Lions hold off First Nations-Pasifika XV 24-19 in Melbourne
Centre Jamie Osborne scored a try in each half, while Darcy Graham and Duhan van der Merwe also crossed for the Lions who remain unbeaten on their Australian tour despite producing a largely ragged display at Melbourne's Docklands Stadium.
It was full credit to the FNP outfit, who gave Joe Schmidt's Wallabies a lesson in ferocity at the breakdown and had tries from Tristan Reilly, Seru Uru and Rob Leota, the last allowing them to creep within five points with less than 10 minutes on the clock.
The Lions swept the nation's four provincial teams and an Australia-New Zealand invitational side before downing the Wallabies 27-19 in the first test in Brisbane last Saturday.
They will look to seal the test series with victory over the Wallabies at the Melbourne Cricket Ground on Saturday. REUTERS
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Straits Times
25 minutes ago
- Straits Times
O'Connor takes Tour stage as Vingegaard's plans to unseat Pogacar fizzle out
Find out what's new on ST website and app. COURCHEVEL, France - Ben O'Connor stormed to a sensational victory in Stage 18 of the Tour de France on Thursday, as Jonas Vingegaard's attempt to dethrone Tadej Pogacar imploded in spectacular fashion on the race's most brutal Alpine battleground. The Australian rider, eyes blazing with determination, launched a ferocious solo attack on the fearsome Col de la Loze and never looked back, thundering towards his second career Tour stage win, following his triumph in Tignes in 2021. "I felt much better today just from the start. I was pretty active, and I think probably the point where you realise you could have a shot was the top of the (Col de la) Madeleine when Jonas and Pogi came across, and we're still with them over the top of the summit," said O'Connor. Pogacar defended his crown with ice-cold precision, gaining 11 more seconds on Vingegaard and stretching his overall advantage to a commanding 4 minutes 26 seconds after taking second place. "Today was brutal. Maybe the hardest stage I've ever done in the Tour," admitted a drained Vingegaard after the finish. "We had a big plan, you saw it, but I couldn't take a second on Tadej. The Tour isn't over, still." Visma-Lease a Bike had come to the Alps with an all-in strategy for a stage lined with three monstrous climbs. But what could have been a bold masterstroke unravelled spectacularly. On the slopes of the 19.2 km Col de la Madeleine, Sepp Kuss's searing acceleration left the top contenders chasing shadows. PUZZLING With Matteo Jorgenson already up the road in a breakaway, Vingegaard launched his move 5 km from the summit, but Pogacar followed him with ease. Then came the puzzling twist. After a blistering descent, Vingegaard, who had said he was ready to risk his second place to try to win the Tour, suddenly eased up on the valley floor, inviting rivals to regroup and stripping his team's earlier aggression of any sting. Jorgenson, once the sacrificial pawn, dropped from the break and rejoined the group, only to be spat out again almost instantly. Up ahead, O'Connor sensed blood and struck with ruthless precision, leaving Einer Rubio gasping for air and balance with a savage attack 16 km from the line on the lung-busting 26.4-km Col de la Loze, soaring to 2,304 metres above sea level. Rubio cracked in his wake, and the general classification favourites' hesitation sealed the Australian's day of glory. Behind him, Visma-Lease a Bike flogged the pace but barely clawed back a second. Then, inside the final 2 km, Vingegaard made one last desperate thrust. Pogacar, seated and serene, absorbed it before unleashing a devastating counterpunch in the last 500 metres. In a blur of power, the Slovenian dropped Vingegaard, streaked past Rubio, and snatched a six-second bonus as he continued his march towards a fourth Tour title. German Florian Lipowitz kept his third place despite finishing behind Oscar Onley after his attempt to go solo in the final climb backfired. He still leads the British rider by 22 seconds going into the last mountain stage between Albertville and La Plagne. REUTERS
CNA
an hour ago
- CNA
O'Connor takes Tour stage as Vingegaard's plans to unseat Pogacar fizzle out
COURCHEVEL, France :Ben O'Connor stormed to a sensational victory in Stage 18 of the Tour de France on Thursday, as Jonas Vingegaard's attempt to dethrone Tadej Pogacar imploded in spectacular fashion on the race's most brutal Alpine battleground. The Australian rider, eyes blazing with determination, launched a ferocious solo attack on the fearsome Col de la Loze and never looked back, thundering towards his second career Tour stage win, following his triumph in Tignes in 2021. "I felt much better today just from the start. I was pretty active, and I think probably the point where you realise you could have a shot was the top of the (Col de la) Madeleine when Jonas and Pogi came across, and we're still with them over the top of the summit," said O'Connor. Pogacar defended his crown with ice-cold precision, gaining 11 more seconds on Vingegaard and stretching his overall advantage to a commanding 4 minutes 26 seconds after taking second place. "Today was brutal. Maybe the hardest stage I've ever done in the Tour," admitted a drained Vingegaard after the finish. "We had a big plan, you saw it, but I couldn't take a second on