Cummins confirms Aussie Test team
Australian captain Pat Cummins confirms the Test team for the first match against the West Indies in Barbados.
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Sydney Morning Herald
26 minutes ago
- Sydney Morning Herald
‘I don't lose sleep about it': Tana Umaga on two decades of O'Driscoll controversy
'I've been back to Ireland a couple of times, quite a few times, and I've had no issues,' Umaga said. 'It's probably a pretty small number [who are still upset] because, as I said, no one mentions it to me when I'm there. I suppose with the advent of social media, that's what keeps it alive. And the meaning as well. 'All of us have moved forward on it. It's part of the rugby fabric now. The British and Irish Lions are such a formidable team. This is etched in the memory and the fabric of that team. I'm connected to that. 'People are passionate about their team, about right and wrong and what they feel should have happened. But yeah, 20 years later, we've dealt with it many moons ago. 'No doubt we'll catch up when we're both together in Melbourne. We'll just have another laugh about it, as we always do.' Umaga will see O'Driscoll when the Lions circus rolls into Victoria next month, having signed on to coach against them next month as an assistant for the First Nations and Pasifika XV at Melbourne's Marvel Stadium on July 22. It's not the first time – Umaga coached the Auckland Blues against the Lions on their 2017 tour of New Zealand – but the opportunity to be an assistant to head coach Toutai Kefu was worth another wearying round of interviews on that 2005 moment. Umaga, who now coaches Moana Pasifika in Super Rugby Pacific, will be on a staff also containing Glen Ella, Sekope Kepu and Simon Raiwalui. 'When I got the request, I didn't have to think about it too long – I thought it was a huge honour,' Umaga said. 'You see who else is involved in that coaching group. You know, there's a lot of people that I respect. Glen Ella – I was a fan of his when I was growing up, so I'm looking forward to learning something off him and trying to bring back some of the 80s rugby that he played with his brothers, and those Wallaby days.' The First Nations and Pasifika XV was created to fill the empty slot left when the Rebels shut down last year, and will feature not only Australian players with First Nations and Pacific Island heritage, but likely a handful from the Moana and Fijian Drua sides as well. Umaga said it was a rare opportunity for some players to face the Lions. 'Not everyone gets it. It [a Lions tour] is held in such a high esteem,' he said. 'For some, they may never usually get that opportunity, like not just the First Nations and Pacific Island players in Australia, but the possibility of Drua players as well as some Moana Pasifika players. That'll be huge for those individuals if they get that chance.' Loading Kefu is set to reveal the team's jersey on Thursday in Melbourne, and potentially some players, too. Umaga joked that the coaching staff had picked a strong squad until Joe Schmidt beat them to the punch. 'We had an awesome team until the Wallaby squad was named. I think we were just wishful thinking for some of the players that we were hoping to get,' Umaga said. 'But there are still quality players around.' Umaga is a big admirer of Schmidt, and believes the Wallabies' progress last year – and that of the country's Super Rugby sides this year – has Australian rugby trending strongly. 'He's such a great man. I think he's building something within that Wallabies group that I think is something that's as exciting to grow towards this tour, but also, invariably, in a couple of years' time for that World Cup,' Umaga said.
