
WORLD OF RUGBY: Flying George Ford should be a shoo-in for Lions duty - he is redefining the concept of a bolter and Andy Farrell has a dilemma among his other fly-halves, writes CHRIS FOY
Brian O'Driscoll is on board now and that is highly significant. The word of BOD surely carries a lot of weight, especially in the ears of an Ireland-dominated Lions coaching team.
This is about George Ford, who is creating a very public headache for Andy Farrell and his assistants. The veteran playmaker probably wasn't on their radar at all a month ago, but he is making himself impossible to ignore now, ahead of the selection announcement on May 8, for the tour of Australia.

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BBC News
28 minutes ago
- BBC News
Ireland aim to 'turn big results into series wins'
Ireland assistant coach Gary Wilson says the team are aiming to turn big one-off wins into series successes as they prepare to face the West Indies in three T20 internationals at teams drew their ODI series in May, with Ireland winning the first match, the second ending in a draw after a lengthy rain delay and the tourists running out convincing winners in the third Irish side has won three and lost three of their previous T20Is against the West Indies and triumphed by nine wickets in the last meeting between the sides in the T20 format in a World Cup encounter in Hobart in also secured a shock nine-wicket win on the last occasion the West Indies visited the north west, after bowling their opponents out for just 25 runs at Sion Mills back in 1969."We have had a decent record against the West Indies over the past number of years and it's a great place to play cricket here. The locals really get behind it. It's a hotbed of Irish cricket," observed Wilson."Obviously we know how good they are in this form of cricket - it's definitely the format they feel most comfortable in but we're looking forward to the challenge and hopefully the weather plays ball."We've shown a big ability to get big results, especially on the global stage over the last number of years, now we're looking to put that into series wins rather than one-off games."The T20 games take place on Thursday, Saturday and Sunday. 'We'll get after it' - Adair West Indies lost all three of their T20Is against England in recent days, but returning pace bowler Mark Adair knows they will be formidable returns to the squad after missing the ODI series through injury but Craig Young, Curtis Campher and Gareth Delany have been ruled out."They're one of the best teams in the world in my opinion. I think they've got some of the most exciting cricketers and are one of the most entertaining teams to watch," observed Adair."This is a fresh challenge and we'll get after it. Hopefully we can do the business.""The aspiration is to win the series. I think we match up pretty well and I'm looking forward to getting back out there."In addition to Adair's return, Tim Tector, younger brother of experienced batter Harry, comes into the squad for the triple header, along with Stephen Doheny and spin bowler Gavin Hoey."Mark is a big player for us and has been for the past 24 months, if not longer," said assistant coach Wilson. "He's plying his trade around the world now and it's great that he's getting that recognition because he has put in some match-winning performances for us."Tim is here on merit and he's shown over a period of time in interpro cricket that he's got good run-scoring ability in this form of the game and I'm sure he's looking forward to the opportunity."


BreakingNews.ie
an hour ago
- BreakingNews.ie
Heimir Hallgrimsson seeks answers after disappointing draw
Heimir Hallgrimsson was left with more questions than answers after watching his Republic of Ireland side scrap out a 0-0 friendly draw in Luxembourg. The visitors twice hit the woodwork at the Stade de Luxembourg but needed two saves from keeper Max O'Leary, making his senior international debut six years after first being called up, to emerge with something to show for their efforts. Advertisement It will be a very different team which the Icelander sends out for the opening qualifier against Hungary in Dublin in September, but it will also need to be a very different performance if Ireland are to launch their campaign with the kind of result they will need to stand a chance of making it to the finals. Asked what he would take from the game, head coach Hallgrimsson, who presided over a far more impressive 1-1 draw with Senegal on Friday night, said: 'Firstly, you always use these games to get answers to questions. We got some answers – maybe more negative answers than positive from this tonight. 'The take from this is obviously when we go in September when the serious games start, we play a higher-ranked team first at home and then a lower-ranked team (Armenia) away just like we did now. We need to learn from this performance before September. 'We can take a lot of things. Mostly it's psychological or mental or whatever for the preparation. I know this is end-of-season so now everyone is in their off-season probably thinking, 'I don't want to get injured' or whatever they are thinking. Advertisement 'But there's no excuse for a bad performance. Even if we would have scored in the end, I think still the performance was not good enough.' But for O'Leary, who saved from Danel Sinani before the break and substitute Vincent Thill after it, Ireland could have been looking at a repeat of their embarrassment when they were beaten 1-0 at home by Luxembourg in a World Cup qualifier in March 2021. Nathan Collins and substitute Jack Taylor hit the post and the bar respectively for the visitors, but they were pushed all the way by a side ranked 91st in the world by FIFA and Hallgrimsson was full of praise for the Bristol City keeper. He said: 'We have known that all these years, probably. I have worked with him for a year and he's always shown up, he's always done well in training, he's always supported the keeper that has been number one – which is Caoimhin [Kelleher] since I came and Gavin [Bazunu] before I came. Advertisement 'He's just a fantastic team player, but he's also a good goalkeeper and now the fans got to see him.' Sport Ireland grateful to new keeper Max O'Leary after L... Read More Luxembourg boss Luc Holtz was pleased with what he saw from his team as they gear up for September's opening qualifier against Northern Ireland in the Grand Duchy. Holtz said: 'I'm very happy with the performance of my team. We managed to give big problems to Ireland. Ireland has a fantastic football team which plays with high speed and intensity and we managed to find solutions. 'This was a really good test for the upcoming match we play in September against Northern Ireland.' Advertisement


