’ve had with the coaches.”
It has been an interesting couple of months for Farrell, back from a trip to Australia to scope out the challenge ahead before watching the Guinness Six Nations from afar as Easterby led Ireland to a Triple Crown, while Wigglesworth and England finished with a flourish to come second.
For Farrell, who has lifted the trophy for the last two years running, having to follow a watching brief was a challenge in itself.
He said: “It was torture (watching the Six Nations). Different is good, it was a different dynamic for myself, seeing it from a different point of view. I was a lot more removed but at the same time, pretty busy. A change is good.
“We had a quite intense recce in January, as you would expect, the facilities and stadia are magnificent. It’s going to be a fantastic tour, not just for the players but also for the thousands of Lions fans that will travel.
“It’s the trip of a lifetime, not just for us as coaches. It’s something I would love to do in the future myself, because the camaraderie of the four nations coming together is just so powerful, a carnival atmosphere throughout. I’m sure they can’t wait to get to going.”
Next up for Farrell and the coaches will be squad selection, with the next month and a half dedicated intense study of all the contenders before the big announcement on May 8.
