ANDY URGES FANS TO BACK OWEN CALL-UP

ANDY Farrell has urged British and Irish Lions fans to get behind his son Owen's shock call-up to Australia in the hope he escapes the type of negativity he faced at the 2023 World Cup.

- by DUNCAN BECH

Farrell said he had “no hesitation” summoning the former England captain once it became clear that Elliot Daly must return home because of a fractured forearm sustained against the Queensland Reds on Wednesday.

The Lions are reeling from the news that Daly’s third tour is over just as he was playing his way into the Test team, robbing them of a player Andy Farrell described as a “legend” for the elite of British and Irish rugby.

But rather than replacing him with a similar alternative such as Wales’ Blair Murray or Scotland’s Tom Jordan, Andy Farrell has turned to a 33-year-old whose last Test was at the World Cup almost two years ago.