Rugby Union Weekly The Farrell debate and fancy dress season
The Lions squad continues to dominate the pod agenda as speculation intensifies around the two extra players Andy Farrell said he would take on tour. Ugo is convinced Owen Farrell will get one of those places, but is there another Englishman who could also get the nod? Danny and Ashy give their take on the 38-man squad and explain just how tough it is to miss out on selection after Mike Brown's comments about his omission in 2017. We also look back on a special farewell for Peter O'Mahony at Thomond Park, hear all about Ashy's eventful train journey back from Cardiff and react to the news that Geoff Parling will replace Michael Cheika as Leicester DOR next season.
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Rhyl Journal
35 minutes ago
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England T20 captain Harry Brook: I'm already preparing for 2026 World Cup
Friday's 21-run win over the West Indies in Durham was Brook's first outing as skipper in the format but he knows time is short to get his feet under the table. England have just 14 more games scheduled before the next global tournament in India and Sri Lanka in February, meaning the time is now when it comes to making plans. Dip. Grip. Past the edge 😮💨 Back in the team 🦁Straight in the wickets 👏 Liam Dawson | #ENGvWI — England Cricket (@englandcricket) June 6, 2025 That meant lining up with just two seamers for the first ever time in home conditions, with 12 overs of spin giving a hint at the structure England are likely to lean on in the sub-continent. While Brook's predecessor Jos Buttler set things up with a dominant knock of 96, Liam Dawson walked away with the player-of-the-match award in his first international appearance in nearly three years. The 35-year-old Hampshire stalwart claimed career-best figures of four for 20, while there were also wickets for Adil Rashid and Jacob Bethell. 'We don't want to look too far ahead but we've got to trial some things like this,' said Brook. 'The next World Cup is going to be in Sri Lanka and India. We're not completely set on this structure for the team but it's worth a go and it worked this time. 'I just think that having two very good spinners – frontline spinners – makes a massive difference. 'As a batter, when you're facing two experienced spin bowlers, you have to decide which end you're going to attack. 'These two (Rashid and Dawson) have been playing the game for so long, they know T20 cricket, they know the grounds and they've played against so many of these boys, that having them both in the side will help us going forward.' Dawson, who has been overlooked consistently for a rotating cast of spinners with inferior records on the county circuit, was praised for an 'awesome' comeback performance that saw him get the best of Johnson Charles, Sherfane Rutherford, Roston Chase and Rovman Powell. 'He bowled beautifully. He's got so many skills. He's been playing the game for pushing on 20 years and he's learned a lot of things along the way,' said Brook. The West Indies were frustrated to be missing one of their own left-arm spinners on a helpful pitch for the slower bowlers. Akeal Hosein has yet to make it to English soil after delays related a change in UK visa requirements for Trinidad and Tobago. Cricket West Indies said 'attempts to expedite the visa process' had been unsuccessful but a spokesperson confirmed on Friday that the 32-year-old could arrive ahead of Tuesday's series finale in Southampton. One of our greatest white-ball players ever 🙌 Match Highlights: | @JosButtler — England Cricket (@englandcricket) June 6, 2025 All-rounder Jason Holder said: 'He was missed, he's one of our frontline players. It's an unfortunate situation. 'We can't control that so we can only control what's in front of us. We've got players here who are willing and able to do a job for the West Indies. 'We had a team that was good enough to beat England but we fell a little short, particularly with the bat.'
Daily Mirror
an hour ago
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Ex-Arsenal and Man Utd stars to go head-to-head for League One manager job
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Daily Mail
an hour ago
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Daniel Levy's ridiculous decision to sack Ange Postecoglou is Tottenham's loss....he will go and win silverware elsewhere, writes Chris Sutton
Club appoints manager after years of being so allergic to success that there is a very word for their devotion to disappointment. Manager wins club their first trophy since 2008 to stop them from being so 'Spursy'. Club sacks manager. Make it make sense. I can't. Daniel Levy took his sweet time, and even then he came to the ridiculous conclusion that Tottenham are better off without Ange Postecoglou. It's their loss, not his. Tottenham fans had been craving an entertaining brand of football after being bored to tears for too many seasons. Postecoglou delivered them that, certainly in their first season. He lost Harry Kane, led them to fifth in the Premier League, and got them into the Europa League. The second season was a struggle, but he won them that European competition, even though he had to deal with being vilified as badly as Graham Taylor when he was branded a turnip. 'To Dare Is To Do.' That's Tottenham's motto. Postecoglou dared and did. But now? Now, he is available to go win silverware for someone else, and he will, I'm sure. His sacking sums up football, really. Don't get me wrong, Thomas Frank is an excellent, elite, experienced manager. He's turned Brentford into a stable Premier League club. Levy now wants Frank to turn Tottenham into a consistent Champions League club. Because clearly, that's the Spurs priority. Forget trophies. Levy wants to top the balance-sheet table. And yet I wonder what those fans who were in Bilbao will remember when they're old and grey and boring the grandkids by telling them the same story for the 1,000th time. Will it be the year they finished fourth? Nah. It'll be the glorious night they beat Manchester United to become winners in Europe. Postecoglou can leave with his head held high. He stuck two fingers up to his critics who mocked him for saying he would win in his second season. Now we'll never get to know what would have happened in season three, thanks to Levy, who did not even have the courage to add a quote into the club statement confirming Postecoglou's sacking, like when they got rid of Antonio Conte or Jose Mourinho. Cheers, mate.
