Owen Farrell overlooked for Lions opener as dad Andy Farrell makes tough call

Owen Farrell has been tipped to feature in the first British and Irish Lions Test but looks to have missed out with Marcus Smith reportedly beating him to a spot on the bench

Owen Farrell is set to miss out on the British and Irish Lions matchday squad for the First Test against Australia this weekend. The England star was called in as injury cover and tipped to play a major part, but is thought to have been overlooked by dad and head coach Andy Farrell.

The Lions, after winning their warm-up games will relative ease, will face the Wallabies in Brisbane this weekend but it looks as if Marcus Smith has edged out his fellow Englishman for a spot on the bench.

Farrell was called in to replace the injured Elliott Daly. Capable of playing at fly-half or centre, there was an expectation that he would feature in the opening Test.

But the Telegraph understand the coaching staff have gone in a different direction with Smith filling in and fly-half and fullback throughout the tour. Farrell’s ability to drive standards was seen as a huge motivation for calling him up, but he’s not played international rugby for nearly two years and endured an injury-hit season in France with Racing 92.

Richard Wigglesworth, the Lions assistant coach, said on Tuesday: “He’s done exactly what we knew he was going to do in terms of help and influence, and obviously contributed on the field when that time came up. You all know how good he is, the influence he has, his knowledge and how he helps other people get better. I don’t need to stand (sit) here, saying it again.”

READ MORE: How the Lions can boast three Aussies and All Black trio vs Australia in crunch openerREAD MORE: Scotland star Huw Jones’ route to the Lions that began with Cape Town school job

The expectation is that Finn Russell will start at 10 with Jamison Gibson-Park his half-back partner. Hugo Keenan is set to wear 15 with Blair Kinghorn struggling to shake an injury. Fitness concerns around Mack Hansen mean Tommy Freeman and James Lowe are set to command the wing berths.

The backrow has been the most competitive area of the squad. It is reported that Northampton sensation Henry Pollock will miss out on the matchday 23. Ben Curry and Tadhg Beirne are tipped as the two men to wear six and seven.

It would leave the likes of Jac Morgan, who has been impressive on tour, as well as Josh van der Flier and Ollie Chessum battling to spots on the bench.

After the weekend’s win over the AUNZ invitational team, the coaching coach held their final selection meeting on Monday night before informing the players of the team at a squad meeting on Wednesday. Wigglesworth said picking the team “certainly wasn’t easy.”

The last time the Lions played a series in Australia the first Test was also held at Suncorp Stadium in Brisbane, where the visitors gained a narrow 23-21 victory en route to their series victory.