Rugby Australia chief executive Phil Waugh has shut down the prospect of star Wallabies being exiled for the British and Irish Lions series due to a decision to play overseas in 2026, emphasising the need to “put our best possible team onto the field” in July. Waugh stressed victory against the Lions – and not future development – is the No.1 priority as he also welcomed the record level of interest in the blockbuster series with the release of a final allocation of tickets on Thursday due to take the overall tally past 500,000 tickets sold. Rugby Australia is also set to confirm the Indigenous and Pasifika invitation game in Melbourne on the schedule, which will be predominantly made up of Australian players but could also see select invitees from the Fijian Drua and Moana Pasifika as well. The huge interest in the nine-game Lions tour has not only generated record ticket sales in Australia – there were 380,000 tickets sold in the 2014 – but Rugby Australia is also ahead of forecast commercial revenues, too. Most games are close to sold out, but small batches of tickets are still up for grabs, after corporates and tour groups handed back tickets.