The Lions are finally Down Under and the nine-match tour, which culminates in three massive Tests, is set to begin on Saturday evening in Perth.
Already some fireworks have begun.
After the Lions were towelled up in Dublin by Los Pumas, CEO Ben Calveley did his best to make himself relevant by reading Joe Schmidt and Rugby Australia the rule book.
If nothing else, the CEO’s rant delivered some necessary spice to what has been somewhat of a timid build up.
However, it also helped divert attention away from the Lions’ shock loss in the Irish capital and towards Australian rugby, which had been the laughing stock of the Fleet Street press gallery and its players right up until their nation was beaten by the Wallabies at the home of English rugby, Twickenham, last November.
Who remembers Ben Youngs’ infamous “proper dark” gaffe last year, where the English great said the Lions should abandon Australia and tour South Africa instead to ensure a competitive series?
Now that the tour is underway, who will win and what will the storylines be?
The British and Irish Lions squad will take on the Western Force on Saturday in the first of nine matches on Australian shores. (Photo by Seb Daly/SNS Group via Getty Images)
We’ve spoken to some of Australia’s biggest rugby names, who each will be commentating on Stan Sport throughout the series, to get the lowdown before the ball is kicked high into the middle of Optus Stadium on Saturday evening.
Who wins the series and why?
Morgan Turinui – 20 Tests
Prediction: Wallabies 2-1
It’s hard to be the Lions. They’ve had good success against Australia. But it’s hard to be the Lions, as we saw on the weekend. What style of play are they going to commit to? They’ll get better and better the more games they play through the tour. But I like the fact that the Wallabies, for pretty much the first time in history, get a Test match. Get a game. I’ve heard very much that the 0-1 team were very underdone going in. The Wallabies can definitely win Brisbane. Which then sets it up to go all the way, possibly.
Matt Burke – 81 Tests, won the Lions series in 2001
Prediction: Wallabies 2-1
I got a lot of hope out of that end of year tour. I thought they were too confident against Scotland, but it was a really good lesson in sort of taking what’s in front of you. Even though they finished 2-2, I think it was a good end of the year. And it showed what they could do against Ireland in that last game. And I think what you take out of that is that there’s a progression for these guys. The speed of the game is what they’ll have to get up with really quickly. The strength of the Lions is four teams coming together to create a super team. The weakness of the Lions is the four teams coming together because you’ve got to find that cohesion. So you’ve got to find that ability to make sure that you understand. And it was clunky the other day, right? What’s the result? I think it’s 2-1 to us. I’d love to say 3-0 Australia and we’ll wipe the floor with them, but I think where they will have the advantage is being together as a group for that period of time and playing games, so they’ll be able to figure out their combinations perhaps a little bit more quickly than what we’ll do.
Rugby Australia CEO Phil Waugh, Nine CEO Matt Stanton, Maddison Levi, Joseph-Aukuso Suaalii and Morgan Turinui of Stan Sportannounce a new broadcast deal between Rugby Australia and Nine on April 09, 2025. (Photo by Mark Metcalfe/Getty Images)
Tim Horan – 80 Tests, sat on bench against the Lions in 1989
Prediction: Wallabies 2-1
I’m hoping the Wallabies 2-1. The most important game of all the nine games is the first Test match in Brisbane. If they win that, they’ll win the series.
Michael Hooper – 125 Tests, lost 2013 Lions series
Prediction: Wallabies 2-1
It’ll be tight though and there’s nothing in it.
Lions player to watch?
Turinui – Sione Tuipulotu
I think Tuipulotu will be appreciated more by Australian audiences. Just getting a proper look at him. He’s a kid that came out of Frankston. He wasn’t really rated at the Rebels by the powers that be and then went overseas and he was an automatic selection for the Lions. He was excellent against the Wallabies on last year’s Spring Tour, he was consistently excellent for his club and country over there. But maybe not a lot of Australian fans will have seen it. So you’ll get to see it up close this time. I think he’s probably going to move to 12. He’s going to be crucial for them.
