Owen Farrell made an immediate impact during the British & Irish Lions’ match against the First Nations & Pasifika XV, with tensions escalating just minutes into the Melbourne game. In his second appearance since being called up as an injury replacement, Farrell was at the centre of the early action. The England fly-half, who played at inside centre on Tuesday, quickly intervened when Scotland’s Darcy Graham was hit with a dangerous shoulder to the head by Triston Reilly, leading to a scuffle involving players from both teams.

Reilly received a yellow card for the illegal tackle after pushing Graham out of play, but not before Farrell stepped in to confront the Waratahs wing and defend his team-mate. The Saracens star’s reaction was quick and assertive, setting the tone and demonstrating why he remains a crucial part of the squad, despite some questioning his late call-up.

Farrell’s selection had caused controversy, particularly due to his limited playing time last season following an injury and the fact that his father, Andy Farrell, is the tour’s head coach.

However, the 33-year-old didn’t waste any time in proving his critics wrong. Farrell continued to be instrumental in the Lions’ dynamic opening, orchestrating the first try with a clever chip to Ireland’s Jamie Osborne. Shortly afterwards, Graham scored again, giving the visitors a 14-0 lead before he was forced to leave the field in tears due to a leg injury.

Reilly, after returning from the sin bin, managed to intercept a pass from Blair Kinghorn and score, narrowing the gap and adding to a frenetic first half where the Lions were visibly rattled by their determined hosts.

Despite the First Nations & Pasifika XV having the upper hand initially, Farrell stood out as an undeniable leader on the field, with Welsh and Lions legend Sam Warburton affirming his potential role in the remaining two Tests of the series.

“I’m going to pick up on something Will (Greenwood) said at the top of the show, where he thinks Owen will have minutes in this Test series – and I think he will,” Warburton stated on Sky Sports during the half-time analysis of the incident.

“I completely agree. We are going to look at some of the evidence from today’s game from why that will be justified. Just when the game is getting a little bit loose, Owen puts a kick right up and you can see the territory gain. 

“The Lions get a 40-metre gain. The Lions had a lot of errors and they needed some territory, so he pops the ball through again. Puts more pressure on them.

“Then you’ve got this lovely first-phase option, where he can play as a first receiver, he can carry if he has to, he can just pop the ball nicely as well.

“So when the game is going a bit mad, he just has those touches of game management. And I think the coaches will be really encouraged from seeing those and that can be a useful trait to have in the latter stages of a Test match in either game two or three.”