Owen Farrell will be hoping his latest British and Irish Lions campaign brings slightly less drama than his first.
The 33-year-old jetted out to Sydney on Friday join his Dad Andy‘s Lions squad for the rest of their tour of Australia, as he was drafted in as a replacement for the injured Elliot Daly.
GettyOwen Farrell joined up with his Lions teammates in Australia last week[/caption]Farrell watched on from the sidelines on Saturday as his teammates laboured to a 21-10 victory over the New South Wales Waratahs, having written his name in the record books with his late call-up.
The Saracens star has become a British and Irish Lion for the fourth time, making him the fifth player in history to do so.
There is certainly some similarity between Farrell’s latest Lions experience and his first – with both tours taking place Down Under.
In 2013, a 21-year-old Farrell was part of Warren Gatland’s squad in their last tour of Australia, as they recorded a first series victory in 16 years with a 2-1 overall win.
And while the Englishman will be hoping to recreate many aspects from his debut campaign over the coming weeks, there will be other moments that he will be keen to avoid a repeat of.
Namely, this will surely include a bizarre incident which saw him punched by then Saracens teammate Schalk Brits.
The unsavoury scene came after a scuffle broke out during a warm-up match between the Lions and the Barbarians in Hong Kong.
Farrell, starting at fly-half, could be seen holding onto his club colleague Brits’s jersey at a ruck in the first 10 minutes of the game.
This did not go down well with the South African, who lashed out by launching a swinging left arm into Farrell’s face.
The England star then had be held back by his teammates as he angrily confronted Brits, who was remarkably only shown a yellow card during the game for his conduct.
Credit: Sky SportsFarrell could be seen holding onto Brits’ shirt at a ruck[/caption] Credit: Sky SportsThis angered the South African, who reacted by punching his Saracens teammate[/caption] Credit: Sky SportsFarrell later had to be held back as he went to confront Brits[/caption]Explaining his decision, referee Steve Walsh could be heard telling him: “Because of the nature of the game it’s only a yellow.”
Despite the early drama, Farrell and his peers refused to let this affect them, as the Lions marched to a dominant 59-8 victory
But this wasn’t the end of the matter, as Brits later found himself facing retrospective action for his actions.
After appearing before the International Rugby Board in a hearing, the hooker was judged to have committed a mid-range offence that would normally see a five-week ban, but was reduced to three “as a result of compelling mitigating factors”.
And while Farrell had appeared anything but calm after coming to blows with Brits, he later played down the incident.
Speaking afterwards, he said: “I was trying to hold him into a ruck, and he reacted to that. It all happens in rugby. There’s no dramas there.”
GettyFarrell could be seen sarcastically applauding Brits after he was sin-binned for his actions[/caption] GettyThe yellow card later turned into a suspension that caused Brits to miss Saracen’s first three games of the 2013/14 season[/caption]He added: “When someone reacts to you, you try not to take a backward step, not just in this occasion but in every occasion. I just grabbed him. There was nothing nasty in it.
“It is a reminder of how vital it is to keep cool and not respond to provocation.
“These are big games, every game for the Lions is massive, and to lose someone to the bin would be massive. You can’t afford to do that – everyone has to be disciplined.
“I shook Schalk’s hand after the game, and he apologised when he came back on to the field.”
Brits also shared his version of events in a 2022 interview with World Rugby, where he also admitted too much had been made of the incident.
In a chat with former South Africa teammate Jean de Villiers, he said: “It wasn’t really [a punch], it was more of a push.
GettyFarrell and Brits won four Premiership titles together with Saracens between 2011 and 2018[/caption]“I profusely apologised from day one, and now again.
“I do have a switch, and my switch was after a week of socialising and experiencing Hong Kong, and we got smashed by the Lions.
“But it was a great week. One of the most amazing experiences.”
Brits and Farrell would remain teammates at Saracens until 2018, when the former left the English side, before going on to retire from rugby the following year.
The Lions, meanwhile, continue their warm-up for Australia against Brumbies on Wednesday.
The Lions on talkSPORT
talkSPORT has all of the British and Irish Lions matches live across the network. Eddie Jones is among the star-studded line-up leading the coverage Down Under.
July 9, Canberra: Lions vs ACT Brumbies
July 12, Adelaide: Lions v ANZAC XV
July 12, Brisbane: Lions v Wallabies
July 22, Melbourne: Lions v First Nations and Pasifika XV
July 26, Melbourne: Lions v Wallabies
August 2, Sydney: Lions v Wallabies
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