
Lions turn up the power to tackle Australia – talking points ahead of first Test
Here the PA news agency looks at five talking points heading into the Brisbane opener.
Moment of truth
Since their 28-24 defeat by Argentina in Dublin, the Lions have not been truly tested. Five victories over under-strength Super Rugby teams and a disappointing AUNZ Invitational XV have illuminated their journey across Australia, but the standard of opposition meant the result was always assured.
Only in the cauldron of a Test match at Suncorp Stadium will Andy Farrell's men fully reveal themselves. After six weeks together including training camps, their quality, tactics and identity will finally emerge.
Farrell's power play
Historically, Australia have been vulnerable up-front and by picking the biggest pack available to him, Farrell has signalled his intention to drive home a Lions advantage.
A beefed-up Ellis Genge is part of a heavy duty front row, the hulking Joe McCarthy will act as enforcer at lock and in Tadhg Beirne and Tom Curry, the tourists have opted for their most physical flankers, even if their selection is not justified by their form on tour. It is a pack designed to submit the Wallabies.
Scotland trio ready to ignite
While the Lions have the muscle to take Australia apart in the forwards, they also possess an all-Scotland midfield trio capable of lighting fireworks behind the scrum.
Finn Russell, Sione Tuipulotu and Huw Jones are reunited with the aim of bringing the familiarity born of their tried and tested combination to the famous red jersey.
Russell provides genius and maturing game management at fly-half, while his centres run hard and pick good lines. All three can be match winners on their day.
Wallabies in the Lions' jaws
Australia were already underdogs to win the first Test – and the series – even before tackle-busting forwards Rob Valetini and Will Skelton joined fly-half Noah Lolesio, flanker Langi Gleeson and hooker Dave Porecki on the injured list.
They still have classy operators, especially centres Len Ikitau and Joseph-Aukuso Suaalii and breakdown specialist Fraser McReight, but it would be a seismic upset if a side ranked eighth in the world were to topple the combined might of four nations.
The Schmidt factor
Possibly more than any player on field, the Lions are most concerned about the figure directing operations from the sidelines.
Former Ireland coach Joe Schmidt is now in charge of the Wallabies where his proven tack record as a master tactician with a meticulous eye for detail, as well as his inside knowledge on Farrell and many of the Lions, is seen as a potential leveller.
'You know he'll give them an inner confidence so that they're up for a series win,' Farrell said of his former Ireland boss.
Hashtags

Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles


Scottish Sun
16 minutes ago
- Scottish Sun
‘I owe certain pundits an apology' – David Martindale makes major admission to Celtic hero Chris Sutton
Click to share on X/Twitter (Opens in new window) Click to share on Facebook (Opens in new window) DAVIE MARTINDALE admits Chris Sutton was right to slag off Livingston's plastic pitch. The sheepish Lions boss only realised how bad the old surface had become when their new pitch was laid a few weeks ago. Sign up for Scottish Sun newsletter Sign up 2 Livi boss David Martindale Credit: Willie Vass 2 Chris Sutton was very critical of the pitch Credit: Kenny Ramsay Now Martindale is hopeful that the club's new MX Elite surface will be a hit with both his side and opponents as they return to the Premiership. He said: 'I owe certain media pundits a wee bit of an apology and maybe the SPFL. 'I owe certain parts of the media an apology for the last two years and I'll explain why. 'Chris Sutton had a bit of a go about the park. Do you know what? I now agree with him. 'When the pitch got put down in 2018 I was the one constant that has always been here. 'I never saw the deterioration in the pitch, really. 'I had a bit of a go at the SPFL at the tail end of last year too, saying I couldn't believe they were telling us we're not getting any Premiership football on that pitch. 'Now that we've got a new surface, I need to apologise because I was wrong. 'The most senior players here who have played or been everywhere, they are all coming to me absolutely glowing about our new surface. 'Did I still think the park we had last year was better than some grass parks I've played on? Yes, 100 per cent. I'm not going into my work relegated, says defiant Livingston boss David Martindale as they're left TEN points adrift 'But can I see the pundits and media gripes about it previously? I would agree with them. 'I was in here and I was working on it, so it was hard for me to see the wood for the trees. I genuinely believed the last couple of years our surface was OK. 'I was wrong in that assertion.' Martindale hopes the zippy new pitch could also help his team avoid being shown last on the TV highlights. He added: 'There was a lazy narrative with us previously — big strong, physical Livingston. 'You would see three minutes on Sportscene, and generally we would be last on. 'But I'm not having a go at it. Moment David Martindale swarmed by Livingston fans as he celebrates dramatic comeback with punters during pitch invasion 'That side of it is dictated by your fan base, isn't it? 'We were generally going to be the last on in the programme. 'Our last year in the Premiership was probably more ten bodies behind the ball, a wee bit more direct. 'But now we play a different shape to what we played the last couple of years. 'We actually want teams to come and press us now, but you have still got to find a way to win games. 'I'll be doing that every Saturday, but sticking as much to the basic fundamentals we played last year, and that we coached in the Championship. 'It's essential we don't deviate too far from that.' Keep up to date with ALL the latest news and transfers at the Scottish Sun football page


