"Woeful" - David Campese Slams FOUR Lions Stars Including Marcus Smith

Sunday, 22 June 2025 at 06:52

byRugby Rucker

The British and Irish Lions’ 28–24 defeat to Argentina in Dublin on Friday night has sent shockwaves through the rugby world — marking their first opening tour loss since 1971.

RUCK’s Lions content is powered by ISUZU.

Make no mistake, this wasn’t just any warm-up clash. The Pumas came to play, and they delivered a brutal wake-up call to Andy Farrell’s side just one week out from their first hit-out on Australian soil.

While Farrell was quick to give credit to the South Americans, Wallabies legend David Campese didn’t hold back. In a brutally honest assessment, Campese ripped into FOUR Lions players, slamming their performances as “woeful,” “dismal,” and “simply not good enough” for Lions level.

Here’s who felt the full force of Campo’s wrath in his column for PlanerRugby.

1. Duhan van der Merwe – “Dismal display under the ball”

Campese was particularly scathing about van der Merwe’s failure to compete in the air, despite his physical stature:

“I simply can’t understand how Duhan van der Merwe, a man of 6’5”, fails under the high ball in the way he does.”

He pointed out van der Merwe’s aerial struggles as a key weakness that Argentina exploited:

“He’s bloody massive yet managed only one from five in the air in a dismal display under the ball.”

2. Tommy Freeman – “Turned over four times”

While Campese acknowledged Freeman’s work rate and attacking contributions, he didn’t hold back on his vulnerability at the contest and breakdown:

“Tommy Freeman worked hard — 15 carries and the most line breaks — but he was turned over four times — twice in the air and twice on the floor.”

This vulnerability, according to Campese, made it difficult for the Lions to build any continuity:

“That aerial battle — Rodrigo Isgro and Ignacio Mendy absolutely cleaned the Lions out at the contestibles.”

3. Marcus Smith – “Come on!”

Campese was perhaps most passionate in his argument that Smith should not be playing at full-back:

“Yes, in attack he was threatening and he played a part in two of the Lions’ tries, but, and it’s a big but, Australia is the land of the physical, athletic full-back and the spiral bomb.”

He strongly criticised Smith’s suitability for the defensive responsibilities of the 15 jersey:

“The Lions simply cannot afford the luxury of Smith’s defence at 15. He doesn’t understand the positional requirements and he’s simply too small and light to compete one to one.”

Campese’s conclusion was blunt:

“Yes, as an impact player or starting ten, he will do a great job, but as a starting full-back? Come on!”

4. Jac Morgan – “A woeful personal performance”

Morgan received arguably the most damning assessment from Campese, who questioned whether he was even present on the pitch:

“I had to check to be sure Jac Morgan was even playing, such was his lack of impact.”

He pointed to Morgan’s low tackle count and lack of involvement in key areas:

“When your openside spends 55 minutes on the pitch, makes four carries for six metres, and manages six tackles (one every nine minutes!) you wonder why he’s failing to execute the basic roles of his position.”

Campese concluded sharply: