Owen Farrell to captain Lions against First Nations and Pasifika XV
It will be the 20th time Farrell has played for the Lions and his first starting appearance since being drafted into the 2025 squad late as injury cover by his father Andy Farrell, the head coach.
The Lions are 6-0 so far on the tour Down Under, including a 27-19 victory over the Wallabies in the first test at Brisbane on Saturday night.
Leading into the test series, the Lions beat Super Rugby franchises Western Force,Queensland Reds, Waratahs and Brumbies and an Australia-New Zealand invitational XV.
After the First Nations and Pasifika XV game, the Lions will turn their attention back to trying to clinch the test series in Melbourne on Saturday night. The third test is in Sydney on Aug. 2.
Owen Farrell will play at inside center in a midfield partnership with Jamie Osborne of Ireland.
Scotland scrumhalf Ben White will combine with England flyhalf Fin Smith in the halves.
Blair Kinghorn will return from injury to play fullback in an all-Scotland back three with Darcy Graham and Duhan van der Merwe.
Jac Morgan, the only Welshman left in the 44-man squad, will start on the blindside flank in the tour game in a backrow that also includes young England No. 8 Henry Pollock.
Three days after being involved in the 23-man squad for the first test, backrower Ben Earl and inside backs Alex Mitchell and Marcus Smith will sit on the bench for the tour game. Garry Ringrose is returning from injury to take a spot on the replacements bench.
Andy Farrell said the match gave all Lions players 'another opportunity to put their hand up for selection for the final two tests.'
'The coaches' minds are open when it comes to selection, they have to be with so many players performing and pushing for places.'
__
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Yahoo
34 minutes ago
- Yahoo
Scottish sports star dies after hotel balcony fall in Ibiza
Tributes have been paid to a Scottish sports star who died after falling from a hotel balcony in Ibiza. Gary Kelly, from Dundee, fell to his death at the Ibiza Rocks Hotel in San Antonio in the early hours of Monday morning. The 19-year-old ice hockey star played for both [[Dundee]] Stars and Aberdeen Lynx last season. A statement from Dundee Stars read: "The Dundee Stars are truly devastated to learn that Gary Kelly has tragically passed away. "We send our thoughts and condolences to Gary's family, partner, and all his friends at this extremely difficult time. "Everyone at the club including players, staff, management, and ownership are heartbroken to hear this tragic news. "Gary was hugely talented and charismatic individual who had a great future ahead of him. His loss will impact many in the ice hockey community and beyond. He will be sadly missed. "We respect and support the family's request for privacy at this extremely difficult time." READ MORE: Glasgow shop robbed at gunpoint as staff member threatened Investigation underway after teen sexually assaulted in Glasgow street Man due in court after 'disturbance' at Glasgow flat block Aberdeen Lynx also paid tribute, writing: "The Lynx family is heartbroken to share the devastating news of the sudden passing of one of our brightest young stars, Gary Kelly, while on holiday. "Gary was more than just a talented hockey player — he was a young man full of heart, passion, and dedication. On the ice, he gave everything he had. Off the ice, he brought energy, kindness, and an infectious love of life that lifted everyone around him. He wore his heart on his sleeve, and that spirit left a lasting mark on our team, our club, and everyone who had the privilege of knowing him. "Gary's potential was limitless, but even more than that, he was simply a brilliant person to be around. He was part of our family, and his absence leaves a hole that cannot be filled. "We send our deepest condolences to Gary's family and friends at this unimaginably difficult time. Our thoughts are with you, and we stand with you in grief and in love. "As a club, we are doing all we can to support our players and members as they come to terms with this tragic loss. "Rest easy, Gary — you will always be one of our brightest stars." Scottish Ice Hockey, the governing body for ice hockey in Scotland, added: "It is with deep sadness that Scottish Ice Hockey has learned of the sudden passing of Gary Kelly, a young athlete who represented both his clubs and his country with distinction. "Gary was a dedicated and talented player who proudly wore the Scotland jersey. He brought commitment, energy, and integrity to the sport both on and off the ice. His passion for hockey and the positive impact he had on teammates, coaches, and those around him will not be forgotten. "At just 19 years old, Gary had already demonstrated remarkable potential and was widely respected throughout the Scottish ice hockey community. His love for the game and the contribution he made to the clubs he played for have left a lasting legacy. "On behalf of everyone at Scottish Ice Hockey, we extend our deepest condolences to Gary's family, friends, and teammates at this incredibly difficult time. "We join them in mourning the loss of a young man who gave so much to the sport we all cherish. Gary will be remembered with admiration, respect, and great fondness." The death of the teenager comes weeks after another Scottish holidaymaker died at the same hotel in similar circumstances. Evan Thomson, 26, from Aberdeen, died after falling from a sixth-floor balcony at the Ibiza Rocks Hotel on July 7. On Monday afternoon, Ibiza Rocks issued a statement and confirmed that it had paused events following the deaths. The statement read: "We are deeply shocked and devastated by the recent incidents that have tragically occurred. 'Our priority is to support those affected and their loved ones during this incredibly difficult time, and to fully assist the authorities with their investigations. 'The safety and wellbeing of our guests has, and always will remain, our highest priority. "Given the seriousness of the situation and out of respect for those involved, we believe it is right to pause our advertised events programme at this time."
