Why it would be a huge mistake for Schmidt to keep stars on sidelines

No one wins if Australia choose not to release their best players to feature in the warm-up matches of the British & Irish Lions tour.

Such a scenario risks making the entire trip a non-event. The Lions need tough preparation fixtures Down Under to ensure they are ready for their Test series with the Wallabies.

At the same time, Australia’s best players also need to be fully fit and firing. Match practice is the only way for both squads to get to that position. You can only learn so much in training.

It would also devalue the Lions tour as a concept if the pre-Test games were one-sided contests. That’s what could happen if the likes of the Brumbies and Waratahs don’t have their star names on the pitch.

In the end, I don’t think that’s what will happen. It is my opinion that Joe Schmidt, the Australia head coach, is playing quite a canny game.

He’ll know deep down he has to release his best players to the Super Rugby teams for the warm-ups because that is in the tour agreement both the Lions and Rugby Australia have signed up to. Such a point has been stressed by Lions chief executive Ben Calveley after his team arrived in Perth.

The Lions’ first game on tour is against the Western Force on Saturday and they will have five of their Wallaby stars.

But a similar scenario hasn’t yet been agreed with the country’s other domestic sides. I’m sure it will be in time. I think that’s why Calveley has made the point openly to the media – to put some form of pressure on.

Ultimately, if international player release is something Australia have agreed to, they will have little choice. However, it really shouldn’t come to that.

For starters, you could say there is a bit of ambiguity about who is or isn’t an Australian star. It’s shades of grey, not black and white. I’m sure if you asked Australia’s best players, they would want to be facing the Lions not only with their country but with their domestic side.

Match fitness will be a key part of that. But so too will be the fact that facing the Lions happens once every 12 years. It’s a chance not to be missed and a huge honour for southern-hemisphere players.

If Schmidt somehow finds a way to keep his Wallaby stars wrapped in cotton wool, I think he will be making a mistake.

Of course, the risk of injury is a factor here. But it’s the same for both sides. The Lions won’t be resting their top guys for the Tests. So, why should Australia?

In 2005, when I was with the Lions, our tour of New Zealand was packed full of tough, competitive fixtures. Playing such games was a good thing for us. There was only one game that was a walkover that year – a 109-6 victory over Manawatu.

That’s why the defeat by Argentina in Dublin last Friday will have been of benefit to the Lions. A win over the Pumas would have been ideal but while that didn’t happen, I think Andy Farrell’s side would have benefited from the experience of a tough 80 minutes.

I thought far too much was made about the size of the Lions back-line which started at the Aviva Stadium. You need a balance between brute force and attacking verve.

The Lions might have been big, but Argentina played with far more pace and deserved to win.

You can play one of Bundee Aki or Sione Tuipulotu but not both. The same applies to Duhan van der Merwe and Tommy Freeman. Against the Western Force on Saturday, I’d like to see a bit more balance to the Lions side as well as the team cutting out the high error count on offloads we saw against Argentina.

I’m sure Finn Russell will start at fly-half this weekend. Full back will be an interesting one. I’m equally certain Blair Kinghorn will walk into the side at No 15 once his club commitments with Toulouse are done and dusted this weekend.

I’m not sure how much more we’ll see of Marcus Smith in the back field. I thought he struggled there against Argentina.

Ever since he was moved from 10 to 15 by England in the Six Nations, I’ve been consistent in saying Smith is not a full back.

It’s getting to the point where I just feel sorry for him as a very talented player being played out of position. He deserves better. His best and only place should be No 10.