Tonight's rugby news as 'superhuman' Lions star faces surgery and teammate 'terrorised' by Wallabies giant

Wales Online

2 days ago

Tonight's rugby news as 'superhuman' Lions star faces surgery and teammate 'terrorised' by Wallabies giant
The latest headlines from Wales and around the world
James Ryan of the British and Irish Lions clashes with Will Skelton of the Wallabies
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These are your evening rugby headlines on Tuesday, August 5.
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Lions star faces surgery
British & Irish Lions star Tom Curry is set to go under the knife on a wrist ligament injury, having put off surgery until after the tour of Australia. The England flanker was one of the standout performers in Andy Farrell's squad Down Under, with the head coach describing him as a "machine" as he capped stunning performances in the opening two Tests with tries in each, before ending the third and final clash as the game's top tackler.
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Curry put his body on the line throughout the series, something which is made all the more remarkable by the Sale Sharks man's eventful injury history and the long-standing issue he has with his wrist. Sign up to Inside Welsh rugby on Substack to get exclusive news stories and insight from behind the scenes in Welsh rugby.
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Ahead of the tour, Sale boss Alex Sanderson revealed that the back rower would need to go under the knife, but admitted that the 'superhuman' England star was happy to play through the pain to be involved with the Lions.
However, now that the tour is done and dusted, the operating table awaits for Curry.
"He will need an operation at some point, but he's clearly able to manage it and play through whatever pain he's experiencing currently," Sanderson said back in May. "It's not something that is stopping his game minutes or something that's managing his training minutes either.
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"He had to play and play through to see if he could, and if the risk was minimised, which the specialist was happy with, and the pain was manageable, which it clearly is for the superhuman that he is, then he'd put himself up for Lions selection.
"The alternative is he could have an operation now and he'd probably miss the last run of games and he might miss the first two games of the Lions," the Premiership side's director of rugby added. "That wasn't a solution, because the level of competition for his position was so high, he had to see if he could manage it."
Ryan 'terrorised' by Wallabies giant
Australia legend David Campese has issued a scathing assessment of this year's British & Irish Lions Test series, claiming the tourists only delivered a "microwave meal version" of themselves compared to the "banquet feasts" that came before them.
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Andy Farrell's squad are returning home as series champions, having won the first two Tests before falling to defeat against the Wallabies in their final showdown in Sydney.
However, Campese has been left feeling underwhelmed by what he saw from the Lions, instead hailing the "remarkable effort" of Joe Schmidt's team and "singing the praises" of individual Wallabies players.
In a damning column piece for Planet Rugby, the 62-year-old also hit out at Farrell for treating the series as "an Irish development tour," even singling out one Ireland star for criticism and claiming he was "terrorised" by Wallabies giant Will Skelton.
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"It's hard to know how this Lions tour will be judged," Campese wrote. "At times, I feel that the hype was far greater than the reality. It was all a little manufactured, perhaps a little twee.
"There was no real moments that came from within from the tourists. It seemed as if there was a need to force the narrative of legacy, of the history, rather than making the history itself through moments and performances."
Turning his attention to the host's standout players, and indeed their opposition, the Wallabies legend continued: "Australia with Will Skelton, Taniela Tupou, Tom Hooper and Bobby Valetini are a completely different proposition than without them.
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"[Skelton] has a limited shelf life and the conditions played into his hand in terms of stamina, but every time he plays against James Ryan he absolutely terrorises the bloke and that happened once again," he added.
"I also feel that Andy Farrell at times treated this as an Irish development tour. There's no way that the likes of Bundee Aki, James Lowe, Andrew Porter, James Ryan and Jack Conan were the best players in their position during the build-up and series.
"Never forget, whilst these guys have had some success in friendly Tests and so on, they've achieved absolutely nothing in terms of the big silverware in Test rugby – the World Cup – and there's a reason for that – they're average players.
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"I go back to my point about Ryan – Skelton owns him every time he faces him."
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New role for Cole
Leicester Tigers legend Dan Cole has joined the club's staff after hanging up his boots at the end of last season.
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The England prop - who made 388 appearances for the Premiership side - has been appointed as the Tigers' new recruitment & retention manager, and will work closely with incoming head coach Geoff Parling to align the club's senior squad and academy and pathway programmes.
Cole, who also won a total of 121 Test caps for England and the British & Irish Lions, has already started in his new role, the club confirmed, with Parling also back in the UK after finishing his duties with Australia.
The club's CEO Andrea Pinchen said: 'We are delighted to be able to keep someone of Dan's experience and knowledge at Leicester Tigers.
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'He has always shown a keen interest in this area and, as anyone who knows him will attest, his attention to detail and professionalism are second to none.
"His playing career was as successful as it was because of his work ethic, but also his commitment to learning and evolving every step of the way," Pinchen continued.
"Add to that that he is a Leicester Tigers man through and through; he wants to see this club be successful and, pleasingly, wants to contribute and be a part of this exciting new chapter.
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'Dan will be a great fit, there's no doubt about that, and with the appointment of the new head of rugby operations to oversee the process and refreshed staffing structure, I am confident in what is being put in place."