British and Irish Lions vs. Western Force: Aussies banter ‘southern-hemisphere’ players

Much has been made of the foreign-born members of this summer’s British and Irish Lions squad, but the Australian announcers at their first tour game Down Under found the funny side.

The announcer at the Optus Stadium in Perth read out the teams ahead of the game, although they singled out four members of the Lions side.

“Our former Aussie at No. 14, Mack Hansen,” the ground tanoy sounded. “Another Aussie at No. 12, Sione Tuipulotu.

“At No.11, it’s the Kiwi now Irishman, James Lowe … At prop, the former SA schoolboy now Scotsman, Pierre Schoeman.”

The Lions may have had the last laugh, earning an extremely one-sided 54-7 victory as they kick-started their tour.

The origins of some of this year’s Lions squad was a cause for debate at times in the build-up to the game, with Schoeman saying the squad’s overseas-born players have every right to be apart of the set-up.

Eight players in Andy Farrell’s squad, including Schoeman, were born outside England, Ireland, Scotland and Wales. They have qualified either through family or long-term residency.

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