SYDNEY :British & Irish Lions coach Andy Farrell said a Wallabies revival was on its way and reiterated his view that it was insulting for people to suggest that they might not be strong enough opponents for a touring Lions side.
After taking the Lions close in Melbourne last week, the Wallabies handed the visitors their only loss of their nine-match tour of Australia on Saturday with a convincing 22-12 victory in Sydney.
Farrell had no complaints about the defeat, even if it cost his side a 3-0 series sweep, and he thought the Wallabies could be a real power when they host the World Cup in 2027.
“I said to (Australia coach) Joe (Schmidt) before the game there on the pitch, that I think special things are going to happen for this team over the next 18 months,” Farrell told a post-match press conference.
“By the time the World Cup comes around, they’ll be a force to be reckoned with, like everyone’s seen in the past, they’ve got some special athletes and some special players, and that’s no surprise to us after how they performed over the last couple of weeks.”
A decade of struggles on and off the pitch have knocked Australia down the pecking order in the rugby world and the twice world champions made a pool stage exit at the World Cup for the first time in 2023.
Farrell, though, scoffed at the idea that they were no longer worthy of their place in the Lions touring cycle along with New Zealand and South Africa.
“We all know how hard it is to be successful on the Lions tour against a good side like Australia, and they are a good side, and they proved that over the series,” he said.
“I mean, everyone has their ups and downs. I’ve looked at the progress over the last 18 months. It’s been through the roof and you look at that side that’s been out there over the last … three weeks, they’re a hell of a team.”
Asked about whether he was disappointed not to make it a clean sweep by winning Saturday’s final test, Farrell said there were obviously frustrations.
“Like we’ve said all along, that we wanted to win every game, and rightly so, but the best team won on the night today,” he said.
