‘Keep it going & you'll get beaten' – Virgin Media pundit warns ‘arrogant' Irish rugby public Lions could get humbled
MATT Williams reckons the Irish rugby public have grown "arrogant" and warned the Lions "could get beaten" as a result.
Since it is
2
Andy Farrell's best of Britain and Ireland side will be fancied to win the series 3-0
Credit: Sportsfile
2
Aussie Williams feels this general sense could negatively impact how the Lions perform
Credit: @VMSportIE
But sporting history is littered with countless examples of upsets occurring with it only afterwards that the favourites admit complacency seeped in from fans and media alike.
Regular
Though he acknowledged his rugby union in his nation remains at a low ebb, he told
With a wry grin, he then added: "Keep it going guys because you'll get beaten!
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"I've been involved with Irish rugby for 25 years and I've never seen Irish rugby become so arrogant.
"We've seen the English be arrogant for a long, long time - 800 years even! But I've never seen Irish rugby like this.
"Think back to November and all of the talk was 'Awh we should've beaten New Zealand, they've lost their aura'.
"And of course New Zealand ended up smacking our bums."
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The former
Williams emphasized: "What Joe is trying to is reignite an Australian way of playing. Our voice and how we go about things, which is unique in the world.
'Cried like a baby didn't ya-' - Watch Andy Farrell embarrass Ireland star over reaction to Lions call-up
"We lost that voice for so long and Joe deserves a lot of credit for bringing that back."
In total there are 16 Irish players in the Lions squad. Farrell's charges begin their 10-game slate
Yesterday saw him
The headline item from it was that
The prop has not played since
IRISH EYES
He is joined in the replacements by Rónan Kelleher, the only other Leinster player involved because they were involved in
There are still three Irish players in the starting XV with 2021 tourists Bundee Aki of Connacht and Munster's Tadhg Beirne included, along with Bealham.
Aki and Bealham's provincial teammate
Farrell has not included any Bath representatives with the side involved in the Premiership final against Leicester Tigers on Saturday.
Lions: M Smith (England), Freeman (England), Tuipulotu (Scotland), Aki (Ireland), van der Merwe (Scotland), F Smith (England), Mitchell (England), Genge (England), Cowan-Dickie (England), Bealham (Ireland), Itoje (England), Beirne (Ireland), Curry (England), Morgan (Wales), Earl (England).
Replacements: Kelleher (Ireland), Schoeman (Scotland), Furlong (Ireland), Cummings (Scotland), Pollock (England), Williams (Wales), Daly (England), Hansen (Ireland).test
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