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It would be tragic not to tour Australia: Farrell

It would be tragic not to tour Australia: Farrell

Perth Now2 days ago
Coach Andy Farrell has insisted that the debate over Australia's future as a British and Irish Lions tour destination is "insulting".
The Lions are seeking to complete a series whitewash when the rivals clash for the final time in Sydney on Saturday.
Australian rugby is facing significant challenges on and off the field and is the weakest of the three nations visited by the elite of British and Irish rugby, with South Africa and New Zealand completing the 12-year rotation.
Furthermore, there is growing support for the Lions to visit France because of the strength of their national side and club game, as well as the commercial possibilities.
The Wallabies answered their critics at Melbourne Cricket Ground by taking the second Test to the wire in an all-time classic before falling 2-0 behind in the series when Hugo Keenan struck with 51 seconds left.
When asked if Australia had earned the right to host another tour, Farrell replied: "It was never off the agenda, in my opinion.
"Every single team, country and province have their ups and downs but Australia - the sporting nation that they are - are always going to come back.
"Have a look at the year they've got coming up. Come the 2027 World Cup they're going to be a force to be reckoned with, 100 per cent.
"It would be tragic not to tour here. We've had a blast. To me its insulting to talk about it in that kind of way."
Farrell's success as Lions head coach - as well as his obvious passion for the concept - makes him overwhelming favourite to lead the next tour to New Zealand, but he is refusing to look beyond attending an Oasis concert at Croke Park upon his return home.
"Would I do this again? Give me a break would you! Let me get through Saturday. I have absolutely loved every single minute and I knew I would because I just love everything that the Lions is about," he said.
"Thinking about the future is not something that is on my mind until I get home and have a bit of reflection on the whole thing.
"I'm definitely going to Oasis and that's why I'm going home! I'll be taking a few friends. There are a few coaches here that are trying to get on the bandwagon."
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