Injury blow for Farrell rocks Lions

OWEN FARRELL is struggling to be fit in time to face the All Blacks in next week’s first Test after injuring a leg in training.

The British and Irish Lions fly-half strained a thigh and has pulled out of tomorrow’s game against the Maori All Blacks.

Farrell is expected to play a crucial role in the Test series, which starts a week on Saturday, but Johnny Sexton will wear the No 10 jersey here tomorrow with Dan Biggar replacing Farrell on the bench. The Lions have resisted calling up cover but Farrell was sidelined for a month in 2014 with a similar injury and Sportsmail understands Scotland’s Finn Russell is next in line if it is deemed long-term.

Speaking before the injury, Warren Gatland said Farrell was going to be on the bench tomorrow anyway so the Lions did not reveal too much about their tactics.

‘We’ve got to make sure we’re not fully showing our hand,’ said the head coach. ‘We’ve got to keep some combinations back and keep the All Blacks guessing a little about what the final squad might be.’

Gatland added that Sexton needs to play more to boost his confidence. ‘Johnny needs more rugby and we’re building on that,’ added Gatland. ‘He was really good off the bench the

other day and the combination of 10 and 12 was pretty seamless. He was just down a little on confidence but he’s got a bit of his mojo back and we wanted to give him a start against the Maori.’ Lions skipper Sam Warburton has only been named on the bench and Gatland suggested there is a danger he will miss out in the first Test. Ireland flanker Peter O’Mahony has taken over the captaincy and Warburton faces an uphill battle to make the matchday 23 for Eden Park.

‘Sam’s well aware of the competition that is there at the moment,’ said Gatland. ‘One of the reasons we selected him as captain of the squad is that he is an absolute quality player but this tour isn’t about Sam Warburton, it’s about putting the squad first. ‘If he’s not involved in the first Test because of the performance on Saturday night he will fully understand that.’ The Lions have already lost fullback Stuart Hogg and, without Farrell’s goal-kicking, Leigh Halfpenny could become increasingly important.

But All Blacks coach Steve Hansen believes Gatland will soon turn to reinforcements and claimed they are needed to support a two-squad policy. ‘I think there is a clear difference between their two teams — their midweek team and their Saturday team,’ said Hansen. ‘There is definitely a difference in the way the two are performing. I think Gatland is about to bring a few extra players out to give himself the ability to play two squads. He’s at the stage where he wants to do that.’