How best to describe the 2025 British & Irish Lions tour? Even before the final Test was interrupted by lightning, it was a strange old series. To the Lions the spoils but it was Australia who led for all but 60 seconds of the last two Tests. Just a solitary point divided the teams over three games and it was only courtesy of Will Stuart\u2019s late consolation that the visitors collected 10 tries compared to the Wallabies\u2019 nine.<\/p>\n
What would have happened had Joe Schmidt\u2019s side had an extra warmup fixture or made a faster start in Brisbane<\/a>? Had Will Skelton been fit for the pivotal opening game, or Rob Valetini and Taniela Tupou featured for more than 40 and 60 minutes in the series respectively? If Australia had not lost their first-choice fly-half on the eve of the series<\/a>, or protected their 23-5 lead in Melbourne?<\/p>\n Not forgetting, of course, the hairline margins in the final minute of the second Test as the match officials sought to establish whether or not Jac Morgan\u2019s clearout on Carlo Tizzano was permissible. As they sip their winners\u2019 champagne on the long flight home the Lions will be aware their 2-1 series victory was way too close for comfort.<\/p>\n At which point there are two schools of thought. The first is that winning is the only currency worth discussing, particularly on this kind of tour. This is only the second victorious Lions series since 1997, which makes it a pretty rare achievement. Losing a dead rubber<\/a> at the end of another absurdly long season should not overshadow everything that has gone before.<\/p>\n The evidence of the past two months, however, has been rather\u00a0less black and white. When\u00a0you publicly set your stall out\u00a0to smash your hosts by a whopping 3-0 margin it subsequently becomes difficult to claim sporting\u00a0immortality if you\u00a0scrape over the line against a team recently ranked eighth in the world. The Lions have still not won a series in South Africa or New\u00a0Zealand this century.<\/p>\n There can also be no glossing over one or two other uncomfortable facts. Remember the pre-departure Argentina game in Dublin when the Pumas fully deserved their 28-24 victory? Give or take the sheeting rain on Saturday night, there were similarities in the way the Wallabies\u00a0expertly seized their opportunities and also looked the more energetic side.<\/p>\n And how often, as Andy Farrell himself has acknowledged, did his squad really click into top gear, even against weakened Super Rugby opposition? The honest answer is not often enough given the resources, financial and personnel-wise, at their disposal. Aside from the estimable Morgan and Tadhg Beirne, how many Lions finished the tour visibly in better form than they started it?<\/p>\n Australia\u2019s Ben Donaldson tackles Owen Farrell during the third Test in Sydney. Photograph: James Crombie\/Inpho\/Shutterstock<\/p>\n Part of that could simply be individuals easing off slightly with the series already decided. But Farrell and Maro Itoje had repeatedly stressed that their players remained highly motivated\u00a0by the possibility of a clean sweep. More pertinent was the excessive amount of rugby played by several of these Lions this season and, consequently, the accumulated wear and tear.<\/p>\n The Wallabies\u2019 sharp improvement also has to be taken into account. They are a particular threat with turnover ball in hand, never took a backward step and appear to be turning a corner under Schmidt. That said, the acid test of their resurrection still awaits. Their next two Tests against the world champions, South Africa, in Johannesburg and Cape Town this month will be instructive, particularly if they can get all their\u00a0best players on the pitch at the\u00a0same time.<\/p>\n And maybe that caveat also sums\u00a0up the slightly contradictory\u00a02025 Lions? When Itoje, Dan Sheehan, Beirne, Jamison Gibson\u2011Park and the supreme Finn Russell were all out on the field together, with Tom\u00a0Curry and Morgan riding shotgun, they looked a serious team. Beirne\u00a0won the medal for player of\u00a0the series and Russell picked up the prize awarded by the tour sponsor Howden.<\/p>\n skip past newsletter promotion<\/a><\/p>\n The latest rugby union news and analysis, plus all the week’s action reviewed<\/p>\n Privacy Notice: Newsletters may contain info about charities, online ads, and content funded by outside parties. For more information see our Privacy Policy<\/a>. We use Google reCaptcha to protect our website and the Google Privacy Policy<\/a> and Terms of Service<\/a> apply.<\/p>\n after newsletter promotion<\/p>\n In the final analysis, however, they perhaps needed a couple more world-class performers to elevate the squad to the pantheon. While Farrell\u2019s Lions had their special moments they did not ultimately show the consistency to demand inclusion among the truly great British & Irish squads of yesteryear.<\/p>\n What was never in dispute, though, was the touring team\u2019s collective bond. Elliot Daly and Tomos Williams may have left early with injuries but both still loved the experience. Itoje was a respected leader while Farrell Sr\u2019s man management continues to be a strength. The only sadness was that, media access-wise, the Lions\u00a0comms strategy made the Kremlin press office look relaxed and open-minded.<\/p>\n Such blinkered thinking grows even more self-defeating as rugby desperately seeks to market itself more effectively. The good news is\u00a0that this tour should have helped\u00a0to boost the sport\u2019s profile across Australia before the 2027 Rugby World Cup. As the tour manager Ieuan Evans rightly put it: \u201cIf you weren\u2019t captured by the drama of that second Test at the MCG then, quite frankly, you haven\u2019t got a soul.\u201d<\/p>\n Plenty of good work is also going\u00a0on behind the scenes at Rugby Australia, although Schmidt is still due to depart his post next year. It will be fascinating to see how the Wallabies fare when they go to Europe to play England, Italy,\u00a0Ireland and France in November, by\u00a0which time Farrell will be back in\u00a0an Ireland tracksuit\u00a0and Itoje will\u00a0be wearing white again. Being part of a winning\u00a0Lions series, however, remains a privilege and the shared\u00a0dressing room memories\u00a0will live for ever.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"How best to describe the 2025 British & Irish Lions tour? 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