Western Force vs British and Irish Lions: Kick-off time, TV channel, live stream, team news, lineups, h2h, odds today
Perhaps we should not have been surprised to see the Lions edged out by Argentina, whose status as 7-1 underdogs for victory in Dublin seemed ridiculous despite missing a number of France-based stars, particularly when you consider that they beat all of New Zealand, South Africa, France and Australia in 2024 and are currently ranked fifth in the world - three spots ahead of the Wallabies.
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Daily Record
35 minutes ago
- Daily Record
Topi Keskinen has Aberdeen transfer fate tackled by Dave Cormack with player trading model stance made crystal clear
The winger enjoyed a fine debut season in the Granite City and was recently tipped for a big move to Europe Dave Cormack has ruled out the prospect of Aberdeen selling Topi Keskinen this summer but admits the club will not hold him back if he wants to move onto bigger and better things down the line. The Dons shelled out nearly £1million to bring the Finland international to Pittodrie last summer from HJK, with the winger going onto register six goals and three assists in 45 appearances in all competitions and started in the shock Scottish Cup final victory over Celtic on penalties that handed the Reds the trophy at Hampden for the first time since 1990. Aberdeen have established a successful player trading in recent seasons that has seen them bank millions from the likes of Ylber Ramadani and Bojan Miovski, who were brought into the club from elsewhere then sold on for big profits. Keskinen caught the eye for Finland at the U21 European Championships earlier this month, so much so that pundits in his homeland reckon that clubs in Germany and the Netherlands will soon come knocking on Aberdeen's door. And while he insists Keskinen is a key man for Thelin and his team in the immediate future, chairman Cormack says the model in place could see the Dons cash in on the pacey wide man when the time is right. Speaking to Red TV, he said: "People want to come to Aberdeen now because they know they will get an opportunity to move onto a bigger club. We won't hold them back, within reason. "We demonstrated that with Bojan, Ross McCrorie, Lewis (Ferguson) and others. And Topi will be another one if he continues at this level. "But there is no way we are letting Topi go at this stage because he is a key player for us. Unless someone comes in and offers us £20million tomorrow!" Cormack, who along with fellow investors has just injected a further £8million into the club towards building a new indoor pitch at their Cormack Park training base, is also under no illusions that boss Thelin will attract interest from elsewhere if he can build on his successful debut season at Pittodrie. But the US-based business software tycoon is confident that the Swede is committed to the long-term plan in the Granite City. "He had the opportunity to go to the English Championship (before joining Aberdeen) and turned them down, where I am sure the wages and the rest of it would have been much, much higher. "He was looking for his first project overseas away from Sweden and he wanted it to be the right project. "He is here for the right reasons and is not a job-hopper. "As Jimmy continues with Aberdeen there is always going to be challenges keeping a successful manager. "But I don't think there will be any surprises with Jimmy. He is very team-orientated and inclusive. "It's about the team and not about him and his standards are exceptionally high."
