Rugby Union Weekly Inside the Lions camp
We go behind the scenes at the Lions training camp in Portugal to see how preparations have begun for the clash with Argentina in Dublin and the tour down under. Chris chats to Ellis Genge who's already striking up an unexpected 'bromance' with one of the Irish players he's usually slating on the pitch. Genge talks openly about trying to get out of his comfort zone in camp and how he's approaching his first Lions tour aged 30. Forwards coach John Dalziel stops by to talk Argentina and what has impressed him most since the players came into camp. Plus, Jac Morgan tells us how it feels to be flying the flag for Welsh rugby on tour, his memories of the Australia tour in 2013 and he discusses the fierce competition in the back row.
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The Guardian
2 hours ago
- The Guardian
Cummins and Rabada lead from the front on a breathless second day at Lord's
You would have to call the combination incongruous. In one of the clips doing the digital rounds before the World Test Championship, there was Pat Cummins on Jeremy Clarkson's farm programme, having apparently just raided the activewear section, the men around him wearing those vests that help rich people believe themselves to be rugged outdoor types. It's hard to imagine much affinity between the two, sitting presumably at a wooden farmhouse table over Clarkson's rustic bean soup and a heel of crusty bread, talking their way to a cordial entente about carbon emissions. But there was the Australian captain nonetheless, affably rolling an arm over while a farm type plonked a rubber ball on to a nearby shed, the bowler smiling in that way that suggests a shrug as Clarkson sledged him in a most British fashion. By the second day of the World Test Championship final, affable Cummins was not in attendance. We're used to that half smile, half shrug: even after some galling Test losses, Cummins has offered the perspective that the game is a game, that the players tried their best, and that losing is often the price of trying to win. He declines to be drawn into the hype that frames sport as everything. But this time was different, if only by a few degrees. It's not that there was anger in the performance, but there was something uncharacteristically flinty. Perhaps there was some influence from the pre-game chatter, much of which focused on Cummins on the one hand and Kagiso Rabada on the other, as their teams' spearhead bowlers. The question came up several times: who is better? With a similar volume of Tests played, wickets taken, and averages a few tenths apart, it's an interesting one to consider. It's not the sort of thing that would exactly have upset Cummins, but the smiling captain is still highly competitive. Perhaps it gave him something to prove. Rabada got first chance, double-striking early on his way to five for 51, passing Allan Donald's wicket tally in the process to reach 332. Cummins went bigger and cheaper, six for 28 to reach an even 300. Kyle Verreyne's wicket was one with a few sparks. There was the skill, a ball heading sufficiently towards leg-stump to beat the bat, but not enough to miss the wicket, foxing the umpire but not Cummins or the ball-tracking cameras. But amid all that came a heavy collision, Cummins backpedalling in his appeal, Verreyne ball-watching as he attempted to run a leg bye. Normally you would expect Cummins to help an opponent up after finding his feet, but no hand was extended, his mind purely on the possible review. Australia didn't run out Verreyne, which they were within their rights to do, but that was as far as courtesy went. Then there was Rabada coming out to bat. Having taken five wickets to this point by pitching up – a classic back off the seam to hit the stumps, two mistimed shots befuddled by pace to give up catches in front of the bat, an in-nipper for lbw, an away-ducker for an outside edge – Cummins immediately spread the field and went short. A few balls later he hit Rabada on the body. A quick query about his health, a thumbs up, and the next ball was straight back at him, this time smashing him in the grille. Third time unlucky, Rabada pulled to the deep and was caught. It was uncompromising and, in the context, perhaps it was pointed. After which, an hour into the second session, he wouldn't have been expecting to be batting before the end of the day. But so it goes sometimes, on the Lord's slope with heavy cloud and a general gloom that made the ball hard to see. It was Rabada to start with another double strike, and Marco Jansen to take out the other opening bat, but this time Lungi Ngidi got involved, three huge wickets through the middle order. The last of those was Cummins, two balls after smoking a drive for four, bowled by one that speared in at the pads and deflected back. Sign up to The Spin Subscribe to our cricket newsletter for our writers' thoughts on the biggest stories and a review of the week's action after newsletter promotion Being 73 for seven is not a position that any Test team should find comfortable, but when the third innings has almost ended before the second day has, the calculus is different. Cummins had been among South Africa's early chaos on the first evening. He had dislodged the only two obstacles on the second day, Temba Bavuma and David Bedingham. Then he had wrapped up the end. It was a captain's performance to give his team a 74-run advantage, huge in relative terms despite their own small first innings. That meant that with a repair job by Alex Carey in the second, removed by Rabada late in the day, even Australia's faltering batting had given them a lead of over 200. South Africa have to believe that they can chase that kind of score, but on the evidence so far, it gives Australia every chance of a second World Test Championship win. Rabada still has a chance of 10 wickets in the match. Cummins still has a chance to reply.
