Andy Farrell not ruling out leading the Lions for New Zealand tour
The Lions' dream of finishing their tour Down Under with a 100 per cent record ended with a 22-12 defeat in the final Test at a rain lashed Accor Stadium, but they return home having achieved the main objective.
Advertisement
A first series triumph since 2013 puts Farrell in pole position to take charge of the next expedition to New Zealand and the Ireland boss admits his passion for the Lions has only grown over the last two months.
Series winners, 2025 🏆🦁
#Lions2025
pic.twitter.com/yPy78rS6gv
— British & Irish Lions (@lionsofficial)
August 2, 2025
'Everyone knows what I think about this concept and I suppose that says it all,' he said.
'I love everything that the Lions is about and I've thoroughly, thoroughly enjoyed the last eight weeks.
'There are always ups and there are always downs, but the inner circle is a special place to be.
Advertisement
'Read into that what you want but I suppose four years, there's a long time between drinks isn't there?'
Andy Farrell and Australia coach Joe Schmidt shake hands during the final Test (David Davies/PA)
An extraordinary third Test that produced three failed HIAs and saw James Ryan knocked out was paused for 37 minutes early in the second-half after the players left the field because of lightening strikes in the area.
Australia then used up the full 10 minutes available to warm-up for the resumption of play, while the Lions only took five minutes. TV footage from the Lions' changing room during the break showed Finn Russell and Tom Curry using their phones.
'We agreed on 10 minutes for the warm-up and through the advice from our experts in that field we only made the call to come out five minutes before so that we would be ready to go,' Farrell said.
Advertisement
'I hope I'm not in a game like that again, actually. Rigor mortis was setting in at one stage there for the lads! I suppose that is what you come to expect with a schedule like the Lions schedule. We have seen it all now haven't we!
'We were trying to work out what the rules were and what was going to happen. At one stage it looked like it was going be 45 minutes then it was pulled back to 30 minutes.
A huge thank you to:
Australia 🇦🇺
Our Support Staff 👨⚕️
The Sea of Red 🌊🔴
The Players 🏉
...and everyone who helped make the
#Lions2025
Tour a truly unforgettable experience 🙏
pic.twitter.com/1jZEjF6Rrg
— British & Irish Lions (@lionsofficial)
August 2, 2025
'There were updates constantly coming in but the lads stayed relaxed enough, had five minutes of a warm-up and got the show back on the road.
'What came off the back of that is Australia hit the ground running and thoroughly deserved their win.'
Advertisement
Australia boss Joe Schmidt revealed his side had prepared for the incoming bad weather.
'We had been warned that there might be a bit of lightning, so we had a plan and with that plan we made sure that guys kept moving,' Schmidt said.
'We'd four balls in the changing room so guys could throw them around, so that guys could stay connected.
'We had a couple of bikes and different guys were rotating on and off the bikes. The rest of the time, it was just trying to get us organised for the restart.'
Advertisement
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Daily Mail
21 minutes ago
- Daily Mail
AFL coach Simon Goodwin is sensationally SACKED by the Melbourne Demons after a string of controversies and losses
Melbourne coach Simon Goodwin has been sacked, with the board losing faith in the team's direction. The 48‑year‑old was reportedly told on Monday night after the club's win over the West Coast Eagles. Goodwin's future had been in doubt after opening the season with five straight losses, followed by another five‑game losing streak that crushed their finals chances. He will receive a payout of nearly $1million for next season despite being contracted through 2026. Goodwin has spent much of the past few years navigating a string of controversies that have repeatedly threatened to overshadow his premiership success. In early 2022, reports surfaced that the club board had considered standing him down over allegations of bullying, gambling with players and an incident at the Sorrento Hotel, but a review cleared him to continue. Melbourne Demons coach Simon Goodwin (pictured with wife Kris) has been sacked by the club after a season of poor results and ongoing controversies The Demons had just notched up a big win against the West Coast Eagles before the decision to cut ties with Goodwin Court documents lodged by former president Glen Bartlett and his partner later claimed Goodwin had used illicit drugs and behaved poorly after the 2019 grand final, accusations the coach and the club strongly rejected as unsubstantiated. Goodwin has consistently denied all drug rumours, saying they have damaged his reputation and hurt