Jamie Osborne and Thomas Clarkson set to experience the joy of becoming a Lion
First, the joy of becoming a Lion for the likes of Jamie Osborne and Thomas Clarkson, two young Irishmen among a group of five debutants handed the opportunity of a rugby-playing lifetime to join a select group of players representing the best of English, Irish, Scottish and Welsh rugby, if only for one game.
Secondly, an opportunity of a different kind, for Josh van der Flier and Jac Morgan, Blair Kinghorn and Garry Ringrose and others besides to stake their claim for Test selection against Australia this Saturday at the Melbourne Cricket Ground.
They will offer contrasting motivations at Marvel Stadium on Tuesday but head coach Andy Farrell will demand that this team of Test hopefuls and first timers will be synchronised enough to keep the Lions' momentum rolling from last Saturday's Brisbane victory over the Wallabies into this weekend's potential Test decider for the tourists.
Naturally enough, the battle for insertion into a winning Test 23 will occupy coaches' minds most ahead of their final selection meeting on Wednesday night here in Melbourne but that did not stop assistant coach Simon Easterby waxing lyrical about the opportunity this midweek game presents to Clarkson, 25, and Osborne, 24.
'It goes without saying, the quality of those two individuals,' Easterby said.
Jamie Osborne during a training session. Pic: ©INPHO/Billy Stickland.
'Tom's fought through a pretty tough position at Leinster, never mind in the Irish squad, and he's put in some brilliant performances.
'He really has stood up and bringing them on the 'Emerging Ireland' tour. He was certainly someone that we felt could step up over the next couple of years, but he's been excellent.
'He's fought for everything and in a pretty tough position where being a tighthead probably takes a good few years to learn your trade, he's certainly in a really good place.
'Jamie has had a brilliant couple of years. The performance he had in South Africa last summer, his performance for Leinster playing 12, 13, wing, 15, it was pretty impressive, the positions he can cover and the quality that he brings to the group as well.
'I'm really pleased with the two of them. They fully deserve being here and no doubt they'll perform really well tomorrow.'
Ten days on from a blowout win against a scratch AUSNZ Invitational XV that failed to live up collectively that their teamsheet suggested of the individuals concerned, this First Nations & Pasifika XV will at least have a purpose and identity as the first side of its kind selected from Samoan, Fijian, Tongan, Māori and Indigenous Australian cultures.
Their head coach Toutai Kefu, won 60 caps for the Wallabies and has named a matchday squad of 17 players with Pasifika heritage and six indigenous First Nations players included.
Even so, they will find it tough going against a hardened Lions side bristling with intent and ambition for Test recognition this Saturday but Easterby gave Kefu's side the respect they deserve.
'You look at the teamsheet and they have some incredible individuals. They'll try to make a mark.
'Some of them have played against the Lions on this trip already, some of them won't, and that is probably is something those players will feel they want to lay down a bit of a marker and bring their own skillset and individuality to their game. It's certainly an impressive outfit when you look at it on paper.
'I guess our challenge, as it always is, is to be as connected as we can be in terms of the way we play, in terms of the guys who aren't involved to prepare the team that plays tomorrow. Everyone's been chipping in and been part of that.
'It's an exciting team, but certainly an exciting challenge and opportunity for our guys to go out and stake a claim for the next couple of weeks.'
FIRST NATIONS & PASIFIKA XV (Cultural heritage in brackets): Andy Muirhead (First Nations); Triston Reilly (First Nations), Lalakai Foketi (Māori & Tonga), David Feliuai (Samoa), Filipo Daugunu (Fiji); Kurtley Beale (First Nations) – captain; Kalani Thomas (Māori); Lington Ieli (Fiji), Brandon Paenga-Amosa (Samoa & Māori), Taniela Tupou (Tonga); Darcy Swain (Samoa), Lukhan Salakaia-Loto (Samoa); Sere Uru (Fiji), Charlie Gamble (Tonga), Tuaina Taii Tualima (Samoa).
Replacements: Richie Asiata (Samoa), Marley Pearce (Māori & First Nations), Mesake Doge (Fiji), Mesake Vocevoce (Fiji), Rob Leota (Samoa), Harrison Goddard (First Nations), Jack Debreczeni (Cook Island), Jarrah McLeod (First Nations).
BRITISH & IRISH LIONS: B Kinghorn (Scotland); D Graham (Scotland), J Osborne (Ireland), O Farrell (England) – captain, D van der Merwe (Scotland); F Smith (England), B White (Scotland); P Schoeman (Scotland), J George (England), F Bealham (Ireland); J Ryan (Ireland), S Cummings (Scotland); J Morgan (Wales), J van der Flier (Ireland), H Pollock (England).
Replacements: E Ashman (Scotland), R Sutherland (Scotland), T Clarkson (Ireland), G Brown (Scotland), B Earl (England), A Mitchell (England), M Smith (England), G Ringrose (Ireland).
Referee: Nika Amashukeli (Georgia).
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Irish Examiner
2 hours ago
- Irish Examiner
Andy Farrell's second Test experience should serve Lions well against Australia side with 'nothing to lose'
There is not much in rugby that Andy Farrell has not seen before and he has been on both sides of the ledger at the midway point in a three-Test series. The British & Irish Lions take a 1-0 lead into Saturday's second Test against Australia at the Melbourne Cricket Ground. It is an iconic stadium which will be packed with an estimated 95,000 supporters, a huge number of whom will be hoping the side they have travelled to watch from the other end of the world can secure a first series victory in a dozen years without the need for a deciding leg. The home side's beleaguered supporters clearly have a different objective for their Wallabies and Farrell understands the situation they are in. It was as Ireland's defence coach here in Melbourne, not too far down the road from the MCG, that he and Joe Schmidt plotted a comeback from an 18-9 series-opening defeat to Australia up in Brisbane seven days earlier. Ireland won at the AAMI Stadium that night and went on to seal the series in Sydney a week later and it was four years later in New Zealand that Farrell the Ireland head coach summoned another reversal of fortune against the All Blacks having been beaten soundly at Eden Park in the first Test. His experience in those situations should serve the Lions well as they go up against an Australian team now coached by Schmidt and boosted by the return from injury of powerhouse forwards Will Skelton and Rob Valetini. Now Farrell is the one seeking to protect a 1-0 lead following last Saturday's 27-19 win at Suncorp Stadium and on Thursday, having named a side showing three changes from the Brisbane Test, he assessed the current balance of pressure in the series, between a team looking to get the job done and another fighting to stay alive. 'I suppose, when you're in the opposite camp - and I've been in that type of situation many times, playing a three-game series - everyone thinks you've got everything to lose,' the Lions head coach said, 'but you get yourself to a stage where you've got nothing to lose, because everything has to be put out there. Tommy Freeman, Head Coach Andy Farrell, Assistant Coach Simon Easterby, Jamie George, Huw Jones and Ben Earl. Pic: ©INPHO/Dan Sheridan. 'You ask more of yourself. Your all is given. And that's what these type of situations bring out in you. 'But from our point of view, we need to back what we believe is our potential within our side, and making sure that we're accurate with our game, and that's accuracy in all single areas, including physicality, etc. 'So we believe that we understand what type of team we're chasing, and we think if we're able to put that out on the field, that should be good enough to put us in with a good shout at winning the game.' Wallabies hopes going into this pivotal game lie in their strong finish to the first Test, when a strong collective bench performance outgunned the Lions' replacements to rally from 24-5 down after 42 minutes to leave the tourists needing a late penalty from Marcus Smith to provide some insurance in an eight-point victory. With extra physicality from Valetini and Skelton, it points to a stronger Wallabies performance and the Lions have been aware of that since they came off the pitch in Brisbane a week ago. Farrell doubled down on that as he replaced Sione Tuipulotu with Bundee Aki at inside centre and swapped in last week's back-up loosehead Andrew Porter to start with possibly the stronger finishing Ellis Genge moving to the bench. With Ollie Chessum replacing an injured Joe McCarthy in the second row, the bench also sees a first Lions Test opportunity for lock James Ryan, while flanker Jac Morgan is named as back-row replacement at the expense of Ben Earl. The wise, older head of Owen Farrell has also been drafted onto the bench for Test action in his fourth Lions tour and will also be leaned on to see the Lions through any sticky patches. 