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Irish Times
22-07-2025
- Sport
- Irish Times
Australia's goal of restoring pride is a modest target, but the Lions are not here to be charitable
Pretty much every British & Irish Lions tour leaves a rugby legacy. As well as being a commercial beast and something of a sporting phenomenon - four countries coming together once every four years to be supported by 40,000 people on the other side of the world, for heaven's sakes - this 'legacy' thing comes with the territory. Ian McGeechan's 1997 Lions revived the concept and gave the Lions its launching pad in the professional era. This was largely thanks to winning the series and the impact of the Living with Lions documentary. That show gave unprecedented access to the squad's daily life and, with it, Jim Telfer's legendary Lions speech. The 2001 series in Australia was an epic, even if it ended in defeat to Rod MacQueen's brilliantly reconstructed reigning world champions. It reaffirmed the Wallabies' status as a superpower, but also proved inspiring for the core of the England side that would beat Australia in the World Cup final two years later. Ironically, Clive Woodward dipped into the English well a little too deeply in 2005 when the Lions were blown away in New Zealand . That All Blacks side had not won the World Cup in 2003, when mugged by an inferior but inspired Australia in the semi-finals. READ MORE Nor would the All Blacks do so in 2007 when, again, they were mugged by inspired opposition. France were the opponents in that unforgettable quarter-final in Cardiff. Yet, as Ronan O'Gara recently said in The Irish Times, that was probably the best All Blacks side of the professional era. Dan Carter's virtuoso 33-point performance in the second Test is the best by an outhalf in the professional era. Now, that's some legacy. The 2009 collision between a South African side that had conquered the world two years previously and a brilliant Lions side perhaps went beyond the line in its sheer physical brutality. But it was a true epic, managing to both reaffirm the Springboks as the leading side in the world and revive the Lions brand. The Boks may have made changes after winning the first two Tests, but that win in the tour finale in Ellis Park under Paul O'Connell's captaincy ended a run of seven successive Test losses. Opposing captains Kieran Read of the All Blacks and Sam Warburton of the Lions lift the trophy following the drawn series in 2017. Photograph:The revival has continued too, with the Lions emphatically sealing a Test series win with that 41-16 victory over Australia in Sydney in 2013. There was huge merit in drawing a series from one-nil down in New Zealand in 2017, which strengthened the argument that northern hemisphere rugby was now punching on an equal footing with the giant southern counterparts. True, the last two World Cups have remained the preserve of the Springboks but those aforementioned three Lions tours contributed to a narrowing of the gap between the two hemispheres - witness Ireland winning a series in New Zealand and drawing one in South Africa. Granted, the 2021 tour didn't leave much of a legacy. Without fans, it probably shouldn't have taken place. That took all the joy out of a Lions tour and the rugby wasn't much better. But that is what makes this tour all the more important. It is crucial that it leaves us with memorable rugby and images. This Lions tour is a little different from any of its predecessors in the professional era, primarily because it finds its hosts at its lowest ebb. The Wallabies have nothing like the celebrated names of a dozen years ago - Kurtley Beale, James O'Connor, Adam Ashley-Cooper and Israel Folau - never mind the 2001 vintage of John Eales, George Gregan, Stephen Larkham, Joe Roff et al. The hoped-for 'saviour' of Australian rugby, Joseph-Aukuso Suaalii, is probably the most celebrated player in the current Wallabies crop. However, that is in large part due to his achievements in rugby league and his acquisition has bucked the increasing trend of recent times. Pundits and supporters of rugby league and Aussie rules appear to be more dismissive towards rugby union than 12 or 24 years ago. They are more powerful financially and league now aggressively targets young players in rugby union, while Aussie rules is dipping more into the Pacific islands. [ Jamie Osborne among four Irish to start for Lions against First Nations and Pasifika XV Opens in new window ] Rugby Australia cannot really compete and is around Aus$50 million in debt. While the Lions were not conceived as a lifeblood for the southern hemisphere countries, this tour is expected to not just cancel that debt, but bring it Aus$50 million into the black. But just as importantly, in a rugby sense, the Wallabies need to demonstrate this can indeed be the start of the golden era. Rugby Australia chief executive Phil Waugh believes it is possible two years out from a men's Rugby World Cup in Australia. A women's World Cup will follow in 2029, and then the Olympics in Brisbane 2032. But what if the Lions reaffirm their supremacy of last Saturday in the second and third Tests and complete a convincing 3-0 series win? And what if that is followed by another last-place finish in the Rugby Championship and another pool exit in a World Cup, and one on home soil? The Lions will surely tour here again 12 years hence, but there is no long-term Tour agreement and who knows what the future might hold? Joe Schmidt is a great coach but as things stand, this does not look like a vintage Wallabies generation. In a sense, while it is a tad insulting to these Wallabies, the grand ambition which Henry Pollock revealed stacks up. By rights, the Lions should win this series 3-0 if they want to be considered even above the norm. The non-financial stakes are high over the next two Saturdays in Melbourne and Sydney. Ideally, it could be argued, the greatest legacy from this 2025 Lions tour would be to help provide a relaunch for the Wallabies and rugby union in Australia, while fulfilling the Lions' stated desire for greatness and a 3-0 series win. Alas, it almost certainly can't do both. Survey for Parents/Guardians of Young Rugby Players in Ireland The IRFU is seeking feedback from parents and guardians of children and teenagers who play amateur rugby. This short survey aims to understand how the new tackle height law is impacting their experience of the game and perceptions of player safety. Click here to complete the survey:
The Guardian
18-07-2025
- Sport
- The Guardian
Lions desperate for fast start in Test that will set the tone for Australia series
