Rugby-Wallabies can take pointers from Brumbies' loss to Lions: Larkham

The Star

10-07-2025

MELBOURNE (Reuters) -Pick an experienced flyhalf, mind Finn Russell and maybe cut down on contestable kicks. Such is Stephen Larkham's advice for the Wallabies to take down the British & Irish Lions.
Larkham's ACT Brumbies fell 36-24 to the Lions in their tour match in Canberra on Wednesday but Wallabies coach Joe Schmidt, watching in the crowd, will have been encouraged by the performance.
Though starved of possession and playing without almost all of their Wallabies, the Brumbies produced four quality tries against Andy Farrell's Leinster-heavy team and foiled them repeatedly with breakdown turnovers.
"The energy throughout the game from our guys was outstanding," Larkham told reporters.
"Hopefully we've shown the Wallabies coaches and players some areas they can potentially target."
As a former Wallabies flyhalf and coach, Larkham knows what it takes to beat the Lions.
He was part of the Wallabies squad that topped the Lions 2-1 in 2001. Twelve years on, he was assistant coach to Brumbies boss Jake White when they took down Warren Gatland's Lions 14-12.
On Wednesday, Larkham was full of praise for captain-scrumhalf Ryan Lonergan, who set up tries with hand and foot, and kicked cleverly to defuse the Lions' attack.
Larkham's first-choice flyhalf Noah Lolesio was never a chance to play having been drafted into Wallabies camp and the 25-year-old is now out of the Lions series after spinal surgery.
That has left Schmidt with a choice of inexperienced flyhalves or calling up an old warrior like James O'Connor or Bernard Foley into his squad.
Larkham suggested he would err on the side of experience if it was his decision.
"You need a 9-10 combination who don't get fazed when the pressure comes on," he said.
"There's options there. I think part of me would like to see development for the future in that space but equally I'd prefer to beat these guys."
AREAS TO TARGET
Assessing the Lions, Larkham felt the Brumbies had handled their number 10 Russell well enough, even if the Scotland pivot was instrumental in most of the Lions' five tries at Canberra Stadium.
Still, he warned Russell would only get more comfortable as the tour went on.
"He's a quality player, a class player. He's only going to get better the more he plays against Australian teams in these conditions," he added.
Some things had not worked as well as Larkham had hoped, with the Lions sturdy under the high ball -- apart from the first minute when hooker Dan Sheehan was penalised for obstructing a player, opening the door for the Brumbies' first try.
A short kick from a goal line drop-out on the cusp of halftime proved especially costly as it was turned over by the Lions who promptly scored a try.
"We had a bit of a tactic there putting contestable kicks up and they handled them pretty well. So (Schmidt) might learn a little bit out of that," said Larkham.
A slew of untimely injuries and a last-gasp win over Fiji have done little to inspire confidence in the Wallabies' chances against the Lions but Larkham was not buying into the gloom.
He said Brumbies and Wallabies loose forward Rob Valetini, who was ruled out of the Fiji test with a calf problem, was a quick healer and would be an important player.
While the Lions' scrum has mostly dominated Australia's provincial sides, Larkham said the Wallabies' Mike Cron was among the best scrum doctors going around.
"Joe's very smart. The crew he's got with him are very smart and they'll identify some areas they can target."
(Reporting by Ian Ransom in Melbourne; Editing by Peter Rutherford)