Lions warn Australia to do what’s ‘right for fans’

Lions executives have warned the Wallabies that they will be in breach of contract if Joe Schmidt does not release Test players for the tour warm-up games.

The Australia coach wants to withhold his top stars to ensure they are well-prepared for the three-Test series next month.

Five Wallabies have been released for this weekend’s opening match against the Western Force but other teams have so far not been granted the same allowance.

‘We want to make sure our guys are battle hardened when it comes to that Test series against the Wallabies,’ said Lions CEO Ben Calveley on his arrival in Perth.

‘The agreement is very clear; it says that Test players have to be released to play in fixtures leading into that series. That is our expectation.

‘We’ll play the game at the weekend, and will carry on having discussions with [Rugby Australia CEO] Phil Waugh and their executive team and will take that step by step. We are encouraged that we’ll see a strong side competing at the Optus.’

There is also a danger of one-sided fixtures if the Lions’ opponents are not able to field full-strength teams.

‘It’s really important that these games are competitive,’ added Calveley. ‘It’s not just for a performance stand-point — 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.’

The Lions arrived in Australia off the back of an opening defeat by Argentina in Dublin.

It re-opened the debate about the Lions touring to new territories in future, with South America keen to host them on future tours.

Asked if there are any plans to break away from the traditional tour schedule, Calveley said: ‘We don’t have any plans currently to do so.

‘We played against Argentina a couple of years ago, we played against Japan four years ago. There a different teams around the world that we might be interested in playing against in future. 

‘Traditionally that’s been consigned to a pre-tour element — Dublin, Murrayfield — so we’ll probably focus on that

‘The kinds of countries we’ve talked about would include North America, everybody in rugby is interested in breaking through in that market. Japan we played against for a reason. 

‘The same with Argentina. There have been discussions with France. So there are lots of different options.

‘I think what’s encouraging for us is that whatever country you speak to, they are interested in having a relationship with the Lions, whether that’s in their country or on UK or Irish soil.’