Stadium announcer calls Lions players ‘Aussie', ‘Kiwi' and ‘South African'
Australia continued their attack on the British and Irish Lions' overseas-born contingent via the team announcement over the tannoy ahead of the match against the Western Force.
At the Optus Stadium in Perth, a number of players were described as 'Aussie', 'Kiwi' or 'South African' as the Lions team was announced to the crowd of 40,000.
The descriptions included:
'The Aussie at No 14, Mack Hansen.'
'Another Aussie at No 12, Sione Tuipulotu.'
'The Kiwi now Irishman, James Lowe.'
'At prop, the former SA schoolboy now Scotsman, Pierre Schoeman.'
The eight-strong foreign-born contingent in the Lions squad has been a major talking point in the build-up to the tour.
Wallabies coach Joe Schmidt labelled the Lions' midfield pairing of Bundee Aki and Sione Tuipulotu as a 'southern-hemisphere centre partnership' ahead of the tour opener against Argentina while David Campese called them the 'British and Irish and Pacific Island Lions' ahead of the Western Force game.
The selection of foreign-born players in Farrell's original squad sparked criticism from within Britain and Ireland, too.
Lions great Willie John McBride said their selection 'bothered' him, and after the additional call-up of tighthead prop Finlay Bealham – who was born in Australia – former England scrum-half Danny Care said their presence did not sit well with him.
Duhan van der Merwe, Pierre Schoeman, Aki, Lowe and Jamison Gibson-Park all qualify to represent Scotland and Ireland respectively via the residency law. At the time they qualified, that rule stipulated a stay of three years in the country they were switching allegiance to but has subsequently been extended to five years.
Hansen, Tuipulotu and Bealham all qualify to represent their respective nations and Lions on ancestral grounds.
The Lions lost their first match of the tour to Argentina in Dublin with their match against the Western Force the first on Australian soil.
They will play nine matches in Australia with three against the Wallabies to decide the Test series.
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
BBC News
24 minutes ago
- BBC News
Hull KR's Martin and Tigers' Horne facing long bans
Hull KR forward Rhyse Martin and Castleford Tigers hooker Liam Horne are both facing lengthy suspensions after being charged with Grade E offences in the past round of Super League players have been charged with unnecessary contact with a player who is injured or maybe injured, while Martin has also been charged with head contact in his side's win over Wakefield Trinity on 32-year-old was making his first appearance for the Robins since 27 February.A tribunal will now decide if the charges are proven. If they are, the pair could face bans of six games or more.
The Sun
2 hours ago
- The Sun
I worked 12-hour days as a roofer before becoming a darts star… there's no chance I would suffer from burnout
DAMON HETA vows he wouldn't get Premier League 'burnout' because he worked 12-hour days as a roofer in Australia! The Aussie admits breaking into the PDC's top four Order of Merit is his big target as he has ambitions of playing in the prestigious PL. 2 2 World No. 10 Heta reached the semi-final of the US Masters last weekend but was knocked out by Nathan Aspinall despite averaging 104 and thumping in the big fish. 'The Heat' has been in good form this year as he won Players Championship 13 and made the final of European Darts Open. Heta is confident burnout won't hold him back if he gets a Premier League call-up — claiming the grind of the PDC schedule is easy after years of back-breaking work on roofs Down Under. He told the Tops and Tales podcast: 'Yeah, I'd love getting into that top four and the Premier League. " I find myself pretty conditioned where I don't think I would be one to be burnt out. 'Players talk about burnout and playing too much. But I practice pretty much four hours every day, two here and two there minimum — sometimes even more. 'I always look back and think, you know what I did? I did 12-hour days, six days a week, roofing. 'If I can't chuck darts for 12 hours a day, you know what I mean? Because I can always compare it to back then.' JOIN SUN VEGAS: GET £50 BONUS He added: 'If I'm ever down about where I am or what I'm doing, I just think, you know what? I've come this far. 'I could be doing this or that. Man, I'm very lucky. I'm throwing darts for a living and I'm travelling. 'Even doing an exhibition — you get paid half decent to do an exhibition. 'People want to come see you for four or five hours to chuck some darts and have a bit of fun. Man, that's insane.' Former World Cup winner Heta boasts the fourth-highest checkout rate on tour at a tidy 43.13 per cent in 2025. Heta will return to action next week on the ProTour at the Mattioli Arena.
BreakingNews.ie
2 hours ago
- BreakingNews.ie
Tomos Williams a ‘shocking' injury loss as Lions turn to Ben White
Andy Farrell admits Tomos Williams will be a major loss for the British and Irish Lions after he was forced out of the Australia tour with a significant hamstring injury. Williams, one of only two Wales players picked by the Lions, will return home on Monday after Farrell revealed the damage incurred while scoring the second of his two excellent tries against Western Force on Saturday will sideline him for the 'medium to long term'. Advertisement Ben White has been called up from the Scotland squad that is currently in New Zealand to fill the vacancy and will arrive into camp on Monday, when he will be joined by Blair Kinghorn, who is now available after helping Toulouse win the Top 14 final. Scotland's Ben White reacts after scoring a try during the Guinness Men's Six Nations match at Scottish Gas Murrayfield Stadium (Andrew Milligan/PA) For Williams, it is a case of what might have been, as the reigning Gallagher Premiership player of the year had been outstanding in his two appearances on tour, placing him firmly in contention for a Test place against the Wallabies. 'It's shocking news for us all. We're not just going to miss an outstanding player – he played unbelievably well and it was some try that he was actually injured by,' Farrell said. 'We're also going to miss the bloke. We have only been together for a few weeks now but his character is everything you want to have in your group on a Lions tour. He's very popular and that makes it a little bit tougher. Advertisement 'Ben will be devastated for Tomos, like we all are. But at the same time, he's super excited. 'He obviously had ambition to get into the squad – as did many others who didn't get selected – so now he gets his chance.' Williams' withdrawal is partially offset by Jamison Gibson-Park's recovery from the glute issue that enables him to make his Lions debut against the Queensland Reds in Brisbane on Wednesday. Gibson-Park forms a half-back partnership with Finn Russell – a playmaking axis that was the pre-tour favourite to start against the Wallabies. Advertisement Full-back Hugo Keenan and replacement lock James Ryan will also make their first appearances for the tourists after recovering from their respective calf and quad injuries. Lions captain Maro Itoje returns to the second row after being stood down for the 54-7 victory over the Force, forming an engine-room partnership with Ollie Chessum. Ireland's Hugo Keenan during the Guinness Men's Six Nations match at the Stadio Olimpico, Rome (Domenico Cippitelli/PA) The Reds match begins a hectic spell of four games in 11 days leading into the first Test against the Wallabies, also in Brisbane, on July 19. 'Here we go now. This is proper touring. Games are coming thick and fast, so this is the exciting part of the tour for us,' Farrell said. Advertisement 'We've been outlining to the lads what the weeks are going to look like – not much training, actually, just out there on the field and plenty of mental preparation. 'But if you ask any player, what would they rather do? Be involved in big games, playing for the Lions, or training every day? I know which I'd rather do. 'We see it as a great opportunity for ourselves to be fast-tracking our ambition, our potential as a team.'