Whatever unfolds over the next three Saturdays this British & Irish Lions series will resonate more than its predecessor. Simply to see visiting fans in red jerseys wandering down Queen Street in central Brisbane is to be thankful the whole enterprise has a beating heart once again, in contrast to South Africa four years ago when a Covid-disrupted, spectator-free experience sapped everyone's spirits. Because a Lions tour is nothing without a human element, enticed back every four years by the fabled steepness of the challenge. 'This is our Everest, boys,' growled Jim Telfer back in 1997 and, as usual, the master coach was right. On only three occasions in the past 50 years has a Lions squad returned home triumphant and, for now, a series win remains the holy grail for the professional egg chasers of England, Ireland, Scotland and, if selected, Wales. As expectancy levels rise again, though, there is one nagging caveat which grows increasingly hard to sidestep. The Wallabies are currently languishing down at sixth in the World Rugby rankings and, consequently, nobody can recall a Lions squad being shorter-odds favourites anywhere, anytime. Beating Australia right now, some argue, would be less a case of scaling Everest than taking a leisurely amble along Bondi Beach. Even the Lions have been talking aloud about gunning for a 3-0 clean sweep and, in the process, creating a chunky slice of history. All their three series wins from their past 12 attempts have been by a margin of 2-1; it is necessary to scroll right back to 1974 to find a properly rampant Lions side who, in a four-Test series against South Africa, won three Tests and drew the last. All of which makes Saturday's first Test particularly significant. If the Lions romp to a 30-point victory, it will inevitably stoke the debate about whether they should look at touring elsewhere in 12 years' time. If, on the other hand, the Wallabies replicate their Twickenham boilover at England's expense in November, fresh existential questions may start to be asked about the Lions themselves: are they now an overblown vanity project whose raison d'être, in the fast-changing modern world, is fraying? So, no pressure. If a Lions series really is the pinnacle of the sport then, bluntly, the quality of the on-field action needs to justify the billing. The Lions may have shrugged off their pre-departure defeat to Argentina in Dublin but that result has been thrown into sharp relief by England's recent 2-0 away series win over the Pumas. Similarly, the Wallabies were on the brink of going down to Fiji earlier this month. Assessing the Lions' tour games in Australia so far has been equally tricky: five wins from five outings, 32 tries scored, nine against, top-drawer opposition conspicuously absent. There have been flashes of excellence but not quite enough to guarantee a happy ending once the real stuff kicks off at the atmospheric Suncorp Stadium. It leaves both teams holding out for a hero. And if there is one showman equipped to dominate the stage it is surely Finn Russell, the Bath and Scotland fly-half now auditioning to be the Lions wizard in Oz. Some great 10s have worn the red jersey down the years and Russell has his chance to join the fly-half pantheon. Sign up to The Breakdown The latest rugby union news and analysis, plus all the week's action reviewed after newsletter promotion Four years ago he was a late addition in South Africa, featuring only as a replacement in the final Test. Since then he has become a catalyst who regularly shapes games to his personal will. Operating flat to the gainline, seeing space no one else can, fizzing out wide passes, dinking on the money cross-kicks to his wingers … the 32-year-old has become the complete package. To the point where if he was wearing gold this weekend the bookies' odds would be much less definitive. And if that heaps still more pressure on the shoulders of the 22-year-old Tom Lynagh, making his first start for the land of his distinguished father, that is the harsh reality of elite Test rugby. Give Russell some quick ball, with his Scotland teammates Sione Tuipulotu and Huw Jones at his elbow, and the Lions really could ask some penetrating questions, with Tommy Freeman and James Lowe both ready to apply the finishing gloss. The Wallabies' biggest challenge, then, will be to cut the supply lines to both Russell and Jamison Gibson-Park, his equally sharp partner in crime at half-back. And the longer they can do so, the more they will fancy their chances. It is no point pretending the loss of the injured Rob Valetini, Will Skelton et al is not a blow but Joe Schmidt is invariably a man with a plan and the presence on the bench of some potentially lively impact replacements is no coincidence. The Lions' selection has been slightly more conservative, with the emphasis placed squarely on a forceful, physical start. History would suggest they need one; on their past three tours the widest margin either way in a Lions first Test has been five points. You also have to go back to 2001 and Jason Robinson sensationally skinning Chris Latham on the outside in this very city inside the opening three minutes for an example of a Lions team cutting loose from the outset. This one could be another slow burner unless, say, Joseph-Aukuso Suaalii can jump high to steal an early restart and set the tone for a more frenetic kind of contest. The Lions defence has been well organised so far but Suaalii's aerial ability is in another dimension. The Wallabies have also picked Jake Gordon at scrum-half for his tactical acumen while the new cap Nick Champion de Crespigny will be bursting to impress on the flank. If he goes well and Australia get over the line, brace yourself for the 'Champion the Wonder Horse' headlines. It all lends this first Test a distinctly series-shaping feel. In South Africa the Lions won the opener only to surrender the remaining two, a pattern that feels unlikely this time around. The onus, accordingly, is on Australia to channel the power and the passion of Midnight Oil at their finest and make one or two Lions eat their confident words. In that event all those bullish pre-series predictions will be blown away like so many discarded pie wrappers. Farewell to Bondi and welcome back to Everest the hard way. More likely is a tense initial tussle, at least for the first hour. But what if Farrell's team have been holding back their best? Or if the Wallabies cannot lay a glove on the artful Russell? Win the first Test well and, at the very least, the travelling sea of red will be up and roaring. At which point the idea of a 3-0 series outcome will morph from banter into a serious possibility.
