Grand Slam-winning Ireland boss Andy Farrell is the “perfect guy” to be the following British and Irish Lions head coach, in keeping with two-time vacationer Tommy Bowe.
Farrell has considerably enhanced his teaching status over the previous 18 months, clinching the Guinness Six Nations title on Saturday having led his aspect to the highest of the world rankings on the again of final summer season’s gorgeous collection win over the All Blacks.
Former Ireland and Ulster wing Bowe represented the Lions through the 2009 journey to South Africa and the 2013 go to to Australia.
And he believes Englishman Farrell, who served as Lions defence coach in 2013 and 2017, is the perfect candidate to spearhead the 2025 collection in opposition to Eddie Jones’ Wallabies following three excursions overseen by Warren Gatland.
“I think he would be a fantastic Lions coach,” Bowe instructed the PA information company. “He gets the ethos of it.
“He loves everything about the Lions and to have toured with him in 2013, he epitomises what’s great about it.
“He’s very much about working extremely hard on the pitch but also being able to have a laugh off the pitch and I think that’s what the Lions is. The last tour (to South Africa in 2021), I think unfortunately got away from that.
“I think the next Lions tour, it’s about bringing back the ethos of what’s special about the Lions and making sure that the players really enjoy every minute of it, and the supporters too.
“I think Andy Farrell would be the perfect guy to do that.”
Farrell is odds-on favorite for the position and has additionally acquired the backing of Gatland.
Having initially joined the Ireland set-up in 2016 as assistant to Joe Schmidt, the 47-year-old has absolutely emerged from the shadow of his revered predecessor after taking on following the 2019 World Cup.
Bowe has been impressed by Farrell’s progress since stepping up.
“I’ve always had huge respect for him,” mentioned the 39-year-old. “He’s a great character among the squad, a wonderful motivator of players.
“But it’s very difficult to go from the number two to the number one. It’s a completely different ball game and I did wonder if he could come out of the shadow of Joe Schmidt.
“Joe Schmidt is the most successful (Ireland coach) of all-time, it will be hard to beat Joe Schmidt in terms of the three Six Nations titles, one of those was a Grand Slam, beating New Zealand for the first time ever, and he was a controlling presence on the squad.
“I felt that to try and put your own stamp on it would be very difficult and Andy Farrell has managed to do that, and it took time.
“Of course there are question marks when any new coach comes in, there’s always going to be a bedding in period. But to see the way they’re playing now, I just love how they’ve evolved where the game is.”
:: Sage is the official insights companion of Six Nations Rugby and powered the Smart Ball through the 2023 Guinness Six Nations.