The Sun
2 hours ago
- The Sun
Viktor Gyokeres breaks silence on transfer drama with blunt 22-word statement as Man Utd and Arsenal battle for star
VIKTOR GYOKERES has bluntly broken his silence on his transfer fall-out with Sporting Lisbon chiefs with a brief 22-word statement. The Sweden striker has reportedly come to blows with Sporting bosses after trying to force through a dream move to the Premier League. 5 Gyokeres, 27, is allegedly furious with Sporting for going back on their word over a promise to lower his £84million release clause and plans not to play for the club again. He believes he had a gentleman's agreement to leave the Portuguese giants for £50million with a further £8million in add-ons, but that claim has been denied by president Frederico Varandas. The former Coventry striker then reportedly threatened to go on strike while vowing not to play for the club again if they don't lower their offer. But Varandas insisted he will not be bullied into letting the Arsenal and Manchester United target move to the Prem on the cheap this summer. Varandas said: ' Sporting will not accept blackmail and insults – you should know me better by now.' But Gyokeres has now tried to play down the squabble rumours by throwing doubt on some of the reports with a short statement on social media. He wrote on his Instagram story on Thursday evening: "There is a lot of talks at the moment, most of it is false. I will speak when the time is right." It also comes after reports claimed that Arsenal submitted a new bid for Gyokeres on Wednesday, with his agent Hasan Cetinkaya visiting London to fast-track the transfer. 5 5 But Varandas statement also read: "I can guarantee that Viktor Gyokeres will not leave for €60m+10m (£51m+£8.5m) because I never promised him that. "This game that the agent is playing only makes the situation worse. To this day, Sporting has not had an offer for Viktor, neither today nor last season." Inside Viktor Gyokeres' glamorous life, from dating fellow footballer and actress to luxury holidays around world "It was agreed that Sporting would not demand the release clause at the end of the following season, especially because he was going to be 27." The Swede is one of the most in-demand players this summer after scoring a staggering 97 goals in 102 matches for Sporting since joining in the summer of 2023. Last season, he netted he netted 54 times in 52 outings - including a Champions League hat-trick against Manchester City, while 39 of those goals came in just 33 league games. Despite United's interest, Arsenal remain favourites to nab him, with new director of football Andrea Berta a big fan from his days at Atletico Madrid. Gyokeres has removed any reference to Sporting on his Instagram account, having also got rid of any mention of Sweden and Nike. He has three years remaining on his contract in Lisbon, but he is determined to take on a new challenge after just two years at the club, where he won the league twice, and completed a domestic double this season. United boss Ruben Amorim, who managed Gyokeres at Sporting, has since been linked with a shock move for Liverpool and Chelsea target Hugo Ekitike. 5
Daily Mail
2 hours ago
- Daily Mail
Mail Sport Extreme: Logan ready to do it for Doddie - again - as former Scotland wing gets set to embark on cycle around Ireland
