Matt Williams warns ‘arrogant’ Irish rugby public and Lions of potential humbling

He came out all guns blazing ahead of the Australia tour.

The Lions will play nine matches in Australia as part of the tour. There is a feeling by Irish rugby fans that this year's tour could be an easier task to handle for Farrell's players, compared to previous tours in New Zealand or South Africa.

This is a sentiment that was brought up to former Australian rugby coach Matt Williams on an appearance on Off the Ball Breakfast.

The ex-Leinster coach was well aware of the expectations from the Irish rugby public, for the Lions to come away with a comfortable win in Australia. It is a level of confidence that is coming from the public that Williams feels is arrogant and could come back to bite the Irish.

The rugby iconic said: "Yep 100% there's a tone of it's only Australia.

"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."

He added: "Keep it going guys because you'll get beaten!"

The Lions will face the Wallabies three times across the tour. Williams was full of praise for Wallabies head coach Joe Schmidt improving the team, since his appointment in 2024.

"What Joe is trying to do is reignite an Australian way of playing. Our voice and how we go about things, which is unique in the world.

"We lost that voice for so long and Joe deserves a lot of credit for bringing that back."