Wales U20s end Summer Series with Italy loss
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BBC News
20 minutes ago
- BBC News
Priest 'proud' of Glamorgan Women despite T20 exit
Glamorgan coach Rachel Priest says she is proud of her team despite their seven-wicket defeat by Yorkshire on League Two T20 Finals North group winners, including England internationals Lauren Winfield-Hill and Beth Langston, will be a Tier One side next season, a year before Glamorgan go fully professional."I'm really proud of the way the girls carried themselves, against a professional team it was never going to be easy for us but the girls put on an amazing show," said Priest."We just fell away a bit with the bat and we need to keep working on options to score boundaries throughout the innings." Glamorgan won five of seven completed games to finish second in the South group, whereas Yorkshire stormed through the northern section unbeaten in eight."Extremely positive, the hard work in the winter has shown on the field and we'll look to keep building on that," Priest told BBC Sport Wales."If we can recruit some players and keep working with the players we've got, we'll look to be where Yorkshire are now."It's really exciting to have cricket as your job and lots of our girls are working hard towards that opportunity."Glamorgan have included a clutch of professional loan players on the fringe of Tier One counties throughout their campaign, with Warwickshire batter Bethan Ellis making a string of appearances, teenage Hampshire all-rounder Poppy Tulloch featuring in all the Blast games and Somerset batter Niamh Holland returning for the such as Emily Burke, Daisy Mullan, Emma Jones and Erin Vukusic have also worn the daffodil badge this season, with Priest having an eye on future recruitment as well as hoping professional habits benefit her mostly young semi-pro side."Yorkshire have got eight or nine full professionals, so it's a great experience for our girls to have played against them," said 26-year-old Ellis, born in Leamington Spa of Welsh parents."For a 17-year-old (Poppy Walker) to have bowled against ex-England players is something to learn from.""Glamorgan have welcomed me and I felt part of the team straightaway, I've really enjoyed it," added Ellis, who ducked a question about whether she would consider a permanent have a chance of further knockout cricket in September in the One Day Cup, where they stand third in League Two after four of the nine group games.
Times
20 minutes ago
- Times
Much to our surprise, Lions' win was one of greatest Tests of all time
The official attendance here at the MCG was 90,307 and it was fitting that it should have been a record crowd. Yet actually it was a shame the other 9,717 seats were empty because you just want everyone in the world to get to experience a game like this. You never know when it's coming. You certainly wouldn't have known after the first Test the week before. You might reasonably have thought this was something of a humdrum Lions tour. But then, there we were in this magnificent iconic venue and suddenly, bang, there ignited one of the greatest matches of all. Maybe it was something to do with the MCG. Maybe it was the fury of the downtrodden Wallabies because they flew out of the blocks with a venom and passion that was magnificent. And maybe it took the Lions to play like pussy cats for the first half hour — because the thrill was the thrill of the chase. Yet this was scintillating, loud and riveting but not just at the end with the clock running down and the Lions running out of time, it was like that all the way through. Eleven minutes to go and the stadium announcer tried to raise the voices of the local support. 'Wallabies fans have gone a bit quiet!' he said. And no they hadn't, but you could perhaps forgive the volume dropping slightly when the game was right on the edge and hearts were in mouths. Yet all he achieved was to trigger more tumultuous choruses of 'Lions! Lions!' No, it's not a very clever chant, but that doesn't matter when it's countdown to kick-off and the MCG is throbbing to the sound of it. Half an hour in and Joseph-Aukuso Suaalii rips open the Lions' defence, putting Tom Wright through for what is, so far at least, the try of the series, and there it is again: that Lions chant, loud and demanding, beseeching a reaction — something, anything. The Lions are being cut to shreds here, they're yielding to the awesome giant Will Skelton, they're dropping balls and losing their heads, yet somehow in this maelstrom of noise and physical assault they put their foot on the ball and they achieve briefly the clarity of thought that enables them to get a foot back in the game. And therein they started to mount the comeback that became the narrative of the incredible occasion. At some later point, after decent pause for the necessary reflection, we might be able to place this Melbourne Test in its rightful position amongst the greatest of all rugby matches. Top ten? I don't know right now but my mind went to the 1999 World Cup semi-finals and France coming back to stun the All Blacks at Twickenham. The All Blacks, there, ran up a 24-10 lead. The Wallabies' lead here was four points greater. France, on that occasion, were the outsiders, so their miracle uprising was less expected. The Lions, here, just were desperately searching for the opportunity to assert some dominance and quality and yet they were simultaneously charging around, putting out Wallaby fires: Jack Conan: 24 tackles, Maro Itoje 20, Tom Curry 15 in just 55 minutes, the 15th of those being the one on Suaalii that stopped a fourth Australia try that would have made the deficit surely too much to chase. In that 1999 semi, France just flew past the All Blacks who couldn't believe what was happening. The Lions, here, had to scrap for every inch and, with the seconds ticking, were like a