'During victory you get an opportunity to be unbelievably honest and show each other just how much you can improve and there has been nothing but that this week as far as honesty is concerned, about where we can get to,' Farrell said. 'We certainly feel we left a few things out there, most aspects of our game will need to better but it is proving to ourselves it can be better as well.' Last week's second-half woes, when the Lions allowed the Wallabies back into the game after Dan Sheehan had finished an excellent attacking move on 42 minutes to give them a commanding 19-point lead, were attributed to a dip in focus, and a dropping off in intent. 'Not intensity, doing things properly,' Farrell clarified, 'that is what we have talked about all week, what it looks like for us and the expectation that has to happen the majority of the time. 'We are realists, we are all human and we realise it is not going to be perfect all of the time. It is not going to be a perfect 85-minute performance but staying on it as much as we can will give us a better chance of getting what we want. 'But this game might be completely different, we might have a role reversal and we have to adapt and be honest with ourselves and stay on point if we are in front, if we are behind, things going your way, not going your way. It is just staying honest as long as we possibly can.' This is a Lions team on a mission and first series win since 2013 beckons, sooner rather than later. AUSTRALIA: T Wright; M Jorgensen, J Suaalii, L Ikitau, H Potter; T Lynagh, J Gordon; J Slipper, D Porecki, A Alaalatoa; N Frost, W Skelton; R Valetini, F McReight, H Wilson – captain. Replacements: B Pollard, A Bell, T Robertson, J Williams, L Gleeson, C Tizzano, T McDermott, B Donaldson. BRITISH & IRISH LIONS: H Keenan (Ireland); T Freeman (England), H Jones (Scotland), B Aki (Ireland), J Lowe (Ireland); F Russell (Scotland), J Gibson-Park (Ireland); A Porter (Ireland), D Sheehan (Ireland), T Furlong (Ireland); M Itoje (England) – captain, O Chessum (England); T Beirne (Ireland), T Curry (England), J Conan (Ireland). Replacements: R Kelleher (Ireland), E Genge (England), W Stuart (England), J Ryan (Ireland), J Morgan (Wales), A Mitchell (England), O Farrell (England), B Kinghorn (Scotland). Referee: Andrea Piardi (Italy).
RTÉ News
3 hours ago
- RTÉ News
'I am buzzing' - Lara Gillespie part of history-making Irish trio at women's Tour de France
Lara Gillespie has been in a race against time to make it to the Tour de France Femmes but, following her recovery from a bad injury, she will make history in the race on Saturday afternoon. The women's Tour de France begins in Vannes, Brittany and, for the first time ever, there will be an Irish presence. In fact not one but three Irish riders will take part: Gillespie, current national champion Mia Griffin and last year's title holder Fiona Mangan. This is the fourth edition of the Tour de France Femmes avec Zwift, but Irish women were also absent from the previous women's race run by the Tour organisers between 1984 and 1989. The event is the biggest race on the women's calendar, and has greatly helped the growth of the women's side of the sport, and gives Gillespie a lot of satisfaction be lining out in it. "I am buzzing to be one of the first Irish girls to be at the Tour, so that is really exciting to be part of," she told RTÉ Sport on Friday. "I'm happy to see Fiona and Mia in there and we can experience this whirlwind together." Gillespie has long shown her talent on the track, taking European championship titles at junior, under 23 and Elite level. The Enniskerry rider was, along with Griffin, part of the Irish team pursuit squad which finished a fine ninth in last year's Olympics. She