"Right for the Fans" - British & Irish Lions CEO wants Wallabies to release top stars back to clubs for tour matches

The Lions will then go on to play against the Reds, Waratahs and Brumbies across the 2nd, 5th and 9th of July. Australia head coach, Joe Schmidt, has been compliant with the terms thus far, having allowed some of his Test match stars to return to Western Force ahead of the match in Perth.

Nick Champion De Crespigny, Dylan Pietsch, Tom Robertson, Darcy Swain, and Nic White, are all expected to play in the opening contest on Saturday, against the Lions at the Optus Stadium in Western Australia.

“We’ll see a competitive fixture at the weekend (Lions v Western Force) and that’s what we’re looking for. We want to make sure our guys are battle-hardened when it comes to the Test series." said Lions CEO Ben Calveley during a ‘Welcome to Country’ ceremony in Perth’s Kings Park, a 20-minute First Nations cultural experience.

“The agreement is very clear, it says that Test players have to be released [to their clubs] to play in fixtures leading into that series. That is our expectation.

The Wallabies then have their own pre-series tune up to prepare for, with Schmidt's side taking on Fiji on Sunday 6th July. This is expected to be a bruising encounter with the Pacific Islanders, that will get the top stars of the Wallabies squad match ready for the incoming three-Test series.

“We’ll play the game at the weekend and will carry on having discussions with (Rugby Australia chief executive) Phil Waugh and will take it step by step.

“It’s really important that these games are competitive. It’s not just from a performance standpoint but it’s also right for the fans, partners and broadcasters, who are all expecting competitive fixtures. That would be their expectation as well.”