Poster boy and the son of a legend: Five Wallabies to watch against the Lions
The poster boy for Australian rugby union following his switch from the Rugby League last year and still only 21, the former Sydney Rooster's return to the code he played as a kid was an instant success on the Wallabies' Northern Hemisphere tour last November, and his aerial prowess on restarts caused England all sorts of problems.
The outside centre brings a serious physical threat to the midfield battle and in tandem with an equally rock solid and robust number 12 in Len Ikitau, this combination could be a real thorn in the Lions' side.
Also look out for any rekindling of the running verbal battle Suaalii entered into with the chirpy Sione Tuipulotu when Australia met Scotland at Murrayfield last autumn.
Tom Lynagh
Joe Schmidt had a decision to make at fly-half after his first-choice 10 Noah Lolesio got crocked with a neck injury against Fiji a fortnight ago, ruling him out of the Lions series.
The Wallabies head coach called up veteran Crusaders playmaker James O'Connor, who faced the Lions as a starting 10 in 2013, but his real choice was who to start against the Lions, Lynagh of the Queensland Reds or Western Force fly-half/full-back Ben Donaldson.
According to Australian media reports, it is Lynagh, four years younger and less experienced than the 26-year-old Donaldson, who has got the nod. It is a big call from Schmidt. Lynagh will be making his first Test start at Suncorp Stadium this Saturday when he wins his fourth
Wallabies cap and as a son of legendary Aussie fly-half
Michael Lynagh, the scrutiny on the Italian-born, English-educated 22-year-old will only intensify in the international arena.
Schmidt clearly thinks Lynagh junior can handle the pressure and a swarming Lions defence.
Will Skelton
The giant lock has been causing problems for Irish provinces in the Champions Cup knockout stages, first for Saracens against Munster and more recently against Leinster under Ronan O'Gara's direction at La Rochelle with whom he has won two European titles.
Skelton also won two Champions Cups and two English Premiership titles at Saracens in partnership with Lions captain Maro Itoje, who this week described his former team-mate as 'a world class operator' and 'a big man to say the least'.
At 6ft 6ins and more than 21 stone, Skelton can be a weapon in the loose and scrummaging behind the Australian front row and Wallabies supporters will be hoping Joe Schmidt's optimism that his lock's calf is ready to go for the second test is well founded.
Fraser McReight
Australia's openside flanker enhanced his reputation with some stellar performances against the Lions nations on tour in the Northern Hemisphere last November, not least against Andy Farrell's Ireland at Aviva Stadium in a tight game the Wallabies could easily have won.
The 26-year-old Brisbane native will be out to rule his home turf this Saturday and Ireland and Lions No.8 Jack Conan is well aware of his breakdown poaching threat.
'We know he is going to be a massive threat and Australia's back row is unbelievable. It's one of the best in the world.
'He was great against us in November and we know the challenge and the threat he poses. So, we're going to have make sure we're all over the ruck. You saw the Brumbies and the Waratahs the other week, they're going really hard at the ruck.
'Every team does it but they got a good amount of joy out of us in the breakdown so we know we need to be squeaky clean in that area come the weekend.'
Rob Valetini
Another reason why the Wallabies back row is such a formidable outfit. When fit, Valetini will be tasked with backing up his status as Australia's primary ball carrier, a powerhouse player who not only gets over the gainline more than any other Wallaby but also makes the most post-contact metres.
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Irish Examiner
28 minutes ago
- Irish Examiner
Shelbourne in pole position after shocking Rijeka in Croatia
EUROPA LEAGUE THIRD ROUND, FIRST LEG RIJEKA 1 (Niko Janković pen 56) SHELBOURNE 2 (Sam Bone 58, John Martin 70) Away wins in the Europa League are a rarity for Irish teams but this comeback victory puts Shelbourne on the brink of the lucrative league phase worth €3.8m. It's only the midway point of the tie against a classy Rijeka side but instead of having to beat either Linfield or Vikingur Gøta in a playoff for a berth in the Conference League, avoiding defeat at home next Tuesday before a sold-out Tolka Park would guarantee that spot. Shels boss Joey O'Brien highlighted the league's poor record on foreign soil but a dramatic turnaround trumped that to gild the club's return to Europe following an 18-month drought. Shamrock Rovers were the last team to win a Europa League fixture away from home and that two-leg victory over the Macedonian side secured their passage to the next stage of the Conference League. It changed from the group to league phase last year and once Shels hold the visitors in the return, they'll have six more games in the Autumn to relish. Things looked ominous for the League of Ireland champions when the Croatians struck first in a tight contest by Niko Janković converting a penalty but all that breakthrough in the 56th minute did was instigate a swift revival for the Reds. Defender Sam Bone equalised within two minutes by nodding in a rehearsed corner and another header, this time a bullet version by Waterford native John Martin, made it 2-1 with 20 minutes left. Bone was again in the thick of it in stoppage time but at this other end when a struck his arm. Spanish referee Ricardo de Burgos consulted with VAR but blew for full-time instead of for a penalty, much to the relief of the Shels contingent. More to follow….
