logo
Rugby-Lions hold firm after scare from First Nations-Pasifika XV

Rugby-Lions hold firm after scare from First Nations-Pasifika XV

The Star4 days ago
Rugby Union - AUNZ Invitational XV v British & Irish Lions - Adelaide Oval, Adelaide, Australia - July 12, 2025 Duhan van der Merwe of the Lions celebrates scoring their first try with Hugo Keenan Matt Turner/AAP Image via REUTERS ATTENTION EDITORS - THIS IMAGE WAS PROVIDED BY A THIRD PARTY. NO RESALES. NO ARCHIVES. AUSTRALIA OUT. NEW ZEALAND OUT
MELBOURNE (Reuters) -The British & Irish Lions were rocked by the underdog spirit of the First Nations & Pasifika XV (FNP) but held on grimly to claim an unconvincing 24-19 win on Tuesday.
Centre Jamie Osborne scored a try in each half, and 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 team, who gave Joe Schmidt's Wallabies a lesson in ferocity at the breakdown and scored tries from Tristan Reilly, Seru Uru and Rob Leota, the last allowing them to creep within five points with less than 10 minutes left.
Although the Lions notched their seventh win in succession in Australia, coach Andy Farrell may have more headaches than just selection for Saturday's second test against the Wallabies at the Melbourne Cricket Ground, where they will bid to seal the series.
The claims of his son Owen Farrell for a test jersey were unharmed, though, the former England captain leading from the front as skipper on Tuesday.
"Probably wasn't our best performance, but massive, massive credit's got to go to the First Nations and Pasifika boys, thought they came after us tonight," said Owen Farrell.
"They got off the line really well, they caused us some trouble ... I'm thankful we got the job done in the end."
Farrell was right in the thick of it, charging in to shove Reilly after the hosts' winger hammered into Graham with a try-saving tackle that earned him a yellow card in the fifth minute.
Moments later, Farrell set up the Lions' first try with a neat chip over the First Nations' line that Osborne collected and planted down.
GRAHAM TRY
Farrell had a hand in the second for Scottish winger Graham who streamed through a paddock of space.
FNP were 14-0 down after 11 minutes but Reilly returned to the field to intercept a poor Fin Smith pass near the Lions' 22 and jog over for the easiest of tries.
Improbably, FNP wiped out the lead with a converted try to Uru, who burrowed over in the 23rd minute.
Lions lock James Ryan was yellow-carded in the same play for slowing the ball down at the ruck.
Undermanned, the tourists shut out FNPZ for the rest of the half but were lucky to avoid conceding a third try after another interception.
Home fans hoping for an upset were buoyant in the crowd of 30,420 but Osborne silenced them soon after the restart, with flyhalf Smith making up for errant passing with a long ball that set up the centre's second try.
Still the errors flowed, with forward passes and knock-ons denying the Lions two certain tries before Van der Merwe latched onto a Farrell pass to cross in the corner.
Still FNP responded, rumbling the ball to the tryline before Melbourne boy and former Wallaby Leota barged through a crack to trim the deficit to five points in the 71st minute.
The drums were beating among the Pacific Islanders in the terraces but the Lions did well to lock down and ensure they head into the second Wallabies test with winning form.
"Not many people gave us a chance," said FNP's man-of-the-match Charlie Gamble.
"We showed that we deserve to be out there, and we played very hard for each other."
(Reporting by Ian Ransom in Melbourne; Editing by Andrew Heavens and Ed Osmond)
Orange background

Try Our AI Features

Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:

Comments

No comments yet...

