“Yes and no,” he said when asked if he regretted not being able to turn out for the Perth-based side.
“Obviously it is out of the players’ control – we do what the coaches want, we get the schedule and we come into camp.
“There are four Force boys here [retained by the Wallabies], five back there, so there is a good share back there ready to rip in this weekend.
“It would have been awesome to play – any game you get to play against the Lions is pretty cool – but we are in camp, preparing for Fiji next week and we are really excited to watch the Force boys play at the weekend.”
Donaldson is one of three fly-halves in the Wallabies squad, competing with Tom Lynagh to back up first-choice Noah Lolesio. If selection goes against him, he could miss out on facing the Lions at all.
Force finished ninth in this season’s Super Rugby Pacific table, the lowest of any of the Australian sides.
“Yeah, they will win I reckon,” Donaldson said with a smile when asked about the outcome of Saturday’s match.
“It is an awesome experience for them and a great challenge, you saw the Brumbies win 12 years ago so it is not impossible.”
Lions assistant coach Andrew Goodman said he expects all the Super Rugby sides to raise their game considerably for a meeting with the Lions that only comes around once every 12 years.
“If you watch a Force team or a Reds team during Super Rugby, it’s not an indication of what you’re going to get against a Lions team,” he said.
“It’s a once-in-a-life opportunity for most of those guys, so the level of intensity is going to be through the roof.”
