Wallabies captain confirmed as debutant locked in for Lions First Test
THE 'psycho' and the silent assassin.
That is who the Wallabies will be relying upon to pull off one of the great upsets this Saturday against the British & Irish Lions when they unleash debutant backrower Nick Champion de Crespigny and first-time starter Tom Lynagh.
READ MORE
Horwill: The stomp, the abuse, and my greatest rugby regret
Ex-Wallabies coach McKenzie back after 11 years of silence
Nick Champion de Crespigny will make his Test debut. Picture:Tom Lynagh will start for the Wallabies. Picture:The pair could not be more different in style and personality, but both will be essential to Australia's chances of beating a star-studded Lions outfit confident of winning this series 3-0, starting with victory at Brisbane's Suncorp Stadium.
The loss of Rob Valetini and Will Skelton to calf injuries has severely impacted the Wallabies' go-forward capabilities, and it will be up to de Crespigny to bring the same aggression that saw him scuffle with Lions scrapper Henry Pollock earlier on tour when the tourists played the Western Force.
Harry Wilson will captain the Wallabies, while Rob Valetini has been ruled out due to injuries. Picture:'I think we just have full confidence in Nick and what he brings, he's a psycho,' de Crespigny's backrow partner Fraser McReight said.
'He loves contact and he's ready to go. So obviously disappointing to (lose) Bobby, but again super excited to get to play with Nick and obviously Carlo (Tizzano).
'(De Crespigny brings) physicality, he loves the whack and he loves that physical nature of the game, which is great.
'I haven't yet played with him, so I hear and see things at training, heard all the stories from the Force boys, so it's super exciting to see in person.
'Off the field he's a great man. Once he crosses that white line, he's a different beast.'
While 29-year-old de Crespigny will be required to bring the mongrel, 22-year-old Lynagh needs to show the mastery of playmaking.
Having played three Tests off the bench, he now starts his first, in the process creating history as the first father-son duo to play against the Lions, with dad Michael having worn the same No.10 jersey in 1989.
'I always felt that Michael had a real quiet control of games and a calmness about the way that he ran the game, and I do think there's a bit of that in Tom,' Wallabies coach Joe Schmidt said.
Joe Schmidt during a Wallabies' training session at Ballymore. Picture: David Davies/PA Images via Getty Images
'It's always the same when you haven't seen someone at the level and they haven't been put under the pressure that's going to come, then you're not quite sure how things are going to work out. But I have real confidence in Tom and I'm sure Michael does as well.
'I'm really excited for Tom. He's a great kid. He's got a quiet confidence about him. You wouldn't think that he's necessarily designed to run a game and dictate what's happening, but he does have a quiet confidence that gives us a quiet confidence as well.
'And he's fitted in really well this week. He has given us the confidence, and the players the confidence, that he's going to run the game really well for us. His kicking game is strong. He's got good acceleration and he's incredibly brave to a fault.
'It's Suncorp. It's his home track. It's a fantastic opportunity for him. We twice had him lined up for his first start for the Wallabies last year and he picked up little niggles. So it's great this time. Probably not ideal to be starting your first Test match for the Wallabies against the British & Irish Lions, but you've got to start somewhere and if not now, when? So now is good.'
Schmidt hailed de Crespigny's lineout capabilities, which will be vital against a starting Lions pack featuring jumping specialists Maro Itoje, Joe McCarthy and Tadhg Beirne.
'The good thing with Nick, he's a good lineout option, I thought he was very good in the Force lineout,' Schmidt said.
'He is probably a bit more of a roving scavenger than Bobby V, who in the past has been a big ball-carrier for us.'
While Schmidt had kept the captaincy a mystery, Valetini's injury meant Harry Wilson had to start and therefore retain the skipper's role he's held since last year.
Meanwhile, prop Taniela Tupou and winger Filipo Daugunu, who were left out of the squad, have flown to Melbourne to join the First Nations and Pasifika team to play the Lions next Tuesday.
More Aussies than Welsh in Lions' team
- Julian Linden
At least one Aussie could walk off Suncorp Stadium a winner after Saturday's series opening Test between the Wallabies and the British & Irish Lions.
This may not be what Wallabies fans had in mind but Australia does at least now have a foot in each camp after Melbourne-born and raised centre Sione Tuipulotu won himself a place in the Lions' starting team.
Melbourne-born Sione Tuipulotu has been named for British & Irish Lions. Picture:The former Melbourne Rebel, who now plays for Scotland, was given the plum job of starting ahead of Ireland's ex Kiwi Bundee Aki in a powerful Lions team brimming with power and experience.