his family, while CEO Gary Pert has maintained the allegations are false and that the coach retains full board support. In mid‑2025, his handling of player welfare came under scrutiny when he publicly mentioned captain Max Gawn's private struggles, a revelation that reportedly blindsided Gawn and raised questions about internal trust. That came on the heels of a disastrous collapse against St Kilda, when Melbourne blew a 46‑point final‑quarter lead. Around the same time, a threatening social media post about Goodwin was reported to the AFL and police, although it was later revealed to be a hoax. The announcement still came with a degree of shock for Demons fans, after the club notched up a relieving 83-point win over the West Coast Eagles. 'I've said it all along, it's not about me,' Goodwin said after the win. 'It's about the footy team and the footy club and we think we've been building something throughout the year without outcome and sometimes that can be really tough for our supporters and it can be tough for people internally. 'But I'm really clear about what we're building and what we're trying to build and what we're trying to transition into and I can see it unfolding. 'But we need to learn how we turn the process into outcome and today was a part of that, but we've still got work to do.' The Melbourne Demons are 13th on the AFL ladder with a 7-13 record and three rounds left of the regular season. MORE TO FOLLOW
Daily Mail
2 hours ago
- Daily Mail
Brendon McCullum's era is still lacking a prize scalp as England come up short again, writes LAWRENCE BOOTH - after India fight back to deserved draw
A series that has given us everything was never going to end any other way. With England needing seven to win — or six for the tie that would have secured the series — Gus Atkinson swung for glory and lost his off stump to Mohammed Siraj, India 's bowling hero of an astonishing few weeks. At the other end was Chris Woakes, his left arm in a sling to protect a dislocated shoulder and a symbol of England's desperation for victory. Even without facing a ball, he felt as central a protagonist as anyone. A quarter of an hour earlier, Woakes walked out to a standing ovation from a crowd of 25,000, who had all turned up just to be able to say: 'I was there.' Now, the applause rang out for India and for Siraj, a 2–2 draw plucked from the fire. The Oval has rarely witnessed scenes like it. Even the workmen building luxury apartments in the famous gasholders downed tools to watch. The decisive exchanges of the inaugural Anderson–Tendulkar Trophy had been condensed into less than an hour on an overcast final morning, the 25th day of the 25 scheduled. The equation was simple — England needed 35 runs, India four wickets, though with the caveat that Woakes would be no more than a non-striker. When Jamie Overton pulled and inside-edged the day's first two balls for four, home hopes grew. But Siraj is a warrior of a fast bowler, armed with the skills of a surgeon. He had Jamie Smith caught behind from the third ball of the second over, then won a marginal lbw decision against Overton, with England still 20 short. Three runs later, Prasidh Krishna bowled Josh Tongue for a duck, leaving India on the brink of victory. Out walked Woakes, a spine-tingling moment acknowledged by both sets of fans and pre-destined to go down as one of cricket's bravest acts, whatever the result. Gus Atkinson swung Siraj for six, the ball tipped over the ropes by a diving Akash Deep, then pinched a bye as Woakes grimaced in pain. Even the act of running was agony. Goodness knows what would have happened had he been required to take strike. With 10 needed, Atkinson pulled Krishna for two, before once more pinching the strike. Siraj, though, was a man possessed and produced a perfect full-length delivery that dipped under Atkinson's legside mow. As India celebrated the narrowest win in their Test history, it was impossible to deny that a drawn series was the fairest result. The tourists had chances to win both the games they lost, at Headingley and Lord's, and in Siraj had the only seamer who lasted all five Tests. So much for Jasprit Bumrah, whose three games coincided with two England wins and a draw. In the games he played, Siraj took seven wickets at 61. In the two he missed, Siraj took 16 at 19, relishing the extra burden. Last man out during India's 22-run defeat at Lord's, he then dropped Harry Brook early in his 195-run stand with Joe Root on the third afternoon at the Oval. Instead, he will be remembered for his five-for here and 23 wickets in all, four clear of anyone else. The line between hero and villain can be perilously thin. It seems harsh to ask what went wrong for England when six more runs would have spawned questions about what went right. In one sense, their narrow defeat counts among their most heroic failures, given