‘The Lions are better off going to South Africa’ – England centurion rips into ‘proper dark’ state of Australian rugby
Ben Youngs says that B&I Lions are better off going to South Africa with Australia playing so poorly.
Former England scrum-half Ben Youngs believes that the British and Irish Lions are better off going to South Africa next year rather than Australia.
Youngs, who toured Australia with the Lions in 2013, has stressed the dire state of the Wallabies’ team who were thrashed by Argentina in round four of the Rugby Championship.
Joe Schmidt’s men had a 3-20 lead after 29 minutes in Sante Fe but were blown off the park from that point suffering their biggest-ever defeat in a Test match as Los Pumas surged to a 67-27 victory.
The epic collapse of Australia led Youngs, who is England’s most-capped men’s international, to suggest that the Lions would be better off having the tour in South Africa after the 2021 Series was played behind closed doors.
Australia’s collapse
Youngs and fellow England centurion Dan Cole reviewed the Rugby Championship clash on their podcast For the Love of Rugby where they hailed their Leicester Tigers teammate Julian Montoya for notching up 100 Test caps for Argentina before they ripped into the Wallabies’ performance.
“I was a bit worried for him when they were down by 20 points to three and I’m thinking ‘Oh come on like you don’t wanna see that, we want to see Julian win on his 100th cap,'” Youngs said.
“Then they absolutely smoked them second-half, like blew them away.
“And Australia, I don’t know, I’ve been really patient with Australia because I think in Joe Schmidt they have an obviously proven very, very good coach.
“They beat Wales in the summer and you’re kind of watching them and they get beaten by South Africa. I’ve been very sort of like, well they’re kind of like building towards something and then wah boom, a loss like that happens and you’re a bit like you don’t get beaten like that in a Test match like that very often, if not never, but to that level, you’re thinking, ‘What on Earth has happened there?’
“But Argentina just blew them away. By the end, Argentina caught a kick-off and ran the length of the field and scored again.
“I’m thinking like, blimey, that’s dark like proper dark and it’s just not good to see for Aussie rugby.”
Timeline: How the wheels disastrously came off for Wallabies in their record defeat to Argentina
Lions are better off going to South Africa
The poor performances of the Wallabies led Youngs to believe that the 2013 Lions players could get back together and would do the job against the current Australian team.
“I’m looking at and thinking the Lions are better off going to South Africa and touring there. Given that the last time they went there was no fans allowed,” he added.
” I don’t know, maybe we’ll just do a reunion of 2013 and we’ll just go f***ing do the business on them – get all the lads out of retirement.
“Just bits to their game which are just so naive. There was a time when Argentina come around the corner – the game was proper tight at this point, I think was 24-20 – Argentina come around the corner, the replacement hooker comes on and gets a great steal for Australia.
“He’s [the fly-half] then presented the ball, they’re like three metres from their line, so you’re thinking right? Just clear it. The 10 has come in and instead of just, like getting it off himself and clearing the lines, boom he hits Rob Valentini up who’s behind his own line. I don’t know what he’s expecting so he gets banged, bless him. Argentina tackle him – like what are you doing, this is Test match rugby.
“I’m just looking at some of these basic parts of the game and I’m thinking ‘What are you doing? It’s Test match rugby.’ Test match rugby at its basic level is just got out of your bloody half and they can’t even do that efficiently.”
George Gregan’s take on the state of the Wallabies ahead of 2025 British & Irish Lions series
A good tour for a Lions fan
The 35-year-old believes that the quality that Lions boss Andy Farrell will have at his disposal will be far too much for any of the Australian teams to handle.
He predicts that if the Wallabies do not improve, the Lions will run riot and not only against the Super Rugby Pacific teams that they will face in the midweek and preparation fixtures.
“I watched that and I just thought, I’m not sure where they’re heading and they’ve got a few more games left, then they’re going to come over the Autumn – they could leave that looking pretty bleak and then obviously got a Lions Tour to host,” he continued.
“At the moment, if you’re a Lions fan going out there, you going to have a hell of a tour, like you are going to watch the Lions run riot. If I’m going on the performances at the moment and the power and the absolute strength and depth that’s available to the Lions selectors, I think they can have a field day out there.”
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Youngs sympathised with the players who would potentially be featuring in their second tour after going to South Africa in 2021 as it would be two tours that are not as glamorous as they have been in the past.
“Imagine your first Lions tour is that COVID one in South Africa behind closed doors and all that comes with it, right but that’s your first experience for a Lions tour which should be the pinnacle,” he said.
“Then your next tour is Australia – great country and all that – but you d***ing every blimming provincial side by 50/60 points. Then you get into the Test matches and you run riot and have got it wrapped up after two games with an aggregate of 110 points.
“I’m just looking at it and with less than a year out and after the game at the weekend – I think Australia look worse than they did in the summer.”
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