Taylor's fighting talk inspires tourists
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South Wales Guardian
43 minutes ago
- South Wales Guardian
Questioning Australia's future as Lions opponents is ‘insulting'
The Lions are seeking to complete a series whitewash when the rivals clash for the final time in Sydney on Saturday with Farrell making two changes to his starting XV, bringing in lock James Ryan and wing Blair Kinghorn. Australian rugby is facing significant challenges on and off the field and is the weakest of the three nations visited by the elite of British and Irish rugby, with South Africa and New Zealand completing the 12-year rotation. Our team for Saturday's third Test in Sydney! 🦁#Lions2025 — British & Irish Lions (@lionsofficial) July 31, 2025 Furthermore, there is growing support for the Lions to visit France because of the strength of their national side and club game, as well as the commercial possibilities. The Wallabies answered their critics at Melbourne Cricket Ground by taking the second Test to the wire in an all-time classic before falling 2-0 behind in the series when Hugo Keenan struck with 51 seconds left. When asked if Australia had earned the right to host another tour, Farrell replied: 'It was never off the agenda, in my opinion. 'Every single team, country and province have their ups and downs but Australia – the sporting nation that they are – are always going to come back. 'Have a look at the year they've got coming up. Come the 2027 World Cup they're going to be a force to be reckoned with, 100 per cent. 'It would be tragic not to tour here. We've had a blast. To me its insulting to talk about it in that kind of way.' Ryan replaces Ollie Chessum amid praise from Farrell for the 'venom' he shows when taking on the unglamorous work up-front, while Kinghorn has been preferred ahead of James Lowe thanks to his 'unpredictability' and the strength of his aerial game in what should be wet and windy conditions at Accor Stadium. But Farrell's warmest words were reserved for those players who had not participated in the series yet, having fully embraced the task of preparing the Test team to face the Wallabies. 'It actually touches you. It touches you in the sense of how much it means to them,' said Farrell, who by Saturday night will have used 27 players in the three matches against Australia. 'The ones who were celebrating most on Saturday night were the ones who hadn't put the shirt on. That says it all. 'We all came together from day one and said 'the only thing that matters is the squad and that's it, full stop'. So we've all been in this together from day one.' Farrell's success as Lions head coach – as well as his obvious passion for the concept – makes him overwhelming favourite to lead the next tour to New Zealand, but he is refusing to look beyond attending an Oasis concert at Croke Park upon his return home. Time for the final push 🦁#Lions2025 — British & Irish Lions (@lionsofficial) July 31, 2025 'Would I do this again? Give me a break would you! Let me get through Saturday. I have absolutely loved every single minute and I knew I would because I just love everything that the Lions is about,' he said. 'Thinking about the future is not something that is on my mind until I get home and have a bit of reflection on the whole thing. 'I'm definitely going to Oasis and that's why I'm going home! I'll be taking a few friends. There are a few coaches here that are trying to get on the bandwagon.'
