6 hours ago
4
The British & Irish Lions have been accused of running scared on the eve of the first Test against the Wallabies amid a disagreement over the availability of Pete Samu for next week’s First Nations & Pasifika XV tour match.
Samu, who last season represented Bordeaux before joining the Waratahs for the next Super Rugby season, has been blocked from playing in Tuesday’s game and is said to be “devastated” by the head coach, Toutai Kefu.
The fixture has replaced the scheduled match against Melbourne Rebels, who went bust last year, and the Lions have pointed to the regulations that state that only players from Australia’s Super Rugby sides, as well as in some cases Fijian Drua and Moana Pasifika, can be selected. Samu played for the AUNZ Invitational XV in Adelaide last week but as he was ineligible for the Waratahs in the 2025 Super Rugby season.
A Lions source has said that the tourists did not bring Samu’s ineligibility to light but that is strongly disputed by Rugby Australia. Kefu, who played against the Lions for Australia in 2001, told the Sydney Morning Herald: “I’m absolutely gutted, I still can’t believe that they would do it, complain about it, I suppose it is what it is, but it’s extra motivation for our boys.
“We’re a team that’s just been put together, we’re facing a massive challenge as it is, so he [Samu] would have definitely strengthened us, there’s no doubt about that. They must have been worried we were going to win. I don’t know why they would do it.”
The disagreement comes after the Lions made it clear at the start of the tour that they wanted Australia’s head coach, Joe Schmidt, to release his Wallabies and ensure the Super Rugby sides were as strong as possible,so the Lions would be battle-hardened for the Tests. The irony is that Samu, who helped Bordeaux win this last season’s Champions Cup, would have made the First Nations & Pasifika XV side significantly stronger.
The Lions have already allegedly vetoed other players for the First Nations & Pasifika XV. Rugby Australia, however, considers Samu to be a Waratahs player and eligible for the tour match. A Rugby Australia spokesperson said: “Pete Samu is a valued member of the Waratahs and has added greatly to the First Nations & Pasifika squad since entering camp. We had naturally hoped he would be playing in this fixture.”
The Lions have drafted in a number of additional squad members including Ireland’s Thomas Clarkson and the Scotland trio of Darcy Graham, Ewan Ashman and Rory Sutherland in order to rest their front-line stars for the First Nations & Pasifika match.
after newsletter promotion
Asked for his views on the Lions’ decision to block Samu from playing, the assistant coach, Johnny Sexton, said: “The Lions have blocked him? I don’t know if the Lions have blocked him. It’s more the rules and regulations of what was agreed before the tour. I don’t think that’s accurate. But, look, we’re concentrating on tomorrow. I think Tuesday will look after itself. The most important thing for us as a group is concentrating on tomorrow and trying to get a good performance out there.”