Related Articles

Soccer-James to bolster England squad when they look to make history in Euro final against Spain
Soccer-James to bolster England squad when they look to make history in Euro final against Spain

The Star

time3 hours ago

  • The Star

Soccer-James to bolster England squad when they look to make history in Euro final against Spain

Soccer Football - UEFA Women's Euro 2025 - Final - England Training - Sportanlage Au, Zurich, Switzerland - July 26, 2025 England's Lauren James during training REUTERS/Matthew Childs BASEL, Switzerland (Reuters) -England coach Sarina Wiegman expects to have winger Lauren James in her squad for Sunday's Euro 2025 final against Spain, boosting her team's quest to build on the legacy they began by winning the continental title three years ago. James, who has 33 goals in nine games for England including a double in their 4-0 group stage victory over the Netherlands, had been doubtful after injuring her ankle in their 2-1 semi-final win over Italy. "We had 23 players on the pitch today, and everyone came through," Wiegman said at Saturday's pre-match press conference. "If everyone recovers well, then we have everyone fit for tomorrow." England defeated Germany 2-1 in extra time in the 2022 final at Wembley, and the beautiful thing about that moment, said captain Leah Williamson, is that the players know they will likely not experience "something like that again in terms of the change, the story and the journey". But it was the start of an excellent run for England, who were edged by Spain in their first appearance in a World Cup final in 2023, and now can become the first England football team to win a title on foreign soil. "You don't want to be a flash in the pan, a memory, and before 2022 we said it was the start of something so we're still trying to play our role in that," Williamson said. "It's a really privileged time to be part of this team. The opportunity to be the first this and that is a big motivator but more because we know what it does for women's football and continues the legacy that we've already started." Sunday's final at St Jakob-Park is expected to draw a record viewing audience in England, after the team's dramatic semi-final win over Italy in extra time gave British broadcaster ITV its biggest audience of the year. Williamson said she and her teammates are aware of what another Euro victory would mean. "We're very connected to what it means to the nation. As connected as we can be being away from home," she said. "The opportunity of (Sunday) and what's on offer is the best thing in football. We wanted to be here until the end and have the chance to fight for the trophy and you can't do that until the final. "We don't carry the weight of it and how much it means to people but we're aware of it because it means the same to us. We have a squad of excited, focused players." Williamson, who injured her ankle during England's quarter-final win over Sweden, was asked about playing through pain. "I can speak for every single member of the squad when I say that as long as we get the green light, we would play through anything," she said. "My ankle is great." (Reporting by Lori Ewing; editing by Pritha Sarkar)

Norris takes Spa pole on all-McLaren front row
Norris takes Spa pole on all-McLaren front row

New Straits Times

time4 hours ago

  • New Straits Times

Norris takes Spa pole on all-McLaren front row

SPA-FRANCORCHAMPS, Belgium: McLaren's Lando Norris edged out championship-leading teammate and Formula One title rival Oscar Piastri to take pole position for what could be a wet and chaotic Belgian Grand Prix on Sunday. The Briton blasted around the long Spa-Francorchamps circuit in a best time of one minute 40.562 seconds on Saturday, with Piastri 0.085 slower, to secure his fourth pole in 13 races and 13th of his career. Norris will be chasing his third win in a row to cut the Australian's nine-point lead. "The car has been flying all weekend, Oscar's been doing a good job all weekend so we're pushing each other a lot," said Norris, who was third in the earlier sprint race with Piastri second. "It's tough because you kind of see where your strengths and weaknesses are. And you learn from each other quickly. It's a good but tough battle that we have at the minute." Norris said he was expecting rain and drizzle on Sunday and possibly a chaotic race. Ferrari's Charles Leclerc will start third and Red Bull's reigning champion Max Verstappen, winner of the sprint, qualified fourth with a tweaked set-up for the expected Sunday conditions. The grand prix will be a first for Laurent Mekies as Red Bull principal after long-time incumbent Christian Horner was sacked two weeks ago. FINE MARGINS Norris had been fastest in the opening phase of qualifying, with Piastri a close second, and the positions were reversed in the second section before the final top-10 shootout left the Briton on top. His first lap of the decisive phase proved good enough, Norris unable to go any faster on his second run when Piastri threatened but made an error at Stavelot. That turned the tables after the Australian's dominant pole for the sprint by nearly half a second. "I felt like the car was very good again, but it's fine margins out there. It's obviously not a bad place to be starting but there was more in it, which is always disappointing," said the Australian. "After the sprint, I was aiming for P2," he added, referring to Verstappen winning from that position thanks to the slipstream he picked up from the car ahead. Verstappen had looked like qualifying third until Leclerc pushed him down in the dying seconds. Behind the top four, Alex Albon qualified fifth for Williams with George Russell sixth for Mercedes and ahead of Yuki Tsunoda, whose performance was the Japanese driver's best so far with Red Bull. Racing Bulls had Isack Hadjar and Liam Lawson eighth and ninth with Sauber's Brazilian rookie Gabriel Bortoleto completing the top 10. Ferrari's Lewis Hamilton, last year's winner with Mercedes, failed to get through the first phase after his best lap was deleted for exceeding track limits. The seven-times world champion, who has yet to stand on the podium since his move to Ferrari at the end of last season, will start 16th and said it was "not acceptable." Mercedes rookie Kimi Antonelli also struggled and will start in 18th place. Aston Martin had Fernando Alonso qualify 19th and teammate Lance Stroll 20th.

