
New Zealand v Australia: women's rugby union Test
Date: 2025-07-12T04:05:25.000Z
Title: Team list: Australia
Content: 15. Faitala Moleka
14. Waiaria Ellis
13. Charlotte Caslick
12. Trilleen Pomare
11. Desiree Miller
10. Tia Hinds
9. Layne Morgan
8. Tabua Tuinakauvadra
7. Ashley Marsters
6. Siokapesi Palu (c)
5. Michaela Leonard
4. Kaitlan Leaney
3. Bridie O'Gorman
2. Tania Naden
1. Faliki Pohiva
Replacements: Adiana Talakai, Lydia Kavoa, Eva Karpani, Annabelle Codey, Piper Duck, Emily Chancellor, Samantha Wood, Cecilia Smith
Update:
Date: 2025-07-12T04:00:02.000Z
Title: Preamble
Content: Hello and welcome to what is shaping up to be an exciting afternoon of rugby action! The Wallaroos are taking on the Black Ferns in windy Wellington, with the aim of causing an upset and taking their first ever win against their neighbours across the ditch. It's a huge ask – the teams last met in Newcastle in May as part of the Pacific Four series, where the Ferns claimed a 38-12 win.
The Wallaroos have been an improved side in recent times, pulling off a 27-19 win over the USA during that same series, and with the addition of sevens star Charlotte Caslick into the mix this year, they have shown plenty of spark.
However the Black Ferns are an incredibly formidable team, not least because they feature Portia Woodman-Wickliffe – New Zealand's leading women's fifteen-a-side try scorer of all time.
With a World Cup on the horizon, this is important preparation for both teams, and though the Black Ferns are heavily favoured, the Wallaroos will be throwing everything at this match to try to pull off an unlikely win.
Kick off is at 4:30pm local time (2:30pm AEST), so let's get into it!
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The Independent
39 minutes ago
- The Independent
Lions braced for Wallabies backlash with Australian giant ready to set tone at MCG
Any British and Irish Lions and Australia players in need of inspiration in the final moments before kick off in Saturday's second Test need only glance up at the wall in front of them. While the dressing rooms of one of the world's great sporting colosseums will be bedecked in the iconography of both sides as they make the Melbourne Cricket Ground their temporary home, still adorning each will be the carved wooden honours boards that list the immortal achievements of the many cricketing greats who have captured this cathedral and made it their own. From Grimmett and O'Reilly through the Chappell brothers to Warne and McGrath, the greats have made an indelible mark on this sacred temple of Australian sport. For the Wallabies, they will hope to make their own imprint with victory a must. At 1-0 down, it is do or die for the home side as they bid to avoid being the first of the three southern hemisphere nations to be conquered in successive series by the touring Lions. Perhaps Joe Schmidt and his side can take something from a certain DG Bradman, commemorated with statues inside and out of a venue at which he averaged a mere 128.53. The antics of Adelaide are those best remembered from the famous Bodyline Ashes of 1932-33, but it was in Melbourne where Australia squared the series having been beaten and beaten up by England in Sydney. A returning Don, who had missed the opening game due to a contractual dispute, tonned up in the second innings after a golden duck in the first with typical brilliance and belligerence. Battered and bruised by the Lions in the opening encounter of this series, now the Wallabies hope to do some damage of their own. One might have foreseen a sluggish start from a side in only their second outing of the year, but few forecast the passivity with which Australia played. 'We don't want to be nice, and we don't want to be submissive,' head coach Schmidt stressed on Thursday. 'I just think that they played on the edge really well [last week], they got in amongst us, sometimes just beside us, which made it very hard to play. 'We're hopeful that we will be able to take that to them this week and keep them on the back foot a little bit more.' It helps, of course, to have a full complement of bruisers for what is shaping up to be a proper Melbourne melee on a wet night. Full fitness may still evade Rob Valetini and Will Skelton but the pair certainly give a more fearsome look to a Wallabies team short of weapons of destruction a week ago. The artillery each provides is clear, with Valetini's tireless carrying and Skelton's unique strengths such vital parts of the side that Schmidt is building. 'He is an unusually large human being,' Lions lock Ollie Chessum said of his opposite number Skelton, who stands at 6ft 7in tall and 145kg. 'I think he's going to bring the physical edge that we expect to see from the Wallabies this weekend.' The significance of playing at the MCG is not lost on the Lions, who intend to embrace the occasion and soak up the atmosphere. A series win is well within reach for a team that feels that, even in a brilliant 42 minutes in which they seized a match-winning lead, they did not hit the heights of which they are capable in the first Test. Throughout this tour, the talk has been of writing their own history; the MCG would be an apt place to do it. 