Rugby This means the world to me, says Farrell, ahead of Lions tour to Australia

ANDY Farrell's passion for the British and Irish Lions is perhaps best encapsulated by his stirring speech ahead of the series decider against Australia in 2013.

- Ed ELLIOT

"We are taking them boys to the hurt arena this weekend," he told players in his role as an assistant to Warren Gatland.

"Our mentality is going to be a different mentality than what the British Lions teams have had over the last 16 years."

The Lions subsequently romped to a 41-16 victory in Sydney and a first tour triumph since 1997.

Ahead of a reunion with the Wallabies, Farrell, who concedes his modern-day team talks are "probably not as dramatic", is tasked with returning the team to winning ways.

A 1-1 series draw in New Zealand in 2017, for which he again joined Gatland's backroom staff, was followed by the Lions' 2-1 loss to South Africa amid Covid-19 restrictions in 2021.

Farrell's elevation to head coach - only the second Englishman to hold the role in the last 75 years, after Sir Clive Woodward in 2005 - was anything but a surprise.

The 2023 World Rugby coach of the year was odds-on favourite to land one of the sport's most prestigious posts after establishing Ireland as global heavyweights.