Australian-born Sione Tuipulotu scored against the Wallabies for Scotland. Now, he’s poised to play for the Lions against Joe Schmidt’s men. (Photo by Ross Parker/SNS Group via Getty Images)
Burke: Marcus Smith
I thought about saying [Jamison] Gibson-Park, who is playing some good footy and pretty special. He’s that little general around the base of a ruck at a mall. He’s got a great pass on him. His ability to back up and find a second pass is great. He’ll be instrumental in mapping around the field. But I’m wondering how they’re going to play with Marcus Smith. He’s a bit of a jack of all trades because he can play 10, 12, 15. I reckon he’ll be more used on that bench space to be that real come-on at a difference to what it is because his energy is through the roof. I laughed at that one the other day when he tried to do the dummy switch on their own goal line and he got whacked by the Argentinian bloke. But he did that for Harlequins and they went the whole way. So he’s got this flair and dare I say it, he’s got this sort of Campese-esque desire of just having a crack. So throw him into the mix and I reckon he’ll be a real asset for the team. He might not even make the starting team, but I reckon his impact will be huge because he can cover so many spots really well.
Horan: Finn Russell
I reckon this tour is Finn Russell’s moment, but it’ll all come down to whether he can adhere to Andy Farrell’s game plan? If he starts to go off-piste, that may hurt the Lions, but it could be outstanding too.
Hooper: Henry Pollock
I like the way he plays the game from the limited clips I’ve seen. He’s got a full range, versatile game. He’s an exciting player.
Wallabies player to watch?
Turinui: Fraser McReight
For the Wallabies to win 2-1, he’s got to be a player of the series. He’s got to have a man of the series performance in all three matches. It’s going to be tough to have two fetchers, you’ve got to have lineout, balance in the scrum, so your seven is going to have to be a big minute, if not 80-minute player for three Tests. And this back-row that’s coming, they’re going to be physical and they’re going to be hard at the ball. This is a hard-at-the-ball Lions team. So with and without the ball, he’s got to be good. He’s got to disrupt. If they get any speed in the game and they can unleash some of that Irish attack, it’s trouble. If we can slow their ball down, not just turn over their ball, but slow it down, that’s going to be huge.
Burke: Taniela Tupou
I’m going to put a bit of pressure on here and say Taniela Tupou. He’s had a pretty ordinary year to date. He’s had a lot of pressure on him. We’ve read about him and how he’s feeling. I reckon he’s had a good block with the Waratahs to get him back to some fitness. But is he playing for a contract? I don’t think he’s a starting 15 player because it’ll just tire him out too much. But Tupou coming off the bench might prove to be a masterstroke, especially around the scrum. I’d like to see him do well. I’d love to see him enjoy his footy and enjoy the responsibility of the series. Was it a shock selection? No, because of who he is and who they’re playing and how good their scrum is going to be. So you need to be able to combat that. And what you can’t do is you can’t carry people in this arena. And if he can scrum down well with his front-row teammates, it’ll create a fortress at the front there. He needs to be huge.
Taniela Tupou has a big role to play against the Lions, especially if he can rediscover his form. (Photo By Ramsey Cardy/Sportsfile via Getty Images)
Horan: Tate McDermott.
Whether he starts or whether he comes off the bench, I don’t know. But I reckon he’s gone to another level this year with the responsibility of being captain for the Reds when Harry Wilson was out for so long. I just think that he’s got an opportunity now to go to another level, at Test match level. One of the best games he played was in Dunedin against the All Blacks a couple of years ago. He’s a player with X-factor that could blow a Test match open.
Hooper: Harry Potter
Most of the forwards are rusted on and the backs will be self-explanatory. Maybe Harry Potter. He had a great Super season. He can do some special things and score a try out of nothing.
Player of the series?
Turinui: Fraser McReight.
I said it before, McReight needs to be huge – and I think he can be. He’ll be pushed along by Carlo Tizzano, who was excellent for the Force this year.
Burke: Tom Lynagh
I reckon Tate might start and they could go with those combinations to get up to speed quick enough. If he goes that way, it could be a watershed moment for Lynagh. I say that because we haven’t had a dominant ten for ages. Noah [Lolesio] didn’t go to the World Cup, I’m not sure if [Ben] Donaldson has the control needed in a Test environment. I reckon it could be Lynagh. Let’s hope he starts. He’s got good control. What I saw this year for Queensland was exactly that. He’s certainly got better from year one to year two to year three.
Horan: Fraser McReight.
Hooper: Rob Valetini.
