Wallabies great Matt Burke has taken a swipe at Ben Youngs and believes that Andy Farrell has a big selection headache after Ireland\u2019s failure in the Six Nations.<\/b><\/p>\n
Today marks 100 days until the British and Irish Lions tour to Australia commences.<\/p>\n
Burke, who was part of a successful series for the Wallabies back in 2001, is eagerly looking forward to the tour, particularly after Australia\u2019s improved showings at the end of last year.<\/p>\n
Ben Youngs\u2019 comment<\/p>\n
After beating Wales in back-to-back matches Down Under last July, Joe Schmidt\u2019s charges struggled in the Rugby Championship, losing to South Africa and New Zealand twice, while beating Argentina once but also falling to a defeat to Los Pumas.<\/p>\n
This led to real concerns over how competitive the Wallabies<\/a> would be in the series in 2025, with former England scrum-half Youngs suggesting that the British and Irish Lions<\/a> should tour South Africa instead.<\/p>\n \u201cI\u2019m looking at it and thinking the Lions are better off going to South Africa and touring there. Given that the last time they went, there was no fans allowed,\u201d he said on his podcast For the Love of Rugby.<\/p>\n \u201dI don\u2019t know, maybe we\u2019ll just do a reunion of 2013 and we\u2019ll just go f***ing do the business on them \u2013 get all the lads out of retirement.\u201d<\/p>\n Youngs would be served some humble pie in November when Australia defeated Wales and England while being rather competitive against Scotland and Ireland.<\/p>\n Despite the improved performances, many will still see the Lions as the favourites to win the series but speaking on Thursday, Burke took a swipe at Youngs and said that the Australian spirit is something that cannot be written off.<\/p>\n \u201cIt was an interesting call from Ben Youngs<\/a> saying we should go elsewhere,\u201d he told reporters in Sydney.<\/p>\n \u201cYou can\u2019t write off the Aussie spirit, it is just so good and more often than not, we punch above our weight.\u201d<\/p>\n \u2018The Lions are better off going to South Africa\u2019 \u2013 England centurion rips into \u2018proper dark\u2019 state of Australian rugby<\/strong><\/a><\/p>\n Joey Manu on the \u2018verge\u2019 of massive U-turn after All Blacks hopeful stated he was \u2018sticking with union\u2019<\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n Andy Farrell\u00a0in a \u2018difficult\u2019 spot<\/p>\n The legendary full-back also believes that head coach Farrell will have to shift some of the plans for his squad after Ireland underperformed during the Six Nations.<\/p>\n Simon Easterby took over as head coach of Ireland for the tournament, with them and France being clear frontrunners for the title. However, it was an underwhelming performance from the men in green and Burke believes that will be reflected in the final squad named next month<\/a>.<\/p>\n \u201cWith the way it finished this year (in the Six Nations) with Ireland not winning, they have got to choose more players from elsewhere,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n \u201cEngland and Ireland will get the majority of players, Scotland will get some in there and Wales might sneak a few.<\/p>\n \u201cAll of a sudden it\u2019s a very difficult proposition to get a culminating team to thrive and be cohesive \u2013 that\u2019s probably the big thing.<\/p>\n \u201cLook it doesn\u2019t matter who they throw out, these guys (the Wallabies) have to play well and that\u2019s the great part of that Aussie spirit that I mentioned. When you throw that jersey on there is no denying the spirit that comes out of you and culminating with playing at home and having an Aussie crowd supporting you, it is quite a moment to be a part of.\u201d<\/p>\n