Tadej. The Tour isn't over, still." Visma-Lease a Bike had come to the Alps with an all-in strategy for a stage lined with three monstrous climbs. But what could have been a bold masterstroke unravelled spectacularly. On the slopes of the 19.2 km Col de la Madeleine, Sepp Kuss's searing acceleration left the top contenders chasing shadows. PUZZLING With Matteo Jorgenson already up the road in a breakaway, Vingegaard launched his move 5 km from the summit, but Pogacar followed him with ease. Then came the puzzling twist. After a blistering descent, Vingegaard, who had said he was ready to risk his second place to try to win the Tour, suddenly eased up on the valley floor, inviting rivals to regroup and stripping his team's earlier aggression of any sting. Jorgenson, once the sacrificial pawn, dropped from the break and rejoined the group, only to be spat out again almost instantly. Up ahead, O'Connor sensed blood and struck with ruthless precision, leaving Einer Rubio gasping for air and balance with a savage attack 16 km from the line on the lung-busting 26.4-km Col de la Loze, soaring to 2,304 metres above sea level. Rubio cracked in his wake, and the general classification favourites' hesitation sealed the Australian's day of glory. Behind him, Visma-Lease a Bike flogged the pace but barely clawed back a second. Then, inside the final 2 km, Vingegaard made one last desperate thrust. Pogacar, seated and serene, absorbed it before unleashing a devastating counterpunch in the last 500 metres. In a blur of power, the Slovenian dropped Vingegaard, streaked past Rubio, and snatched a six-second bonus as he continued his march towards a fourth Tour title. German Florian Lipowitz kept his third place despite finishing behind Oscar Onley after his attempt to go solo in the final climb backfired.
Straits Times
2 hours ago
- Straits Times
Australian Ben O'Connor wins Tour de France Stage 18
Find out what's new on ST website and app. General view of the riders during the 18th stage of the Tour de France. COURCHEVEL COL DE LA LOZE – Australian Ben O'Connor of the Jayco AlUla team won the 18th stage of the Tour de France, a 171.5-km mountain trek between Vif and the Col de la Loze on Thursday. Slovenian Tadej Pogacar finished second and retained the overall leader's yellow jersey, stretching his advantage over chief rival Jonas Vingegaard, who came up third, by 11 seconds to 4:26. When asked if he felt he could win the stage, O'Connor said: 'No, not at all. But I felt much better today from the start. I was pretty active. 'It's a rough race. It's the biggest race in the world, but it's for sure the cruellest. I couldn't be more proud of myself, and the boys, they backed me every single day through this whole race, even in the rough times. 'Thanks to everyone at Jayco-AlUla. It's what the team needed and what I needed.' Pogacar suffered a big scare when he bumped into the team car of Vingegaard before the start of the stage. 'We were going to the start line and the cars were also going... we were cruising behind the (Visma-Lease a Bike) car, maybe a bit too close and he suddenly... maybe I don't know if he wanted to brake check me, to check my brakes,' Pogacar said with a smile. Top stories Swipe. Select. Stay informed. Asia 11 Thai civilians killed as Thai and Cambodian militaries clash at disputed border: Reports Asia Singapore urges all parties in Thailand-Cambodia border dispute to exercise restraint Asia Deadly Thai-Cambodian dispute puts Asean's relevance on the line Singapore Avoid water activities around Tuas Second Link, Raffles Marina after chemical tank accident: NEA Singapore Technology can help efforts to shift healthcare delivery towards the community: Ong Ye Kung Singapore Khatib Camp to make way for housing, with its functions moving to Amoy Quee Camp Singapore Mindef to set up new volunteer management unit to grow volunteer pool Singapore Primary 1 registration: 29 schools to conduct ballot in Phase 2B 'I was not ready because I did not see the reason why he had to stop urgently so we crashed into the car, but it's okay, I'm okay we're good.' Meanwhile, Ineos' top-ranked rider Carlos Rodriguez pulled out of the Tour after suffering a broken pelvis on Stage 17's late mass pile-up the previous day. In 10th position going into the rainy flat stage, the Spanish climb specialist became entangled in a spectacular pile-up of flying bikes and bodies on the home straight at Valence on Wednesday. 'Carlos remains under the close supervision of our medical team. He will now return home to focus on recovery,' Ineos said. Ineos had already lost former time trial world champion Filippo Ganna to concussion on Stage 1 at Lille. The once-mighty British team, formerly known as Team SKY, won the Tour seven times between 2012-2019, but have been in a relative lull in recent years. Additionally, a team soigneur, or carer, has also left the Tour after being asked to speak to the International Testing Agency (ITA) over allegations relating to the 2012 season. 'Following recent media allegations, David (Rozman) has now received a request from the ITA to attend an interview. Accordingly, he has stepped back from race duties and has left the Tour,' Ineos said, adding the team had not been presented with formal evidence or asked to participate in any inquiry. The ITA declined to comment and Rozman did not answer phone calls. AFP, REUTERS
