By David Williams
Wales will have at least one representative on the British and Irish Lions tour to Australia this summer – Aled Walters, who has been confirmed as the squad’s head of athletic performance.
Whilst the number of Welsh players included may turn out to be modest compared to recent tours, Walters will at least help carry the flag.
Currently working with Ireland, Walters – who is from Llangadog in Carmarthenshire – will link up again with Ireland head coach Andy Farrell, who is heading the Lions party.
“The Lions is the absolute pinnacle and my earliest memory of them was watching the 1989 Australia Tour as an eight-year-old and celebrating Ieuan Evans’ try in the Third Test,” said Walters.
“It is true that there is no greater honour than being selected for a Lions tour and I cannot wait to work with the very best players and coaches as we take on the Wallabies and tour Australia.”
Walters has never worked with Wales, but made his reputation overseas – first with Taranaki in New Zealand, then with the Brumbies in Australia, Munster, before spells with South Africa, Leicester Tigers and a brief stint with England, before heading for Ireland once more.
The Lions have confirmed two other appointments for their summer trip to take on the Wallabies.
David Nucifora joins the set-up as general manager, having worked in a similar position with the IRFU in Ireland for a decade between 2014 and 2024, and then taken up a comparable position with Scotland last summer.
David Nucifora, Aled Walters and Vinny Hammond will join Andy Farrell’s British & Irish Lions backroom team ahead of the Tour to Australia pic.twitter.com/dTYGvL5kd7
— Sky Sports Rugby Union (@SkySportsRugby) January 28, 2025
Irishman Vinny Hammond also joins from the IRFU as head of analysis, having previously toured as a Lions analyst in 2017 and 2021.
Farrell said: “In David, Aled and Vinny we have three of the absolute best joining us for the Tour to Australia this summer, culminating in the highly anticipated Test series against the Wallabies.
“David’s unrivalled experience will help us shape and deliver such a challenging and exciting rugby programme, whilst also bringing essential insight into Australian rugby and the country as a whole.
“Aled is a World Cup winner who has worked with players across England and Ireland and has also coached in Australia and Super Rugby with the Brumbies.
“And Vinny’s Lions pedigree from touring New Zealand and South Africa brings continuity and Lions experience, which will be crucial to success down under.”
Nucifora said: “Having watched the Lions tour Australia over the years, and then playing against them for a Queensland XV in 1989, never did I expect that one day I would be part of their team – but it is funny how sport works.
“I look forward to drawing on my experiences with Ireland and Scotland in supporting Andy as he goes about building a truly world-class backroom team and squad.”