The Age
29 minutes ago
- The Age
‘I don't lose sleep about it': Tana Umaga on two decades of O'Driscoll controversy
'I've been back to Ireland a couple of times, quite a few times, and I've had no issues,' Umaga said. 'It's probably a pretty small number [who are still upset] because, as I said, no one mentions it to me when I'm there. I suppose with the advent of social media, that's what keeps it alive. And the meaning as well. 'All of us have moved forward on it. It's part of the rugby fabric now. The British and Irish Lions are such a formidable team. This is etched in the memory and the fabric of that team. I'm connected to that. 'People are passionate about their team, about right and wrong and what they feel should have happened. But yeah, 20 years later, we've dealt with it many moons ago. 'No doubt we'll catch up when we're both together in Melbourne. We'll just have another laugh about it, as we always do.' Umaga will see O'Driscoll when the Lions circus rolls into Victoria next month, having signed on to coach against them next month as an assistant for the First Nations and Pasifika XV at Melbourne's Marvel Stadium on July 22. It's not the first time – Umaga coached the Auckland Blues against the Lions on their 2017 tour of New Zealand – but the opportunity to be an assistant to head coach Toutai Kefu was worth another wearying round of interviews on that 2005 moment. Umaga, who now coaches Moana Pasifika in Super Rugby Pacific, will be on a staff also containing Glen Ella, Sekope Kepu and Simon Raiwalui. 'When I got the request, I didn't have to think about it too long – I thought it was a huge honour,' Umaga said. 'You see who else is involved in that coaching group. You know, there's a lot of people that I respect. Glen Ella – I was a fan of his when I was growing up, so I'm looking forward to learning something off him and trying to bring back some of the 80s rugby that he played with his brothers, and those Wallaby days.' The First Nations and Pasifika XV was created to fill the empty slot left when the Rebels shut down last year, and will feature not only Australian players with First Nations and Pacific Island heritage, but likely a handful from the Moana and Fijian Drua sides as well. Umaga said it was a rare opportunity for some players to face the Lions. 'Not everyone gets it. It [a Lions tour] is held in such a high esteem,' he said. 'For some, they may never usually get that opportunity, like not just the First Nations and Pacific Island players in Australia, but the possibility of Drua players as well as some Moana Pasifika players. That'll be huge for those individuals if they get that chance.' Loading Kefu is set to reveal the team's jersey on Thursday in Melbourne, and potentially some players, too. Umaga joked that the coaching staff had picked a strong squad until Joe Schmidt beat them to the punch. 'We had an awesome team until the Wallaby squad was named. I think we were just wishful thinking for some of the players that we were hoping to get,' Umaga said. 'But there are still quality players around.' Umaga is a big admirer of Schmidt, and believes the Wallabies' progress last year – and that of the country's Super Rugby sides this year – has Australian rugby trending strongly. 'He's such a great man. I think he's building something within that Wallabies group that I think is something that's as exciting to grow towards this tour, but also, invariably, in a couple of years' time for that World Cup,' Umaga said.
ABC News
2 hours ago
- ABC News
Cameron Green seen as 'long-term' number three for Australia, casting doubt on Marnus Labuschagne's future
Captain Pat Cummins views Cameron Green as Australia's long-term number three, spelling bad news for the axed Marnus Labuschagne as he fights to return to the Test XI. For the series opener against West Indies in Barbados, Australia named Josh Inglis to bat at number four in place of Steve Smith, who could be back from his finger injury in time for the second Test. Sam Konstas shifts to the top of the order to replace Labuschagne as expected in an otherwise unchanged XI from that which suffered a shock loss to South Africa in the WTC Final. In his first Test match at number three, Green contributed a meagre first-innings score of 4, then a second-ball duck while making his Test comeback from a back injury against the Proteas at Lord's. ABC Sport will have live blog coverage of every day of all three West Indies-Australia Tests. But despite Green's tough return match, Australia is still keen on playing the all-rounder higher up the order than the number six where he has typically featured at Test level. "We see that (number three) as a long-term option," Cummins said. "Going in to last week, he's hitting the ball really well. He's moving really well. He had a Test match where it obviously didn't go to plan. "The message is not to look too much into that. We're really happy with where his game is placed. I dare say he'll get a decent run at number three." It looms as a setback for Labuschagne, who had been a mainstay for Australia at first drop until his axing from the set-up following one Test opening the batting in the WTC Final. Labuschagne has averaged 27.82 with the bat for the past 12 months, well down on the 62.3 he managed across the four calendar years between 2019 and 2022. With a glut of batting talent available, and Australia vowing to give Green its patience, Labuschagne's path back appears clouded ahead of this summer's home Ashes. "If there's an opening, we could see him kind of fighting his way back into the Test team at some point, but obviously the focus now is giving a couple of other guys a go," Cummins said. "He's had a pretty good run and obviously didn't make the most of it as well as he would have liked, so (we're) offering that opportunity to the next couple of guys." Australia's batting headaches could resume as soon as next week as Smith fights to return from the dislocated finger he suffered in the WTC Final loss earlier this month. The Test vice-captain is recovering at his New York holiday home and would likely bump Inglis from the XI should he be fit for the second Test in Grenada. "I know the medical team have got a bit of a program for him, so no huge update," Cummins said. "We're hoping it goes well and he'll be back here towards the end of the match, but he's got a few things to tick off." AAP