Rugby-Wallabies coach Schmidt slams match officials over late call in loss to Lions
Rugby-Wallabies coach Schmidt slams match officials over late call in loss to Lions

The Star

time6 hours ago

  • The Star

Rugby-Wallabies coach Schmidt slams match officials over late call in loss to Lions

Rugby Union - Australia v British and Irish Lions - Melbourne Cricket Ground, Melbourne, Australia - July 26, 2025 British and Irish Lions' Owen Farrell celebrates with teammates after the match James Ross/AAP Image via REUTERS MELBOURNE (Reuters) -Australia coach Joe Schmidt said match officials had failed to uphold player safety and hit out at a late clear-out decision that ensured the British & Irish Lions clinched a series-sealing victory on Saturday. Fullback Hugo Keenan's last-minute try put the Lions 29-26 up at the Melbourne Cricket Ground but the Wallabies players cried foul after Jac Morgan cleared out Carlo Tizzano in the buildup. After a lengthy pause as the TV match official assessed multiple angles of the incident, the try was allowed to stand, giving the Lions victory and an unassailable 2-0 lead in the series. Citing rugby's Law 9.20, which says head contact and clear-outs around the neck should be penalised, an incensed Schmidt said the officials had got the decision wrong. "Because they're human, match officials make errors," he said at the post-match press conference. "We felt it was a decision that doesn't really live up to the big player safety push that they're (World Rugby) talking about. "You cannot hit someone above ... the shoulders. "But that's what we've seen and we've watched a number of replays from different angles so it is what it is and we just have to accept it." Wallabies captain Harry Wilson was also convinced his team were hard done by. "Obviously I saw shoulder to the neck. Carlo was pretty sore about it," he said. Lions coach Andy Farrell had a different view. "I thought it was a brilliant clear-out," he said. "Honestly, it depends which side of the fence you come from, I would have thought. "I can understand people's opinions, but I thought Jac was brilliant when he came on -- and so were the rest of the bench." Schmidt said he was proud of his players but gutted by the final result after the Wallabies had taken a 23-5 lead near the half-hour mark. While the Wallabies were bitterly disappointed that the clear-out decision had gone against them, they did not need to use it as motivation for the dead rubber in Sydney next Saturday. "You can't get more motivated than what the players showed tonight," he added. "You've got to keep resolve and keep going forward. "We're not going to wallow in self-pity." (Reporting by Ian Ransom in Melbourne; Editing by Peter Rutherford)

DOWNLOAD THE APP

Get Started Now: Download the App

Ready to dive into a world of global content with local flavor? Download Daily8 app today from your preferred app store and start exploring.
app-storeplay-store