Today's rugby news as Lions warned of 'public punishment' and team land with two big concerns
The latest headlines as the British & Irish Lions arrive in Australia
British and Irish Lions' coach Andy Farrell (L) is greeted by fans upon his arrival at the Perth International Airport
(Image: AFP or licensors )
These are your latest rugby headlines on Monday, June 23.
Lions warned of public punishment
Australian coach Matt Williams has warned the British and Irish Lions that they could be "publicly punished" if they approach their three Test series against the Wallabies with any sense of entitlement. Less than a year ago, the merits of the 2025 tour were being questioned, with many in the game arguing that there would be little to no competitive edge after Australia were unceremoniously dumped out of the 2023 Rugby World Cup.
Led by Eddie Jones, that campaign in France saw them knocked out in the pool stages for the first time ever, with their dismal run of results including a humiliating 40-6 defeat at the hands of Wales. Sign up to Inside Welsh rugby on Substack to get exclusive news stories and insight from behind the scenes in Welsh rugby.
However, under the guidance of Joe Schmidt, and with the arrival of dual-code poster boy Joseph Suaali'i, Australia have shown marked signs of improvement and beat both England and Wales during last year's autumn internationals, as well as coming close to upsetting Ireland in a narrow three-point defeat.
While the tour has still been questioned by some, former Scotland boss Williams has reinforced the idea that the rugby union landscape in Australia has changed and the Lions should not just expect to win the series.
Writing in his Irish Times column, Williams said: "Those in the north need to understand that there have been sweeping changes since [the 2023 Rugby World Cup]. With former players Daniel Herbert as chairman and Phil Waugh as CEO, Australia have competent leaders with a high rugby intellect.
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'For the first time in two decades, Australian rugby has changed for the better. While there remains a long and rocky path ahead, the game in Oz is moving forward.
"Resilience is a word that gets tossed about far too easily, but across the last 18 months, I have been astounded at the resilience within Australian professional rugby ranks."
He added: 'While it will take a decade for the full effect of the long-term planning to take effect, the elite end of the game is recovering far quicker than I considered possible. It is recovering to the extent that the Wallabies are capable of calling on a very strong 23 players.
"With the expected return of a number of Australian players from France and Japan, who were unavailable in recent seasons, and the stardust that Joseph Sua'ali'i will provide, the Wallabies will have vastly different personnel than the World Cup of two years ago.
"More importantly, the Lions will face a contest far more ferocious than many in the northern hemisphere are predicting. Any sense of entitlement from the Lions will be punished in a very public manner."
Farrell reveals concerns for duo
By Duncan Bech, PA Rugby Union Correspondent, Perth
The British and Irish Lions touched down in Australia with head coach Andy Farrell revealing there are lingering injury concerns over Jamison Gibson-Park and Hugo Keenan.
Farrell's squad arrived into Perth after a 20-hour journey from Dublin via Doha ahead of Saturday's opening fixture on Australian soil against the Western Force.
There is doubt over whether Ireland duo Gibson-Park and Keenan will be able to take part at Optus Stadium because of respective glute and calf problems, but Scotland centre Huw Jones has recovered from an Achilles issue and is available.
'We'll see how they pull up in midweek,' Farrell said of Gibson-Park and Keenan.
'Huw Jones is good, he's been training. He trained fully with us last week so he's up and running.'
Farrell confirmed that the team against Western Force will mostly be made up of players from Leinster, Bath and Leicester, who joined up with the Lions after last Saturday's United Rugby Championship and Gallagher Premiership finals.
There were no fresh injuries arising from Friday's 28-24 defeat by Argentina at the Aviva Stadium, with Farrell keen not to dwell on the disappointing tour send-off.
'We're here to build for what's going to be a fantastic Test series. We want to play some good rugby along the way,' he said.
'We'll find out more about each other as we keep on going. Of course we'll analyse what went on against Argentina and why, but that's all part of the journey – to understand where we need to go next.
'It's great to be here, this is what it's all about. We're here for a good time. Hopefully we can start this part of the tour off really well on Saturday.'
Aki airs midfield frustrations
Lions star Bundee Aki has spoken of his frustration at how his centre partnership with Sione Tuipulotu fared during the defeat to Argentina in Dublin on Friday.
The Ireland and Scotland internationals got their first taste of playing alongside each other in midfield but had a tough evening, as while there were encouraging signs with ball in hand, too often attacks fell apart with key passes not sticking.
Reflecting on the 28-24 defeat, Aki - who also toured with the Lions in 2021 - said: "We all know how Sione is as a player, he's class.
"The frustrating thing for me was I wasn't able to connect well with him. He's an unbelievable player and there's no excuse, we've got to get better as a partnership going forward.
"He speaks out loud, which is good because that's what we need, him being himself and I just feed off him and he feeds off me. So it's brilliant.
"We've just got to be better at it and keep learning together, the more we grow as a partnership and then as a group, it's going to be better and beneficial for the group."
British and Irish Lions' Bundee Aki
(Image: PA Wire/PA Images )
Both Aki and Tuipulotu more regularly play at inside centre, while fellow Lions tourists Garry Ringrose, Huw Jones and Elliot Daly are all more used to featuring at outside centre.
Tuipulotu has a very established partnership with Jones for both Glasgow and Scotland, while Aki and Ringrose are both familiar with each others' games having played alongside each other for Ireland.
"Whoever it is," Aki continued. "Garry, Huw, Elliot... as a unit we've got to make sure we gel together and try to get that cohesiveness fairly quick, because we need to be better."
Curry: There's no time to waste
By PA News Agency
Tom Curry has warned his British and Irish team-mates they can not afford to waste a moment in their search for respect as they target an immediate response to their defeat by Argentina.
The Lions arrived in Perth on Sunday smarting from the 28-24 loss at the Aviva Stadium that drew a scathing assessment from head coach Andy Farrell, who refused to blame the squad's lack of familiarity for the setback.
Western Force provide the first opportunity to make amends for the error-strewn opener and Curry, a tourist with the elite of British and Irish rugby in 2021, knows time is of the essence if the team are to be ready to face Australia.
"The thing with this sport and this tour is that it comes and goes so quickly. You've got to make the most of it,' the England flanker said. 'Every meeting and every session. Before you know it we'll be playing in Australia so we can't let moments pass us by.
'We speak a lot about respect with our own team-mates. We've only got six weeks together. Respect is so hard to earn but so easy to lose. It's really important that every session and meeting we turn up and push in the right direction.
'We have got to pull tighter, it's the only way. I feel like this group has taken so many steps off the field. I haven't got a bad word to say about anyone.'
Against Argentina the Lions showed ambition in attack and dominated at the scrum, but the vast number of handling errors, malfunctioning line-out and vulnerability in the air are areas of pressing concern.
Curry, who impressed outside of his own dropped passes, echoed Farrell's warning that a lack of time together must not be seen as a barrier to success on the tour.
'We've nipped that in the bud straight away. You can get to the sixth week and still make the same excuse. Six weeks is not a long time so we can't make that excuse the whole way through,' he said.
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'We need to take personal responsibility for our own performances and how excited we get on the ball.
'On the flip side, it's really exciting because we got our hands on the ball and got into great spots. But come on, we need to take personal responsibility for the ball when we have it.'
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