
Tomos Williams forced out of Lions tour due to hamstring issue
Ben White has been called up from the Scotland squad that is currently in New Zealand to fill the vacancy created by Williams' injury, which occurred early in the second-half at Optus Stadium.
Two appearances into his debut Lions tour and Williams had laid down an early marker for Test selection at scrum-half with his two-try display in Perth placing him in pole position to face the Wallabies on July 19.
But the reigning Gallagher Premiership player of the season is now heading home to reduce Wales' representation in Andy Farrell's squad to a single player, Jac Morgan.
'Unfortunately Tomos has been ruled out of the rest of the tour with a hamstring injury. Ben White will join us from the Scotland squad and will fly over from New Zealand,' Farrell said.

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Times
20 minutes ago
- Times
Can Jamison Gibson-Park and Finn Russell deliver Andy Farrell's game plan?
Jamison Gibson-Park gave a knowing look when he was told the story of how Finn Russell had struck up a relationship with Ben Spencer by grabbing the Bath scrum half in a headlock during a team social and demanding, 'Just give me the ball'. Russell's story, which he told before Bath's victory in the Gallagher Premiership final, was funny because it played to the maverick reputation he had when he joined the club from Racing 92. In reality, Russell and Spencer have spent two years working out the perfect balance in their half-back partnership, allowing each of them to play to their strengths for the benefit of the team. Russell and Gibson-Park do not have two years. They have two days and no full training sessions to form some kind of syncopation before the British & Irish Lions play Queensland Reds on Wednesday. And they have just over two weeks until the Lions play Australia in the first Test of the series, back here in Brisbane. No time to waste then, hence Russell being pressed into a second start in five days to play alongside Gibson-Park for the first time on tour and form what is expected to be Andy Farrell's Test half-back combination, especially with Tomos Williams forced to head home because of injury. At most they will have two starts together — against the Reds and ACT Brumbies in Canberra next Wednesday — plus potentially some bench appearances to build their partnership before the first Test. The Lions schedule and Gibson-Park's fitness status has meant that he and Russell have not trained together at anything more than walking pace. And so to fast-track things, did Russell make the same first move on Gibson-Park as he did on Spencer? 'I have had something similar,' the Ireland scrum half said with a smile. Farrell has entrusted Gibson-Park, 33, and Russell, 32, with the game plan for Wednesday and backed two of the best in the world in their positions to deliver because they see the game in the same way; just as Russell and Spencer do at club level. 'We want all-singing, all-dancing rugby and everything going to plan,' Farrell, the head coach, said. 'That won't be the case. It will be the first time they have played together. Allowing them two days to grab hold of the game plan is going to put them in good stead for Wednesday. 'I don't say this lightly, but Jamison is 100 per cent a world-class player and he will make any team better. His point of difference is his speed of play, which is like it is because his speed of thought is ahead of the game the whole time, so he sees things nice and early. 'Also, he is a calming influence and a different type of leader. He is quiet but when he speaks, it is worth listening because he has done his homework and he understands how it is that we want to play. I'm delighted to have him back.' Farrell has been impressed with how Russell has evolved his game at Bath, although do not mistake his more rounded view for a dulling of his attacking instincts. Western Force did that and he punished them with a quick tap-and-go for Elliot Daly's try. 'Finn's game understanding, his game control, is top draw,' Farrell said. 'Finn has an ability to see space that allows him to think quicker than most. His transfer of passes is obviously a huge weapon to be able to get to that space nice and early. But there's just space either side of him, there's space in front of him. The whole time he sees the whole picture. 'They [Russell and Gibson-Park] understand one another's another's traits even before they got on the plane because that is what players do. They look out for how the best do things. 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Tommy Freeman and Duhan van der Merwe return on the wings after playing against Argentina, challenged with raising the bar again after impressive performances in Perth from Mack Hansen and James Lowe. The Reds are hotly anticipating this game. The word on Monday was that more than 47,000 tickets had already been sold and it was on course to being a sell-out at Suncorp Stadium. In the Queensland Rugby Union offices is the stuffed Lion from 1971, a tour that ended in Test series glory against New Zealand but began with a defeat at Ballymore. The tradition in those days was that the stuffed lion would be handed over to the first team who defeated the Lions on the tour. The toy did have the flags of the nations sticking out from it but the Welsh one was lost on a night out. The Reds, who finished fifth in Super Rugby Pacific before losing in the play-offs to the eventual winners Crusaders, will not be at full strength on Wednesday night. Tom Lynagh, Fraser McReight and Harry Wilson are among those retained by the Wallabies, but Hunter Paisami and Lukhan Salakaia-Loto have plenty of Test experience. They are coached by Les Kiss, formerly of Ireland and most recently of London Irish, and soon to succeed Joe Schmidt with Australia. 'Here we go now,' Farrell said. 'This is proper touring. Games are coming thick and fast. Three games in eight days, and it keeps on rolling after that. This is the exciting part of the tour for us.'


