The real rugby Circus is nearly ready to begin
- Updated: 24/06/2025
By rugby writer FRANK QUIN:
THE excitement of top class professional rugby was evident last week-end but the big top blew down on Andy Farrell’s Performers. A 28-24 defeat by Argentina dented the Lions’ pride and Andy Farrell did not back off with his criticism. It was a big night out at about €200 a ticket and many celebs arrived for the occasion. I will not bore you with the details of the game as it was only a friendly to pay the fares to Australia. There were no caps or hats to be won for playing in the game, and the salary is good (estimaed at €80,000 per player for touring) .
The selection was a surprise for the game in Dublin. We expected 6 to 8 Irish players to be in the 15, (crowd pleasers) but no! We were reduced to 3 for the home attendance. The replacements surprisingly included Tadgh Furlong who is a stranger to us as he did not play for Leinster for months, and they won the URC championship without him but failed with their claim for an Investec title.
There was a big contingent of England followers here for the game, all decked out in red Maybe that influenced the Irish selectors. Nothing worked on the night, the Lions could not buy a line-out even though the Pumas were penalised a lot. Interestingly Felipe Contepomi picked eight of his players from the premiership, plus a few from URC. The rest included France and a few from the Argentina league. His team looked more like the Lions than Andy’s selection. They are ranked at No 5 in the world.
Not a great start for the tourists as they included many familiar players to the attendance and from the TV, from the Investec Cup and the other top rournaments. But they surely then,jumped on the plane to Perth in Western Australia to take on the local team, “The Force,” to fulfil the next game on their schedule and earn their salaries and bonuses for the next two months.
Joe Schmidt will no doubt view the video for the Wallabies, but you would not be sure what he may learn for it. With a squad of almost 40 in the Lions, there will be many changes before the test match selections in a month’s time. This is also summer rugby here but going into winter time on the East coast of Australia where most of the games will be played
The next game is next Saturday. Enjoy . . . and then the real rugby test will begin.
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