The Independent
4 hours ago
- The Independent
Wednesday's briefing: England booed off while Man City sign Cherki
England were booed off after a surprise 3-1 friendly defeat to Senegal at the City Ground. The Republic of Ireland were grateful for goalkeeper Max O'Leary in a goalless draw at Luxembourg, while 10-man Northern Ireland claimed a 1-0 win over Iceland. Manchester City had another busy day in the transfer window while Tottenham are inching closer to an agreement with Brentford in their bid to appoint Thomas Frank as head coach. Thomas Tuchel's honeymoon period as England manager is over as boos greeted Tuesday's shock 3-1 friendly loss to Senegal. Three days after being jeered following a poor World Cup qualification win against minnows Andorra, the latest alarming display raised further questions a year out from their bid for glory in North America. Goals from Ismaila Sarr, Habib Diarra and Cheikh Sabaly inflicted England's first defeat to an African nation following captain Harry Kane's early opener. Kane told ITV: 'Again, not really good enough. We're not going to panic. But for sure we know we need to do better.' Max efforts rescue Republic Max O'Leary marked his long-awaited senior international debut with two vital saves to spare the Republic of Ireland's blushes in Luxembourg. The 28-year-old Bristol City keeper, who was first called up six years ago, denied Danel Sinani and substitute Vincent Thill either side of half-time to ensure Ireland emerged with a 0-0 friendly draw. 'You always use these games to get answers to questions,' Republic head coach Heimir Hallgrimsson said. 'We got some answers – maybe more negative answers than positive from this.' Price makes Iceland pay Isaac Price made the difference at both ends of the pitch as 10-man Northern Ireland clung on for a 1-0 friendly win over Iceland in their final match before the World Cup qualifying campaign. Price lit up a drab first half to put Michael O'Neill's side ahead, but then had to head off his own line as it turned into a defensive scrap after Brodie Spencer was sent off for denying a goalscoring opportunity. 'I don't think there's too many players come in and play international football and adapt to it as quickly as Isaac has,' O'Neill said. 'He has that ability just to do something a little bit different, a little bit special.' City get Cherki deal Manchester City have completed the signing of France midfielder Rayan Cherki from Lyon for an initial fee of 36million euros (£30.5m). The 21-year-old, who has signed a contract with City until 2030, moves after an impressive season with Lyon in which he scored 12 goals and provided 20 assists in 40 appearances. 'This is a dream for me,' said Cherki after becoming City's second signing of the day following goalkeeper Marcus Bettinelli. 'I have worked so hard for this all my life. 'I would only leave Lyon for a project I really believe in and everything at City suggests I can develop my game and help the team be successful in the future.' Tottenham face more Frank talks with Bees Tottenham are moving closer to reaching an agreement with Brentford over compensation to make Frank their new head coach but talks are entering a third day, the PA news agency understands. After positive initial talks over the weekend, Tottenham made an official approach to their Premier League rivals on Monday. Discussions continued into Tuesday and centred on Frank's contract at Brentford, which runs until the summer of 2027 and contains a release clause reported to be in the region of £10million. What's on today? The European Under-21 Championship gets under way with hosts Slovakia taking on runners-up from two years ago Spain in Bratislava. Defending champions England start their campaign on Thursday. Attention will also be focused on the outcome of Spurs' talks with Frank, after the early window for player movement closed on Tuesday.