Lions to kick off 2025 Tour with shocking display of elitism and snub to rivals
The Lions will kick off their 2025 Tour with a stunning display of elitism - there will be no 'test caps' for the game with Argentina.
This at a time when the Pumas are FIFTH in the world rankings, three spots ahead of world-ranked EIGHTH Australia for whom Lions caps will be awarded for playing against.
The Lions will play nine matches on their 2025 Tour, one in Ireland and eight in Australia.
Of those, four are against national sides, the opener Argentina in the Aviva Stadium and the three-game series with Australia.
There are a further three games against Super Rugby teams, one against a representative selection and one game against opposition yet to be confirmed.
Yet there are only Lions caps awarded for the games with the Wallabies, a clear snub to the Pumas - never mind those playing over €150 to watch the game in Dublin which is essentially ranked by the Lions as an 'exhibition'.
"For us, the most important thing is not who we play or where we play, it is the jersey we put on," insists teak-tough Puma centre Matias Moroni.
"So it doesn't matter if it's a game in a park or in a stadium with all the crowd, every time we put on our jersey it is the most important thing, because we represent all our effort.
"We represent all the players that have played for Argentina, our country, our family, our amateur clubs, our coaches.
"So I think, obviously it's real for us, it's gonna be a really good amount of fear, but the most important thing is to do our best in the jersey that we're gonna put on."
Ireland may have five players in the mix to start as the likelihood is the eight Leinster players who started against Bulls last weekend won't be considered while there are a further three on the injury list.
Ronan Kelleher, who was on the bench for Bulls might be involved, while Connacht's Bundee Aki, Finlay Bealham and Mack Hansen - none of whom were born in Ireland - and Munster's Tadhg Beirne are in consideration.
A poor return for Irish for fans for a game which does not award Lions caps and for which the lowest priced tickets for the Aviva are €158.
A cost that has drawn criticism from many quarters and compares unfavourably with the list prices for the rest of the non-Test games on the Tour as, for instance, the Lions vs Western Force match in Perth has tickets from €58.
The game against Queensland Reds in Brisbane has tickets for €67.
Meanwhile, Scotland second-row Scott Cummings is expected to claim one of the second-row spots on Friday, most likely alongside Beirne.
"It was definitely a bit of a surreal moment hearing your name get called out and that you had made the squad," admitted the Scot who was only considered 40/60 to make the cut beforehand.
"It's something you dream of as a kid and as a player. Over the past couple of years, it's definitely been a target for me.
"Obviously, with being injured for a decent part of the season, I didn't know if that was going to affect my chances so hearing your name called out was probably the highlight of my professional career so far.
"It's been a bit of a whirlwind since then, getting to meet everyone. Andy Farrell has set his stall out in terms of what he wants from us all and it's just getting to know everyone and build that cohesion."
Cummings revealed that Farrell, pre-Tour, had decided on a light touch.
"He didn't load us too much before we came in. We were playing with our clubs and he wanted us finishing the season winning if we could.
"But since we've been in, there's a lot of detail being added. Everyone's trying to help each other out.
"Obviously, some of the Irish guys have been through certain things but it's a different game plan and there's a lot of stuff coming from all the teams so everyone is working together as much as they can.
"It's tough because there are different coaches, there's lots of stuff we're taking from the different teams we're trying to integrate into one."
Cummings has enjoyed the freedom to finish out the season with Glasgow without the extra Lions pressure.
"I've always said that if you play well for your club, you get picked for national and if you get picked for national, you end up being picked for the Lions.
"For me, it's just trying to represent Glasgow as well as I can every day and represent Scotland as much as I could. I want to get my hands on the ball.
"I feel like I'm someone who has got a bit of speed in their game, that's probably one of my points of difference, so trying to get my hands on the ball, run lines, and impact the defence as much as I can."
And now the hope is he will impress against Argentina
"I think the coaches have put it on us. We've only been together for a short period of time so there will be some mistakes.
"We're still learning our systems over the past couple of weeks, but Friday is a massive opportunity for us to show what we've been working on.
"We have high quality players across the team, and they're just telling us to go and make rugby decisions; attack it, don't sit back and let Argentina play their style. Go and get them, go and show what we can do as a team..
"It's a massive occasion, if I'm lucky enough to get selected it will be a huge moment for anyone."
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