When the British and Irish Lions begin their first warm-up match against Argentina in Dublin on Friday week, it's Doddie Weir who will be in the immediate thoughts of everyone involved. The lock, who passed away in November 2022 after a battle with motor neurone disease, is often remembered for his big smile, warming character and, now of course, for the work done by the My Name'5 Doddie Foundation in fundraising to help find a cure for MND. Next week, Weir's former Scotland team-mate Kenny Logan, son Hamish, and a number of other names from the world of sport, including Ally McCoist, Will Green and broadcaster Gabby Logan, are taking on the challenge of cycling around Ireland, stopping off at some of the country's most famous Lions' origins clubs, and delivering the match ball to the Aviva Stadium as the Lions face the Pumas for the 1888 Cup. Cycling around 100 miles a day is a challenge that Logan and Co are not taking lightly, however he admits that Weir himself would expect more. He says: 'I can hear Doddie now joking: 'Only 100 miles a day? Why not 200?' I think he'd be proud, but not as proud as we are of him for turning his diagnosis into a lifeline for other people. He never did this for himself. 'We keep pushing because of everything he did for the MND community. We're working towards that day when someone turns around and says: 'We've done it, there's a cure for MND.' That's when we'll celebrate.' This is not the first time that Logan has taken on an endurance challenge to raise funds in the fight against MND. In 2023, he was part of a group of fundraisers in a cycling and walking challenge from Edinburgh to Paris ahead of the World Cup launch. Though this time around it is fully on the bike, the 53-year-old can't wait to get started. 'One minute I'm buzzing, the next I'm nervous,' he admits. 'I think everyone's a bit nervous from all the chat in the WhatsApp group about wind, rain and hills! But the nerves and tension are good - it sharpens you. We just need to keep reminding ourselves why we're doing this. '(The) My Name'5 Doddie Foundation is one of the charity partners for the British and Irish Lions and we're raising money for the Irish Motor Neurone Disease Association (IMNDA) as well as MNDF. 'Doddie was a proud British and Irish Lion so this ride is our tribute: to him, what he stood for and everything he achieved. 'We'll be delivering the match ball at the 1888 Cup in Dublin for the British & Irish Lions vs Argentina which will be a special moment for all of us. It brings everything full circle. 'It's simple: the more we raise, the quicker we can get to a cure. Every pound counts towards vital research. MND shouldn't be an incurable disease, it's an underfunded one and we're here to support My Name'5 Doddie Foundation to help change that for all the people that have - and will get - MND.' Thoughts inevitably turn to the previous challenge and Weir. Passing through the rugby heartlands of Ireland, it's likely that Logan and his fellow cyclists will face all sorts of emotional stories and moments en route to completing this challenge, though none might compare to one from the previous trip. 'In 2023, we walked and cycled - and that combination nearly broke me. This time it's full-on cycling, we'll be covering 100 miles a day,' adds Logan. 'Hopefully minus the snow, but with Irish weather - even in June - you never know! The forecast looks quite good, but it could all change as we know too well. 'We came down a hill in France, above the clouds, and this yellow and blue balloon just appeared out of nowhere. I thought someone had arranged it - they hadn't. It was one of those moments where you felt like Doddie was with us. 'It's about hardship, yes, but more than that it's about the people. We started as strangers, but by the end we were team-mates. That's what the Lions are all about - and it's what Doddie was all about too.' In the here and now, Logan feels it is 'no question' that Finn Russell starts at No10 for the Lions. Though Zander Fagerson has been ruled out through injury, the former wing suggests there could have been room for one or two more Scots on Tour than the initial eight selected. He says: 'Absolutely brilliant (to have eight Scots selected). We're unlucky to not have 10 players, the likes of Jamie Ritchie and Darcy Graham, but I'm pleased for the rest of the boys. They've earned their place to play with some of the best players in the UK. I can't wait to cheer them on.'
