Lions close ranks around injured Farrell

Jun 16, 2017 - 4:43 AM The British and Irish Lions have refused to comment on suggestions playmaker Owen Farrell may not be fit for next week's first Test against the All Blacks.

Farrell - England's first choice No.10 - suffered a minor thigh strain in training on Thursday, ruling him out of Saturday's clash with the Maori All Blacks.

He has been replaced in the matchday squad by Welshman Dan Biggar.

Farrell's injury is a grade-one strain, putting him out of action for up to 10 days - well beyond the Lions' first Test at Eden Park next Saturday.

The 25-year-old was considered a prime candidate for Test selection at No.10, given Irishman Johnny Sexton's sluggish form on Kiwi soil to date.

However, Lions assistant coach Steve Borthwick wouldn't have a bar of questions on Farrell's fitness on Friday, and declined to give a precise injury time frame.

"You can deal with the hypotheticals - I'll deal with what the facts are, and the facts are that we've got a game we want to concentrate on," Borthwick told reporters.

"The medical team are taking great care of him and he's in the rehabilitation program, so hopefully he'll be back - he'll get top-class care from them.

"He's an incredible professional."

On Thursday, Gatland backed Sexton - who struggled in the Lions' tour-opening win against the provincial Barbarians - to come right in Rotorua, having showed glimpses of his quality off the bench against the Crusaders last Saturday.

Gatland said the Leinster-based playmaker just needed more minutes under his belt, which is all the more important given Farrell's subsequent injury diagnosis.

"Johnny himself knows that his last two games before (the Crusaders) probably weren't his best games of rugby - for Leinster in that (Pro12) semi-final and in that first game against the Barbarians," Gatland said.

"He was down a little bit on confidence and he's got a little of his mojo back at the moment, so we wanted to give him a start."

Maori All Blacks boss Colin Cooper, meanwhile, said Farrell's absence was a boost for his side but backed Sexton and Biggar to be equally as dangerous.

Source: AAP