Andy Farrell felt NSW Waratahs deliberately watered pitch to hinder Lions

By Duncan Bech, PA Rugby Correspondent, Sydney

Andy Farrell suggested the Allianz Stadium pitch had been deliberately watered to assist the New South Wales Waratahs as his British and Irish Lions toiled to an ugly 21-10 victory.

The Lions produced comfortably their worst performance of the tour two weeks out from the first Test against the Wallabies with Huw Jones’ two tries and an important touch down by Alex Mitchell among the few highlights.

Sydney was hit by a “bomb cyclone” earlier in the week, leading to heavy rain and gale force winds, but Farrell suspected skulduggery from the Waratahs in an attempt to even up the game.

And a conversation with Mike Catt, one of Farrell’s coaching lieutenants with Ireland who is now in charge of the Waratahs’ attack, appeared to confirm his suspicions.

“The pitch was very wet and I was asking Mike Catt after the game and he was laughing,” head coach Farrell said.

“I mean, that’s good tactics from them isn’t it? The ball’s slippy, the breakdown’s ferocious enough and the line speed is high octane stuff as well from them.

“I mean, he just laughed. Catty just laughed. We’ve seen that done plenty of times. I don’t know whether the pitch needed watering.”

When it was put to Farrell that Sydney had been hit by storms until Wednesday, he replied: “We know all that, but we have been here for two days now and it has been glorious. The pitch was OK and we are not complaining.

“It is good, isn’t it? That is what you would do if you are waiting for this type of game to come – it’s huge for all the clubs.

“We know what is coming and we have got to be ready for anything and able to adapt.”

The Waratahs laughed off Farrell’s concerns about the pitch, with captain Hugh Sinclair declaring: “See the weather on Tuesday? That sucked.”

 

Waratahs coach Dan McKellar added: “No, no, no. I’d too much to think about to be worried about watering the pitch. Andy was probably sunning himself in Brisbane on Tuesday.”

For all his gripes about the pitch, Farrell was quick to admit the Lions’ error-ridden performance against a side that fought hard in the air and on the floor was a bad day at the office.

“There’s a bit of frustration there. It’s nice to get a win but at this stage we’re trying to judge the performance a little bit more,” said Farrell, who had seen his tourists compile big wins against Western Force and Queensland Reds.

“We are disappointed enough with the amount of possession and territory that we had and how we dealt with certain situations.

“A different type of game but are we glad that’s happened to us? Yes we are because there are some good learnings that we need to learn quickly in regards to that type of game.”

The Lions head to Canberra on Monday where they will play the ACT Brumbies – Australia’s strongest Super Rugby franchise – two days later.

Farrell revealed that his son Owen Farrell is unlikely to be considered for selection until Saturday’s match against an AUNZ Invitational XV because of jet lag having only arrived into camp on Friday.

The 33-year-old can start training right away having passed all return to play protocols for the concussion he sustained on Racing 92 duty on May 4.