Daily Mail
an hour ago
- Daily Mail
Ben Stokes' absence offers a worrying glimpse into Ashes grilling... England will be hard pressed to beat Australia without talisman meets Superman, writes LAWRENCE BOOTH
No sooner had Ben Stokes been declared unfit for the series finale against India than thoughts turned, in something close to blind panic, to the Ashes. Because if the last few weeks have confirmed anything, it's that England will be hard pressed to beat Australia without him. Bazball would be declared dead even before it had faced its ultimate challenge, and the Australian media – still high-fiving each other after England's churlishness on the final evening in Manchester – would go into overdrive. It hardly bears thinking about. Yet the restructuring of the team for the fifth Test at The Oval provided an unsettling glimpse of the future: with England understandably keen to field four seamers on a green-looking surface, the absence of Stokes has created an imbalance solved only by the dropping of Liam Dawson, the team's lone frontline spinner. Dawson might have been omitted in any case after sending down 62 overs for a single wicket on his return to Test cricket at Old Trafford, an experience that included a very public one-to-one tutorial from Stokes as England walked off at tea on the last day. But what if Stokes breaks down again during the Ashes, leaving an unbearable onus on Shoaib Bashir, the 21-year-old off-spinner who would then form a crucial part of a four-man attack? Again, the scenario is unthinkable. But it's not as if it was unforeseeable. Stokes has bowled 140 overs in this series, 23 more than his previous-heaviest workload, in his debut series in Australia in 2013-14. Throw in 11 overs against Zimbabwe in May, and he has not endured a heavier home summer since 2017, when he played in seven Tests rather than five. All the while, his body has creaked and groaned, becoming a story in its own right, much as Denis Compton's knee did in the 1950s. The kneecap was eventually removed and sent for safekeeping to Lord's, where it lives in a biscuit tin – a curious memory of a more innocent time. Stokes has put himself through the wringer so vigorously, so often, that his list of ailments is a little longer: two operations on his left index finger, surgery on his left knee, hamstring trouble and now a grade-three tear of a right shoulder muscle. That's before any mention of the break he took to look after his mental health in 2021. He has put body and soul on the line for his country, and his body has rebelled once more. Clearly, he knows no other way. Even so, should he have taken things easier? During India's first innings at Lord's, England's bowling coach Tim Southee was sent down to the boundary by the pavilion to suggest Stokes remove himself from the attack after one long spell. In the second, with the game on the line, he followed a burst of nine overs with one of 10: talisman meets Superman. Then, in Manchester, he bowled eight overs in a row on the final morning, and clutched his right arm in pain after every delivery. Inspirational and selfless, certainly. But was he pushing his luck? Later, he outlined his philosophy: 'Pain is just an emotion.' It turns out pain is rather more than that. Stokes being Stokes, he has no regrets. 'When I'm out on the field, I play to win and give everything I possibly can,' he said, attending the pre-match press conference as if he, not stand-in Ollie Pope, were still in charge. 'If I feel there's a moment in a game where I need to put everything I'm feeling aside, I'll do that because it's how much this team means to me, how much playing for England means to me, how much winning means to me. Being a professional sportsman, injuries are part of this game and I can't do anything about that.' Stokes's absence has created room, at long last, for Jacob Bethell, who now has the chance to prove why England were wrong to ignore him for the first four Tests. But it also picked at the scab that periodically troubles this team. When Stokes is missing, 11 players seem inadequate to cover all bases. And if his rehab extends beyond the 10-week upper limit outlined by England, and drifts towards the first Ashes Test at Perth on November 21, that scab could become a full-blown wound – one from which his team may struggle to recover.


BBC News
an hour ago
- BBC News
New-look Dragons must get better
Thomas Young has embraced the pressure of helping the new-look Dragons turn around their 33-year-old flanker has moved from Cardiff as part of a substantial recruitment drive by the Rodney Parade team after a nightmare 2024-25 Tiatia's men finished bottom of the United Rugby Championship (URC) after losing 17 straight games following their opening weekend win against the Ospreys."With the signings that have been made and the boys that were already the core here, as a region we have to get better," said Young."That point has been put across to us quite hard over pre-season and it's up to us as players to make sure we go out and do that." Changing the record The Dragons finished 20 points behind 15th-placed Zebre while they also failed to qualify in the Challenge Cup after a solitary success at Newcastle."You play rugby to win and that's definitely our intention, we know that we have got to improve," said Young."That's what pre-season is about, to make sure we improve so that we go out there for the first game and build on what the boys did last year. We've got to get better."Dragons last avoided being Wales' bottom team in 2020, when the Ospreys had that have been plenty of false dawns at Rodney Parade but Young & co are determined to change the record."It's got to turn at some point," he said. "The squad is completely different with a lot of new signings, who have been brought in for a reason."We will soon find out, but it's up to us in the off season to make sure we are on the same page and pushing each other forward, because we should be doing a lot better." Hunting a starting spot Young came through the ranks at Cardiff and then, after spells in England with Gloucester and Wasps, returned to the Arms Park in 2022 to play for his father flanker made 14 appearances last season under Matt Sherratt but eight of those outings were off the hopes to lose his tag as an impact sub and earn the number seven jersey when the URC gets under way against Ulster in Belfast on 26 September."I didn't play as much as I wanted to last year but I still enjoyed it," said Young. "I was involved a fair bit, I only missed the first few games through injury but after that was fit and available."Everyone wants to start but I got seen as something different last year. That was a role I enjoyed but I've come here and want to be starting."Young wants to be in the starting side after effectively swapping clubs with fellow dynamic back-rower Taine he will also be a mentor for young forwards and will soon be joined at training by open-side Harry Beddall, a summer signing from Leicester who is fresh from captaining Wales at the World Rugby U20 Championship."I've seen what he has done with the 20s and it's exciting to work with someone like that," said Young."He is well thought of and hopefully I can also learn stuff off him - as much as I can help him, he can help me. "His legs might be fresher but I'd like to think I'll push him as much as he pushes me."