NBC Sports
an hour ago
- NBC Sports
Caitlin Clark not expected to play when Indiana Fever resume season Tuesday at New York
INDIANAPOLIS — Caitlin Clark is not expected to be available on Tuesday night when Indiana resumes its season at the defending champion New York Liberty, Fever coach Stephanie White said. Clark missed Indiana's final game before the All-Star break with an injured right groin and pulled out of Friday night's 3-point contest as well as Saturday's All-Star Game. Clark told reporters on Saturday night that she had been getting treatment during the festivities, which also took place in Indianapolis. She was injured in the final minute of Tuesday's victory at Connecticut. While she is improving, White said, the Fever intend to be cautious with Clark, who missed 10 games during the first half of the season with three different muscle injuries. 'She's going to see some doctors and get more tests early in the week,' White said. 'I don't expect her to be available on Tuesday, so we're just going to take it one day at a time and let her get evaluations early this week and then, once we've done that, hopefully we'll have more of a clear vision of what it looks like.' Clark never missed a game because of injury during her college career at Iowa or last season when she was selected the WNBA's Rookie of the Year. The two-time All-Star is averaging 16.5 points, 8.8 assists and 5.0 rebounds this season for a team that was expected to contend for a league championship. But Clark's injuries and other obstacles have kept the Fever hovering near the middle of the standings with a 12-11 mark. 'These soft tissue injuries, sometimes nag until you can actually have time to really allow to heal in the offseason,' White said.
Fox Sports
an hour ago
- Fox Sports
Last Night in Baseball: Brewers Win 10th-Straight, Sweep Dodgers and Tie Cubs
There is always baseball happening — almost too much baseball for one person to handle themselves. That's why we're here to help, though, by sifting through the previous days' games, and figuring out what you missed, but shouldn't have. Here are all the best moments from the weekend in Major League Baseball : Brewers sweep, streak and tie in one weekend The Brewers entered the All-Star break riding a seven-game win streak, and after their weekend series against the Dodgers, you'd never know that they had to hit pause. Milwaukee swept the Dodgers, pushing their win streak to 10 games and putting them in a tie with the Cubs atop the NL Central. It was the Brewers' second sweep of the Dodgers in the 10-game streak, too: wins two through four came at Los Angeles' expense, as well. That the Dodgers were swept does make it seem like a far more dominant performance for the Brewers than it maybe was, but here's the thing: great teams need to win these close games, too. And the Dodgers had three close games over the weekend and failed to win any of them, with Milwaukee holding on in all three cases. On Friday, it was a 2-0 shutout, courtesy six shutout innings from Milwaukee starter Quinn Priester: he scattered three hits while striking out 10 Dodgers against zero walks before handing things off to the bullpen to close it out the rest of the way. You can blame the Dodgers' lineup for not getting enough done there — and for not taking advantage of Tyler Glasnow's strong start, as he allowed one run over six innings while allowing just five baserunners — but it was on the pitching and the defense the rest of the series. On Saturday, Milwaukee's bats woke up just a little more than L.A.'s, making up for a pitching performance where neither starter Wily Peralta nor the bullpen that succeeded him were able to get things together. Even with Peralta giving up four runs in five frames, though, opposing starter Emmet Sheehan allowed five in just three, and the Dodgers never fully dug themselves out of that hole, losing 8-7. Three early errors doomed the Dodgers on Sunday. Up 3-0 in the fourth, the Dodgers allowed a run on a Tommy Edman throwing error that scored Andrew Vaughn. Joey Ortiz would then reach on an error by Andy Pages in center, allowing Andruw Monasterio to score, tying things up 3-3. Then, in the fifth, Andrew Vaughn would single to left, and William Contreras would advance to third on an error by Esteury Ruiz. While the Dodgers would escape unscathed in the frame, all of these errors meant that starter Clayton Kershaw was lifted earlier than he should have been given his own performance — despite allowing just five hits and one walk even with innings being extended by errors, Kershaw was lifted in the fifth at 81 pitches. And then the Brewers feasted on the Dodgers' bullpen, earning the 6-5 win and the sweep. The Brewers, now