Farrell's headline act deserved more than ripping off the fans

Staging a live event was a decent idea, but charging for it was a missed opportunity to reward volunteers

- Andy Bull

When the scores are tied, there are 50 seconds left on the clock and you need someone who is going to step up and take that drop goal, then Andy Farrell was your man. And when the series is all square with one game left to play and you need someone to give the big speech that is exactly what everyone needs to hear in the last hours before the match, you will not find many better. He may very well turn out to be exactly who you need to lead a group of the 38 best players from Britain and Ireland through a six-week tour of Australia, too.

Whether any of this means Farrell is someone you want to pay to see play the O2 Arena is another matter. But here he was under the bright lights regardless, sandwiched between Usher and Olly Murs in the (un)coveted Thursday 3pm slot at the Indigo Lounge, front and centre of the British & Irish Lions' first live squad announcement show.

"So what makes the Lions so special, Andy?" asked the presenter, Lee McKenzie. "Well," Farrell replied under his breath, "it's impossible to put into words." After four years of waiting, the final 30 minutes started to feel painfully long.