Questioning Australia’s future as Lions opponents is ‘insulting’ – Andy Farrell

Andy Farrell insisted debate over Australia’s future as a British and Irish Lions tour destination was “insulting”.

The Lions are seeking to complete a series whitewash when the rivals clash for the final time in Sydney on Saturday with Farrell making two changes to his starting XV, bringing in lock James Ryan and wing Blair Kinghorn.

Australian rugby is facing significant challenges on and off the field and is the weakest of the three nations visited by the elite of British and Irish rugby, with South Africa and New Zealand completing the 12-year rotation.

Furthermore, there is growing support for the Lions to visit France because of the strength of their national side and club game, as well as the commercial possibilities.

The Wallabies answered their critics at Melbourne Cricket Ground by taking the second Test to the wire in an all-time classic before falling 2-0 behind in the series when Hugo Keenan struck with 51 seconds left.

When asked if Australia had earned the right to host another tour, Farrell replied: “It was never off the agenda, in my opinion.

“Every single team, country and province have their ups and downs but Australia – the sporting nation that they are – are always going to come back.

“Have a look at the year they’ve got coming up. Come the 2027 World Cup they’re going to be a force to be reckoned with, 100 per cent.

“It would be tragic not to tour here. We’ve had a blast. To me its insulting to talk about it in that kind of way.”

Ryan replaces Ollie Chessum amid praise from Farrell for the “venom” he shows when taking on the unglamorous work up-front, while Kinghorn has been preferred ahead of James Lowe thanks to his “unpredictability” and the strength of his aerial game in what should be wet and