澳洲教练Joe Schmidt与狮子会为比赛前的比赛 释放顶尖球员而发生冲突 Australian coach Joe Schmidt clashes with Lions over releasing top players for pre-Test matches.

澳大利亚主教练乔·施密特 （Joe Schmidt） 与英国和爱尔兰雄狮队就热身赛的球员释放问题展开对峙。 Australian head coach Joe Schmidt faces off with British and Irish Lions over player release for warm-up games. 狮子会主席本·卡尔维利 （Ben Calveley） 要求施密特释放 Joseph-Aukuso Suaalii 和 Len Ikitau 等顶级球员参加测试前比赛，并声称存在明确的协议。 Lions' chief Ben Calveley demands Schmidt free top players like Joseph-Aukuso Suaalii and Len Ikitau for pre-Test matches, claiming a clear agreement exists. Schmidt认为这将会是「反效果」, 旨在为斐济的热身游戏和即将到来的测试系列保护他的星星。 Schmidt argues this would be "counter-productive," aiming to protect his stars for the Fiji warm-up game and the upcoming Test series.