Questioning Australia's future as Lions opponents is ‘insulting'
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.
Our team for Saturday's third Test in Sydney! 🦁#Lions2025
— British & Irish Lions (@lionsofficial) July 31, 2025
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.'
Ryan replaces Ollie Chessum amid praise from Farrell for the 'venom' he shows when taking on the unglamorous work up-front, while Kinghorn has been preferred ahead of James Lowe thanks to his 'unpredictability' and the strength of his aerial game in what should be wet and windy conditions at Accor Stadium.
But Farrell's warmest words were reserved for those players who had not participated in the series yet, having fully embraced the task of preparing the Test team to face the Wallabies.
'It actually touches you. It touches you in the sense of how much it means to them,' said Farrell, who by Saturday night will have used 27 players in the three matches against Australia.
'The ones who were celebrating most on Saturday night were the ones who hadn't put the shirt on. That says it all.
'We all came together from day one and said 'the only thing that matters is the squad and that's it, full stop'. So we've all been in this together from day one.'
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.
Time for the final push 🦁#Lions2025
— British & Irish Lions (@lionsofficial) July 31, 2025
'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.'
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Daily Mirror
5 minutes ago
- Daily Mirror
F1 stars discuss which teams they could join in secret chats away from prying eyes
Carlos Sainz has been around the block in Formula One and is certainly well in tune with the rumour mill surrounding the sport, which he opened up on in a recent podcast appearance Carlos Sainz admitted there is a location where Formula One stars secretly discuss their future. The Williams star has driven for five teams in the sport so far and is not certainly not a stranger when it comes to speculation about a seat on the grid. Currently in the midst of his first season with the British team after he was replaced at Ferrari by Lewis Hamilton last year, he's been partnered up with Alex Albon but has endured a tricky campaign with just 16 points to his name after 13 races. Sainz's departure from Ferrari came as a shock to the F1 world, especially after having a career-best year in 2024 where he finished fifth in the Drivers' Championship standings with 290 points, just two behind McLaren's Oscar Piastri. However, a chance to acquire the seven-time world champion was an opportunity the Prancing Horse simply couldn't turn down. Speculation surrounding where Sainz would race next was strife and during an appearance on The High Performance Podcast, the 30-year-old said he had discussed his future with Albon before signing with the Grove-based team. "I already knew Alex," the Spaniard said. "I had talked with him in the paddock. I remember a few times like, 'Are you coming or not?' I was like 'Probably, I think so.'" Sainz then told Jake Humphrey that the drivers' parade, when the stars of F1 are taken around the track on a truck before a race, is an ideal place for the racers to speak about their future away from watching eyes and ears. He continued: "We always have those kind of conversations in the drivers parade. If it's silly season, we talk a bit about silly season and I think everyone at the time was asking me, 'Where are you going, what are you going to do?' and I must have talked with him about it." With Sainz in a lowly 16th place in the standings, Albon sits eighth with 54 points to his name, just nine behind Mercedes ' Kimi Antonelli. While the Williams pair look to enjoy a friendly relationship, the 'Smooth Operator' admitted they have no qualms about going to battle on the track. "Don't underestimate that even Alex and myself when we put the helmet on, we want to beat each other as much as any other team-mate in the grid," he added. "It's just when we take our helmets off, we sit in that meeting and we give feedback about the car. "A good thing that we managed to do is leave the ego aside, leave your personal interests aside and say, 'How do we make this car quicker as soon as possible?' For that, I'm more honest than I would be with him or other team-mates about what I feel on the car and he's more honest with me on the past of the car and where the car has ended up. Sainz also opened up about feeling rocked by Ferrari's decision to replace him with the Brit. Admitting that he believed he was set to remain with the Italian team for the foreseeable future, it was a phone call that let him know of Frederic Vasseur's decision to part ways with him that left him "completely shocked." "I received a phone call and I suddenly received the news," he explained on the podcast. "I was completely shocked. I went from believing I was going to be in Ferrari for a while to, 'What am I going to do now?' "It never occurred to me that that could happen." When asked whether he was given any reason over his departure, he answered: "No, not really. There weren't many reasons. I'm not going to go a lot into the detail of those conversations. "But I was like, 'Okay now it's my time to shine and to prove to everyone what I'm worth. It's the most important moment of my life now.'"
