‘They have work to do’: Why an ex-All Blacks coach says Australia can trouble Lions
By Iain Payten
The Lions have swept all before them so far in Australia, leaving the Wallabies as heavy outsiders for the first Test in Brisbane on Saturday. But former All Blacks coach Ian Foster believes Joe Schmidt’s side won’t be pushovers, suggesting Test pressure and an abundance of selection options may carry hidden problems for the Lions.
Foster gave a show of trans-Tasman support as he also called for the AUNZ concept to survive in the future, despite the combined Aussie and Kiwi team getting thumped by the Lions in Adelaide on Saturday night.
The clinical Lions ran in eight tries in a 48-0 victory at Adelaide Oval, deflating the atmosphere of the 43,154-strong crowd who were hoping for a spectacle.
It was another powerful flex from the Lions, who head into the first Test on Saturday as heavy favourites to beat the Wallabies, who are paying $3.60 with the bookies.
Lions coach Andy Farrell said post-game that he was relieved the hectic schedule of the first half of the tour, where they had played five games in 15 days, was over. But his headaches now turn to whittling a 38-man squad down to 23 for the first Test.
“Very pleased to finish off what’s been a tough block for all sorts of reasons,” Farrell said.
Scott Cummings of the British & Irish Lions scores a try during the rugby match between the Lions and the AUNZ Invitational XV.Credit: AP
“It was nice to get a good performance [in Adelaide] and then roll into a Test series in a nice shape as a squad. I just said to the players, selection is going to be unbelievably difficult, and that’s how it should be.”
But AUNZ assistant coach Foster, who was assistant coach of the All Blacks in the Lions tour of New Zealand in 2017, said while impressed with the 2025 Lions, there are still issues for Farrell’s side to address; namely the greater breakdown pressure they’ll face in the Tests, and potential damage to squad harmony after Test selections are made.
“I think they’ve got a lot of work to do for next week,” Foster said.
“They’ll be pleased with today’s performance, in some ways having a bit of a front-foot game probably gave them a chance to get a bit more flow in their game, and if they can continue that when the battle’s a bit harder at the breakdown, that’ll be their challenge.
Ian Foster with Les Kiss and Simon Cron.Credit: Getty Images
“But look, they’re a quality team with good depth. But that brings complications sometimes at selection time, so the test of the tour is how they deal with selection in the next week, and keep the rest of the squad happy.”
Foster, who had Schmidt on his staff in 2022-23 when All Blacks coach, said he sensed the Wallabies would be a stronger opposition than many people are forecasting.
“There’s something about the Wallabies, if they can be tough enough at the ball carry to be able to get some front-foot ball against the Lions team, they’ll be a challenge,” Foster said.
“[Schmidt] will bring a lot of belief because I’m sure that Wallabies team, they’ll know what they want to do, and they’ll believe in what they want to do. That’s his biggest strength. They’ll have a plan.”
Foster was among several players and coaches in the AUNZ team who were quick to defend the concept of the trans-Tasman side, and urged bosses on both sides not to ditch the idea following the big loss.
“The concept’s great and we didn’t give a scoreline that will back that up in some ways and that’s frustrating,” Fosters said.
“But there’s very few opportunities to have a different idea in the rugby calendar, and I keep reiterating that this concept’s no different to the Lions in many ways. They’re an amalgamation of teams, and so that’s something we’ve got to look at.”
While Crusaders captain David Havili said he hoped the AUNZ team could play again on the 2029 Lions tour of New Zealand, Foster said that may be tough given New Zealand can field six established teams as opposition.
“All I know is the players loved it and it was good for the two countries to do something together,” he said. “I’d like to think that you’d look a little bit beyond the result and see something a bit more special there.”