British & Irish Lions embroiled in fierce eligibility row with Australia on the eve of first Test

The Lions have become embroiled in a dispute with Australian rugby authorities on the eve of the first Test, over the enforced removal of an opposition player from their final tour match.

Wallabies back-rower Pete Samu had been selected to play for the First Nations & Pasifika XV against the British and Irish tourists, in his home city of Melbourne next Tuesday. 

However, it has emerged that the 33-year-old has been withdrawn from the fixture due to a row over eligibility.

Reports Down Under suggested that the Lions have blocked Samu from taking part in the game, as they have the right to approve or veto the involvement of players selected by First Nations & Pasifika XV head coach Toutai Kefu. 

This criteria within the tour agreement is linked to the fact that the original July 22 fixture against the Rebels fell through when the Melbourne-based Super Rugby franchise went bust, so a new ‘home’ team had to be hurriedly created and recruited.

Samu has spent two seasons playing for French club Bordeaux – who won the Champions Cup last season by beating Northampton in the final. 

However, he has signed for the Waratahs in Sydney, so Rugby Australia were under the impression that he was eligible for the game at Marvel Stadium and Samu was duly selected. 

He has been in camp and training with the First Nations & Pasifika XV squad – and was regarded as a key part of Kefu’s plans.

However, midway through this week, it is understood that Rugby Australia received correspondence from the Lions stating that Samu could not take part in the fixture because he had not competed in the recent Super Rugby campaign. 

The sticking point was over the fine print of the tour agreement and it is thought to have led to tense back-and-forth exchanges before Samu was forced to stand down. This has created ill-feeling on the eve of the first Test at Suncorp Stadium.

While the Lions are adamant that Samu was never eligible, their Australian counterparts are equally adamant that he was. 

But the tourists have dug their heels in and exercised their right of veto, relating to a match which takes place four days before the pivotal second Test at the Melbourne Cricket Ground on July 19.

There is clear disagreement over the course of events. When asked about blocking Samu from playing at Marvel Stadium, Lions assistant coach Johnny Sexton said: ‘The Lions have blocked him? I don’t know if the Lions have blocked him. I think it’s more the rules and regulations of what was agreed before the tour. I don’t think that’s accurate.

‘We’re concentrating on tomorrow. I think Tuesday will look after itself. I’m here to talk about the game tomorrow and as a playing group, as a coaching group, I don’t think we’re that fussed either way (about Samu) to be honest.’

On the flip-side of the argument, a Rugby Australia spokesman 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.’ 

What is adding to the sense of angst in Australian rugby circles is that this conflict has erupted a few weeks after the Lions arrived Down Under and immediately demanded that leading players should be released by the Wallabies to play in tour matches against them. 

Chief executive Ben Calveley said: ‘The agreement is very clear that Test players have to be released to play in fixtures leading into that series.’ Once the series is under way, it appears that the agreement has become less clear.

Meanwhile, Rugby Australia have confirmed that Suncorp Stadium has sold out for the first Test, ensuring that a crowd of 52,500 will watch the series opener.

Attention will now turn to the efforts to achieve a near-full house in Melbourne, where the MCG has a 100,000 capacity. 

The record attendance for a Lions Test was the 95,000 who saw the opening encounter with the Springboks in Johannesburg in 1955. The final Test here in Sydney is on course to be an 83,500 sell-out