The inside story of how Andy Farrell turned the Lions into record-breakers: NIK SIMON reveals the secrets of head coach's success from Bono to boxing - and how he 'pushes players' buttons'
The Lions have been on the road for almost two months and this was one of the coach's ways of freshening things up as he approaches the last few days of the tour. A sudden-death shootout, on some school playing fields, based on the Korean Netflix blockbuster.
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The Guardian
an hour ago
- The Guardian
Garry Ringrose out of third Test with concussion as Lions target series rout
Garry Ringrose will miss the third British & Irish Lions Test against Australia on Saturday because of concussion, but the coaching staff have vowed to pick 'the best team available' as they seek a first unbeaten series since 1974. Ringrose reported concussion symptoms just before Andy Farrell, the head coach, was due to name his side for the second Test and that triggered a 12‑day stand-down period for the Ireland centre, ruling him out of the final game in Sydney. In better news for Farrell, Joe McCarthy, Mack Hansen and Sione Tuipulotu all took a full part in training on Tuesday and are in contention. Farrell sought to blow off any lingering cobwebs from the second-Test celebrations with a Squid Game challenge at the start of training. It was a version of 'green light, red light', a survival game based on stealth and the Ireland tighthead prop Thomas Clarkson was the first to be eliminated, but the Lions were soon down to business. The head coach and his staff will meet on Wednesday night to finalise selection, but Farrell is not expected to make wholesale changes given the Lions' pursuit of history. Maro Itoje is likely to captain the side again even though he has surpassed the mandated 30-game limit dictated by the Rugby Football Union. 'For this time of tour it's amazing how many people we've got available,' the assistant coach Andrew Goodman said. 'Unfortunately Garry has been ruled out of this Test match, but we have Mack, Joe, Sione all out there running today. 'We had a Squid Game challenge, green light, red light, the whole field was covered in different things they could hide behind, and they had people in the top tier keeping an eye. It was a good craic. '[The motivation to win 3-0] is huge. It's everything for us as a group to get excited about. It was 1974 the last time a Lions team went through the Test series unbeaten, so there's huge motivation for the group. '[It will be] the best team available to win the series. That might look like some changes, that might look like consistency. We will see how the boys go through their recovery process over the next couple of days and whatever 23's picked will go out there and do the best for the team. Sign up to The Breakdown The latest rugby union news and analysis, plus all the week's action reviewed after newsletter promotion 'You've got to reward form when guys have been playing well and are match-hardened in those Test matches. It is a balance and I'm sure we'll have some good discussions as we always have.' Ringrose has been widely praised for speaking up about his symptoms last week. 'He's disappointed as you can imagine,' Goodman said. 'Garry was playing some amazing rugby through this tour and someone who it's been a dream of his for so long to represent the Lions and he's managed to do that. But he wanted to be a Test-match Lion so it's been devastating for him. 'He's disappointed for himself, but he's getting around everyone and making sure he helps prepare everyone as much as he can.'
The Review Geek
3 hours ago
- The Review Geek
WWE: Unreal Review – A heavily-skewed, controlled look at WWE 'under the hood'
Season 1 Episode Guide New Era Push Worth the Wait Heel Turn Wrestlemania WWE: Unreal is one of those docu-series that could have been great had it been produced by an outside entity away from WWE. The ideas here are certainly interesting, with the promise of pulling the curtain back and showing the inner-workings of pro-wrestling like never before. Unfortunately, what we get is an overly produced, glossy and sanitized look at the business, like peeking through a keyhole rather than flinging the doors open and giving an all-access look at the business. After watching all five episodes, it's hard not to feel like this is one long, extended work rather than an authentic slice of life on the wrestling road. In fact, I'd argue that WWE Tough Enough or even Dark Side of the Ring do a far better job of looking at the business than anything in this Netflix series. That's before even mentioning the elephant in the room that's never mentioned in the docu-series outside of a few scripted reactions from fans online – YouTube. YouTube have a ton of podcasts and interesting wrestling channels that properly pull the curtain back and dive into the business. While yes, it's less glossy and produced (partly thanks to strict copyright over there), it's also way more authentic. Whether it be former superstar Maven chirping up with weekly videos, accompanied by his (now infamous) 'Hey guys, Maven here!' intro, or Kurt Angle doing extended segments on Joe Rogan, there's some fascinating content that really helps to explore . That's before mentioning play-by-play commentaries from old superstars, like The Undertaker and Mick Foley reacting to their Hell in a Cell match back in 1998. The point I'm trying to make then is that Unreal is a bit of an enigma because it doesn't seem to have a clear, intended audience. It feels like it's trying to grab the casual fans and rewrite its own narrative to hook you in, akin to the later seasons of Drive to Survive. Unfortunately, it doesn't have the chops to pull it off in quite the same way, as casual fans who don't want the magic spoiled may steer clear of this on principle. Conversely, die-hard fans that already follow the inner-workings of the business or hang around message boards discussing backstage shenanigans each week won't get much from this either, seeing the gloss from a mile off. And of course those not really into wrestling won't find much here to change their mind. To be fair, learning about key parts of the business, including storylines that never make the final cut, how the 'gorilla position' works, and all the bumps and bruises along the way does make for a pretty interesting watch. In essence, WWE: Unreal plays out as a Road to Wrestlemania