M.J. Bale | Australian Fibre
Official Tailor to the Wallabies — 2025 British and Irish Lions Tour
That observation became a film.
The brief arrived during a conversation at the M.J. Bale Rosebery office — listening to the team talk about the next evolution of the brand as a natural fibres company. The vision was clear: a label grounded in provenance, in the integrity of material, in the idea that what something is made of determines what it can endure. The campaign was the Lions Tour — a once-every-twelve-years test that arrives with the weight of careers, legacies, and national identity on the line.
There was only one current Wallaby from the 2013 tour. Everyone wearing gold in 2025 was doing it for the first time. That newness, that hunger — it needed to be in the film.
M.J. Bale
Premium Fashion & Apparel
Sydney, Australia
Creative Direction, TVCs & Commercials
The Concept
Australian Fibre is a living metaphor. The physical fibre of Merino wool and the moral fibre of the men who wear it. We approached the scrum as a weaving process — bodies binding together under pressure, each player a thread in something that only holds if everyone holds. Technical terms borrowed from the game — binding, stitch, prop — reinterpreted as the language of craft, of making, of things built to last.
The forwards were our protagonists. Not the try scorers or the names that make the back page — the engine room. The players who do the unseen labour, who fight for every inch in a contest most people in the stands don't fully understand. Their work is the fabric of the result. That parallel felt true, and truth is what the camera follows.
Allan Alaalatoa. Rob Valetini. Tom Wright. Narrated by Justin Harrison — a Wallabies legend who played in the golden era, who understands what that jersey costs and what it carries. His voice is the thread between eras.
The Characters
Allan Alaalatoa — The Relentless
Following in the footsteps of his father Vili, who represented Manu Samoa at the 1991 Rugby World Cup, Alaalatoa has been a cornerstone of the Brumbies since 2014 and has earned over 80 caps for the Wallabies. He stayed in Australia when others left for the money. That decision is a statement of belief — in the jersey, in the project, in what is being built. On set he brought the same quality he carries into a scrum: quiet, focused, complete.
Rob Valetini — The Carrier
Forty-seven of the Wallabies' last fifty Tests. A back row enforcer who plays with something personal at stake — the narrative around Australian rugby, and his determination to change it. "You only borrow the jersey. If I could leave it at a better place — I'd be happy with that." That conviction is exactly what Australian Fibre was built to honour.
Tom Wright — The Perspective
After facing his own hardships, Wright found his compass in a simple observation from a friend: "The sun still rises tomorrow." There is a particular kind of resilience in a player who has learned to situate difficulty without being consumed by it. He brings that lightness to a film that otherwise carries considerable weight.
The Context
The Lions Tour carries a particular gravity. It happens every twelve years — meaning a generation of young players dreams of playing it, a generation of stars gets their moment, and the legends who defined the game watch it through memory. Australia have only won the series once, in 2001. The 2025 tour arrived with hype, anticipation, and the renewed belief that had been building since the Autumn Nations Tour restored faith in the gold jersey."I remember watching the Wallabies as a kid — at the architecture firm where my father worked. George Gregan, John Eales, Justin Harrison on a television in a room that smelled like drafting paper. That era had a particular quality. A belief that Australian rugby was something the world watched."— Rowland Reyes Martinez, Director
Then came the years of hardship. The 2023 World Cup. The questions about identity and direction. But on YouTube — in comment sections, of all places — people from different countries were rediscovering this Wallabies squad, talking about them with genuine excitement.
Australian Fibre is an ode to that moment. The rise, the fall, and the team reborn.
Distribution & Impact
Broadcast nationally across every British & Irish Lions Tour stadium match and Stan Sport. Screened live at Suncorp Stadium, AAMI Park, and Accor Stadium. National OOH across Australian airports and digital displays including the Qantas Domestic Terminal.
68,000+ YouTube views. 151,500+ Instagram views. End-to-end production — concept, script, direction, cinematography, editing, sound design via Moiré Archive.
Credits
Rowland Reyes Martinez
Creative Director
Rowland Reyes Martinez
1st AD & Storyboard Designer
Angela Tam
Script
Ivan Cartagena Cox
Max Ravier
Art Director
Angela Tam
Editor & Colourist
Max Ravier
Score
BABYGOD
Audio Engineering
Moiré Records
Camilo Bustamante
Digital Operator
Carissa Anderson
Justin Harrison
Allan Alaalatoa
Rob Valetini
Tom Wright
Jonathan Lobban
Partnerships Manager
Susie Thompson
Head of Creative
Toby Jones
Junior Art Director
Rhiarn Schuck
Graphic Designer
Christopher Hope
David Bonney
Styling Assistant
Anna Ferrando
H&MUA
Kimberley Forbes
PURSUIT OF PERFECTION →
MAILLOT PADDINGTON →