logo
Good craic, banter and beer – oh, and rugby – draw Lions fans to Melbourne game

Good craic, banter and beer – oh, and rugby – draw Lions fans to Melbourne game

The Age4 days ago
For many fans, the Lions' first Australian tour in 12 years is the catalyst to sight-see and reunite with relatives.
Joining Watkins at the MCG will be his uncle Kevin Adams, cousin Kevin Lloyd and godson Morgan Lloyd, 15, who are visiting from Wales.
It will be the first holiday since Christmas for Watkins, who, as a publican, works seven days a week.
The quartet will reserve extra cheers for the Lions' only Welsh player, Jac Morgan.
They won't need much persuasion to gather with fellow spectators and sing the Welsh national anthem, Hen Wlad Fy Nhadau (Land of My Fathers).
'Crowd singing is part of our Welsh heritage,' said Watkins, who pointed to a YouTube clip of a stirring mass rendition of the anthem before a 2013 Wales versus England match in Cardiff.
Saturday's MCG match against the Wallabies and this Tuesday's game against a First Nations and Pasifika team at Marvel Stadium are the Lions' first matches in Melbourne since 2013. Lions matches during this tour are being aired live on Channel 9 (Nine is the owner of this masthead).
The Lions team, which was first formed in 1888, includes top players from England, Ireland, Scotland and Wales.
In 2001, its name was changed from the British Lions to the British and Irish Lions. It 'doesn't roll off the tongue' says Irish-born fan Dave Dillon, but he says the team is usually just called 'Lions'.
Dillon, from Wellington in New Zealand, will go to the MCG match with three of his brothers — Barry, from Kildare in Ireland, and Liam and Neil, now of Cape Cod, in the US.
'The games are great, but I'm looking forward to going for a pint with my brothers, and hanging out,' Dave said.
Dillon says there's nothing like watching the best players, in an electric atmosphere at a big match.
'The craic and the banter is brilliant,' he said.
'Everybody's having a laugh, you're singing songs, you're making fun of each other,' Dillon says. 'It's always good-humoured.'
Rebecca Grice, a Lions fan visiting from Lincolnshire, England, is going to the MCG test with her friend Georgia King, a Wallabies supporter from Sydney.
They've been close since being pen pals as 11 years olds, 20 years ago.
Grice, who played rugby union for nine years, and who supports Leicester Tigers, recently converted King, and King's four-year-old son, to the sport.
'Her enthusiasm is very contagious,' King said. 'Rebecca knows every player. She can answer every question.'
Grice is a big fan of Lions player Ollie Chessum, who is from Lincolnshire, like her.
On July 5, Grice, King and King's nan, Jill Wilkinson, watched the NSW Waratahs rugby union team play the Lions at Sydney's Allianz Stadium.
'The atmosphere was so great. I loved it,' said King.
Earlier that day, in Sydney's George Street, Grice spotted Chessum and four other Lions players, and rushed up to take a selfie with them. 'It was very exciting,' Grice says.
'But I was so nervous and all I could think to say to them was: 'Are you having a good day off?' And they were playing that night! I'm mortified by that!
'One day I hope I'll meet them again and actually have a conversation with them.'
While Grice has travelled to Paris, Wales, Ireland and Twickenham in England to watch England play, she will watch her first live Lions match at the MCG.
King and Grice along with King's husband and father-in-law will drive to Melbourne from Sydney, and stay with King's relatives.
On Saturday, they will get to the MCG early to 'soak in the atmosphere', Grice said. 'I'm so excited.'
Lions games are held every four years in different countries.
'And that's what makes this so special. It's an occasion that brings everyone together, to experience something that you might never get to experience again.'
King says Grice has been raving about the event for years.
Orange background

Try Our AI Features

Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:

Comments

No comments yet...

Related Articles

O'Connor takes second career stage win
O'Connor takes second career stage win

AU Financial Review

time23 minutes ago

  • AU Financial Review

O'Connor takes second career stage win

Courchevel, France | Ben O'Connor stormed to a sensational victory in Stage 18 of the Tour de France, as Jonas Vingegaard's attempt to dethrone Tadej Pogacar imploded in spectacular fashion on the race's most brutal Alpine battleground. The Australian rider, eyes blazing with determination, launched a ferocious solo attack on the fearsome Col de la Loze and never looked back, thundering towards his second career Tour stage win, following his triumph in Tignes in 2021. Reuters

Warriors put stake in Brisbane heartland with academy
Warriors put stake in Brisbane heartland with academy