the absence of Ben Stokes just as he threatened to peak in Manchester, and the injury to Woakes, which left England's three inexperienced seamers with too much to do. Yet they will also know that, at 301 for three, with Brook and Root batting beautifully and India losing heart, a target of 374 was within reach. To lose seven for 66 reflected poorly on some of the shot selection — not least by Jacob Bethell and Smith — as much as it reflected well on India's seamers. The nature of narrow defeats is such that every passage of play attracts greater scrutiny in hindsight. What might have happened had England not dropped six catches, or Tongue had not conceded 11 wides in his first over, or Washington Sundar had not squeezed 39 out of India's last wicket? The ifs and buts will linger for a while, for England came within a whisker of the prize scalp the Bazball era has craved. Thanks to the Manchester rain in 2023, and India's fightback here, their two home series against Australia and India under Brendon McCullum have finished all square. Their record under Stokes and McCullum remains strong, but Bazball's critics — mainly in Australia and India, though plenty in England — will not take them seriously until they beat one of the other members of the so-called Big Three. The stakes going into this winter's Ashes are considerably higher than if they had won 3–1. This series, at least, has allowed them to make a call on a few fringe players. Liam Dawson and Overton look out of the reckoning, while Woakes — 37 before the start of the next home summer — may have played his final Test. But some questions remain unresolved. Ollie Pope, captain in this game, averaged just 34 in a series so batsman-friendly that 12 different players totalled 21 centuries, including seven between Shubman Gill and Root alone. Zak Crawley averaged 32, but while his place is protected in part by his opening partnership with Ben Duckett, Pope has no such security blanket. Despite his double failure here, Bethell must come into the mix for Australia. As ever, much will come down to the fitness of Stokes, who won the man of the match awards at Lord's and Old Trafford and balanced the line-up in a manner beyond any other player. The first half of England's defining year has ended in disappointment, but not defeat. The second will provide a clearer picture.
The Sun
4 hours ago
- The Sun
Israel Adesanya provides major update on UFC return and opens door to two mega fights amid fans' calls for retirement
ISRAEL ADESANYA is champing at the bit to return to the cage - despite some vocal fight fans calling for him to retire. The former long-reigning UFC middleweight champion is currently on a three-fight skid, the worst of his professional MMA career. 7 7 7 7 Back-to-back title fight defeats to Sean Strickland and Dricus Du Plessis in September 2023 and last August put the Nigerian-born New Zealander in uncharted territory. And a shock second-round TKO loss to Nassourdine Imavov in February raised further doubts over the fan favourite's fighting future. Adesanya, 36, quickly dismissed the prospect of retirement but insisted he wouldn't rush back into the cage. But a brief period of R&R, 'The Last Stylebender' is "ready" to make the walk to the octagon again. In an exclusive interview with SunSport ahead of his induction into the UFC Hall of Fame, Adesanya said: "Oh yeah [the itch has returned]. 'I sparred with Kamaru [Usman] in Miami when Volk [Alexander Volkanovski] got his belt back. 'And that was my first sparring back. "I took some time out to just, you know, chill and let the brain relax. 7 'And yeah, I just knew straight away. So I've been itchy for a while, bro. I'm ready to go!' At this moment in time, there are two standout opponents for what many believe will be a must-win next outing for Adesanya. The first is fellow former 185lbs champion Strickland, who pulled off one of the biggest upsets in UFC history in their Sydney showdown two years ago. The second is the resurgent Paulo Costa, who got back to winning ways last month at UFC 318 against Roman Kopylov. Like the controversial and outspoken Strickland, Adesanya has history with Brazilian bruiser Costa. Adesanya emerged victorious from their clash of undefeated middleweights on Fight Island in September 2020, stopping 'Borrachina' in the second round of their Abu Dhabi dust-up. Rematches with both men intrigue the former champion, who recently told SunSport he's over the "halfway point" of his MMA career. 7 7 He said: "I think Paulo was going to fight this weekend. "If he had won, I bet you he would've said something stupid. "And I don't have to say much. I'd be like, 'Cool, alright, that sounds fun'. "And give him a chance at redemption like people have done for me as well. "And Strickland, if he wants to fight, sure. If not, ahh [shrugs his shoulders] it's alright."
