Australia coach Joe Schmidt has responded strongly to a “warning” from the British and Irish Lions that he must release players back to Super Rugby sides for tour games, saying his plans abide by the tour agreement and state sides will be well-stocked with Wallabies players.
The Lions adopted an aggressive stance on their very first day in Australia on Monday, when chief executive Ben Calveley told media in Perth that he expected Schmidt to continue releasing Wallabies players from his Sydney-based camp for the tour matches ahead of the three-Test series next month.
Schmidt has said he plans to “quarantine” a group of around 25 players to prepare for a Test against Fiji in Newcastle on July 6, and to ensure they won’t be injured ahead of the Lions Test series thereafter.
After naming a Wallabies squad last week, Schmidt left five squad members in Perth to play for the Force against the Lions on Saturday.
Calveley welcomed the strength of the Force side but said he would continue to press RA boss Phil Waugh to ensure Wallabies players are also released for games against Queensland and NSW, as per the tour agreement.
In a press conference where Calveley also spoke about the Lions’ willingness to play in other areas like Argentina, America and France, the threat of Australia losing its status as a destination for the lucrative Lions tours appeared to be attached.
“The agreement is very clear: it says that Test players have to be released to play in fixtures leading into that series,” Calveley said.
Alton Walley performs a dance for the British & Irish Lions squad in Perth.Credit: Getty Images
“That is our expectation, it’s really important that these games are competitive. It’s not just for a performance standpoint – the players do want to test themselves and build towards the Test series – but it’s also right for the fans, partners and broadcasters who are all expecting competitive fixtures, and for the rugby-loving public. That would be their expectation as well.
“We’ll play the game at the weekend and will carry on having discussions with Phil Waugh and take it step by step.”
Schmidt responded on Tuesday by saying he had read the tour agreement and would be doing his best to release players to state sides.
But he also pointed out the Lions would not be fielding the same 23 players in every game, and it would be unreasonable to expect front-line Wallabies would be released to play in the week before they play a Test against Fiji.
“There’s some serious plate spinning at the moment, trying to get ready,” Schmidt told this masthead.
“The ambition is there’ll be some going back to the Reds, and some going back to the Waratahs.
Lions captain Maro Itoje at a welcome ceremony in Perth.Credit: Getty Images
“But in reality, the Lions have got their squad. Are they going to play their best team every week? That’s unlikely.
“So are we going to play all the same players every week? I’m not sure whether (coach) Andy (Farrell) was part of that discussion or whether it was just coming from the CEO, but I’ve read the tours agreement and it’s having the best intention to have the highest quality players available and playing.
“It’s not as specific as saying every Wallaby from a state or a club has to be available to play every game that the Lions come through on.”
The Lions threats are posturing that was also seen on their last tour in 2013, when Robbie Deans also came under pressure to release players from his camp to play for the Reds and Waratahs and Brumbies. The Brumbies beat the Lions in 2013, and some in Australian rugby believe the Lions may underestimate their rivals in 2025.
The Force will put out the strongest ever WA side on Saturday, and Schmidt pointed out the Reds will also contain several players who featured for the Wallabies last year, and could have easily been selected last week but for injury-affected seasons. Some could still be picked for the Lions series next month when Schmidt refines his squad.
“The Reds, you’ve got a lot of guys there who played for the Wallabies last year. And some of them are returning from injury and we wanted them to play anyway,” Schmidt said.
“So Lukhan Salakaia-Loto played a lot for us last year. Josh Flook and Josh Canham played. Seru Uru played for us. Angus Blyth played. And you’ve got exciting young guys like Joe Brial.
“So you start to tick those names off. There are a whole lot of guys in the group for the Reds who we had in a hub up there. Just about every player who will play against the Lions was in our wider squad.
“So there may be, depending on how we get through these few days of training, there may be a couple of the Reds who go back from our squad again. So I think we’re working really hard to enter into the tours agreement in the most positive way we can.
“And we play Fiji on a Sunday and the Waratahs play on a Saturday night. So it’s not like you can play Saturday and Sunday night against a team like the Lions. It would be counterproductive.”