The Independent
an hour ago
- The Independent
Surrey boost Championship title hopes with five-wicket win over Durham
Surrey boosted their Rothesay County Championship Division One title hopes with a five-wicket win over Durham. Durham were dismissed for 344 in their second innings at Chester le Street – Indian left-armer Sai Kishore taking five for 72 from 41.4 overs – to leave leaders Surrey needing 176 for victory. Surrey were briefly held up by bad light but reached their target in 38.2 overs. It was a joint effort with the top five batters all going past 20 and Sam Curran top scoring with 40. Yorkshire also seemed to be heading for a win inside three days at Scarborough after building on their impressive 545 for nine. Matthew Revis struck a brilliant unbeaten 152 and George Hill 75 as the pair put on 140 for the eighth wicket. Sussex, 323 behind on first innings, stumbled to 20 for three before Daniel Hughes (56 not out) and Danial Ibrahim (50 not out) engineered a recovery for the visitors to reach 115 for three. Warwickshire reached 465 for nine – 137 adrift of Essex – as Ethan Bamber compiled 107 for a maiden first-class century. Dan Mousley reached 75 along with Bamber's ton and Ed Barnard remains unbeaten on 90 at close alongside Oliver Hannon-Dalby on one. Corey Rocchiccioli was caught and bowled by Matt Critchley towards the end of the day as the Essex bowler reached stumps with five wickets for 156 runs. Nottinghamshire went past Somerset's 438 as Haseeb Hameed, the leading run-scorer in the Championship, reached another milestone with a double century. Hameed, resuming on 103, had made 208 from 388 balls before being run out by Tom Lammonby. Lyndon James (72) and Jack Haynes (70) added valuable contributions as Nottinghamshire closed on 511 for six – a lead of 73. Hampshire lead Worcestershire by 183 runs heading into the final day at New Road. Worcestershire were dismissed for 249 – 44 behind Hampshire's first-innings total – as opener Jack Libby carried his bat with 100. Sonny Baker took five for 72 for Hampshire, who finished the day on 139 for two with Nick Gubbins and Tilak Varma unbeaten on 55 and 33, respectively. In Division Two, Northamptonshire were pressing for victory against Derbyshire after making 550 for nine to take a first-innings lead of 173. Justin Broad (171) and Rob Keogh (125 not out) put on 208 for the seventh wicket, and Derbyshire were in trouble at 52 for four at the close as leg spinner Yuzvendra Chahal bagged two wickets. Kent added only 14 runs to reach 217 for three in reply to Leicestershire's 471 before rain ended the action in Canterbury. No play was possible at Cheltenham due to the soggy conditions, with Gloucestershire 54 for one in reply to Middlesex's 445.
The Sun
an hour ago
- The Sun
Australia vs British & Irish Lions stream: Start time, TV channel, live stream, team news for the final test Down Under
THE British and Irish Lions take on Australia for the third and final time in this test series - and they're hoping to make history. Lions coach Andy Farrell makes two changes to the starting 15 after sealing the series 2-0 with a dramatic 29-26 victory in the second test. 1 The British and Irish Lions could make history this weekend by becoming the first team to go 9-0 in a multi-series tour since 1927 in Argentina. It's also worth noting that the Lions have never completed a 3-0 clean sweep in a traditional three-test series. The last time they went unbeaten in a series was against South Africa in 1974, when they won the first three tests and drew the fourth in what used to be a four-match tour. SunSport can reveal all the details for the Lions' FINAL match of their 2025 tour. What time does Australia vs British & Irish Lions start The Final British & Irish Lions test match against the Wallabies is LIVE on Saturday, August 2. The clash will start at 11am BST in the UK. Sky Sports will bring comprehensive coverage of the action. Alternatively, follow along with SunSport's live blog. How to watch Australia vs British & Irish Lions and is there a live stream The clash will be shown LIVE on Sky Sports in the UK The match will be available to stream on NOW TV, Sky Go and the Sky Sports app. FREE highlights will be shown after the match has concluded on the Sky Sports YouTube channel. Australia vs British & Irish Lions team news Andy Farrell makes two adjustments to the starting lineup with Blair Kinghorn coming in for James Lowe on the wing and James Ryan replacing Ollie Chessum at lock. Ryan's inclusion means that nine of the 15 starters are now Irish. Northampton Saints scrum-half Alex Mitchell is the only player to be named in every matchday squad on this tour, with his name once again featuring on the bench for this weekend's final Test. Lions XV: Keenan; Freeman, Jones, Aki, Kinghorn; Russell, Gibson-Park; Porter, Sheehan, Furlong, Itoje, Ryan, Beirne, Curry, Conan Substitutes: Kelleher, Genge, Stuart, Chessum, Morgan, Earl, Mitchell, Farrell Bench: Pollard, Bell, Nonggorr, Williams, Gleeson, McDermott, Donaldson, Kellaway