South Wales Guardian
an hour ago
- South Wales Guardian
British and Irish Lions face anxious wait over fitness of Tomos Williams
Williams sustained an injury to his left hamstring during the act of scoring the second of his two tries early in the second half at Optus Stadium, ending another impressive performance for the Lions that was propelling him into Test contention. While the extent of the damage is not yet known, it creates pressure on the tourists' half-back stocks with Jamison Gibson-Park yet to make his first appearance on tour due to a glute problem. Now that is a STUNNER 🔥 The Lions break through James Lowe and go the length of the pitch, as Tomos Williams flies over in the corner. Conversion: missed. #Lions2025 — British & Irish Lions (@lionsofficial) June 28, 2025 Gibson-Park is expected to make his comeback against the Reds in Brisbane on Wednesday but with Williams struggling and Alex Mitchell facing the prospect of playing in a third consecutive game, head coach Andy Farrell may be forced to call up a reinforcement. 'Tomos has come off holding his hamstring. There was plenty of cramp last week, let's hope it is one of those,' Farrell said. 'Jamison is fit and ready to go and has been training fully for the best part of a week so we're happy with that but you don't know until you know and we will only know in the morning. 'You have to let these things settle down and see what the outcome is and give it a little bit of space. 'Tomos was playing well and I'm sure there is a bit of concern there, but you can only deal with the here and now so fingers crossed.' Ben White is currently on tour in New Zealand with Scotland and would be an obvious solution should Williams be ruled out for any length of time. When asked about White, Farrell said: 'We need to talk about that and make the right call for the group.' Joe McCarthy was named man of the match but the eight-try demolition in the first outing on Australian soil also saw eye-catching displays from Mack Hansen, James Lowe, Elliot Daly, Finn Russell and Henry Pollock. All sides of Pollock were on show as the Lions' youngest tourist at 20-years-old used his athleticism and awareness to set up Williams' first try and almost scored one himself, while also providing the spark for a confrontation between the sides and being sent to the sin-bin for a ruck infringement. 'Henry got a yellow card because of repeated infringements – which was fair enough – but you also saw his point of difference, that's for sure,' Farrell said. Pollock received strong praise from Dan Sheehan, the Ireland hooker who was captaining the Lions on his debut for the tourists, but there was also a reminder that the team comes first. 'Henry was brilliant. He does his own thing and plays his own way, which is different to a lot of the forwards,' Sheehan said. 'I enjoy that kind of rugby – off the cuff, see what's in front of you and make it happen. With his skillset and speed he can certainly make it happen. 'It's just about trying to make sure he's doing the right thing for the team all the time.'
Scotsman
an hour ago
- Scotsman
How the Scots rated in Lions' big win over Western Force as injury causes concern
Russell composed and creative as tourists score eight tries in first match in Australia Sign up to our Rugby Union newsletter – Regular news stories and round-ups from around Scotland direct to your inbox Sign up Thank you for signing up! Did you know with a Digital Subscription to The Scotsman, you can get unlimited access to the website including our premium content, as well as benefiting from fewer ads, loyalty rewards and much more. Learn More Sorry, there seem to be some issues. Please try again later. Submitting... A convincing start for the British and Irish Lions down under produced eight tries and a half century of points but the most pleasing aspect from a Scottish point of view was the performance of Finn Russell. The stand-off burnished his Test credentials with a clever and imaginative 60-minute outing in Perth where he was at the heart of the tourists' best moments against Western Force. Advertisement Hide Ad Advertisement Hide Ad The hosts were spirited opponents in the first half but couldn't live with the Lions after the break as the composite side ran out 54-7 winners. It wasn't all sweetness and light for the Lions. They botched a number of restarts and conceded nine penalties, six of them in the first 40 minutes. They also lost two-try scrum-half Tomos Williams to a hamstring injury which will be a concern for head coach Andy Farrell. It may also alert Scotland's Ben White, a potential replacement who is currently in New Zealand with Gregor Townsend's squad. Finn Russell (R) and Sione Tuipulotu of the British & Irish Lions celebrate after their victory during the tour match against the Western Force at the Optus Stadium in Perth. | Getty Images Back in Perth, there was also a try double for full-back Elliot Daly as Dan Sheehan, Garry Ringrose, Joe McCarthy and Alex Mitchell scored the other tries. Nic White, the Wallabies scrum-half, countered early on for Force. McCarthy, Daly, Mack Hansen and Henry Pollock were all stand-outs in red at Optus Stadium and Russell was the creative fulcrum. He was also a physical influence, disrupting the home side's attack, particularly during a frenetic first