Andy Farrell says he has his “fingers crossed” for Elliot Daly after the utility back suffered a potentially tour-ending injury in thevictory over the Queensland Reds.
Daly was taken to a Brisbane hospital for scans on a suspected broken arm but the head coach insists the British & Irish Lions do not have a looming full-back crisis with the first Test against Australia just over a fortnight away.
If, as expected, the 32-year-old Daly is ruled out of the tour it will leave the Lions reliant on two specialist full-backs, Blair Kinghorn and Hugo Keenan, who have yet to play a single minute on this tour.Kinghorn has only just arrivedin Australia having helped Toulouse win the Top 14 title while Keenan was ruled out of the 52-12 win over the Reds through illness.
It is hoped that both players will finally feature against the NSW Waratahs on Saturday, by which time Daly’s prognosis will be clearer. “He’s got a bang on the forearm and he’s going for an X-ray,” said Farrell. “We’ve all got our fingers crossed for him.” When asked if he might call up another full-back, however, Farrell replied: “No, we’ve loads of full-backs. Hugo will be OK tomorrow or the next day and Blair’s ready to go.”
While the Lions still have players such as Marcus Smith, Mack Hansen and Tommy Freeman who can all fill in at full-back, Daly’s all-round versatility made him a perfect bench candidate for the looming Test series. It could be, therefore, that Farrell will consider calling up a similar type of player such as Scotland’s Tom Jordan or Ireland’s Jamie Osborne.
Daly’s teammates, however, are also hoping for a miracle for a popular player on his third Lions tour who, remarkably, has featured in every one of the past 11 consecutive matchday squads the Lions have selected. “Elliot is a class teammate and a class player. He’s one of those effortlessly talented people,” said Maro Itoje, a colleague of Daly’s for both club and country.
“I’m pretty sure he could have been a cricketer. I’m pretty sure he could have been a golfer if he wanted to. I don’t know about football, but he’s a world-class rugby player, and he’s shown it time and time again, in Lions shirts, England shirts, and even Wasps shirts. It goes without saying that he’s an extremely experienced player but he’s also a great guy.”
Farrell, meanwhile, was happy with the way his side raised their game after a error-strewn start and is encouraged by the increasing competition for places in certain positions. “I was pretty impressed with most of those players who had a second chance today. That’s exactly what we want to see, a reaction. Maro was obviously one of them, I thought Jac Morgan was everywhere. Bundee Aki was a lot better, Jack Conan looked strong. I suppose what I’m trying to say is that’s exactly what we want. The competition’s started and there’s reactions all over the place. Long may that continue.
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“Time on the pitch is our best friend at the minute, isn’t it? The games are coming thick and fast, so we’re all learning through the games and not through the training. If you can’t get excited about that, you’re on the wrong tour. It’s all about preparing and getting to our best. Winning matters but it’s about getting this squad to its potential come the first Test.”
The Reds head coach, Les Kiss, meanwhile, generously praised the Lions and said the Wallabies will struggle to find many obvious weaknesses. “There’s not going to be many, that’s for sure,” said Kiss, who will succeed Joe Schmidt as Wallaby supremo next year. “You’ve just got to find a way to turn them and have the discipline not to give them easy ball in your half.”