The 1997 Lions tour to South Africa, the first of the professional era, bears just a passing resemblance to the one currently taking place in Australia. The money, analysis and science is in a different stratosphere, never mind the rugby. That isn’t to say it’s better or worse. Just different.
The Lions used to take off on seemingly epic adventures with competitive and combative non-Test matches. It is all a little bit more sanitised and calculated now, lacking colour, with many of the games in recent times underwhelming as contests.
New Zealand, in 2017, was perhaps the last tour where the club sides posed a real threat. The Highlanders, Blues and Crusaders all stood up and gave as good as they got. But in South Africa and now again in Australia, the midweek games increasingly feel like formalities. The balance is heavily weighted in favour of the Lions and the results are often lopsided.
These matches now serve a different purpose. They are rehearsals, not quite warm-up games, but increasingly strategic platforms to refine the game plan, assess form and figure out which players are ready to make the leap from good to great.
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I think back to my own Lions experience in 2009. I joined the tour late and was thrust straight into it, playing within days of my arrival. The squad leaned heavily on a Welsh influence - not quite Warrenball in orientation but not far off it either. It should have suited me. Simple structures, quick ball and clear shapes. Yet I never quite found my rhythm.
Ten days earlier I’d played for the Barbarians against England at Twickenham and spent the afternoon throwing instinctive passes, drifting into space, basically enjoying myself. Mentally, I hadn’t recalibrated to the very different demands of the Lions tour.
Which Irish players have impressed for the Lions?
In a tense finale to a game against the Cheetahs, I had a moment to float a pass and trust the support. Instead, I tucked the ball and carried; the wrong option. While it wasn’t a Six Nations decider or Champions Cup final, it was an audition for a place in the Test series against the Springboks.
I didn’t nail the brief. Others, Rob Kearney and Luke Fitzgerald, adapted faster, found their groove and played their way into Test contention. This current Lions group feels like it’s negotiating the same transition. Andy Farrell’s fingerprints on patterns and structure are already clear; call it “Fazball” if you like.
It’s rooted in simplicity, sharp ruck speed, tight structure and quick hands that stress the defence in the wide channels. We saw some of the shape against Argentina in Dublin and more of those patterns against the Western Force.
Last Saturday, Finn Russell pulled the strings with real control. Sione Tuipulotu and Mack Hansen have emerged as confident second receivers, relieving pressure on Russell or punishing narrow defences themselves. Dan Sheehan and Tomos Williams were beneficiaries of that fluency in Perth, both crossing for tries with ease.
But let’s not kid ourselves, these aren’t Test-match defences. Australian rugby is, frankly, not in a great place. Financial constraints, dwindling participation and limited high-performance depth means that even club sides sprinkled with fringe Wallabies are struggling to pose a real challenge.
In that context, a 54–7 win tells us only so much. If 2001, 2005 and 2009 tours taught us anything, it’s that sweeping the non-Test games doesn’t translate into winning the series. These matches tell us more about depth than destiny.
Farrell’s system is familiar. Pods of players operating off 10, occasional screen passes out the back or flat ball at the line with room for individuals to express themselves within that structure. Russell’s crisp, short-passing game fits perfectly in that playing environment.
James Lowe continued to show his footballing brain and Henry Pollock’s ability to get a second touch, something my old Leinster backs coach Alan Gaffney used to rave about, is creating havoc for opposing defences.
Yet there are cracks. The restart is a weakness. The Lions lost four of eight in Perth. It is a continuing and concerning trend that’s plagued England this season too. Missed tackles and soft penalties also compromised the Lions’ ambition in the first half. In a Test series whose outcome is likely to be defined by small margins, where composure, discipline and accuracy is vital, there can be no self-inflicted wounds.
Williams was a bright spark until his hamstring injury that unfortunately has put him out of the tour. I was initially sceptical about whether he could challenge Jamison Gibson-Park, but what he showed – tempo, instinct, game control – made me think twice. It’s now a moot point.
Ben White faces a mad scramble to get up to speed on his arrival. In some respects, the Scottish scrumhalf is on a similar trajectory to the one on which I found myself in 2009. The tour has started, you’re called in and you’ve got to make up so much ground. The window of opportunity closes quickly.
Watching Toulouse claim the French Top 14 title after their extra-time win over Bordeaux-Begles, I was struck by just how good a player Jack Willis is and whether he might be in Farrell’s thoughts if there was an injury to a backrow forward.
Selection is heating up. Pollock is grabbing every opportunity, mixing offloads with impressive carries and even drawing a bit of heat with his “tapping” celebration. The only doubt remains around his ability in the tight; he is wonderfully effective when space opens up. However, his impact was muted against UBB (Bordeaux-Begles) in the Champions Cup final when they made him carry into heavy traffic.
Still, he is asking the right questions. Joe McCarthy has been immense – dominant in the tight, sharp at the breakdown, while offering a reminder of the engine room stalwarts on which Lions tours were built. Think Willie John McBride, Martin Johnson, Paul O’Connell and Alun Wyn Jones.
Sione Tuipulotu is growing into the midfield general role and his connection with Russell feels natural. His comment that smart halfbacks give centres the space to thrive rings true. The core Irish cohesion in the squad matters, probably even more so as we get closer to the Tests.
The Western Force game was functional but not massively revealing. It told us some things. McCarthy belongs, Pollock is special, but not everything. Tour games no longer decide on reputations; they inform selection. Every carry, every tackle, every restart fielded now serves the greater goal, building the Test team and those that will inhabit it.
We’ve started measuring these tours through statistical lenses and tight three-week windows. It’s the reality of the modern game. And while structure underpins everything, there is room for more ethereal qualities, like flair.
This Lions tour is not about beating the midweek teams. It’s about preparing a fifteen that can win three matches on three consecutive Saturdays in July. That’s the stage. That’s the measure. That’s the meat of the challenge. Everything else is an aperitif.