So if the Wallabies don't win the game, Tuipulotu should end up on the right side of the ledger after being picked alongside his Glasgow Warriors teammate Huw Jones in an-all Scottish midfield.
Of the 15 starters named in Andy Farrell's first Test team, eight are Irish, four are English and the other three are Scottish. No Welsh players made the starting side or the reserves bench for the first time since 1896.
Andy Farrell, the British & Irish Lions head coach, walks into the media conference room to announce his team for the First Test. Picture:'We are entering the business end of the tour and it is time to put in our best performance to date,' Farrell said.
'We know how motivated the Wallabies will be and we know they are a well organised and dangerous side.'
As expected, there was no place in the squad for either Owen Farrell, the coach's son, or Henry Pollock, the youngest member of the touring squad who brazenly tipped the Lions to complete a 3-0 series sweep.
England lock Maro Itoje will lead the Lions as skipper for the first time in a Test with the Lions overwhelming favourites to win the match and the series.
Maro Itoje will skipper the Lions for the first time. Picture:But Farrell, who played in the Wigan team that beat the Brisbane Broncos to win the 1994 World Club Challenge, said he remains wary of the Australians.
'We know the quality as far as their attacking threats, their athletic ability, the way that they want to play the game from turnover ball, counter-attack, all of that, the set piece is good,' he said.
'But when it comes around every 12 years and you're privileged to be able to represent Australia, they'll obviously be making sure that they use it appropriately.'
With Brisbane being overrun by Lions fans in the lead up to the match, Farrell said he was expecting a big display from his side.
Lions' fans in Adelaide. Picture: Brendan Moran/Sportsfile via Getty Images
'We want to see a performance that does everyone proud,' he said.
'What does that look like? I'm talking about everyone, you're seeing the thousands of people that are turning up now. You're walking around town and you get that lion's buzz, don't you?
'It's certainly going to hot up so it's making sure that we do everyone proud here and at home.
'You can talk about everything that the first Test of a Lions tour brings but it's making sure that we're concentrating on the performance and making sure that we attack it straight from the get-go.'
Originally published as Wallabies confirm captain and lock in debutant for first Test against Lions, opponents include more Aussies than Welsh
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
News.com.au
30 minutes ago
- News.com.au
Bizarre West Indies tactic backfires as Australia complete clean sweep
Australia has completed a men's series whitewash for the first time in history after chasing down a 171 run target set by the West Indies with 18 balls to spare and three wickets in hand on Tuesday. A brilliant 63-run partnership in just 28 balls by Mitchell Owen (37 off 17 balls) and player of the series Cameron Green (32 off 18) helped lift the Aussies to another win in the fifth and final T20. The victory capped off a brilliant tour for the Australians, winning all eight matches they played. However, the final T20 could have had a very different result if not for a bizarre move from West Indies captain Shai Hope. Chasing 171 to win, the run rate was never going to be an issue for the Aussies, But after Glenn Maxwell (0 off 1 ball), Josh Inglis (10 off 5) and Mitchell Marsh (14 off 8) fell within the space of eight balls of each other, Australia were on the ropes, at 3/25 after 2.2 overs. And after dismissing the dangerous Tim David for 30 off just 12 balls, the West Indies had the game by the scruff of its neck, with Australia 4/60. Windies quicks Jason Holder and Alzarri Joseph had the Aussies in all sorts, but bizarrely were pulled off by captain Shai Hope after bowling just two overs each. It was a decision the 31-year-old would now surely regret as fellow seamers Jediah Blades, Matthew Forde and Romario Shepherd were smashed around the ground. They also turned to an even more peculiar tactic of bowling pace off around the wicket. The Aussie batters lapped that up as Owen and Green combined for a partnership of 63 in just 28 balls. And former Australian wicket keeper Brad Haddin slammed Hope for his tactical blunder. 'I feel like they missed a trick,' Haddin said on commentary for ESPN. 'Two most senior fast bowlers were both on a heater, wanting to get into the contest. They had two wickets each. 'Sometimes you just have to go with that gut feel, (rather than being) worried about what's going to happen in four overs time.' Haddin added at the end of Forde's 22-run over: 'Alzarri Joseph, he looks unhappy because he should be bowling.' Bringing spinner Akeal Hosein into the attack bore immediate fruit as he dismissed Owen, but it was too little too late with Australia only needing 48 off 64 by the time Owen trudged off. In the end, Australia deserve all the praise, a perfect 8 from 8, while the West Indies have been left with a lot of thinking to do.
