Australian rugby is abuzz this week with the Wallabies officially in camp ahead of their July 6 clash with Fiji and the British & Irish Lions touching down in Perth.
The men in gold are set to spend the next few days in Sydney before moving up to the Hunter as Andy Farrell's side build towards their Western Force tour opener on June 28.
Watch every match of the 2025 British & Irish Lions Tour live and on-demand via Stan Sport.
Uncapped Brumbies star Corey Toole told reporters the Lions' arrival had been an infectious occasion to get swept up in.
"There's a good buzz amongst all the Super Rugby teams," Toole told r
"I think everyone's had their eye on the next few months, since the start of the year or even before.
"It was a good taste and experience last year being amongst the squad and playing those Australia A games."
Joe Schmidt admitted that while Toole had earned his spot in the squad, the young star had plenty to work on before he earned his first Test cap.
However, his ability to find the white line is second to none, with a few folks having approached Toole about his Super Rugby Pacific semi final try that sent Damian McKenzie flying.
"I try not to watch myself too much," Toole laughed.
"You get a lot of confidence, I think, just playing those high-pressure games in general.
"It's tough game to play over there against the Chiefs in a semi-final and we didn't get the result. But I think it builds a lot of confidence throughout the team playing those semi-final matches, definitely.
"Those semi-final games, Australia A games, I think just playing footy week in, week out, so you play better footy - you can't replicate test footy. But I think games like that and then training here with the Wallabies, it's as close to it as you'll get."
Toole is aiming to finally break into the side over the next two weeks, and will look for an ideal opportunity against Fiji - hoping to use past frustrations to drive him to earn the call up.
Whether it translates over to caps against the Lions is a question for another time.
"Everyone's looking forward to it, we've got Fiji in a couple of weeks' time," Toole added.
"We're just focused on that for the meantime and, you know, once that game finishes, we'll turn our attention to the Lions and all the boys are buzzing.
"It's always frustrating if you're just training and not playing too many games, but with that frustration, it brings a bit of motivation in the pre-season, the off-season, just train harder and try to put your best foot forward in the Super Rugby season.
"I think everyone in Australian rugby wants to play in those [Lions] games, so we can't wait and we're looking forward to it."
