Overview
- Hooker Matt Faessler and centre Hunter Paisami have been freed from Wallabies camp to join the Queensland Reds for their July 2 fixture against the British & Irish Lions.
- Five Western Force players, including Nic White and Darcy Swain, were made available to face the Lions in Perth on June 28 as Australia fine-tunes its midweek selections.
- Lions chief executive Ben Calveley reminded Rugby Australia that tour agreements obligate Test stars to feature in Super Rugby matches to ensure competitive preparation.
- Wallabies coach Joe Schmidt is retaining a core squad for the July 6 warm-up Test against Fiji, balancing club releases with national team readiness.
- Lions head coach Andy Farrell plans to rotate his squad in tour matches and deploy expansive “Fazball” tactics to sharpen combinations ahead of the Brisbane Test.