quarter when Western Force were at their disruptive best, roared on by 46,000 supporters. Russell's discreet hand signal paved way for third try This is Russell's third Lions tour and, at 32, it could be his last. He got a taste of the Test team in the decider against the Springboks four years ago after injury disrupted his time in South Africa but this feels like his moment. Advertisement Hide Ad Advertisement Hide Ad He took two minutes to make an impact against Force, executing a perfect kick-pass to Sheehan who was loitering on the right wing. It is the sort of move Russell makes looks easy and it opened things up nicely for the Irish hooker. The Lions captain for the night popped it back to James Lowe who returned the favour with a smart offload out the back for Sheehan to score the opening try. Russell added the extra two points, his first of five successful conversions. White hit back immediately for the hosts after the Lions lost possession at the restart and Ben Donaldson's conversion evened things up at 7-7. There followed some shaky moments for the Lions. They gave away four penalties in the opening four minutes and were warned by referee Ben O'Keeffe but they weather the storm and a great break from Pollock helped reestablish their lead. The youngest Lion on tour exchanged passes with Josh van der Flier, raced away and then had the awareness to find the supporting Williams who scored. At this point, things became turgid for the Lions and Western Force were enjoying more possession and territory. It took another moment of Russell inspiration to put the tourists in the driving seat. With Force expecting him to kick a penalty, Russell gave a discreet hand signal to his team-mates, tapped and sped towards the line. He was stopped short but managed to offload to Daly for the try. Getty Images Pollock's celebrations in front of the Force players sparked a brief melee and he was yellow-carded soon after but the Lions went in at the turn 21-7 ahead and never looked back. Three tries in an eight-minute spell early in the second half took the game away from the Australians and the Lions' strength from the bench meant they dominated. Williams got his second try but injured his hamstring in the process and Ringrose and McCarthy also got on the scoresheet as the Lions moved 40-7 in front. Advertisement Hide Ad Advertisement Hide Ad A Lions debut for Huw Jones Huw Jones came on for his Lions debut and linked up with Sione Tuipulotu in the centre. Jones has been nursing a persistent Achilles injury since the Six Nations but looked sprightly as he intercepted a White pass and chased his own kick. He and Tuipulotu then combined nicely with a move straight out of Scotstoun but Jones was tackled just short. Tuipulotu, who started at inside centre, was busy but not quite as influential as he had been during the send-off match against Argentina in Dublin when he had been at 13. It would be nice to see him starting alongside Jones and that opportunity should soon arise, with the Lions due to play Queensland Reds in Brisbane on Wednesday and then the Waratahs in Sydney next Saturday. Getty Images The other starting Scots were in the pack. Edinburgh prop Pierre Schoeman was part of a scrum that struggled at times but looked dangerous in the loose, while Glasgow lock Scott Cummings was culpable during the first-half restarts but was solid in the lineout. Russell made way for Marcus Smith just after the hour mark and the Lions ran in two more tries in the final 10 minutes. Daly nabbed his second after being played in by Smith following good work by the Lions pack and then Mitchell scored the final try with the clock in the red following some smart handling by Daly, Tuipulotu and Hansen. Smith converted both. Advertisement Hide Ad Advertisement Hide Ad It was a satisfactory evening for Farrell, a big improvement on the Argentina game which was lost 28-24, with a caveat around the standard of the opposition. Western Force finished ninth of 11 teams in the Super Rugby standings, winning just four of their 14 games, but they did field six current Wallabies against the Lions. White, their extravagantly moustachioed scrum-half, said he had wanted to 'bash and bruise' the tourists ahead of the Test series. Williams' injury excepted, the Lions came through relatively unscathed and looking a lot more cohesive than they had in Dublin. With Russell at the helm, they will roll on to Brisbane in good spirits. Teams and scorers Scorers: Western Force: Try: White. Con: Donaldson. Lions: Tries: Sheehan, Williams 2, Daly 2, Ringrose, McCarthy, Mitchell. Cons: Russell 5, M Smith 2. Yellow card: Pollock (Lions, 40min). Western Force: B Donaldson; M Grealy, M Proctor, H Stewart, D Pietsch; A Harford, N White (capt); T Robertson, B Paenga-Amosa, O Hoskins, S Carter, D Swain, W Harris, N Champion de Crespigny, V Ekuasi. Replacements: T Horton, M Pearce, T Tauakipulu, L Faifua, R Prinsep, H Robertson, M Burey, B Kuenzie. Advertisement Hide Ad Advertisement Hide Ad British and Irish Lions: E Daly; M Hansen, G Ringrose, S Tuipulotu, J Lowe; F Russell, T Williams; P Schoeman, D Sheehan (capt), T Furlong, S Cummings, J McCarthy, T Beirne, J Van der Flier, H Pollock. Replacements: R Kelleher, A Porter, W Stuart, O Chessum, J Conan, A Mitchell, H Jones, M Smith. Referee: Ben O'Keeffe (NZ).
