Welsh strength and conditioning expert Aled Walters was confirmed as part of the Lions' wider support staff in January, along with analyst Vinny Hammond, who works alongside Walters in the Ireland camp.

David Nucifora, who was named as the Lions' performance manager at the same time, worked with Ireland for a decade before taking on a role with Scotland in 2024.

Easterby said that the draw of working with a unique set of players convinced him to accept Farrell's invitiation, rather than stay on with Ireland for their summer fixtures, expected to be against Georgia and Portugal.

"To tour as a player and now as a coach, knowing the group of players that we have the potential of working with, is something that I can't wait to get stuck into," he said.

"A Lions tour also gives you the opportunity to work with people you haven't before."

Farrell will pick his playing squad on 8 May and the Lions will play Argentina in Dublin on 20 June, before their first game on Australian soil against Western Force on 28 June.

The first Test against the Wallabies will take place on 19 July in Brisbane, with the series continuing in Melbourne and Sydney over the following two weeks.

The Wallabies are ranked eighth in the world, below Ireland, England and Scotland.

However, they claimed an impressive victory over England at Twickenham during their recent autumn tour of the northern hemisphere and their four regional sides made a strong start to their Super Rugby Pacific campaigns.

Tickets for the series have sold fast with more than 500,000 people expected to watch the nine matches across six Australian cities. The second Test in Melbourne, staged at the MCG, is likely to be the largest ever crowd for a Lions Test with the venue capable of holding more than 100,000 spectators.