Farrell in 'really good place' to lead Lions again

Andy Farrell has put himself in a strong position to take charge of the British and Irish Lions in New Zealand in 2029, according to Lions bosses.

Farrell coached the Lions to a 2-1 series victory over Australia, winning the first two Tests but missing out on a whitewash after being overwhelmed 22-12 by the Wallabies in Sydney on Saturday.

Chief executive Ben Calveley says Farrell's strong track record with the Lions will be a factor when they come to choose their next head coach, for the series against the All Blacks in four years' time.

"He's put himself in a really good place," Calveley told BBC Sport.

"You would always take someone's track record into account and the fact that Andy has been successful, not just here but he's undefeated when you look at the two previous occasions he's been on the Lions tour as part of the coaching ticket [in 2013 and 2017 as an assistant].

"But we'll run a thorough a robust process and we'll see there where that takes us."

Farrell was non-committal when asked about the prospect of taking charge again in 2029, but said his affinity with the concept runs deep.

"I love everything the Lions is about and I have thoroughly, thoroughly enjoyed the last eight weeks," he said following the series.

"Four years is a long time between drinks."

The Englishman is due to return to his role as head coach of Ireland for their autumn Test matches after taking a sabbatical from the post to lead the Lions.

The 50-year-old has a contract with Ireland until the end of the 2027 Rugby World Cup in Australia.

Meanwhile, Calveley says there are no plans to move away from the traditional touring destinations of Australia, New Zealand and South Africa.

However, he admitted the Lions could face international teams such as Japan or Fiji before the Test series in order to bolster the tour matches, which were largely underwhelming in Australia.

"We are not looking to make any changes [to Australia, South Africa and New Zealand] at the moment," Calveley said.

"I think the way that we could build relationships with new countries is through the different parts of the tour.

"So we look at it in three ways: the pre-tour piece - the Argentina game in Dublin - the tour matches, and the Test matches themselves.

"What we could continue to do is play against new and interesting opponents in that pre-tour piece.

"You might be able to do some of that on tour as well, so can you bring in a Japan or a Fiji for example for some of those non-Test matches. And then you leave the Test series alone.

"So we are looking for new and interesting ways to configure the schedule. We'll have a look at many different options."