The First Lions Test 2025 – Suncorp, Brisbane

There are some games you know are big, and then there are games that feel different. The Lions Series sits in that second category.

My first experience of a Lions tour was actually in South Africa, and it couldn’t have been more different. No crowds, no noise, just the game itself. It felt almost like a club match at times. You realise pretty quickly how much the crowd gives you as a referee. It’s not just energy, it’s awareness. The crowd reacts to moments, they highlight things, they add another layer to how the game feels and flows. Without that, it’s a very different experience.

So coming into Australia, it felt like a proper Lions Series again.

When I got told I’d be refereeing the first Test in Brisbane, I was genuinely excited. Suncorp is one of my favourite stadiums in the world. It’s got history, especially with State of Origin and big rugby games, and it just feels like a place where important matches happen.

There was a lot of talk about this Lions team being one of the strongest touring sides in a long time. You could see that with the depth they had across all four nations. At the same time, Australia were building. They hadn’t had the same preparation, but they still had quality players and you always know in a Test match they’ll turn up.

That week was all about preparation, not just for one game but for the whole series. In a three-Test series, consistency is everything. What you do in the first game sets the tone for the rest. We spent a lot of time as a refereeing group making sure we were aligned. Tackle, ruck, lineout, foul play, communication, all of it. We ran through scenarios, role-played situations, and made sure we were seeing the same pictures. Across a series, you rotate roles, so that alignment becomes even more important.

I’d also come into the game managing a bit of a hamstring issue from the week before in Perth. Nothing major, just a mild strain, but enough that I had to be smart with it. A bit of experience helps there, knowing how to manage your body and still get yourself in the best position to perform.

The build-up in Brisbane was unreal. You could feel the city getting behind it. Good weather, full stadium, everything you want for a Test match.

There’s always a moment just before kickoff that sticks with me. After the anthems, there’s a couple of minutes where the teams are huddling and finishing their prep, and you’re just standing there in the middle of the field.

At Suncorp that night, AC/DC ‘Hells Bells’ started playing and the whole stadium just lifted. I remember standing there by myself, looking around, feeling the noise, the bass, the energy of the crowd, and just thinking that this is a pretty special place to be. No matter what happens in the game, moments like that are something you don’t take for granted.

TMO Decisions

There’s always a sense of nerves when you hear the TMO say “check check” - but part of the preparation before the games means you have full confidence the team can deal with anything.

The game itself was exactly what you’d expect from a Test match. Physical, fast, and with some big moments that needed to be managed well. The Lions came out on top, but from a refereeing perspective it was about how we handled those key situations.

We used the TMO when we needed to and I thought we worked really well as a team. There were a couple of important moments around tries where players had been tackled, got back to their feet and grounded the ball. Those were clear no-tries once the tackle had been completed. There was also a situation around a low tackle where both arms came up and it ended up being a play-on decision, which is something we’re seeing more of in the modern game. And then a cleanout that resulted in high contact, but when you looked at it properly it was a rugby incident where the ball carrier had changed height late. We handled these situations well as a team, picked the right moment, explained our decisions clearly, and made decisions that were followable. That’s the art of refereeing in some ways, there are many ‘technically accurate’ decisions but the art is making decisions that are followable and consistent within the game.

Those are the moments that matter. They’re not always obvious in real time, but they’re the ones that define how the game is refereed.

From the outside, it probably looked like a smooth game. But often when a game looks easy, it’s because the big moments have been handled well.

Looking back on it, it’s a game I’m really proud of. Not because it was perfect, but because of how we worked together as a team and how we managed the pressure of a first Test in a Lions Series.

It also set the standard for what came next. Melbourne and then Sydney followed, and that first game gave us a really solid base to build from.

Refereeing Test rugby always comes with pressure, but it’s also a privilege. Nights like that at Suncorp are exactly why you do it.