Wallabies legend David Campese says coach Andy Farrell treated the British & Irish Lions’ tour of Australia as “an Irish development tour” rather than selecting the best possible side.

Farrell’s Lions won the first Test 27-19 in Brisbane and needed a last-minute try to snatch a dramatic 29-26 win in Melbourne after trailing 23-5, before losing the third Test 22-12 in Sydney.

While the tourists ultimately claimed a 2-1 series victory, Campese believes the manner of their success lacked the historic feel of previous tours.

“It’s hard to know how this Lions tour will be judged,” Campese wrote in his latest Planet Rugby column. “At times, I feel that the hype was far greater than the reality. It was all a little manufactured, perhaps a little twee.

“There were no real moments that came from within from the tourists – they were, at times, a microwave meal version of the Lions over and above the banquet feasts we saw in years such as 1989, 1997 and 2009.”

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Campese said Farrell’s selection policy was particularly uninspired.

“I also feel that Andy Farrell at times treated this as an Irish development tour. There’s no way that the likes of Bundee Aki, James Lowe, Andrew Porter, James Ryan and Jack Conan were the best players in their positions during the build-up and series.

“Never forget, while these guys have had some success in friendly Tests and so on, they’ve achieved absolutely nothing in terms of the big silverware in Test rugby – the World Cup – and there’s a reason for that: they’re average players.”

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