'They're going to draw on every emotional aspect of this game that they can,' Chessum said. 'They are 1-0 down in the series but they are at the MCG, in front of their fans, on their home soil with the series on the line. We know they're going to throw the kitchen sink at us. 'We said right from the start that we want to lay down a marker and be the best Lions team there has ever been. If we are to do that, we've got to make ourselves part of that history and do the job at the weekend. This is everything that international rugby is all about. Physicality goes up through the roof, the intensity goes up through the roof, the speed of the game goes up through the roof – and you have to walk towards it because if you don't you'll get found out pretty quickly.' The disruption caused by Garry Ringrose 's courageous and correct withdrawal has been limited, it is claimed, by a squad tighter than those on past tours. It is at this point on a trip, with the last midweek game over and selection pecking orders becoming clear, that a group can fracture or fray – but all in Lions camp are clear that the bonds of the class of 2025 are strong. Perhaps that could be best seen in Ellis Genge and Finn Russell leaving their seats in the stands to comfort temporary tourist Darcy Graham after an injury in the win over the First Nations & Pasifika XV; in their different ways, both the England prop and Scotland fly half have been central leaders over the last few weeks. As, increasingly, has been Owen Farrell, whose presence in the matchday 23 in Melbourne comes as little surprise to most in rugby. The assumption always was that the 33-year-old would have some Test involvement once he accepted the call-up from his father, and a standard-driver will hope to ensure there is no drop off once he and the rest of the replacements are utilised. Melbourne has been full of Lions supporters this week, perhaps even more red-tinted than Brisbane a week ago with plenty of travelling fans ticking off Tests two and three. They will not much mind, one would guess, if next week's game becomes something of a dead rubber. Such talk, though, is premature. 'When you wear this jersey and represent the Lions you know it comes with huge honour and a sense of responsibility, and we know we are not playing a pub team,' captain Maro Itoje underscored. 'The Wallabies are a proper team, I played them last year in the autumn and we lost to them when we were supposed to win. They are a team that can punish you if you don't approach the game properly.'


The Sun
40 minutes ago
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Australia vs British & Irish Lions LIVE SCORE: Owen Farrell set to feature as Wallabies look to level series
THE British & Irish Lions are set to clash the Wallabies in the second of three HUGE tests! Andy Farrell's side picked up a huge 27-19 victory in the first test, before a changed XV beat First Nations & Pacifica 24-19 to keep their perfect record Down Under going. The Wallabies are boosted by the returns of Rob Valetini and Will Skelton, bringing some power to the Aussies XV. If the Lions can pick up another victory today, then they will settle the series with a game to spare. BEST ONLINE CASINOS - TOP SITES IN THE UK


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40 minutes ago
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Australia vs British & Irish Lions - Test series LIVE: Andy Farrell's men are without Garry Ringrose for second test - as the Wallabies make several big changes
Can the Wallabies bounce back? By Ed Carruthers There is an electric atmosphere in Melbourne tonight as the British and Irish Lions and the Wallabies are set to clash at the Melbourne Cricket Club. Andy Farrell's side took a 1-0 lead in the series following their 27-19 victory against the hosts at the Suncorp Stadium Last week. The Lions were dominant in the opening 20 minutes of the match, and perhaps that is where the game was won. Scotland star Sione Tuipulotu and English flanker Tom Curry both crossed over in the first half, while Max Jorgensen pulled a score back for the Wallabies. Despite the statement win in the opening game of the series, there was plenty for the Lions to work on coming into this second Test, with the Wallabies set to welcome back several big hitters for this match. And Australia boss Joe Schmidt believes his side are taking plenty of confidence from last week's defeat into tonight's match. 'The squad has recovered well after a very physical first Test and the week's preparation here in Melbourne has allowed us a bit more time together,' Schmidt said. 'We took some confidence from the second half last week, but we know we'll need to improve further against a Lions team that will bring plenty of fire to the contest on Saturday night.' Kick-off is less than an hour away, so stay with us as we'll be bringing you all the latest news, commentary and analysis from the second Test.