RTÉ News
an hour ago
- RTÉ News
Son Heung-min completes move to Los Angeles FC for record MLS fee
Son Heung-min has ended his 10-year stay at Tottenham after making the "hardest decision ever" to leave for Los Angeles FC in a record Major League Soccer transfer. It was revealed on Saturday that Son would depart Spurs following 173 goals in 454 appearances and months after he captained the club to Europa League glory. After an agreement between Tottenham and LAFC was struck for a deal in excess of £20m, the 33-year-old arrived in Los Angeles on Tuesday and a day later he has finalised his transfer, which is the highest fee paid by an MLS club for a player. In a post to Spurs fans on Instagram, Son, who has signed an initial two-year deal with LAFC with options for a further two, wrote: "How to find the right words for this? I don't know. I have been thinking for days. It's impossible. But here I go. "It's time for me to say goodbye to Tottenham Hotspur. My home for the past decade. When I arrived in 2015, I didn't speak English, I didn't know London, but you welcomed me with open arms, believed in me, and stood by me through every high and low. "I was just a boy from Korea with big dreams who was supposed to have no chance. And now, 10 years later, North London is in my heart forever. "I've made friends for life here, had the honour of becoming a godfather here, and had the privilege of captaining our special club here. I've poured my heart and soul into this club, which makes this the hardest decision ever. "I thought if I was ever going to leave, it would have to be on my terms, on the best terms, when our mission had been accomplished together. With pride and honour." Son joined Spurs in 2015 from Bayer Leverkusen. After a tough debut campaign the South Korea captain went on to become one of the club's best ever players and made himself a Premier League great in the process. Alongside old partner in crime Harry Kane, Son holds the record for the most goal involvements by a duo in the Premier League, with the pair assisting each other on a record 47 occasions in the competition. The Chuncheon-born attacker also won the league's Golden Boot award in the 2021-22 season after scoring 23 times and he sits 17th in the list of all-time scorers in the division with 127 goals. Under former boss Mauricio Pochettino, Son's consistent displays helped turn Tottenham into genuine title contenders but silverware continued to allude them after a second-placed finish in 2017 was followed by a Champions League runner-up spot two years later. Whilst various members of Pochettino's team left not long after the Argentinian's winter departure in 2019, Son stayed to work under Jose Mourinho and Antonio Conte before he was tasked with leading a new era by Ange Postecoglou. Postecoglou named Son as his captain in the wake of Kane's high-profile switch to Bayern Munich and Hugo Lloris' departure from the first team and after a rollercoaster two seasons under the Australian, they achieved the holy grail together on 21 May. Son was consigned to a place on the bench in Bilbao for the Europa League final against Manchester United following an injury-affected campaign, but was introduced to make his final competitive appearance for Spurs to help them win 1-0 and end a 17-year wait for silverware. It etched Son's name into the history books as he became only the fourth captain in Spurs' history to lift a European trophy after Danny Blanchflower, Alan Mullery and Steve Perryman. The popular South Korean will renew acquaintances with Lloris and move to Los Angeles, which boasts one of the largest Korean populations in the world, ahead of next summer's World Cup in the United States.
Irish Daily Mirror
an hour ago
- Irish Daily Mirror
John Martin the hero as Shelbourne record famous European win in Croatia
John Martin was the hero with his header sealing a second-half comeback as Shelbourne recorded a famous 2-1 over Croatian giants Rijeka in the first-leg of their Europa League third qualifying round clash. Played at Stadion Rujevica, the temporary home of Rijeka while their stadium gets redeveloped, Shelbourne came into Wednesday night's tie as massive underdogs with some bookmakers pricing the Irish champions at 12/1 to win in Croatia. 11 draws have curtailed Shelbourne's Premier Division title defence and led to the departure of Damien Duff earlier this Summer. A draw would have been an excellent result on Wednesday at the temporary home of the Croatian champions, who got their title defence under way with a win last weekend. Manager Joey O'Brien insisted earlier in the week that his team weren't thinking of 'plan b' scenarios as a rematch with Linfield looms in the event that Shels fail to progress through this tie. O'Brien was forced into 'plan b' early in the match however, with striker Sean Boyd pulling up injured and being replaced by Martin after just 21 minutes. Martin's introduction led to Shelbourne's first bright piece of play of the night. The League of Ireland champions broke sharply down the right flank but just when things were starting to look promising, Kameron Ledwidge coughed up possession and Shels retreated back into their low block. The hosts enjoyed the majority of the ball for practically the entire first period, but they failed to make much of an impression on the game. Ante Orec made a few decent sojourns down the right hand side, but his end product was lacking. It took until the 45th minute for the Croats to finally heap some pressure on Shels. A left-footed Niko Jankovic drive stung the palms of Wessel Speel in goal. Two resulting corners were scrambled clear by the Dublin side and as the half-time whistle blew, a smattering of whistles could be heard from the unhappy home fans. The game needed a goal to spark the tie into life and it came 10 minutes into the second-half in bizarre fashion. Speel made a mess of a simple back-pass, fouled Merveil Ndockyt in the area, and Jankovic slotted the resulting penalty with ease. But within a minute Shelbourne were level. Kerr McInroy flashed a deflected shot wide before Shels worked a clever corner routine which saw Milan Mbeng head back across goal to set-up a simple headed finish for Sam Bone. Rijeka were left furious as they believed their goalkeeper had been fouled. VAR took a look, but luck was on Shelbourne's side and the goal was given. That dour first-half now a distant memory, both sides hunted the go ahead goal. Simon Butic forced Speel into an excellent save to deny a swerving, dipping effort, before Martin's rasping shot evaded the top-left corner by inches. With 20 minutes left on the clock, Shelbourne hit the front. The lively Mbeng fed Harry Wood on the right, who fizzed in an incredible cross that was planted by Martin into the top corner to send the Shels supporters behind the goals into raptures. The expected onslaught from the hosts came too little too late as Shelbourne saw out the game fairly comfortably. Rijeka huffed and puffed, but failed to create anything of note for the last quarter of an hour. There was a last minute VAR check for a potential handball to keep Shels fans on the edge of their seats, but it was rightly waved away and the League of Ireland Champions will take a 2-1 lead into the second-leg at Tolka Park.
