Record number of Irish players will start first test against Australia
It equals the record of most Ireland players to start a Lions test that dates back to the 3rd test in South Africa in 1938.Five of the eight were from Ulster including captain Sammy Walker. Blair Mayne, George Cromey, Harry Mckibbin and Robert Alexander were the others and were joined by Robert Graves, Charles Boyles and George Morgan.That game was also the last one that the Lions wore blue shirts in a test match.
Lions coach Andy Farrell has also named three more Irish players on the bench. Prop Andrew Porter, hooker Ronan Kelleher and centre Bundee Aki.None of the starters are a surprise with Keenan, the only recognised full-back in the squad at the moment, with Blair Kinghorn injured.Much will depend on the half-back partnership between Gibson-Park and Finn Russell that looked like it was gelling last week against the Brumbies.With Gary Ringrose on the sidelines with concussion, the all-Scottish midfield combination of Huw Jones and Simone Tuipulotu preferred with Aki starting on the bench.Perhaps the most debated selection is that of Taghg Beirne over England's Ollie Chessum in the back row Where he joins Conan and Tom Curry with Josh Van der Flier missing out.At times Beirne hasn't looked like his normal commanding self but has captained the side to a pair of wins.'Yeah, I suppose that's the hotly contested one, part of the side that's been talked about for quite some time and rightly so because of the quality that we've got there,' admitted Farrell.'Obviously we feel that that's the right balance for the first test, the combination of Taghg, being the type of player that he is, as far as his quality in the set piece but yet his all-round ability, either on the floor or a ball-playing six. 'I think that complements Jack in a similar regard and Tom being the engine that we all know that you need in regards to test match football.'
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
BBC News
a few seconds ago
- BBC News
Wigan go back top & York thrash Barrow
Wigan Warriors returned to the top of Women's Super League with an 80-0 demolition of bottom side York Valkyrie thrashed Barrow Raiders 58-0 for a fifth straight win to move level on points with St Helens who dropped from the summit to Tiana and Shaniah Power both crossed inside five minutes for unbeaten Wigan before a Cerys Jones double and scores from Georgia Wilson, Mia Atherton and Tiana Power's second put the leaders out of sight by Power and Jones completed hat-tricks after Megan Williams crossed to take the Warriors past 50 points before Australian centre Power added her fourth. Tries from Eva Hunter, Remi Wilton, and Kaitlin Hilton capped a 14-try Rowe added 12 goals from 14 attempts as Wigan made it 156 points without reply from their past two WSL champions in the last two seasons, were made to work hard by second-bottom Barrow in the first half, building a 16-0 half-time lead thanks to Savannah Andrade, Lisa Parker and Emma Kershaw the floodgates opened after the break as Peace Lekuru scored her first WSL tries with a hat-trick. Zoe Hornby, Emma Kershaw, Tara Moxon, Evie Sexton, Eboni Partington and Andrade also crossed as the Raiders shipped nine second-half tries.
Scotsman
a few seconds ago
- Scotsman
Sione Tuipulotu opens up on Australia rejection, debt to Scottish rugby and rooming with Finn Russell
Glasgow centre fuelled by 'chip on shoulder' as he returns to Melbourne 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... Sione Tuipulotu returns to Melbourne carrying the chip on his shoulder that has driven his rise to becoming a British and Irish Lion. Tuipulotu has touched down in the city where he was born and raised for what he hopes will become a glorious homecoming given a series triumph over Australia is the prize at stake following Saturday's 27-19 victory in the first Test. Advertisement Hide Ad Advertisement Hide Ad Six years ago he left for Japan, angry that his time at the Melbourne Rebels had failed to produce international recognition beyond the Junior Wallabies and having taken up an offer to play for Glasgow, he qualified for Scotland through his grandmother. Sione Tuipulotu celebrates after scoring the first try for British and Irish Lions in the first Test win over Australia at Suncorp Stadium on Saturday. (Photo by) The 28-year-old has never looked back, going on to captain his adopted homeland while becoming one of the game's finest centres. No longer bitter at being rejected by Australia, he realises the scars have served him well. 'If you had asked me when I first moved from Melbourne I would say yeah, it's personal,' Tuipulotu said. 'There's still a chip on my shoulder. What has got me to this point is having that chip on my shoulder. But in terms of me being bitter about Australian rugby, not at all. 'I wasn't good enough to play for the Wallabies when I was in Melbourne. It wasn't a selector problem, I wasn't good enough, that's plain and simple. I owe everything to Scottish rugby because they've made me the player that I am today. Advertisement Hide Ad Advertisement Hide Ad 'Now I get the chance to go back to Melbourne and play in my home city and hopefully close out a Test series. The stars have aligned for me and I feel very grateful.' Scotland trio (from left) Huw Jones, Finn Russell and Sione Tuipulotu celebrate after the British & Irish Lions victory over Australia in the first Test match of the series. (Photo by) Tuipulotu was installed at inside centre ahead of Bundee Aki for the series opener in Brisbane and Andy Farrell's decision was rewarded with the Scotland captain's best performance on tour. Recovery from the damaged pectoral muscle that forced him to miss the Six Nations has proved challenging and it is only now that the hard-running, ball-playing midfielder is finding his stride. A first-half try decorated his evening's work at Suncorp Stadium, which was made easier by the presence of his Scotland team-mates Finn Russell and Huw Jones. 'It was such a huge occasion but having Finn inside me and Huw outside me made it pretty special. I'm so familiar with those boys,' he said. 'I've been rooming with Finn this whole week and being around him made me not overreact to the occasion. Advertisement Hide Ad Advertisement Hide Ad 'It felt like we were playing a Scotland game together because we room together back with Scotland. His nature helps everyone and calms everyone. Then you add to that that he's got one of the best skill sets of any 10 in the world and it's a joy to play with. 'Everyone knows what I think about Huw Jones. It just feels like he's bigger and faster than everyone.' The Lions know Australia will throw everything at them at Melbourne Cricket Ground – and intend hitting back hard.
The Independent
31 minutes ago
- The Independent
Shane Lowry offers hope to chasing pack at Open with final-round 66
Shane Lowry offered hope to Rory McIlroy and the rest of the chasing pack praying for an uncharacteristic Scottie Scheffler slip by shooting a final-round 66 at The Open. The best conditions of the week, sustained sunshine and very little wind, left Royal Portrush vulnerable to some low scoring and the 2019 champion here made the most of it with a 66. In reality Scheffler's rivals are going to have to shoot lower than that if they are to challenge the world number one, who did not have a bogey on Saturday in extending his lead to four strokes. Matt Fitzpatrick, five back, and McIlroy and Tyrrell Hatton, six behind, represent the biggest threat, albeit a small one. Lowry recovered from a bogey at the par-five second to dial in his seven-iron with a birdie at the short next and a hole-out from the fairway at the fourth. Four more birdies followed and he almost finished in style but his attempted chip-in did not drop. 'The course is gettable today – but then that gives Scottie the chance to shoot three or four under and if he shoots three of four under he won't be caught I don't think,' said the Irishman. England's Justin Rose was two under through three holes despite missing a seven-footer for birdie at the first but his move up to seven under still left him seven off the top.
