Indigenous Australian and Pasifika team to play British and Irish Lions
SYDNEY (AP) — The British and Irish Lions likely will face a team of players with indigenous Australian and Pasifika heritage during its nine-match tour to Australia next year, according to Australian media.
Chief executive Phil Waugh told the Sydney Morning Herald on Tuesday that Rugby Australia is negotiating with the Lions to replace their scheduled match against the Melbourne Rebels Super Rugby team which now has gone into voluntary administration.
That match is due to be played in Melbourne on July 22, between the Lions’ first and second tests against the Wallabies.
Waugh said Rugby Australia’s intention is to select a team of indigenous Australian and Pasifika players who are currently playing Super Rugby.
“Given the popularity of rugby in the Pacific Island communities was one point, and the connection to the Victorian rugby community in Melbourne was another really important element,” Waugh told the Herald. “And we also have some great talent with First Nations heritage.
“So it was a matter of how do we pull those ideas together to make a very special game in a massive tour? The preference will be to have Australian-eligible players of Pacific and First Nations backgrounds and high-profile players to drive a high level of interest.”
Waugh said the Lions’ preference was to play a team of Super Rugby standard in the midweek match.
The ANZAC XV which the Lions will play in Adelaide on July 12 may contain high-profile New Zealand players who currently are based overseas, Waugh said.
France will be touring New Zealand at the time of that match, meaning leading New Zealand players are unlikely to be available.
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