is an accomplished road race rider too, and secured a contract with the UAE Team ADQ WorldTour-level squad last summer following victory in the Antwerp Port Epic Ladies race, plus the Giro Mediterraneo Rosa. This season has been a very promising one for the 24-year-old, with strong results in a number of races. She was runner up in the Fenix Omloop van het Hageland, and third in both Le Samyn des Dames and the Danilith Nokere Koerse. In May she was fourth on a stage of the Vuelta España Femenina, one of the biggest races in the sport. "I am super grateful and feel really privileged to be part of the team," she said of her selection for the Tour de France Femmes. "It is a really great opportunity and a great team we have here." However, she almost missed the chance. In mid-June, Gillespie fell in the Elmos Dwars door het Hageland race. She remounted and was able to sprint in 12th, but after the race it became clear that something was amiss. "I had an unfortunate crash over a month ago where I landed on my sacrum," she said. "I had fluid in the bone. I didn't break anything, but I had to really rest a lot from the races." Trying to get ready for the Tour, she went to Spain with her first coach, Martin O'Loughlin. They worked hard together and she quickly built form. "I had a really nice ten days in Majorca, with Martin motorpacing me," she said. "That was really cool. I knew if I left that camp sprinting good, doing high intensity, doing high volume then I could get through to the team. "So that is what happened, and so I am here with a really strong team, really good energy. We are ready to fight for some stages, so that is really cool." The 24-year-old is a strong sprinter and will relish the opportunity to square up against the world's best such as the Dutchwoman Lorena Wiebes. Stages one and two are lumpy and feature uphill finishes which may favor different types of riders, but days three and four are predicted to end in bunch gallops. From there things get progressively more mountainous, meaning sprint specialist Gillespie's best chances of high placing will be in the first half of the race. Griffin (Roland Le Dévoluy) and Mangan (Winspace Orange Seal) will also be looking forward to those early stages, with aims of helping their teams but also trying to show their own strength too. There is an additional goal for the trio; building up vital experience in the sport's top event in order to grow as competitors and to become even stronger. And making history for Irish cycling? That's a significant motivation too. Tour de France Femmes schedule: Stage 1, Saturday 26 July: Vannes to Plumelec, 78.8 km (49 miles) Stage 2, Sunday 27 July: Brest to Quimper, 110.4 km (68.6 miles) Stage 3, Monday 28 July: La Gacilly to Angers, 163.5 km (101.6 miles) Stage 4, Tuesday 29 July: Saumur to Poitiers, 130.7 km (81.2 miles) Stage 5, Wednesday 30 July: Chasseneuil-du-Poitou to Guéret, 165.8 km (103 miles) Stage 6, Thursday 31 July: Clermont-Ferrand to Ambert, 123.7 km (76.9 miles) Stage 7, Friday 1 August: Bourg-en-Bresse to Chambéry, 159.7 km (99.2 miles) Stage 8, Saturday 2 August: Chambéry to Saint François Longchamp – Col de la Madelaine, 111.9 km (69.5 miles) Stage 9, Sunday 3 August Praz-Sur-Arly to Châtel Les Portes du Soleil Pré Lajoux, 124.1 km (77.1 miles)
RTÉ News
3 hours ago
- RTÉ News
Gearóid McDaid 'stoked' after historic European Surfing Championships gold
Irish surfer Gearóid McDaid described his landmark European Championship-winning triumph as a "dream come true" after claiming gold in the men's shortboard. The Sligo man's triumph in the European Surfing Championships in Santa Cruz, Portugal on Thursday made him the first Irish surfer to win a continental medal. McDaid's efforts, coupled with a bronze medal for Ruby Knox in the women's longboard and Tom Breene's fourth place in the men's longboard, also meant that Team Ireland finished third overall, which marks a historic maiden team podium for the country, with Spain and Portugal finishing first and second respectively. "So stoked to win the European Championships. After coming second last time, it's an absolute dream come true to take the win this year. Having my parents here to share it made it even more special," McDaid said of his victory, having taken silver at the 2023 championships.