The Advertiser

time40 minutes ago

  • The Advertiser

Warriors put stake in Brisbane heartland with academy

Some of the greatest rugby league players to lace a boot have come out of Logan and now the Warriors are in prime position to snare the next crop. The fourth-placed Warriors will establish a training academy and community program in the city in Brisbane's south to offer an elite training and identification program and assist young people connect with sport and find career paths outside of footy. Cameron Smith, Lote Tuqiri, Corey Parker, Brad Meyers, Josh Papalii and Jaydn Su'A are just a taste of the elite stars to have been produced by the Logan Brothers junior powerhouse club alone. The Warriors have watched on as a suite of their best junior players joined Australian-based clubs on scholarships and moved into elite development systems. The great Benji Marshall was a trailblazer who attended league powerhouse Keebra Park High on the Gold Coast as a youth before moving into the Wests Tigers system. His move inspired a suite of players from New Zealand to follow suit and most of them were snapped up by NSW or Queensland-based clubs. The new academy at Logan will help reverse that trend and with the huge number of New Zealand-born migrants in southeast Queensland will give them great access to elite youth, not just from Pacific nations but also local talent. Warriors CEO Cameron George said the club would establish permanent staff in Logan to work closely with the community and find the talent that has proven to be abundant. "Logan is a nursery. It is a rugby league hot-bed," George said. "It is a strategic move, absolutely, but we have been offered opportunities on the eastern seaboard before but never taken them up. "The most important thing for us is to build better families and generations to come and when we came here and saw the Kiwi population that does live here there are plenty of fans here. The question I asked myself was: Why not? "We have 12 academies in New Zealand doing really well but that shouldn't preclude us from coming to Australia where we have a great connection with a huge fan base that grows all the time. "If we can make kids become the best version of themselves as possible we will be proud. If we can get two or three footballers out of here, boys or girls, we will be happy and extremely proud." George said the elite academy for boys and girls in Logan would provide a direct pathway to the Warriors NRL and NRLW teams. The Broncos, Gold Coast and most recently Dolphins have been in the best position to source juniors from their near neighbour Logan but now the Warriors are set to be a force. The partnership with Logan City Council is one that Mayor Jon Raven said should fit hand in glove. "Logan is the leading rugby league nursery in the nation and has one of the largest populations of people of New Zealand and Pacific Island descent outside of Auckland," he said. "The Warriors are known for their strong community connections and supporting development opportunities for young people, which are values we love here in Logan." Some of the greatest rugby league players to lace a boot have come out of Logan and now the Warriors are in prime position to snare the next crop. The fourth-placed Warriors will establish a training academy and community program in the city in Brisbane's south to offer an elite training and identification program and assist young people connect with sport and find career paths outside of footy. Cameron Smith, Lote Tuqiri, Corey Parker, Brad Meyers, Josh Papalii and Jaydn Su'A are just a taste of the elite stars to have been produced by the Logan Brothers junior powerhouse club alone. The Warriors have watched on as a suite of their best junior players joined Australian-based clubs on scholarships and moved into elite development systems. The great Benji Marshall was a trailblazer who attended league powerhouse Keebra Park High on the Gold Coast as a youth before moving into the Wests Tigers system. His move inspired a suite of players from New Zealand to follow suit and most of them were snapped up by NSW or Queensland-based clubs. The new academy at Logan will help reverse that trend and with the huge number of New Zealand-born migrants in southeast Queensland will give them great access to elite youth, not just from Pacific nations but also local talent. Warriors CEO Cameron George said the club would establish permanent staff in Logan to work closely with the community and find the talent that has proven to be abundant. "Logan is a nursery. It is a rugby league hot-bed," George said. "It is a strategic move, absolutely, but we have been offered opportunities on the eastern seaboard before but never taken them up. "The most important thing for us is to build better families and generations to come and when we came here and saw the Kiwi population that does live here there are plenty of fans here. The question I asked myself was: Why not? "We have 12 academies in New Zealand doing really well but that shouldn't preclude us from coming to Australia where we have a great connection with a huge fan base that grows all the time. "If we can make kids become the best version of themselves as possible we will be proud. If we can get two or three footballers out of here, boys or girls, we will be happy and extremely proud." George said the elite academy for boys and girls in Logan would provide a direct pathway to the Warriors NRL and NRLW teams. The Broncos, Gold Coast and most recently Dolphins have been in the best position to source juniors from their near neighbour Logan but now the Warriors are set to be a force. The partnership with Logan City Council is one that Mayor Jon Raven said should fit hand in glove. "Logan is the leading rugby league nursery in the nation and has one of the largest populations of people of New Zealand and Pacific Island descent outside of Auckland," he said. "The Warriors are known for their strong community connections and supporting development opportunities for young people, which are values we love here in Logan." Some of the greatest rugby league players to lace a boot have come out of Logan and now the Warriors are in prime position to snare the next crop. The fourth-placed Warriors will establish a training academy and community program in the city in Brisbane's south to offer an elite training and identification program and assist young people connect with sport and find career paths outside of footy. Cameron Smith, Lote Tuqiri, Corey Parker, Brad Meyers, Josh Papalii and Jaydn Su'A are just a taste of the elite stars to have been produced by the Logan Brothers junior powerhouse club alone. The Warriors have watched on as a suite of their best junior players joined Australian-based clubs on scholarships and moved into elite development systems. The great Benji Marshall was a trailblazer who attended league powerhouse Keebra Park High on the Gold Coast as a youth before moving into the Wests Tigers system. His move inspired a suite of players from New Zealand to follow suit and most of them were snapped up by NSW or Queensland-based clubs. The new academy at Logan will help reverse that trend and with the huge number of New Zealand-born migrants in southeast Queensland will give them great access to elite youth, not just from Pacific nations but also local talent. Warriors CEO Cameron George said the club would establish permanent staff in Logan to work closely with the community and find the talent that has proven to be abundant. "Logan is a nursery. It is a rugby league hot-bed," George said. "It is a strategic move, absolutely, but we have been offered opportunities on the eastern seaboard before but never taken them up. "The most important thing for us is to build better families and generations to come and when we came here and saw the Kiwi population that does live here there are plenty of fans here. The question I asked myself was: Why not? "We have 12 academies in New Zealand doing really well but that shouldn't preclude us from coming to Australia where we have a great connection with a huge fan base that grows all the time. "If we can make kids become the best version of themselves as possible we will be proud. If we can get two or three footballers out of here, boys or girls, we will be happy and extremely proud." George said the elite academy for boys and girls in Logan would provide a direct pathway to the Warriors NRL and NRLW teams. The Broncos, Gold Coast and most recently Dolphins have been in the best position to source juniors from their near neighbour Logan but now the Warriors are set to be a force. The partnership with Logan City Council is one that Mayor Jon Raven said should fit hand in glove. "Logan is the leading rugby league nursery in the nation and has one of the largest populations of people of New Zealand and Pacific Island descent outside of Auckland," he said. "The Warriors are known for their strong community connections and supporting development opportunities for young people, which are values we love here in Logan."

