Lions tour: Injury and All Blacks superior handling giving Lions' assistant Andy Farrell defensive headaches

Owen Farrell and his father Andy in the background
Owen Farrell and his father Andy in the background Photo credit: Getty

Lions assistant coach Andy Farrell has much to ponder on ahead of the Test series against the All Blacks, not least the fitness of his son, first five Owen.

The Englishman is shaping up as the Lions' first choice pivot for the Tests, beating out Ireland's Johnny Sexton.

But that's providing he overcome the grade one quadricep tear that saw him ruled out of the Maori All Blacks game.

While Andy wouldn't be drawn on who would take the red and white number 10 come Saturday, he expected the 25-year-old to be fit in time for the first test on Saturday.

"It seems to have settled down. It was always going to need a couple of days rest and recuperation," Farrell said.

"Obviously they haven't trained yet though."

As the Lions defense coach, Farrell was under no illusions to what needed to be sorted out before the first Test.

Penalised several times for the defensive line moving up too quick against the Highlanders, Farrell was hoping to quickly rectify the issue.

"It was a little bit harsh but we've been looking for it [the offside line] and I'm still looking for it now.

"It is up to us to show a good picture. There's a correlation that has to happen from when the ball leaves the ground and where the offside line ends."

The All Blacks superior handling and their offloading skills will likely give Farrell nightmares ahead of the big dance. Shutting down is something they're attempting to learn very fast

"It's the unstructured stuff that they're fantastic at, especially from turnover ball."

"We talk a lot about our tackle entry and how effective we can be individually but also how the two man hit can work with the job of the assistant tackler to make sure he's spot on."

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