Farrell’s Lions missed out on a whitewash but the head coach has been well liked by his squad and got a lot of bold calls right

The Lions were unbeaten through their first eight matches of the summer and came from behind to clinch the Australia series in the second Test, but fell to a 22-12 defeat in Sydney in their final tour outing.

Andy Farrell will be top of the Lions hitlist when they start the hunt for the man to coach them in New Zealand in 2029. Farrell, who oversaw the 2-1 series win in Australia, refused to rule out a return to the hot seat after his side’s 22-12 defeat to the Wallabies on Saturday in Sydney.