‘Context is important’: Waugh dismisses fears Wallabies will be easy meat for Lions

Rugby Australia chief executive Phil Waugh is disappointed in the Wallabies’ record loss in Santa Fe but is confident the team’s progress under Joe Schmidt will yield a competitive series against the British and Irish Lions next year.

Waugh’s response to the Wallabies’ 67-27 defeat came as the thrashing created a wave of concern and criticism from commentators in the UK and Ireland, who expressed fears the Lions series in 2025 will be a walkover and, in the case of former England star Ben Youngs, that the Lions should tour South Africa instead.

Youngs, who played 127 Tests for England and was a member of the Lions team who won in Australia in 2013, didn’t hold back on a podcast, bemoaning the “proper dark” state of Australian rugby and predicting the 2025 Lions team would “run riot” and claim the series with 50-point wins in the first two Tests.

“If I’m going on the performances at the moment and the power and the absolute strength and depth that’s available to the Lions selectors, I think they can have a field day out there,” Youngs said. “The Lions are better off going to South Africa and touring there.”

Youngs wasn’t alone in voicing concern about the Lions series being a potential dud in Australia next July.

The UK Telegraph suggested Australia had hit “rock bottom” in Argentina and the Irish Independent headline pointed to Schmidt having 47 weeks “to stop Lions’ Australia tour from being a one-sided disaster”. Irish Times columnist Gerry Thornely wrote “as things stand, the Lions’ most difficult match will be their warm-up game against Argentina in Dublin”.

Taniela Tupou charging with the ball in the first-half.Credit: Getty Images

Writing in The Times, former England five-eighth Stuart Barnes said the Wallabies were still paying the price for RA’s board impulsively sacking Dave Rennie and said a one-sided Lions series and a poor showing in the 2027 Rugby World Cup could do “irrevocable” damage and consign rugby into minority sport status in Australia.

Waugh addressed the Wallabies’ humbling defeat in Santa Fe, saying it had been a painful learning experience for an under-construction team.

Asked about fears around the Lions series, Waugh said “there is plenty of time” and the pace of progress so far under Schmidt had been enough to instil confidence the Wallabies would be competitive.

The British and Irish Lions are touring in 2025.Credit: Getty

“I am confident we are putting in place the systems, structure and discipline that sets the Test team up for success,” Waugh told this masthead.

“We saw the in the second Test against the Springboks ... we missed a penalty on half-time, so we should have been ahead at half-time against the world champions.

“You can see the progress is there. It is not nearly where we need it to be, but if we keep progressing at the speed with which we have moved things in the last six months, then there is plenty of time [before the Lions series].

“It is just a matter of then getting that winning experience. We now have two Tests against the All Blacks, and then a Grand Slam tour ... so we have opportunity to play big Test matches.”

Ben Youngs kicks the ball against the Wallabies in the 2019 Rugby World Cup.Credit: Getty

Waugh said the team had performed well in the first Test win in La Plata, and after several wet Test matches, showed attacking enterprise in the opening 30 minutes in the second Test.

“It is a team that is, and I hate using the word re-building, but it is a team that is re-setting, and it takes experiences in big moments to get better,” Waugh said.

“Obviously, the enormity of the scoreline in that second half was disappointing. But there is context that is important … we are not the most experienced team in world rugby, and we are building that experience.”

Waugh said it was also important to note Argentina are a strong side who put on 25 second-half points to beat the All Blacks 38-35 in Wellington last month.

“That Argentina team is very different to an Argentinian team of old, who liked to scrum and maul,” he said. “They have genuine attacking threats across the team. I don’t want to make excuses, but games like that can get away from you very quickly when momentum is against you.

“If you said two weeks ago you are going to go to Argentina and win one and a half games of rugby, you would have taken that. So context is important.”

Waugh said Australian fans will see a “very committed Wallabies” in the opening Bledisloe Cup clash in Sydney on September 21 at Accor Stadium.

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