Australia refuses to bow to demands from British and Irish Lions for Wallabies to be released for tour matches

The British and Irish Lions declared Australia was in danger of breaching its tour agreement not long after arriving down under — find out why and the response they got here.

The British and Irish Lions have already lost their first battle on Australian soil, but don’t think for one moment that the war is over.

If the initial skirmish is a sign of what’s to come, the next six weeks is going to be fought just as hard off the field as on it with neither side giving an inch.

To their credit, the Lions have let Australia know they’re up for the fight, but also that they haven’t lost their sense of humour.

Australian rugby officials have needed a good laugh after years of despair and they were in stitches the moment the Lions touched down in Western Australia and fired their first shot.

For anyone who missed it, the Lions tour boss Ben Calveley claimed Rugby Australia was in danger of breaching the tour agreement if they didn’t release their best Wallabies to the state and invitational teams that the Lions are practising against.

Just how Calveley managed to keep a straight face no-one knows for sure, because this was comedy gold to the ears of everyone who follows the code in Australia.

British & Irish Lions tour boss Ben Calveley addressed the Australian media after the tourists arrived in Perth.

Of course, there is a tour agreement, but the only mention around team selection is a general requirement that sides should endeavour to pick their best available players.

That’s exactly what Australia’s Super Rugby teams were all doing, just as they’ve always done, but the normal rules of engagement go out the window whenever the Lions feel like a whine.

That doesn’t mean Australia’s Test players will run out for their state teams because - and this isn’t a gag - it just happens that the Wallabies are also trying to win the series, even though they’re not exactly firing on all cylinders right now.

To pull off an upset for the ages, the Wallabies need all their best men training and playing together every day, just as the British and Irish Lions are planning after their pride was dented when they were beaten by Argentina in Dublin on the weekend.

The notion that the Lions should be entitled to dictate the selection policies of their tour opponents is even cheekier than Home Nations stacking their squad with players born in Australia, New Zealand and South Africa.

No wonder everyone in Australian rugby booted these slapstick suggestions into touch rather than take the bait once they had stopped giggling.

Andrew Kellaway, Angus Bell and Joseph-Aukuso Suaalii will miss the Waratahs’ match against the British & Irish Lions tour after being selected in the Australian Test squad to face Fiji.

That’s not in any way meant to diminish the Lions brand or what it means for any Australian player chosen to face the combined forces of England, Ireland, Wales and Scotland.

For anyone lucky enough to get picked, regardless of which team, it really is a badge of honour.

Kurtley Beale was rested from the Waratahs side that played the Lions in 2013 because he was part of the Wallabies Test squad at the time.

But 12 years later, Beale is on the cusp of finally getting the chance to face the Lions in a regular tour game when they tackle the Western Force at Optus Oval on Saturday night.

“It’s up to the individual on how he sees that. But to get to represent your club against the Lions, it’s a once in a lifetime opportunity,” Beale said.

“You’re able to create special memories with teammates. Those are the memories that you look back on when you’re retired and watching the series down the track.

“So whenever you get the opportunity, you should take it.“

Kurtley Beale said it’s a once in a lifetime experience to play against the Lions.

Wallabies coach Joe Schmidt has already done more than he was obliged to by releasing five of the 36 players he selected for Australia’s upcoming Test against Fiji to the Western Force.

But his day job is to help the Wallabies win the Test series so he won’t be doing that for every game, especially for the Lions’ clash against the New South Wales Waratahs at Allianz Stadium on July 5.

There are eight Waratahs in Schmidt’s squad - Angus Bell, Langi Gleeson, Dave Porecki, Taniela Tupou, Jake Gordon, Max Jorgensen, Andrew Kellaway and Joseph-Aukuso Suaalii - but the Lions’ clash with NSW is taking place less than 24 hours earlier.

Wallabies head coach Joe Schmidt.

Schmidt would need to have rocks in his head to bow to the Lions’ demands but this Kiwi is nobody’s fool so he is standing his ground because the Wallabies need their best players and anything else would be disrespectful to the proud Fijians.

“Nothing has changed for the Waratahs. We’re still going to pick the best team we have available,” a team spokesperson said.

“The team has been training hard for this game because it’s important to everyone involved.”

While the Lions are renowned for complaining about a lot of things, it is unusual to hear them moaning about playing ‘understrength’ opposition because they normally revel in the chance to beat up disadvantaged rivals.

There was certainly no grumbling from the Lions on their undefeated tour of South Africa in 1974 when they racked up record scores, including a 97-0 win over South West Districts, nor when they steamrolled Western Australia 116-10 in 2001.

Originally published as Australia refuses to bow to demands from British and Irish Lions for Wallabies to be released for tour matches