boxer still needing a final-round knock-out. Thus we had the knife-edge finish, the Lions somehow keeping their heads when the entire crowd were losing theirs, Finn Russell marshalling the team with an extraordinarily calm intelligence until finally the defence was dragged far enough one way for Hugo Keenan to find the smallest chink of light the other. Cue vast explosions of joy. From the fuzzy aftermath, a few images stand out: the tightness of the hugs with which every team-mate greeted Jac Morgan; Maro Itoje on a slow lap, high-fiving an entire MCG perimeter's worth of euphoric outstretched hands; Henry Pollock, baseball cap on back-to-front, a kid with no regard for the seniors, whose exuberance was so unchained that he wouldn't leave Johnny Sexton alone, squeezing his face and over-hugging him to an extent that Sexton just did not know what to do. Another was Owen Farrell, sharing a perimeter lap with his young son: celebrating with the crowd, signing jerseys, high-fiving hands, sharing his joy in a way that we are not accustomed to seeing from him. On this tour, he really does seem to be a different man. Afterwards, in the press conference, Andy Farrell, the head coach, described it all as 'a fairytale' and Itoje, his captain next to him, said 'this is what dreams are made of'. But Itoje struggled to contain his grin because the press conference room was right next to the Lions' changing room from where his team-mates were blasting out their bespoke version of 'Rockin' All Over the World' with lyrics rewritten by Fin Smith and 'Biz Faz' and 'Captain Maro' references peppered through the choruses. Farrell and Itoje were followed into the press room by Joe Schmidt, the Wallabies coach, and his captain Harry Wilson and you had to feel for them because as they attempted to deal with the inquest and as Wilson attempted to choke back his tears, the riotous chorus next door moved through the Lions' playlist, from Sweet Caroline to Robbie Williams to The Pogues. The contrast, of course, was vast: two teams at polar opposite ends of the emotional spectrum but separated only by a controversial refereeing decision in the last seconds of the match. Yet this was a game where one team so badly needed the other. The Wallabies needed the Lions to trigger a performance which earned them the respect that they had been denied. The Lions needed that huge Wallabies performance to give their achievements the credibility that they have been seeking. No one can say now that this was not a proper victory earned by properly tested Lions. Together, then, they contrived to produce one of the greatest rugby contests, so special, you wish the whole world could have been here to share it.
North Wales Chronicle
an hour ago
- North Wales Chronicle
Lauren James will be fit for England's Euro 2025 final with Spain
The forward was forced off at half-time of the Lionesses' extra-time semi-final comeback over Italy with an ankle issue, but trained with the team in Zurich on Saturday morning before Sunday's title decider. James, like the other members of Wiegman's full 23-player squad who trained, still needs to come through recovery, but her boss is optimistic the she will be available to take on the World Cup holders. Appreciating the 23 ❤️@leahcwilliamson reflects on her #Lionesses journey and the power of the whole squad on #ThatLionessesPodcast connected by @EE. — Lionesses (@Lionesses) July 26, 2025 Wiegman said: 'We had 23 players on the pitch today and everyone came through, so if everyone recovers well then we have 23 players available for tomorrow. 'I think we have many players that can impact, and we know that (James) can have an impact too, so that will be nice.' Captain Leah Williamson added: 'I think we have a team of talented players. Lauren brings something slightly different, just like the others, so obviously having that available is best-case scenario for us.' Williamson survived her own injury scare in Switzerland when she rolled her ankle in extra time of their spectacular quarter-final, penalty-shootout comeback against Sweden, but returned for their semi-final. She said: 'I can speak for every single member of the squad when I say we will play as long as we get the green light, we would play through absolutely anything to be involved at this stage. 'My ankle is great. My mum actually rolled her ankle a couple of days ago, so she's taken all the attention away from me now. 'But no, I had a scare. Obviously I want to be involved, and I want to be available to help the team any way they need me. But obviously played that game, the semi-final and ready to go tomorrow.' Williamson missed out on the World Cup after sustaining an anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) injury in April 2023, and was forced to watch their loss to Spain – in England's first final at a global showpiece – from the stands. 'It was awful,' she admitted. 'I think once you're part of a team, being on the outside, and I know how tired you are when you get to that stage, how much a tournament takes out of you, and to be completely useless, that probably bothered me the most. 'But to sit with the families, knowing what they go through, that actually makes me reflect on this tournament, and we haven't been very kind to them at all. 'But I think that feels like a really long time ago, which is probably a benefit for the whole squad. 'Anybody would give anything to be part of their team when they're going through moments like that. 'It was tough. The only plus was sitting next to Jill (Scott) I suppose, and sharing it with somebody who knew what it felt like.' Asked about the importance of having her skipper free to face Spain, Wiegman added: 'Of course, I'm very happy with that, as I am very happy that we have 23 players available tomorrow. 'And yeah, Leah has a big role in the team, so it's really nice to have her on the pitch.'
