Wallaby and Western Force Flanker Carlo Tizzano has the upcoming British-Irish Lions tour in his sights after spending the past 12 months in the Australian set up.
The WA product’s journey to the top was no easy feat, having grown up in Western Australia which is more Aussie Rules-adjacent than Rugby, and being looked down upon by his east coast peers when playing at state level.
After doing the hard yards to make it to the top, he finally made his international debut in August 2024 in Queensland against the Springboks, making him the first West Aussie to do so since Curtis Rona in 2017.
Reflecting on the journey and what lays ahead, the 24 year-old is looking to set new goals in 2025.
“I think it’s probably only just me coming back in to the environment, to the Western Force environment, just kind of realising like, wow, I’ve achieved what I set out to achieve when I was 13 years old, even younger than that,” he told SportFM.
“I want to be a professional athlete. But now being in here, it’s 2025, having all what’s ahead for Australian rugby, it’s kind of like, okay, so what’s next?
“I’ve achieved my big goal. Now it’s time to set some new ones. So I’m really excited.”
One of his aspirations for this year includes the upcoming British-Lions tour of Australia happening in winter this year.
The British-Irish Lions will tour down under and break the 12 year hiatus marking the tenth series played since its inception in 1899.
Last time the Lions came to Australia in 2013, they took out the series 2-1, with the Wallabies managing one win in Melbourne at Marvel Stadium.
In line with tradition, the Lions will play three tests against the Wallabies, and six additional tour matches around Australia, including one against the Western Force on June 28th at Optus Stadium.
Tizzano, who has represented both the Wallabies and the Force, aspires to be representing the green and gold when the tour rolls around.
“This is something that comes around every 12 years and I think just the eyes that are going to be on the game, I just think it’s going to be like a next level experience,” he told SportFM.
“You ask anyone about the British-Irish Lions, what their tour means to Australian rugby players, it’s like the second best thing to play in a World Cup or play in a World Cup final, someone actually told me.
“They reckon playing in a 1-1 series decider, the equivalent to a World Cup final, so that’s pretty cool.”
Heading into the series, Australia can take some confidence from beating both England and Wales – two of the four nations that make up the Lions, in November last year away from home.
This marked a massive turnaround from the Australian side led by Joe Schmidt, after finishing dead last in the Rugby Championship campaign earlier in the year.
It was also the first time they had beaten England in nine matches, their first win at Twickenham since 2015 and their highest score against England abroad.
Tizzano is confident in the current Wallabies set up, having learned plenty from his stint with them over the past 12 months, claiming Schmidt is one of the world’s best.
“Definitely one thing I’ve learned is just all the technical stuff around the fundamentals that Joe Schmidt harps on about,” he said.
“I think he’s one of the best coaches in the world for a reason and he has like all the fundamental stuff we go through every day, is how the Wallabies play now, a whole lot better than we were in 2023.
“It’s really exciting and the coaching group we have there is no joke.”
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