Improving Wallabies will test Lions, says Roff

SYDNEY - World Cup-winning winger Joe Roff, who played an instrumental role in Australia's series victory over the British and Irish Lions in 2001, is convinced the Wallabies will be competitive when the tourists return in July.

Australia, knocked out of the 2023 World Cup in the pool stage, are ranked 10th in the world as they head off on their end-of-season tour this week, a far cry from the world champions who came from a Test down to beat the Lions 23 years ago.

Roff, who triggered the 2001 comeback with two tries in the second Test and is now president of Rugby Australia, said he could already see the impact of Joe Schmidt's work with the team despite the loss of five of their six Rugby Championship Tests.

"You cannot forget the Rugby Championship was against three of the four semi-finalists at the Rugby World Cup. We were playing against the top teams," he said at the launch of the Wallabies kit for the Lions series on Oct 29.