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The Independent
20 minutes ago
- The Independent
Owen Farrell poised for call-up as Lions await Elliot Daly scan results
Owen Farrell is to be called up by the British and Irish Lions if it is confirmed Elliot Daly's tour to Australia is over because of a suspected broken arm. Farrell is in line to join the Lions squad as the tourists wait for an update on Daly's scan results, according to a report in the Daily Telegraph. Daly left the field in the second half of Wednesday's 52-12 victory over Queensland Reds in Brisbane after damaging his left arm while making a tackle. The veteran of three tours with the elite of British and Irish rugby underwent an X-ray and it appears unlikely that he will be able to continue. Although former England captain Farrell is not a like-for-like replacement for his Saracens team-mate, his experience and leadership will be seen as valuable assets in Australia. However, any call-up would be controversial considering his last Test appearance was in the bronze final of the 2023 World Cup and his one season in France was unsuccessful by his own standards. The 33-year-old left Saracens for Racing 92 for the 2024-25 campaign but was limited to 17 appearances due to groin surgery. He was unable to finish the season because of a concussion sustained in the semi-finals of the Challenge Cup on May 4 and he subsequently agreed a return to north London for next season.
The Independent
an hour ago
- The Independent
Greasy ball will test Wales in Japanese heat
Matt Sherratt says he is more concerned by the prospect of a greasy match ball than the the sweltering conditions facing Wales in Japan. The temperature is expected to be around 30 degrees Celsius when Wales kick off at 2pm local time in Kitakyushu on Saturday attempting to end a run of 17 consecutive Test defeats. It will feel a lot more when high humidity is factored in and the Wales squad, who used a heat chamber at home ahead of the two-Test series, have turned to ice baths, ice towels and cold flannel hats since arriving in Japan. 'I didn't go in the heat chamber – it was too hot,' said interim head coach Sherratt, who has made made 11 changes from the side hammered by England in the Six Nations three months ago. 'But we've done everything we can to prepare the players for this. Players weren't hugely excited about the heat chamber in Cardiff, but they worked really hard. 'It was as close as we would get in the UK to the temperatures in Japan, but it's obviously different here because we're training in it for 80 minutes rather than five or 10 minutes. 'We saw a lot of wet balls and we've trained in the middle of the day here to get used to the heat. 'If I'm honest it's not the heat, it's the ball (that's a problem). It's very difficult to keep the ball dry. 'It's probably going to be a game on TV where the conditions look perfect, but the ball's going to be really greasy and will test your skill set.' There are four survivors from the record 68-14 defeat to England in March, with number eight Taulupe Faletau, prop Nicky Smith, centre Ben Thomas and full-back Blair Murray remaining. Faletau will win his 109th cap against Eddie Jones' Japan but the other two back-row members, Alex Mann and Josh Macleod, have only seven Test appearances between them. Other than Faletau, only winger Josh Adams, prop Nicky Smith and scrum-half Kieran Hardy possess over 20 caps in the starting line-up. Hooker Dewi Lake captains the side, inexperienced pair Ben Carter and Teddy Williams form a second-row partnership and centre Johnny Williams returns after last featuring at the 2023 World Cup. There is some experience on the bench in prop Gareth Thomas and back-rowers Aaron Wainwright and Tommy Reffell. Sherratt said: 'We've had three weeks prep and it (selection) is a mixture of recent club form and trying to get some combinations that we've seen in training. 'It's a new coaching group and we've tried to let the players start on an even playing field and select on what we've seen. 'We feel conditions are probably going to be tough to start with, and to have some real quality experience off the bench will be massive. 'It's not really a 15 we've picked, it's a genuine 23. 'I've learned at Cardiff that you don't throw on all your experience at once because between 60 and 80 (minutes) is where some of the crucial decision-making comes in.' The second Test will be played in Kobe on Saturday week.