BBC News
5 minutes ago
- BBC News
'Heart of Gold'
Australia's third Test win over the British and Irish Lions made for front and back page to the Sunday Telegraph in Australia, Wallabies lock Will Skelton "was a titan among mere mortals" and in a half-time interview said: "We're not gonna take any itshay".
Telegraph
35 minutes ago
- Telegraph
Helena Rowland is rugby's most versatile player
John Mitchell hailed her as 'Miss Versatility' in the week and Helena Rowland sure enough lived up to that tag during England's World Cup warm-up rout against Spain. Rowland could be England's secret weapon this World Cup, given she epitomises the very definition of a utility back. A finely balanced runner, she has enjoyed a nomadic life in the Red Roses' back line, rocking between fly-half, both centres and full-back during her career. That theme continued in a glorified training session against Las Leonas at Welford Road, where Rowland marked her first Test start on the wing with a 43-minute hat-trick in the 97-7 thumping. The strength of her performance underlined why she is such a crucial part of Mitchell's contingency planning should injuries arise during the World Cup. The Red Roses head coach has even indicated that Rowland will provide back-up as a fourth scrum-half for the tournament, with nine being the only position she is yet to cover in an England shirt. That means she can cover the entire back line. 'She's probably the most valuable person in the team,' said Mitchell in the build-up. 'She's probably the first player in the 23 in my view. She's an outstanding rugby player. I'll always tend to think around where I can fit her into the group. She's competing in a lot of positions which are three deep, so that's the challenge for her. The tournament is going to raise injuries, so you have to have the ability to bring up a team-mate and say, 'You're in'.' In an illustration of her adaptability, Rowland shifted to fly-half after her hat-trick heroics when Zoe Harrison, who had enjoyed a stellar display, was replaced. England went on to score 35 more points with her pulling the strings at 10 to close out a near-flawless performance for the Red Roses, which was overshadowed by Marlie Packer's red card. 'It was a chance to go out there, run and have a bit of freedom. I enjoyed it out there, whether or not it will stick, it was a fun run out,' said player-of-the-match Rowland. 'I don't score that many tries so to get three in a game is always nice. We put some nice stuff out there, from off the training park. There's still some stuff to fix up, as we knew there always would be. It's the first game after quite a long time. It was enjoyable out there and we've got to focus on next week now.' It was no coincidence that England found great joy down Rowland's flank, where she shone with her industriousness and intrepid footwork. It took less than 10 minutes for her to open her try-scoring account from out wide, beating Claudia Pena and darting over in the corner. But it was her hustling on the edges which was most impressive. The wing can be a lonely place for first-timers, but Rowland passed her test with flying colours. After 10 weeks of gruelling pre-season training, she looks more robust than ever and her physicality in the contact was self-evident. She made vital metres down her wing after gathering a tricky pass from Meg Jones in the build-up to Packer's try and made important yardage moments later for Jess Breach, who finished off a lateral English attack. She was on the scoreboard again when Harrison threw an exquisite pass to her for an easy dive over and she extended her highlights reel towards the end of the half when she evaded at least four Spanish shirts. Rowland duly completed a trio of scores after the break, combining astutely with Maddie Feaunati after some great athleticism from Jade Shekells, which signalled the end of stint on the wing as she shifted to fly-half. Mitchell has spoken about her exemplary attitude in being a shape shifter, and she slotted into the role seamlessly. For all of Rowland's sparkle on the wing – and England's 15-try rout – we should not read too much into this Spanish inquisition. Las Leonas, who were missing key Harlequins prop Laura Delgado, are ranked 13th in the world and will feature in next month's tournament for the first time since 2017. Aside from being held up over the line after half an hour and a moment of magic from Pena – the Harlequins full-back who snake-hipped her way through England's defence – they never properly troubled the hosts. The Red Roses know much spicier tests lie ahead.