tied with the Cubs in the Central, will head to Seattle to face the Mariners for three games, then it's back to Milwaukee for a three-game set against the Marlins, and finally, a series against the Cubs to cap off July — when it's all said and done, this run in July could be the most significant of the year for them, but there's plenty of both the month and the season left, too. Ohtani goes deep twice It wasn't all bad for the Dodgers over the weekend, though. Well, okay, it wasn't bad news for all the Dodgers would be more accurate. Shohei Ohtani now has 34 homers on the year after a pair of long balls on Saturday and Sunday. That wasn't enough to stop the bleeding by any means, but we're here for the highlights, you know. Ohtani's performance over the weekend pushed his slugging percentage back up over .600 — he'd briefly fallen under with Friday's 0-for-4 performance, which itself was the exclamation point on what had been a tough July for the two-way star: Ohtani was hitting just .170/.316/.362 on the month through July 18. He hasn't repaired all that damage, but he's bumped his July up to a far more manageable slump of .200/.333/.473 with a much more productive Saturday and Sunday; if Ohtani can get back to hitting like usual, that would go a long way towards ending the Dodgers' recent skid, in which they've lost 5.5 games in the standings since July 3 by doing 2-12 in that stretch. Ohtani doesn't lead the NL anymore, however… …because Eugenio Suárez had an even better post-break weekend. Suarez, the Diamondbacks' third baseman who hit two homers right before the All-Star break to help make it five players across MLB with at least 30 homers, still had that power strike going for him after the Midsummer Classic. Suárez went yard twice on Saturday against the Cardinals, and then repeated that trick on Sunday, giving him 35 for the season. Suddenly, Suárez is leading the NL in homers, sits one behind Aaron Judge — who also hit a home run on Sunday — and is just three behind MLB leader Cal Raleigh. As noted in Friday's second-half milestone watch , Suárez is one of five player who was on pace for at least 50 dingers in 2025: there have never been five players with 50 homers in one MLB season before, and now we have Suárez hitting another four, Ohtani a pair, Judge one and Kyle Schwarber — thanks to a homer each on Friday and Saturday, the latter a grand slam — up to 32 on the year. Exciting times if you dig the long ball. The Giants aren't helping themselves The Dodgers were up nine games on both the Giants and Padres back on July 3, and, despite their horrid stretch since that has seen that lead cut to 3.5 games for San Diego, San Francisco hasn't been able to follow suit. They were swept over the weekend by the Blue Jays by a combined score of 18-9, which also gave them five losses in a row. Despite the Dodgers practically handing over an opportunity to significantly narrow the gap between them in the standings, the Giants still sit six back of Los Angeles. Not just that, but the Giants are now 2.5 back of a wild card, as the Mets, Brewers, Cubs and Padres are all ahead of them in the standings. There's still plenty of 2025 left, but you have to remember that the Giants have been slipping for some time now, too: they were in first place in the NL West on June 13, and 12 games over .500 at the time. Now they're six back and four games over — how much further behind would they be if the Dodgers hadn't also fallen apart for the past few weeks? Buxton makes a goofy grab All that matters on a catch is whether or not the ball touches the ground before a fielder can reel it in. And good thing, too, because Twins' center fielder Byron Buxton had this one, until he didn't, until he had it once again. Yes, the play was goofy in the sense that Buxton bobbled the ball a bit, and you can see his eyes kind of cartoonishly pop out of his head in the slow-motion replay, but that also took some intense concentration — and a little bit of luck — to keep the ball from bouncing elsewhere or just rolling off of his body as he hit the ground. Buxton is a great outfielder and has been for ages, and is not normally the type to make things harder for himself. His recovery here is unreal, though, and it counts the same in the boxscore as any other putout. Want great stories delivered right to your inbox? Create or log in to your FOX Sports account , and follow leagues, teams and players to receive a personalized newsletter daily! FOLLOW Follow your favorites to personalize your FOX Sports experience Milwaukee Brewers Major League Baseball recommended Item 1 of 2 Get more from the Major League Baseball Follow your favorites to get information about games, news and more
