‘They’re supposed to beat those s*** teams’ – Ex-Wallaby hits back after Joe Schmidt accused of ‘betraying’ the Lions
Wallabies head coach Joe Schmidt and former Australia international Greg Martin.
Former Wallaby Greg Martin insists that Joe Schmidt’s decision to rest his star players ahead of the Tests will not impact the British and Irish Lions tour.
There was disappointment from some quarters when the Australia head coach revealed that up to 25 players would not feature for their franchises in the warm-up matches.
The Lions are set to face all four Super Rugby Pacific outfits in the build-up to the Tests but Schmidt has decided that his first choice players will not be involved.
Criticism of Schmidt and the Lions
That has drawn criticism from some people, including veteran journalist Stephen Jones, who was scathing of both Schmidt and the tourists, calling it a “betrayal” of the Lions concept.
“The cowed way the Lions have failed to wield their own power is pitiful. Two tours ago it was announced that both hosts and Lions had agreed that in the pre-Test games (never call them warm-up matches) the best home players would be included, until just over a week before the first Test. So all the big home teams would have their stars on show,” Jones wrote in his Sunday Times column.
“A senior member of the Lions set-up told me last year that they would be insisting Australia field their strongest teams in the provincial games. Sounds good.
“Not long ago, Phil Waugh, chief executive of the Australian Rugby Union, said: ‘It is important that the Test stars play for their franchises against the Lions.’ Indeed it is.
“But they won’t. This from Joe Schmidt, the Australia head coach, last week: ‘The policy is that we’d probably be very keen to safeguard what we perceive to be our [best] 23, 24 or 25 and then, the rest of the squad, for them to get games to play against the Lions.’
“So all the top players will appear in the non-Test games — apart from 25! It is absolutely ridiculous.”
Greg Martin’s thoughts
There are concerns that Schmidt’s decision could undermine the tour itself and reduce interest in it ahead of the the Tests, but Martin disagrees.
“They’re saying [if] they don’t start them in Perth, they will hammer the Force and then they will hammer whoever they’re playing next, and no one will want to watch. That’s bull****,” he told DSPN with Martin Devlin.
“When they were there [in 2001], they beat Western Australia 116-0 (editor’s note: 116-10), and nobody cared, they’re supposed to beat those s*** teams because it’s the Lions.
“But if they go through the whole tour without us beating them in one game, it might be a bit of a worry for Australian rugby.”