The Australian
an hour ago
- The Australian
Warwick Farm preview: Mabel chasing one last hurrah
As the breeding barn beckons, trainer Tracey Bartley would love his bonny mare Mabel go out in style with another win as reward for her honesty and consistency. A $5,000 weanling buy from Inglis Digital in 2019, Mabel has been a wonderful member of Bartley's team with six wins, nine placings and over $400,000 in prizemoney. A two-time city winner, Mabel last won was at Kembla's stand-alone meeting on The Gong Day in November 2023 when she won a Benchmark 78 Handicap but she has run some terrific races since. • PUNT LIKE A PRO: Become a Racenet iQ member and get expert tips – with fully transparent return on investment statistics – from Racenet's team of professional punters at our Pro Tips section. SUBSCRIBE NOW! She was runner-up to Angel Fund in a Randwick Midway in January fourth to Wallenda on the Kensington in March. This time in, the six-year-old was a three length seventh to Storm The Ramparts and fourth behind Bundeena both in a Benchmark 78 races at Randwick. 'She is racing well and deserves to win another race in her last couple of runs,' said Bartley. 'She went well the other day. She just got held up a little bit.' The daughter of Dream Ahead lines up in the Headwater @ Vinery Stud Handicap (1000m) where she has drawn barrier 1. 'She looks bang on again,' Bartley said. 'From barrier 1, she won't have to be right out the back. She should settle midfield. I imagine her settling fifth or sixth and hopefully they can get into the clear at the right time. 'She is dropping back in grade and if she has any luck from the alley, I think she will be hard to beat. Joining Mabel on the trip to Warwick Farm is last start winner Magicon to tackle TAB Handicap (2200m). The son of Prized icon has his first try over 2200m at Grafton on July 16 and led all-the-way to beat Peter Snowden's imported gelding Behtar. 'It was nice to see him win the other day because he's had a few issues,' Bartley said. 'He has kissing spine to we've had his back and hocks injected. 'It's nice to finally have had a preparation where everything has gone right. 'That was the first time we have been able to get him up to a distance we've always wanted to see him run over. 'I was rapt to see him to the job and I think he will really go on with it now. 'I don't know how strong this race is but I'm sure he will run a really nice race.'
The Australian
an hour ago
- The Australian
Wallabies vow no clean sweep by Lions after historic capitulation
A shattered Wallabies side has declared they will not allow the Lions to leave with a 3-0 clean sweep after officially giving up their biggest lead in a century to lose the second Test. Australia lost 29-26 at the MCG, having led 23-5 in the 35th minute. The 18-point advantage is the biggest margin the Wallabies have let slip in the modern era, according to Fox Sports Stats, surpassing the 17-point leads they held against Argentina last year, and against the All Blacks in 2017. Historians suggest an Australian side lost to NZ Maori 25-22 in 1922, having led 22-0, which would have been the largest ever lead they've given up, although records and details are scant and couldn't be confirmed. The Lions have been cocky in their claims of winning the series 3-0 and leaving Australian shores unbeaten for the first time since 1904, yet they're 80 minutes away from achieving that with the third and final Test to be played in Sydney on Saturday. But Wallabies winger Max Jorgensen is adamant the visitors will not prevail in their quest as the team looks to put aside their disappointment from last Saturday's defeat. 'You're playing a Test match for your country and especially against the Lions, I don't think it's a challenge to get up for, I think it's a very easy thing to get up for,' Jorgensen said. 'The series is gone. 'But we're not going to let them head home with a clean sweep. 'So we've got a massive job on our shoulders for this weekend.' Australia is ruing their capitulation in Melbourne, well aware that an 18-point lead should never be chased down. This team is now the sorry owner of two of the biggest leads blown in the professional era. Last year, they led Argentina 20-3 in Sante Fe, before losing by a record margin to go down 67-27 in the early stages of Joe Schmidt's tenure as Wallabies coach. In 2017, under coach Michael Cheika, the Wallabies led the All Blacks 17-0 at Forsyth Barr Stadium, before a last-gasp Beauden Barrett try sealed a stunning 35-29 win for New Zealand. Jorgensen reflected his side's devastation at the loss to the Lions in front of 90,000 fans. 'It's something that you only do really once in your career,' Jorgensen said. 'I was absolutely gutted personally. I know everyone in the team was, and to have to wait another 12 years to have the chance of getting a series win is obviously devastating. 'You look at it and you go, 'What could have been, a decider this weekend'. How different it could have been. 'If we got some things in that game go right, and we improve on our game, it could have been so different. And to see them celebrate, it really does hurt.' Sport City teams dominated a dramatic junior rugby showdown in Newcastle, with one Country captain playing through a suspected broken nose in a day of thrilling contests. Sport There were big hits and some hair-raising action – literally – at the 2025 City v Country junior rugby tournament. Check out some of the top shots.
