All Blacks legend Umaga joins AUNZ coaching dream team to take down the Lions 20 years after THAT tackle on BOD

Twenty years after unceremoniously dumping Brian O’Driscoll in a tackle that ended the Lions captain’s tour in the opening seconds of the first Test, Tana Umaga – the Moana Pasifika coach – will join Toutai Kefu’s coaching staff for July’s second invitational match against the famed team.

Umaga was one of four assistants named in Kefu’s First Nations and Pasifika coaching team to take on the Lions in Melbourne on July 22.

The former All Blacks captain, who has seen Moana Pasifika emerge as the storyline of the 2025 Super Rugby season, will be joined by Wallabies great Sekope Kepu, ex-Wallabies and Fiji coach Simon Raiwalui and Glen Ella, who is one of 15 Indigenous Wallabies and was a part of Rod Macqueen’s coaching team that beat the Lions in 2001.

Facebook Twitter Whatsapp Reddit Email Share

The exhibition match, which will be played between the first and second Test, is the first of its kind and came about after the Rebels folded following their financial collapse in 2024.

“The First Nations Pasifika match against the Lions will be a truly special occasion for rugby as it inspires and unites communities across Australia and the Pacific as well as the UK and Ireland,” Rugby Australia high performance director Peter Horne said.

“The rugby will be intense and competitive and the societal impact immense as First Nations and Pasifika cultures are celebrated on one of world sport’s grandest stages.

“Toutai, as always, will lead from the front as he proudly represents his Tongan and Australian heritage. And we are delighted to complete his coaching staff with leaders of the calibre of Tana Umaga, Sekope Kepu, Simon Raiwalui and Glen Ella.

“Together, they represent the best of rugby and the First Nations and Pasifika cultures. The game against the Lions at Melbourne’s Marvel Stadium promises to be a spine-tingling occasion in a huge week for rugby in Melbourne, coming four days before the second Test between the Wallabies and Lions at the Melbourne Cricket Ground.”

The addition of Umaga is bound to evoke emotion 20 years following that tackle at Jade Stadium.

Together with Keven Mealamu, O’Driscoll was speared to the ground at a ruck and dislocated his shoulder.

The incident was left unpunished while O’Driscoll missed the rest of the dreaded tour.

It will be the second time Umaga has coached against the Lions, with the famed back of Samoan background overseeing the Blues’ 22-16 win at Eden Park in 2017.

Since then, Umaga has left the Blues and taken on the Moana Pasifika coaching role, with the newbies of Super Rugby needing only to beat the Hurricanes on Saturday to reach the finals after a remarkable rise in 2025, which coincides with Ardie Savea’s arrival at the club.

Ella, who last coached on the international stage with England alongside Eddie Jones, jumped at the chance to coach against the Lions 24 years after helping the Wallabies to a 2-1 series win.

The former Wallaby, who together with his brothers Mark and Gary created history on the international stage, said the occasion might never be repeated.

“The players will never get an opportunity like this again, probably in their lives. I think the Pasifika team and First Nations team will be very passionate,” Ella told The Sydney Morning Herald.

“Normally in a game, you’d swap your jumpers with the Lions, but I’m thinking, no, keep those jumpers instead of giving them away. They’re representing their countries, they’re representing their communities and they’re representing their families.

“We keep on saying it, but this has never been done before. What we want to do is make sure that when we play the game in Melbourne, whether we win or lose, that we do our countries proud.”

Just who takes the field remains to be seen, but it’s likely that Kurtley Beale will play a prominent role.

“It just depends on where they’re going to pick him, if he is available, which I hope he is,” Ella added. “I’d love to have him.”

Dylan Pietsch – the 15th Indigenous Wallaby – is also a natural fit should he not earn selection to face the Lions in the first couple of Tests.

Fellow Indigenous Super Rugby regulars Andy Muirhead and Triston Reilly are also strong options.

Kefu last week said he would also love to have Ardie Savea on his side.

“I’d love to have him, love to have a crack at it anyway,” he said. “He’d be great to have for our team.”

But despite Umaga’s addition, it’s extremely unlikely that the star back-rower will be available given his All Blacks commitments.

Click here to read article