Ireland coach Andy Farrell said being appointed coach of the British and Irish Lions for their 2025 tour of Australia “means the world”.
Farrell will only work for the combined team from December this year until the end of the tour, meaning he will miss Ireland’s Six Nations campaign in 2025.
Stream over 50 sports live and on-demand with Kayo. New to Kayo? Start your free trial now >
The 48-year-old former England dual-code international recently signed a contract extension as Ireland coach until the end of the 2027 World Cup.
Under Farrell, Ireland achieved a Six Nations Grand Slam last year, a Triple Crown in 2022 and a first-ever series win in New Zealand.
Ireland ranked first in the world ahead of last year’s World Cup.
However, they once again failed to advance to the national team quarter-finals after suffering a painful defeat to the All Blacks.
Farrell succeeds Warren Gatland, who led the Lions to their last three tours of the Southern Hemisphere since 2013.
Farrell was part of Gatland’s coaching team in the 2-1 series win over Australia in 2013 and the tied series against New Zealand in 2017.
“This means the world to me,” Farrell said at a London press conference on Thursday to announce his appointment.
He added: “I’ve always been a Lions fan, but in 2013 something lit up in me that made me think, ‘I need to get back into this.’ So being elected as director is magical.
“When I think of the people who were there before me and the people that Gats (Gatland) has already been in touch with, there are a ton of shoes to fill.”
The Lions are made up of key players from England, Scotland, Ireland and Wales.
They traditionally travel to one of Australia, New Zealand or South Africa every four years. But they were without their traditional raucous support during their last tour, a 2021 Covid-impacted series loss in South Africa.
Lions chairman Ieuan Evans, who played three tours as a player, including the victorious 1989 series in Australia, welcomed Farrell’s appointment.
“We know the challenges we face in Australia will not be easy and having someone of his stature at the Lions puts us in a great position to replicate the success we enjoyed in 2013. .”, the former Wales wing said.
Lions chief executive Ben Calveley praised Farrell as “one of the best coaches in the world”, adding: “His achievements for Ireland in recent years have been outstanding and his coaching experience at Test match level with Ireland, England and the Lions makes him an excellent candidate for this role.”
Expectations are high that Farrell will bring back-to-back wins to Australian rugby, which is in crisis.
Eddie Jones quit as coach of the Wallabies after only two wins in nine Tests last year, including a World Cup group stage exit following defeats to Wales and Fiji.
However, Farrell said: “I know what this means to them because I know the Australian people, the spirit, the staff and what it’s like to travel there. It only comes around once every 12 years (for Australian players).
“We know the journey of Australian rugby needs some repairs, but we know they want to get it right because it means a lot and 2025 is going to be huge.”
Farrell, the father of England’s Owen Farrell, could face off against his former Ireland coach Joe Schmidt, with the Kiwi linked to the vacant Australia coach’s job.
Farrell served as Schmidt’s defensive coach with the Irish before succeeding him in 2019.
The Lions begin their 2025 campaign with a match against Argentina in Dublin on June 20.
They face Australia in three Tests in Brisbane on July 19, Melbourne on July 26 and Sydney on August 2.
