Many will disagree with Rob Kearney's Lions captaincy choice

Former Ireland star Rob Kearney is backing Owen Farrell to make the British and Irish Lions tour to Australia this summer and is convinced the Racing 92 outside-half would have been named tour captain if he was still playing in England.

Farrell quit Saracens to launch a career in Paris this season but injury has hampered his form, however, the former England captain has guided Racing 92 away from the relegation zone and can cement his place on the Lions tour by helping the club reach the European Challenge Cup final by beating Lyon this weekend.

With his father Andy, the Lions head coach, announcing the tour party on May 8, the semi-finals of the Investec Champions Cup and Challenge Cup are the final opportunities for players to press their claims for selection.

Who will fill the No.10 roles on the Lions’ three-Test tour of Australia remains one of the major talking point with Farrell joined in action this weekend by Finn Russell, whose Bath side face Edinburgh in the other Challenge Cup semi-final while in Dublin, there is a titanic Champions Cup semi-final that puts Leinster’s Sam Prendergast in direct competition with Northampton’s Fin Smith.

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British & Irish Lions

Australia

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19 Jul 25

British & Irish Lions

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Marcus Smith (Harlequins) and George Ford (Sale Sharks) can only watch as their rivals attempt to convince Andy Farrell they should be on the plane to Australia.

Kearney, a two time Lions tourist, is a big Farrell fan and is happy to make a strong case for both the ex-England captain and George Ford being chosen to take on the Wallabies. He told RugbyPass: “You would expect three No.10s would go and a utility back and I think Owen Farrell should go because he is a Test match animal and if he was still back in England I think he would be captain of the Lions team because he is an outstanding candidate for it.

“George Ford is playing unbelievable rugby and when I was playing that axis of Ford/Farrell was always the most difficult for me to defend in terms of picking which side the attack would be going. You would have to hedge bets and then one of them would make a late switch around the ruck. They have proved they can work very well together then you have Finn Russell, Sam Prendergast and Fin Smith

“If Andy is having an eye on Ireland chances at the next World Cup do you bring Prendergast on tour to come home a completely different player. Can he afford to do that? There are so many different conversations around the No.10 jersey at the moment.

“I have been very impressed with Fin Smith this season and I like the way he is just puts his head down and gets on with his business and he makes other people look good and that is what you want in your No.10. The red flag that Leinster will be discussing is Smith’s kicking, his cross field kicking and ability to see space on the edges and with a blitz defence there will be space for kick passes

“Lions selection is there (for players) and even if you are not thinking about it there is a little voice in your subconscious saying ‘I am still here!’ It does put a pressure on guys and that is when you see what players are made of and some thrive on it while others go into their shell. You learn a lot more about personalities and characters in these kind of big European games and that is what Andy Farrell and his coaches will be really looking forward to seeing this weekend.

As a former Leinster star, Kearney’s attention will be focussed on Champions Cup clash at the Aviva Stadium where the Irish province will attempt to keep their bid for their first piece of silverware since 2021 alive. They have been beaten in the last three Champions Cup finals but Kearney is convinced the addition of World Cup winning Springbok coach Jacques Nienaber to mastermind the defence along with Jordie Barrett (New Zealand), RG Snyman (South Africa) plus France prop Rabah Slimani adding their experience to an already formidable squad, can bring a trophy triumph.

Kearney said: “Jacques defence will be very important against a team like Northampton who are as good as it gets as a Premiership attacking force and it is in their DNA to stretch teams and really pull them apart. There is a real sub plot in terms of the semi-final battle with a superb defensive team coming up against a superb attacking team.

“It is all well and good saying you want to stress the opposition with your attack but as so many teams have found this year (playing Leinster) when you are under that extreme line speed pressure then it is difficult to do things you have been used to doing all season. You can certainly talk about layering onto the Leinster squad that defence and also the experience of players like Barrett, Snyman and Slimani.

“In recent years Leinster have come up short in finals and if you look at those games it has been about closing out the match or losing momentum in the last 20, 25 mins and you need reinforcements off the bench – real strong people making a massive impact. With those three players that is exactly what they have got and they have been great both on and off the pitch.

“I have been genuinely, unbelievably impressed with them and the hardest thing is coming into a new squad, a new city to live in and it takes a long time to bed into a new culture and pick up working relationships. How they have fitted in has been really impressive. Off the field they are three really great guys who have added to the culture and I know from talking to some of the backs they have learnt an awful lot from Jordie and being around him day-to-day.”

With so many Ireland and England internationals on duty at the Aviva Stadium the number of exciting head-to-heads is engrossing, including Jamie Gibson-Park against Alex Mitchell at scrum-half and Prendergast facing Smith, but one that is certain to warrant extra attention is the battle between Henry Pollock, the new back row sensation for Northampton, who takes on Josh van der Flier, the former World Rugby player of the year who has started to recapture the form that earned him that title.

Kearney added: “Josh had that remarkable season and won the world player of the year being head and shoulders above everyone else. During the Six Nations there was more of a quieter element to his performances and you could say that about a lot of the Irish players in the Championship this year. One of the great things about Josh is that his level of performance in the round of 16 (62-0 v Harlequins) and quarter-finals ( 52-0 v Glasgow ), showed he was back to his best.

“We are guilty in the media of talking about the new kid on the block and when someone bursts onto the scene it is exciting and that is exactly what Pollock has done and that is one of the fascinating head-to-head battles in the game.”

For Northampton, to give Pollock the opportunity to build on his growing reputation as a potential Lions bolter, their front five are going to have to somehow negate the power a Leinster pack that will be desperate to make the break down area a car crash to ensure slow ball for the opposition. It is an area Kearney acknowledges is weighted in Leinster’s favour and said: “When you are dealing with the size of the Leinster pack and the quality of those players, if Northampton have any ambitions of winning this game at all is it solely down to their front five their ability to give them not just quick ball but go-forward ball.

“That becomes more and more difficult against the Leinster line sped in defence where they suffocate you with two man tackles and the tackler is quickly back on his feet making a mess of the breakdown. The Northampton front five have the biggest job on the pitch and in terms of the outcome. We can talk about Mitchell, Smith, Fraser Dingwall and Tommy Freeman but if they don’t get any half decent quick ball then it is impossible for them to do anything with it.

“The Leinster players know that Freeman is in great form, a big, strong man and when you hit him that first time you have to hang on for dear life to pull him down.

“I think Leinster are favourites to win the competition this year with the defence much better and with the new guys adding impetus but sport does crazy things and so for Leinster is it all about getting through this game after getting a right scare against Northampton in the Cup last season.”

Rob Kearney is part of the Premier Sports team bringing all the action from the Investec Champions Cup semi-final between Leinster and Northampton Saints this Saturday. With a full-hour of build-up from the Aviva Stadium, join the Premier Sports team of Martin Bayfield, Pat Lam, Lawrence Dallaglio, John Barclay, Andy Goode, Miles Harrison, Ryan Wilson and analyst Ross Hamilton for this must-see international club rugby showdown. All the action starts at 4.30pm on Premier Sports 1. To watch visit www.premiersports.com .