Pressure builds for Wallabies after Phil Waugh's declaration
SPOTLIGHT: The Wallabies must defy a gaping hole in their playing calendar and match the well-oiled British & Irish Lions in Brisbane to secure the fixture in future.
That’s the assessment of Rugby Australia (RA) chief executive and former Wallaby flank Phil Waugh, ahead of Saturday’s series opener at Lang Park.
The Lions have won all five lead-in games and are strong favourites to beat an Australian team that scraped past Fiji last week to jump from eighth to sixth on the world rankings.
Australia showed promise on last year’s European tour to offset a historically poor 2023 World Cup and partially dull concerns this Lions visit would be a mauling.
But close to the Test, the jury remains out with the injury to Noah Lolesio likely prompting coach Joe Schmidt to debut a fresh halves pairing in 22-year-old Tom Lynagh and veteran No.9 Jake Gordon to begin the once-in-12-year Lions spectacle.
Both men missed the Fiji Test with niggling injuries and haven’t played since early June and late May, respectively.
Australian teams have been in form and contending for Super Rugby titles in the build-up to the previous Lions Test series.
But that’s not the case in 2025, with one month passing since the Brumbies lost their semifinal.
That rust is amplified given Northern Hemisphere professionals can play about twice as often as their Super Rugby Pacific counterparts.
The Lions, who have played six games since June 20, have won just one of 12 series in New Zealand and four of 14 in South Africa, compared to seven-of-nine in Australia.
With France, Japan, Fiji and Argentina, who beat the Lions in Dublin last month, all making a case for involvement, there is no guarantee the traditional quadrennial Lions cycle will remain intact.
The Lions are targeting a rare 3-0 whitewash, and Waugh wants to see a battle on Saturday that quietens that chatter.
In justifying a tour that will bring RA great financial relief, he points to a 5-4 head-to-head record – and a 194-190 points aggregate – on the previous three tours that have all been locked 1-1.
“It’s really important – we’ve got to be competitive and perform,” he told AAP on Wednesday.
“It’s been a challenge; we know we don’t play enough rugby, but it was a good, tough Test against Fiji – that Fiji team can play – and they’ve been in training since Thursday getting ready for this.
“They’ve got to be up for it; it doesn’t come any bigger than this.”
Waugh was a ball boy during the Lions’ 1989 visit and, while missing Wallabies selection in the winning 2001 series, inflicted first blood as captain of the victorious Australia ‘A’ outfit.
The Lions’ style has changed since then, with the tourists willing and able to put the ball through hands and play at a quicker pace that has exposed Australia’s provincial sides and proved far too potent for a combined AUNZ outfit in Adelaide on Saturday.
“The intent and skill level in the north has changed a lot in the last 12 years,” Waugh said.
“They’re playing a lot more rugby than we are at the provincial level and they’ve got good skill level and capabilities.
“But ultimately, Tests tighten up; scoring tries is tough, defence will be important, it’ll depend on how it’s officiated, but it’s all about how the guys front up physically.”
Teams will be named on Thursday.