Times
an hour ago
- Times
Maro Itoje at disruptive best for Lions after fearing his spot was at risk
'He played all right, didn't he?' As he spoke, Andy Farrell nodded towards the man to his left. Maro Itoje's performance in an eight-try 52-12 victory over Queensland Reds had just put to bed any notion that the British & Irish Lions may go into the first Test against Australia without their captain in the second row. If those thoughts had not crept into your mind, they had certainly begun to formulate in Itoje's. Farrell, the head coach, had replaced Itoje with 11 minutes remaining of the Lions' defeat by Argentina in Dublin, when they were striving for a try to win the game. That was a fairly remarkable occurrence in itself given that Itoje's average match time over the past two years is above 76 minutes. Itoje was then rested for the first game on tour, when Joe McCarthy delivered a bold and bristling second-row performance in a 54-8 victory over Western Force. It would be unprecedented should Farrell omit Itoje from the first Test starting XV. Mike Campbell-Lamerton gave up his place in the team in 1966 but it is believed that no coach has dropped or omitted the captain from Lions Tests on the grounds of form. Driven by his own lofty standards and inspired by McCarthy's display in Perth, Itoje was determined not to become the first. The 30-year-old delivered a trademark disruptive performance in Brisbane, scrapping and competing for everything; carrying hard, winning turnovers, snaring intercepts, stealing lineouts and making 18 carries. He even bagged a try as the Lions scored eight and hit a half-century of points for the second time in five days. 'The whole point of these tours is you're with great players, and you see great players performing well, and it gives you extra motivation to perform well,' Itoje said. 'I guess, despite my role as captain, I know that if I'm not playing well, then it doesn't matter if I'm captain or not, I won't be in the team, so I need to make sure that my performance is where it needs to be. 'I want everyone to play well, all of my team-mates. Our job as players is, one, to work together, and that's really important, and two, to make all the coaches' jobs as hard as possible when it comes to picking the team.' That pressure to perform was not limited to Itoje. Jac Morgan had not torn up trees in the Argentina match either and here was his second opportunity to start a Lions game. There is a high chance the Lions will select Ollie Chessum or Tadhg Beirne at blind-side flanker, to reinforce the lineout and add beef to the pack, leaving Morgan potentially in competition with Josh van der Flier and Tom Curry for the No7 jersey. The sole remaining Welshman on tour responded positively to the challenge, winning three jackal turnovers, making 21 tackles and demonstrating that he can also be a powerful carrier; an attacking role he rarely gets a chance to play for his country because Wales are usually going backwards. 'Do you know what I thought was pretty pleasing? When you play your first game and you're dying for another one to come around, I was pretty impressed with most of those players who had a second chance today,' Farrell said. 'That's exactly what we want to see, a reaction. 'Maro was obviously one of them. I thought Jac Morgan was everywhere. Bundee [Aki] was a lot better, Jack Conan looked strong. That's exactly what we want. The competition for places has started and there's reactions all over the place. Long may that continue.' Farrell had hoped that Jamison Gibson-Park and Finn Russell, starting in the half backs for the first time on the back of a walkthrough and one training run, would deliver some 'all-singing, all-dancing rugby'. They combined well, with England's Alex Mitchell and Fin Smith operating as excellent understudies off the bench. Those two units look set now for the first Test on July 19. When the Lions get it right in attack, they are devilishly difficult to stop because of their power, their running angles and the lateness of their passing. Elliot Daly supplied a lovely assist for Tommy Freeman's first try, after some delicious handling in midfield had helped the Lions to get outside the Reds defence. Even the big units have a soft touch, with Chessum and Conan combining to create a try for Duhan van der Merwe, who dived over in the corner for the third try after Andrew Porter had driven over from close range. Had the Lions' accuracy in attack matched their ambition, they would have been further ahead at half-time than 21-12. The Lions were more direct after the interval. Aki came to the fore, carrying powerfully and eating up yards after contact, and the Lions added five more tries, from Itoje, Morgan, Freeman, Smith and Huw Jones, scoring 45 unanswered points. 'I thought the Reds came out of the blocks very well. But once we settled down, once we got a bit of continuity at times, we played some excellent rugby,' Farrell said. 'If we were more clinical, then it would have been better for us going in at half-time, certainly as far as the scoreline is concerned. If you compare entries into the 22 in comparison to last week, I thought we lacked a bit of composure at times there. I thought our defence throughout was pretty good.' Not every Lion had a performance to remember. Van Der Merwe will be disappointed as his vulnerability under the high ball and in defence was exposed by a Reds team whose plan was to test the Lions wings in the air. Freeman passed, Van Der Merwe failed. The Scotland wing is devastating in attack but too much of a risk for the Lions to start in the Tests. There were also some now familiar concerns for Farrell to address, particularly early on in the game when the Reds went for the Lions at the set piece. The lineout is not operating smoothly. Farrell was bemused by the scrum penalties conceded by the Lions and said he would 'seek clarification', which is coach code for saying he disagreed with the calls. 'I obviously know that we've got a world-class front row, there's no doubt about that,' he said, pointedly. Overall, Farrell was content to move on to Sydney, where they play the NSW Waratahs on Saturday, with the win, although the injury to Daly hangs like a dark cloud over the match — and will likely have major ramifications on the Lions Test selection. The versatile and experienced Saracen had been rested for this game after delivering two classy performances, with Hugo Keenan in line to make his Lions debut. But when Keenan pulled out of the game after going down with a bug in the morning, Daly was promoted to start at full back. The unexpected call-up, just as he was leaving the gym, extended Daly's remarkable run of featuring in every one of the Lions' past 11 match-day squads, dating back to the opening fixture in 2021. In his three-tour Lions career, Daly has missed out only four times in 22 games. Daly had some lovely touches in this game too. But he went in to tackle Jock Campbell, the Reds full back, and immediately spun away in pain. This may be a diagnosis from the back of the main stand but his reaction was a reminder of Billy Vunipola's body language when he broke an arm against Ospreys. Bravely, Daly played on. But he could not move his left arm when walking or running. He left the field shaking his head and grimacing, before departing the stadium for an x-ray with his left arm in a sling. Suffering a tour-ending injury is cruel. The circus cannot stop. Tomos Williams, the scrum half, has returned home after sustaining a hamstring injury in the act of scoring a try against the Force. He, like Daly, was in Test-match form. Farrell must now switch his focus to Saturday's game and start to work out which of Keenan or Blair Kinghorn will be the Lions Test full back. Neither has yet played a game on tour.