I think he’s hit his straps in the last two years. Super season last year was unbelievable and he’s carried it through this year. His consistency is the thing that’s got him now to a really high level. I think [Len] Ikitau will have a big series, but I’ll go with Bobby.
What are you most excited about?
Turinui –
I think Lions selection is going to be huge because you’ve got this Irish contingent. Obviously, an Irish team to the coaching staff. You would think that lots of those guys will make up a large part of the team. Just say they lose Test one, which I’m sort of looking at, the peripheral pressure around selection is huge. But away from the footy field, I just think it’s rugby the best it can be. We’re so hard on our game and we always wanted to be better. We also have this period at the turn of the century that we were always looking back on as though that was as good as it gets: ‘99 winning the World Cup, ‘01 Lions into hosting a ‘03 World Cup. We’re getting into a period now where it can be one of those moments, so we get to celebrate the game.
Lions fans greet the touring party at Perth Airport on June 22, 2025 in Perth, Australia. (Photo by Paul Kane/Getty Images)
Burke –
I think I’m most looking forward to the red support that’s going to come our way. I mean, it is incredible just listening to being around. They flood the cities. They create the atmosphere. And so it’s a privilege to have the Lions here because of what they bring and the history. So for all the Aussie fans, enjoy it, but jump on board and be just as parochial, I reckon.
Horan –
The fans. The Lions fans make the tour (if they’re well behaved). They really enjoy their trips, and they obviously missed out through COVID in South Africa. A lot of them had credit, so they’ve all taken their credit down coming out. There’s people in camper vans, caravans, and they’re the stories you love. Families or groups that have saved up money over a lifetime just to go to a Lions series. And they might have come out, they might go to two tests or a couple of tests and a couple of games. And that’s what I’m looking forward to, is mixing and mingling with the Lions fans about different stories from different countries and how they saved up their money to be on the tour. What’s the story?
Hooper –
I’m hopeful of some really big tense Test matches, but just rugby being one of the main topics in whatever state we’re in. There’s going to be a real energy and I’m really excited by that. You’re often detached to that as a player, so I’m looking forward to that now that I’m on the other side.
What’s your greatest Lions memory?
Turinui –
I can’t say Goog, it’s going to piss me off. I think the result wasn’t the right one, but just remembering that third test in 1989. I was seven years old, it was one of the first times that rugby got into my general sphere of my life as a kid. It’s probably that ’01 side winning the series at the death. It’s probably the one winning the series at the death in 0-1 really. Being 1-0 down and winning 2-1 was huge.
Burke –
I never used to celebrate on the field. You just do your stuff, you know. They celebrate a turnover now. I reckon I’ve given two fist pumps in my life. One when I scored a try against New Zealand, when I did a chip and chase and I just gave it like the little one as I went over the line. And the second was against the Lions in Sydney. There’s no vision of it because the camera cut away. But 26-23, kick 29-23, making sure that we outside of that try range. As I went to pick up the tee, I just gave it a little fist pump there. And it’s not on any camera. But I remember it like it was yesterday and it literally went straight out of the black dot. And so that moment, I remember fondly because it just giving us enough breathing space to get to the other end and protect our line.
The Wallabies pose with the Tom Richards Cup after defeating the Lions in Sydney 29 to 23. Photo: Nick Wilson/ALLSPORT
Horan –
I sat on the bench for those three Test matches when I just turned 19. In ‘89. Never got on. And probably sitting next to Bob Dwyer, because that was when the coaches sat next to the reserves on the bench. And sitting next to Bob Dwyer when Campo threw the pass in the third Test match and he said two words. The last one was Campo and the first one started with F. Another one was the second Test at Ballymore, when our bus couldn’t get down, couldn’t get into the stadium. There was that many people on the creek bank with barbecues and beers. So the bus had to park out in the front of the road. And then we walked through this tunnel of about 600 metres from the road along the creek bank through barbecues and beers. And this was like a schoolboy sort of tunnel. And you walk through this tunnel all the way to the dressing room. It was the most amazing thing. As a 19-year-old, I’m going, what’s all this about? How good is this? How much do people love the game?
Hooper –
It was as a fan. Back in 2001, I was at the third Test.
It’s funny how you’ve put that in front of playing?
Well, we lost.
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