Every big tour is a hectic learning curve as the 2025 British & Irish Lions are already finding. The squad had to call off their post-arrival recovery dip in the Indian Ocean – a letdown for local news crews and the lurking sharks off Cottesloe beach – because of inclement weather and the first media squall of the trip has also blown in.
The Lions chief executive, Ben Calveley, has made clear the touring side expects Joe Schmidt, the Wallabies head coach, to make his national players available for their Super Rugby teams before the Test series commencing next month and the host nation has been gently reminded of that contractual detail following the Lions’ arrival in Australia.
