I just wanted to know what you thought about Jamie Osborne being called up to step in for Blair Kinghorn.
It makes perfect sense. I watched Jamie’s first start for Ireland, I think it was out in South Africa last year. They won, and I thought he was brilliant.
I’veactually tracked him across the last few years for Leinster, and his ability to play not just as a centre, but as a 15, makes him such a versatile player.
Bringing Jamie in feels like a like-for-like replacement for Elliot Daly. He’s someone who’svery good in the air, and a good counter-attacker. Obviously he has a brilliant rugby brain on him, and he has an enormous left boot as well. It makes perfect sense.
What do you think about bringing Owen Farrell onto the bench?
There’s no point bringing him, or any other players, if you’re not going to play them. I’m not surprised that he’s on the bench, and I think he’ll be getting some good game time tomorrow morning.
A fully fit Owen Farrell can make a difference to any side. Of course, we’ve seen that he’s not had the season that he would have liked in Paris.
It’sprobably the first time in his career that he’s kept getting interrupted with injuries, most recently his concussion.
A fully fit Owen Farrell, though, when he’s at the peak of his powers, he can make the difference to any side. He’s a four time British and Irish Lion,he’s got a wealth of experience.
So do you think Saracens are going to be the right club to get him back to his best?
Absolutely, it’s the right place. Saracens is his home.
I think when they announced his return, it was, ‘Return of the King’, and that’s fair, because he’sprobably the greatest Saracens player in the history of the club.
He's a force of nature, he’s a world class player, he’s always the one driving standards up. The amount of clutch moments that he’s provided Saracens, it’s almost countless.
I mean, he’s won the Premiership loads of times, the European Cup too. He’s going to slot straight back in.
And do you think there's something about Paris compared to the south of France because Brits are kind of famous for liking the south of France and they're sort of famous for struggling maybe with Parisian culture a bit more.
I don't know. I've not played in France, so I’m not really able to pick out the difference between playing in Paris and playing in the South of France.
I can tell you that the weather is obviously better in the South of France, so maybe that helps, but that’s the extent of my knowledge.
With Racing 92, they’ve got a deep history of having world-class fly-halves. You go back to Jonny Sexton, Dan Carter, and now Owen Farrell. They’rea highly ambitious club, and not just a great club, but a phenomenal brand as well. I am not sure why it didn’t work out with Owen.
What would you say the key objective is for the Lions in their match against AUNZ XV? I mean obviously it's a win, but is there something they need to show?
I think we've seen them have some brilliant moments and it's now time for them to show that brilliance, and real dominance against a big and tough team like the one they’re playing this weekend.
They’re coming up against a big and physical side this weekend. It’s going to be a tough, a stiff test, but I’d love to see them dominate.
I want to see the best of them for long periods of the game and see them impose themselves. Test matches are won from doing the basics at a world-class level and building on that. Whether that’s their set-piece defence, their connection in attack, or asserting a level of pressure that we’re used to seeing from the British and Irish Lions when they are at their best.
PRIME CASINO
Join Prime Casino and embark on your journey with a choice of welcome offers,exciting promotions, innovative featuresand one of the biggest selections of online casino games available. Transcend the Ordinary with Prime Casino – where exceptional experiences await!