puff piece. It's a docu-series designed to promote the new talent coming through the ranks, get casuals up to scratch with the latest storylines and big superstars (despite basically being 4 months out of date at the time of release) and reveal a few carefully skewed and controlled narrative titbits from a thin slice of the company's history. The five episodes each focus on two or three wrestlers before we then follow their journey through the PPVs, culminating in an hour-long finale that's basically a 'best of' for Wrestlemania's two-day showdown. Along the way we see Rhea Ripley's journey to the main event, CM Punk's desire to headline Wrestlemania, along with John Cena's retirement tour too, wanting to go out with a bang. One of the more interesting segments comes in episode 4 as a tight-knit group discuss a crazy Heel turn (good guy turning to a bad guy) for John Cena. Seeing all the machinations around this, including 'What If' scenarios playing out makes for a really fascinating watch. Likewise, a few golden moments of backstage authenticity, like when Kevin Owens asks Cody Rhodes if he's okay after a brutal ladder match, or Charlotte Flair reflecting on how daunting living up to the Flair name is, help give the docu-series some character. Unfortunately, these moments are few and far between as the show doesn't do enough to distinguish what's kayfabe (staying in character) and what's genuine – and I don't mean that in a good way. While some superstars come across as authentic on camera – like Rhea Ripley or John Cena – others make it difficult to know whether they're putting on an act or not. Bianca Belair mentions at one point, proudly, that the whip sound she makes with her hair is completely authentic with no sound effects necessary. While there are visible scars to prove her point, just to play devil's advocate here, is the ring not mounted with microphones under the ring to amplify the sound? Likewise, CM Punk mentions early on about Seth Rollins being super cocky and arrogant, although this is also his character on-screen so is he just playing himself? We never know because WWE also has a habit of only seeing one side of every rivalry and confrontation. How does Liv Morgan feel about ending her feud with Rhea Ripley? Despite winning a match (spoilers, by the way) Iyo Sky is never interviewed and only briefly showcased here. Moments like this are a great reminder that this is very much a heavily-skewed, controlled narrative rather than an eye-opening expose into the wrestling business from all angles. While some may enjoy what's here, it's hard to know exactly what WWE intended with releasing Unreal. It's certainly not a bad documentary, but it's not a particularly good one either. If you want some good wrestling exposes, do yourself a favour and load up YouTube instead. You'll get much better bang for your buck over there.
South Wales Guardian
3 hours ago
- South Wales Guardian
The Grinch and Blue Lights most watched film and programme in Northern Ireland
Broadcast TV, such as BBC and UTV, was found to continue to dominate viewing habits in the region, but streamers such as Netflix and video sharing platforms like YouTube are on the rise. Ofcom's latest Media Nations report shows that people in Northern Ireland watched an average of four hours and 48 minutes of video content at home per day in 2024, an 18-minute year-on-year increase. The region once again watched the most live broadcast TV of all the nations (two hours and six minutes) and was the only nation which had an increase in live viewing. Almost three quarters of households (74%) were found to have at least one subscription-video-on-demand (SVoD) service, with Amazon Prime Video the most popular, present in 59% of homes ahead of Netflix. In terms of broadcast TV, the BBC held an 18% share of total video viewing, followed by ITV/UTV with a 15% share. However, in a reflection of changing viewing habits, YouTube comes in next with a 12% share ahead of other TV channels and streamers like Netflix. Individuals in Northern Ireland spent 35 minutes per day on average viewing YouTube across all devices in the home in 2024. Meanwhile the Grinch was the most watched film on TV in 2024, ahead of Blue Lights, which was the most watched programme in 2023. The Grinch was the most-watched title last year, averaging 637,000 viewers on Netflix on TV sets across the whole year. The BBC took the next two spots, with the season two premiere of Blue Lights averaging 556,000 viewers, followed by Christmas Day's Gavin & Stacey: The Finale, averaging 478,000. Entertainment on UTV also made the top 10, with an episode of I'm a Celebrity… Get Me Out of Here! and The 1% Club ranking fifth and sixth, averaging 384,000 and 367,000 viewers respectively. The report also found that TV channels BBC One (33%) and UTV (32%) were the most popular sources for news about Northern Ireland. Radio featured much more prominently in Northern Ireland for local news compared to other nations with BBC Radio Ulster/Foyle and Cool FM/Downtown also appearing in the top five most used news sources used for news about Northern Ireland. The region saw strong performance for local radio, with more than six in 10 adults (63.9%) listening to local commercial radio at least once a week – higher than in England, Scotland, Wales and the UK as a whole. In terms of newer technology, four in ten households (41%) in Northern Ireland have a smart speaker, more than double the proportion with a DAB radio in the home (19%). In terms of podcasts, nearly one in five (19%) adults in Northern Ireland were found to listen to them at least once a week in quarter one of 2025. However, this remains lower than the UK reach figure of 22.4%, and year-on-year growth in Northern Ireland has slowed again while other nations' have increased. Jonathan Rose, Ofcom's Northern Ireland director, said the report illustrates the enduring popularity of local radio. 'People in Northern Ireland are spending more time than ever in front of their screens,' he said. 'Broadcast TV remains popular but streamers like Amazon Prime Video and video-sharing platforms like YouTube are also now a firmly established part of our daily viewing diet. 'Our research also shows the enduring popularity of radio and especially local radio. 'Listeners in Northern Ireland have a real connection with local voices as well as news and views that reflects what's happening on their own doorstep.'
