Andy Farrell gave the British & Irish Lions’ Player of the Series Tadgh Beirne a telling off for reading social media criticism about himself before jokingly suggesting he was going to retire him next year .

Beirne revealed that he gets notifications when he is tagged in social media comments and many of those were questioning his selection ahead of the first Test in Brisbane but he silenced his doubters with a Man of the Match display as the Lions went 1-0 up.

Related: Chaotic third Test in Sydney had a 38-minute lightning delay, pitch invaders and multiple fights

The 33-year-old had not been up to his usual high standards in the warm-up games even after being handed the honour of captaining the side on multiple occasions but Farrell selected him at No 6 for all three Tests in a big show of faith. While Beirne couldn’t prevent the Lions losing the third Test 22-12 in shocking conditions in Sydney, he finished the game as captain after Maro Itoje and Dan Sheehan went off.

Andy Farrell Tadhg Beirne exchange

When asked if he’d read into the backlash (that both he and Tom Curry faced) before the opener, Beirne said: “It’s kind of hard to ignore it, isn’t it? You have people tagging you on social media.

Farrell: “Was you reading that?”

Beirne: “It’s kind of hard not to, because when you get tagged it comes up as a notification.”

Farrell: “Why are you getting tagged? Turn it off!”

Beirne: “It just pops up even if you are scrolling, so you just ignore it…”

Farrell: “You obviously didn’t!”

That exchange was followed by laughs in the post-match press conference at Accor Stadium before Beirne confirmed he does use negativity to gee himself up and knew he had to deliver the goods once he’d made it into the Test XV.

Beirne added: “It is hard to ignore because it is there in front of your face the whole time. But you do use it as leverage as well. I was unsure whether Faz was going to pick me or not, so when I did see my name on the board, I knew it was an opportunity for me but if I didn’t play well, he’d take me out there just as quick as he put me in there. I needed to step up, as did all of the players, and in the first Test we did that.”

The Lions were outplayed by the Wallabies, who restored plenty of pride in their jersey, as tries for Dylan Pietsch, Max Jorgensen and Tate McDermott vanquished the Lions’ hopes of a 3-0 whitewash.

Farrell was pressed on whether he would be open to coaching the Lions again in New Zealand in four years’ time and while he chose to just reiterate his love for the concept rather than give a straight answer, Beirne quipped that he would fancy a third tour aged 37.

He said: “Again, everyone knows what I think about this concept and…

Beirne: “I’ll be there.”

Farrell: “You’ll be there, will you? At 37? You’re joking. I’m retiring you next year!”

The two will be reunited at Ireland in the autumn and Farrell confirmed his players will get plenty of rest after an arduous six weeks in Australia. “We look after our boys pretty well. And rightly so.”

Download the digital edition of Rugby World straight to your tablet or subscribe to the print edition to get the magazine delivered to your door.

Follow Rugby World on Facebook, Instagram and Twitter/X.