Caelan Will Be Back ‘Bigger And Stronger’ – Farrell

Doris (27) has been a veritable man of steel for Ireland over the last four years, starting 40 of their 43 Test since the 2021 Lions tour to South Africa. He captained his country for the first time last year, and was given the full-time role by Farrell this season.

A World Rugby and EPCR Player of the Year nominee in the last six months, the ultra-consistent number 8 was set for his first Lions selection, and possibly the captaincy, until suffering a cruel injury blow at the 11th hour.

He damaged his right shoulder during Leinster’s Investec Champions Cup semi-final loss to Northampton Saints, and is undergoing surgery earlier on Friday. With it coming so close to the Lions squad announcement, it is a heartbreaking end to his season.

“I have spoken to him,” said Farrell, when asked about the Ireland captain’s injury-enforced absence. “You can imagine, he’s devastated.

“He would have definitely been in the mix, such an experienced player and leader. It’s devastating for people like that.

“But the stories are constant in every single tour, aren’t they? Sport can be cruel sometimes, but Caelan will be back bigger and stronger.”

Twelve of Doris’ Leinster team-mates have made the cut for the 2025 Lions, along with Connacht duo Bundee Aki and Mack Hansen, and Munster’s Tadhg Beirne. That makes a record inclusion of 15 Ireland players for the tour to Australia.

Robbie Henshaw, who started all three Lions Tests four years ago, and out-halves Sam Prendergast and Jack Crowley are among the Irish players to miss out, with Farrell revealing that yesterday’s final selection meeting took a lot longer than initially anticipated.

“It lasted longer than we thought it would have done. We obviously had plenty of chats as you can imagine, thrashed things out thoroughly over the last five or six weeks.

“Letting it get down to the wire, I think, is important because it gives people time to reflect on what they think it should really come down to.

“So I thought yesterday morning we booked it off within an hour or so. That started at eight o’clock, and at three o’clock we were still going. So that says it all really, doesn’t it?

“That’s how it should be. It should be unbelievably difficult because that means we’ve got a talented squad to go to Australia.”

Farrell was keen to stress that the coaching group will be keeping a close eye on games during these latter stages of the club season, as injuries are unfortunately part and parcel of not just a Lions tour itself but the build-up period before boarding the plane.

For those players hoping to still be involved at some stage, the Wigan man’s message was simply, ‘For everyone who has the ambition, keep fighting and stay fit’.

Not making the trip after initially been selected for the Lions is unfortunately too common a tale, with Andrew Porter and Justin Tipuric the unlucky ones in 2021. Tour captain Alun Wyn Jones was also sidelined before making a remarkable recovery from a dislocated shoulder.

The last time the Lions had a ten-match schedule as they do in Australia, they took a 41-man squad to New Zealand in 2017. Farrell has left the door open for some additions, saying there are ‘a couple of spots open for us during the track if and where needed’.

“We’ve left ourselves some wiggle room to be able to see how people progress because there are a few guys that are trying to play back into fitness form, etc., you know,” he said. “So we’ll see what we’ve got and if or when that’s needed, we’d like to call them.

“Obviously, it depends what we need. Do we need a blend of a player that can play a couple of different positions? Is there a player who’s carrying a bit of an injury and might need to manage it within training?

“Is there a guy that might be over for three weeks, but he’s definitely worth taking? Is it leadership that we need? We’ll see.”

Farrell and his fellow coaches have been closely monitoring the improved form of the Australian teams in the Super Rugby Pacific competition. The ACT Brumbies and the Queensland Reds – sitting third and fourth respectively – are currently on course to make the qualifying finals.

There are a couple of crunch Australian derbies this weekend, as the Western Force and the NSW Waratahs try to boost their hopes of a top six finish with four rounds of the regular season remaining.

This comes on the back of Joe Schmidt’s Wallabies beating both England and Wales last November, and finishing just three points behind Ireland in their final Test of the calendar year.

“I think everyone can see with the Autumn (Nations) Series, the improvement there, and then the flow of Super Rugby of how the club sides over there have progressed and are challenging for spots because the Lions is on the horizon. I’m sure about that.

“It just shapes up for what we all knew in the first place, that it’s going to be a hell of a tour. 2013 was exactly the same.

“I think with all the hype and all the tickets sold, and the sheer size of what’s going to happen when we get there, this is going to be a tour like no other,” he added.