Australia release two Reds players to face Lions
Western Force v British and Irish Lions
Date: Saturday, 28 June Venue: Optus Stadium, Perth Time: 11:00 BST Coverage: Live text commentary on the BBC Sport website
Centre Hunter Paisami and hooker Matt Faessler have been released by Australia to play for Queensland Reds against the British and Irish Lions next week.
However, six other Reds players - including Wallabies captain Harry Wilson and key back row Fraser McReight - have instead stayed with Australia to prepare for their warm-up Test against Fiji on 6 July.
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Head coach Joe Schmidt's decision to allow Paisami and Faessler to return to the Reds for the match on 2 July follows tension over whether the hosts' big names will be allowed to play against the Lions for their Super Rugby sides.
Lions chief executive Ben Calveley had warned holding back Test players for the fixtures was contrary to an agreement with Rugby Australia and risked the tour being devalued.
However Schmidt has argued it is counterproductive to release all Wallabies back to their provincial sides as he attempts to prepare for the three-Test series.
He also pointed out the Lions will not put out a first-choice line-up for every match, with a Test team and midweek side - which will comprise fringe squad members - invariably emerging.
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Calveley and Rugby Australia counterpart Phil Waugh met on Wednesday to discuss the issue, before Schmidt opted to release Faessler and Paisami.
Fly-half Ben Donaldson, who will stay in the Wallabies camp instead of playing for Western Force on Saturday against the Lions, admitted it would have been "awesome" to play for his Super Rugby side in the tourists' first match on Australian soil.
Donaldson has 16 caps for Australia since making his debut against Italy in 2022 [Getty Images]
"Yes and no," he said when asked if he regretted not being able to turn out for the Perth-based side.
"Obviously it is out of the players' control - we do what the coaches want, we get the schedule and we come into camp.
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"There are four Force boys here [retained by the Wallabies], five back there, so there is a good share back there ready to rip in this weekend.
"It would have been awesome to play - any game you get to play against the Lions is pretty cool - but we are in camp, preparing for Fiji next week and we are really excited to watch the Force boys play at the weekend."
Donaldson is one of three fly-halves in the Wallabies squad, competing with Tom Lynagh to back up first-choice Noah Lolesio. If selection goes against him, he could miss out on facing the Lions at all.
Force finished ninth in this season's Super Rugby Pacific table, the lowest of any of the Australian sides.
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"Yeah, they will win I reckon," Donaldson said with a smile when asked about the outcome of Saturday's match.
"It is an awesome experience for them and a great challenge, you saw the Brumbies win 12 years ago so it is not impossible."
Lions assistant coach Andrew Goodman said he expects all the Super Rugby sides to raise their game considerably for a meeting with the Lions that only comes around once every 12 years.
"If you watch a Force team or a Reds team during Super Rugby, it's not an indication of what you're going to get against a Lions team," he said.
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"It's a once-in-a-life opportunity for most of those guys, so the level of intensity is going to be through the roof."
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