Andy Farrell needed no second invitation when offered the opportunity to lead The British & Irish Lions on their 2025 Tour of Australia.
Farrell was named Head Coach at the head office of global insurance group, Howden, a Principal Partner for the upcoming 2025 Tour.
The Ireland head coach was a unanimous choice put forward by a selection panel chaired by Ben Calveley, British & Irish Lions CEO, and comprising of Lions royalty, Sir Ian McGeechan, 1997 tourist Nigel Redman, 2005 captain Brian O’Driscoll and Lions Chairperson.
He said: “To be called up as a candidate for the Head Coach’s role is pretty special. To be chosen is pretty magical. Being on a couple of Lions Tours already gives me a feel of what it’s all about.
“Those of us who have been lucky enough to go on Lions Tours as a supporter or support the Lions and what the Lions stand for at home, know what a special place this is. For me to be selected as Head Coach is almost beyond words.”
Farrell, the 2023 World Rugby Coach of the Year, has been part of the Irish coaching setup since 2016 having worked as defence coach under Joe Schmidt before being named as Head Coach after the 2019 Rugby World Cup.
As defence coach, Farrell was a part of Ireland’s first-ever series win in Australia during the 2018 summer Tour.
During his tenure as Head Coach, he has guided Ireland to two triple crowns in 2022 and 2023, the Six Nations Grand Slam in 2023, a second title in 2024, and led the team to number one in the World Rugby rankings.
Farrell also recorded a famous first-ever series win against New Zealand in the summer of 2022, four months before overseeing a win over Australia in Dublin.
Before his role with Ireland, Farrell served as England assistant coach from 2012 to 2015 under Stuart Lancaster and was also involved in the Saracens coaching set-up from 2010 to 2012.
As a player, Farrell earned 34 caps for Great Britain and 11 for England in rugby league, including the 1995 and 2000 World Cups, and eight for England in rugby union, including the 2007 World Cup. He played 28 times for Saracens.
Farrell succeeds previous Head Coach Warren Gatland, who coached the Lions on three consecutive Tours, guiding the Lions to a Series victory against Australia in 2013 and a drawn Series with New Zealand in 2017 before narrowly losing to South Africa during the 2021 Tour.
Farrell played a key role as defence coach under Gatland for the 2013 Series win in Australia and in the drawn Series in New Zealand in 2017.