Wallabies can't lose heads in Lions Test tussle
Wallabies can't lose heads in Lions Test tussle

Perth Now

timean hour ago

  • Perth Now

Wallabies can't lose heads in Lions Test tussle

Coach Joe Schmidt says his underdog Wallabies will have to play with brains as well as brawn to topple the unbeaten British and Irish Lions in their MCG showdown. The last Australian outfit to lose back-to-back Tests was in 1989, when they stormed to victory in the opening match before consecutive defeats. The Wallabies were criticised after their loss in game one in Brisbane for their lack of physicality, with the confrontational Lions forwards getting on top of their hosts. The lack of front-foot ball in the first half made life difficult for rookie flyhalf Tom Lynagh to make any inroads in attack. Schmidt has included powerhouse trio Will Skelton, Rob Valetini and Dave Porecki for Saturday's clash to help combat the brutality of the Lions. The First Nations and Pasifika outfit had a fearless approach to the Lions in their midweek match in Melbourne, rattling their highly-rated opponents with their aggression in defence. While he wanted the Wallabies to front up and shed their "nice guy" tag, Schmidt didn't believe that would work in the Test arena against the best of the Lions players. "We don't want to be nice, and we don't want to be submissive," Schmidt said. "I thought the First Nations Pasifika team did a fantastic job, but after 31 minutes, they've conceded 13 line breaks. "If we do that in a Test match, we could be a lot further behind than the FNP team were on Tuesday evening so we've got to make sure we get the balance right. "Some of that aggressive line speed that they brought, we've got to bring that, but we've also got to make sure that it's connected, because when you leap like that and they can play in behind you, then it's very hard to get back in front of them. "So, you know, 13 line breaks to two after 30 minutes, we can't afford to have that stat." Fullback Tom Wright said the squad had full trust in wily Kiwi Schmidt, who took over as Wallabies coach at the start of 2024. Schmidt will hand the reins to Les Kiss after the Rugby Championship which provides the squad with even more incentive to send him out a winner. "I also have a real appreciation of the way that Joe coaches this group," Wright said. "I think we're absolutely all in on the way he coaches because we all believe in it. "What he does do is drive individuals for stuff that we can control in our own backyards or forwards, backs, my own sort of game. "I think he knows exactly what the group needs."

DOWNLOAD THE APP

Get Started Now: Download the App

Ready to dive into a world of global content with local flavor? Download Daily8 app today from your preferred app store and start exploring.
app-storeplay-store