Daily Mirror
an hour ago
- Daily Mirror
Arsenal handed huge Nico Williams transfer boost after 'saying yes' to move
Arsenal may be able to find their way back into the Nico Williams transfer race after the Spaniard's move to Barcelona hit a stumbling block after an agreement was made Nico Williams has seen his move to Barcelona stall, despite terms appearing to be agreed for the switch. A verbal agreement was said to be in place between player and club as the Catalan side attempt to claim his signature for the second summer in succession. Last year, Williams opted to remain with Athletic Bilbao despite Barcelona's interest but now appears keen to make the move to Camp Nou. The Arsenal target has told his current club that he wants to leave to join the La Liga champions in the summer transfer window. While the deal was looking set to be sewn up in a straightforward fashion, reports in Spain now suggest negotiations have stalled. The standstill is said to be as a result of 'high demands' from the star's agent emerging as a surprise when the contract paperwork started to be drawn up. But the point of contention raised appears to be that Williams wants a guarantee over his registration. Last year, Barca were unable to register new signing Dani Olmo in their squad until January due to La Liga's financial rules. For now, the club are claimed to find the request unreasonable after the condition was not part of the original talks. Williams does not want to suffer the same fate as his international team-mate however. Hansi Flick's side are claimed to have provided assurances that they will be able to register him for the start of the season. That has not proven convincing enough it seems. Barca, while there is the opportunity to pay Williams' release clause, are also looked upon less favourably by Athletic Bilbao. The Basque side are pressuring the league to remain vigilant over Barcelona's registration capacity and have criticised their rivals over their public courting of WIlliams. The combination of scenarios could just leave a door open for other interested suitors in Arsenal and Bayern Munich. The Bundesliga giants are still hoping to sign the 22-year-old despite his preference for Barcelona. They are said to have no problem paying his €58 million (£49.6m) release clause plus the corresponding CPI , which would see the package read €62m (£53m). Bilbao would be happier seeing the charge depart to Bayern over Barcelona. Speaking about a potential deal for Williams, Barcelona sporting director Deco said: "We need to strengthen in this position. "As wingers, we only really have Lamine [Yamal] and Raphinha. From there, there are names coming out and it will come down to price and quality. "Nico was there last year but for me, at that time, Dani Olmo was the priority. Now. the same as with other players, Nico is showing a strong desire to come ... And if the right conditions are met in his case, we'll definitely try to complete the deal. "There's a process with any signing: speaking with agents, clubs, knowing the contractual situation ... Nico's case it clear because he has a release clause. We've met with his agent to see what he wants and we will see if it's possible." Join our new WhatsApp community and receive your daily dose of Mirror Football content. We also treat our community members to special offers, promotions, and adverts from us and our partners. If you don't like our community, you can check out any time you like. If you're curious, you can read our Privacy Notice.


Telegraph
an hour ago
- Telegraph
Wildfires break out in Scotland as Britain braces for hottest day of year
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