Lions set up camp in Brissie as Clarkson gets the call
Canberra and Adelaide weren't as cold as we'd been warned they would be but the temperature never tipped over 20°C during the Lions' pitstops there this week. So the sun in Brisbane is welcome.
Stroll across to South Bank and you get a sense of the energy of this big city.
Tourists mill about taking photos with the multi-coloured Brisbane Sign. A ferris wheel offers elevated views of the river, on which a massive party boat is gliding along with tunes pumping at 2pm. They love a Sunday session in Australia.
A couple of jet skis speed past. Runners, bikers, and walkers take advantage of the clean, wide riverside tracks that go on for miles. It's another thing they do well Down Under.
The skyscrapers loom high on the far bank, light bouncing back off their polished glass surfaces. Sitting in the warm sun, it is good to finally be in 'Brissie' for the Lions' first Test against the Wallabies.
There's still six days to go but everyone is happy to have reached this point. The build-up has been going on for years now but the last few weeks have provided the usual test of physical and mental durability for Andy Farrell's tourists. They were relieved to land in Brisbane today with the chance to actually unpack their bags, sleep in the same bed for a week, and find their favourite coffee spot.
The Wallabies have been here since earlier this week, with Joe Schmidt gathering his 36-man squad together following a few days off to freshen up after their narrow win over Fiji last weekend.
The Wallabies' squad photo in Brisbane. Alamy Stock Photo Alamy Stock Photo
The Lions have been criticised by some of the Australian media in recent days for not getting out into local communities enough. The Wallabies did that with their visit to the Queensland Children's Hospital School today.
It looked like being a low-key first evening in Brisbane for the travelling media until it became clear that there was something afoot in Lions camp again.
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It transpired that Andy Farrell had called up an 18th Irish player to his squad in Thomas Clarkson, who will join the group in Brisbane this week to provide another option at tighthead prop.
The Lions say that none of Tadhg Furlong, Finlay Bealham, or Will Stuart – their three tightheads – are injured, but rather that Farrell feels extra cover in this specialist position would be wise.
The feeling is that Farrell won't want to risk playing either of his two frontline Test tightheads in the midweek game against the First Nations & Pasifika XV between the first and second Wallabies clashes.
Clarkson has been in excellent form recently, starting all three knock-out games as Leinster won the URC, as well as making major progress with Ireland this season in winning his first eight caps.
The 25-year-old is a fine player who has shown his ablity against some good teams but his call-up has unsurprisingly caused grumbles of disapproval, particularly beyond Irish shores.
Having 18 Irish players, 14 of them from Leinster, involved in this Lions tour seems unjust in some people's eyes, given that those teams haven't been winning all before them.
There even appears to be a suspicion in some quarters that Farrell might be using this Lions tour as something of a practice run for Ireland's World Cup campaign in Australia in 2027, giving lots of his players and staff exposure to rugby Down Under.
Thomas Clarkson scores against Portugal on Saturday. Ben Brady / INPHO Ben Brady / INPHO / INPHO
But the reality is that Farrell is ultra-focused on winning this series against the Wallabies.
We know that Farrell doesn't waste time thinking about what people might say about him or what they do say about him. He just thinks about winning and backs his decision-making even if it results in disapproval on the outside.
Other coaches might have chosen someone other than Clarkson purely because of the concern about how his call-up would be perceived. Farrell doesn't think like other coaches.
Farrell would argue that he has picked the next best tighthead prop. Joe Heyes must have been close. He featured off the bench in all five Six Nations games this year, started for Leicester in the Premiership final, and was in the number three shirt for England's back-to-back wins over Argentina over the past two weekends. Heyes is 10 months older than Clarkson and has six more Test caps. Their CVs are similar.
The other name that has been mentioned widely is Asher Opoku-Fordjour, who trained with the Lions before they left for Australia. But that was when the likes of Clarkson and Heyes were tied up with club finals. Opoku-Fordjour is still only 20 and has three England caps. He hasn't yet done what the likes of Clarkson and Heyes have.
Scotland's Zander Fagerson was ruled out of this tour due to injury, while Wales have been on a dire run for a few years now and their tightheads haven't been able to shine.
So when Farrell decided he wanted an extra body at tighthead, it probably wasn't that tough a decision, particularly given that he doesn't care if people think he is showing favouritism.
The plain truth is that this was a toss-up between Clarkson and Heyes. It is not scandalous that Farrell opted for Clarkson.
Farrell backs his decision-making regardless of outside noise. Alamy Stock Photo Alamy Stock Photo
The Lions boss has turned to what he knows best in a few instances both in his squad and behind the scenes. That isn't too difficult to understand. Clarkson will be able to get up to speed quickly given that he knows how Farrell operates.
Yet there is a concern that with extra Ireland players being called in and such a strong Irish influence in the squad, knives are being sharpened, ready for the possibility that this series goes wrong for the Lions.
Farrell must be feeling some pressure with the Lions' favouritism. The Lions have rarely, if ever, faced one of the traditional three Southern Hemisphere giants when they're emerging from such a low ebb.
Farrell respects Joe Schmidt's side and they deserve that respect. Yet he must also be acutely aware that this opportunity is ripe. The Wallabies have clearly improved under Schmidt but they haven't been the force we've seen during former glories.
Some people would love to see him fail but Farrell will keep making decisions he believes give him the best chance of succeeding.
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