Harry Wilson vows Wallabies will bounce back in second Test
The Wallabies were overpowered 27-19 in the first Test but have been reinforced for Saturday's rematch at the Melbourne Cricket Ground by the return from injury of imposing forwards Rob Valetini and Will Skelton.
Wilson, Australia's captain and number eight, believes his team will grow stronger having faced the Lions once already.
'There's no denying it, we've got to go out there and win. We've got to win the next two to win the series,' Wilson said.
'It feels as if we probably didn't play the sort of footy we wanted to in the first Test and didn't fire as many shots as we would have liked.
'We didn't start too well, but in the second-half, once we got a bit of possession and territory and started playing our sort of footy, we took a lot of confidence from that.
'I'd say there's pressure on both teams. They want to wrap up the series and we want to keep the series alive. There's no doubting there's a lot on the line for both teams.
'We want to impose ourselves physically. We want to back our skills and we want to go out there and start fast
'For a lot of us, it was our first time ever playing the British and Irish Lions and there was a lot of unknown, whereas this week we know what's coming.'
Australia have paid close attention to the First Nations and Pasifika XV's success against the Lions on Tuesday.
While the invitational side, made up of players with First Nations or Pacific Island heritage, ultimately lost 24-19, their physicality rattled Andy Farrell's tourists.
'A lot of us were there watching and just seeing the way Pasifika went after them, the line speed, the big hits in defence, it was a great blueprint for how to try and physically dominate them,' Wilson said.
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Yahoo
29 minutes ago
- Yahoo
Wilson misses out on history after no-look black
Showboating Kyren Wilson spurned the chance to make history when he attempted a no-look shot on the black in his 6-5 victory over Si Jiahui at the Shanghai Masters. The last-16 tie included six century breaks to tie the record for the most ever in a best-of-11 match - equalling Judd Trump and Neil Robertson's meeting in the 2016 Masters and Robertson's encounter with Mark Selby in 2020. Wilson reached 97 in the deciding frame but opted for a no-look shot and missed the black. The Englishman said he didn't realise he was on the verge of breaking the record but said it wouldn't have changed his approach. "I did the silly no-look thing," Wilson said. "Especially in China, I feel the sport is blowing up out here and a lot of it is about doing things a bit differently. You have to have a bit of fun. The crowd appreciate that sort of thing. "There's no chance I'd have just rolled that black in, even if I knew about the record. It is still about doing things differently. We are stepping into a modern era in snooker." Elsewhere, defending champion Trump advanced with a 6-2 victory against Robertson.
Forbes
31 minutes ago
- Forbes
Cricket's Olympic Sheen Might Spark Once Mighty West Indies
West Indies have found things difficult in recent decades after dominating cricket (Photo by RANDY ... More BROOKS/AFP via Getty Images) Shortly after West Indies plummeted to a measly 27 - the second lowest score in 148 years of Test cricket - in their humiliating home defeat to Australia, Chris Dehring copped a barrage at the airport as he departed his native Jamaica to attend the International Cricket Council meetings in Singapore. 'What are you going to do about it? It's a disgrace! Someone needs to get fired,' were just some of the barbs hurled at Dehring, the new Cricket West Indies chief executive having been the managing director of the 2007 World Cup in the Caribbean. From the airline counter to immigration officials, everyone had their two cents worth at a beleaguered Dehring who could see the silver lining. 'It was a tough, tough walk through the airport,' Dehring told me recently in Singapore. 'But it could be worse, they could be saying nothing. If I would walk through the airport and nobody said a word, I'd be terrified. We know the passion is there and people do care about West Indies cricket.' Even though West Indies' pace bowlers were highly dangerous, evoking the lore of their predecessors, a lack of batting depth - which could have been propped up by several players opting to play in America's lucrative Major League Cricket - was exposed by Australia in three fairly one-sided Tests. Australia thrashed West Indies in the recent Test series (Photo by RANDY BROOKS/AFP via Getty ... More Images) None of the Tests reached the fifth and final day, while only the second Test made it to the fourth. Crowds were generally modest, with Australian tourists inflating the numbers. 'It was loss making. There is no money to be made from an Australian tour,' Dehring said. There was an air of melancholy from Australians in the Caribbean, with a feeling that this might be Australia's last Test tour of the West Indies. It was once a marquee contest that was played over 5 Tests just 22 years ago, but this series represented Australia's first Test visit there in a decade. Dehring does not believe this marks the end of the rivalry on Caribbean terrain. 'We absolutely want to host Australia in the next FTP (Future Tours Programme) and hopefully for three Tests,' he said. "Even if it's loss making, that's nothing new because it's always been loss making. You can't become the best if you're not willing to play the best.' While West Indies' heyday - when this group of mostly British Commonwealth countries and territories ruled cricket in the 1970s and '80s - conjures much nostalgia, there is a realization that those giddy heights will never be reached again. But as gleaned through so many West Indian players being in hot demand on the T20 franchise circuit, there remains an abundance of talent. Activating the grassroots is key and cricket's newly-minted Olympic status might help ignite this across the Caribbean. Cricket will end an 128-year Olympic absence at Los Angeles 2028. As I reported last week, regional rankings are set to mostly decide which teams make the cut for the men's competition played from July 12-29 in Pomona, 30 miles east of Los Angeles. Cricket will be played at the LA Olympics (Photo by INDRANIL MUKHERJEE/AFP via Getty Images) With host U.S. set to be given an automatic berth in the men's competition, a regional competition in the Caribbean is expected next year to determine which nation will represent the West Indies at a global qualifier set to feature eight teams battling for the final men's Olympic spot. 'It's a massive opportunity to change the game of cricket the Caribbean,' Dehring said. "When it was finally announced that cricket was back in the Olympics, I knew that this is our moment. "We've seen what the Olympics does for track and field in countries like Jamaica and Saint Lucia and so on. It pulls so many kids into the sport and into that sport's pipeline. 'This is a huge opportunity for corporates and governments to invest in cricket, especially at the school level.' As the only Full Members - granted to 12 top nations who receive more funds, playing opportunities and power - in the Americas, the West Indies have an important role in developing cricket in the U.S, the ICC's No.1 target market. They occasionally host limited-overs series in nearby Florida, while a couple of U.S. teams competed in the West Indies U19 50-over championships recently in St. Kitts & Nevis. The West Indies and U.S. co-hosted last year's T20 World Cup. The emergence of cricket in the U.S - despite the continual tumult of its governing body - has seen infrastructure start getting put in place for MLC, providing left-field options for its high-profile neighbors. 'The U.S. is a very important market because of the diaspora,' Dehring said. 'It's a huge income source for the Caribbean. "We would love to play in New York and it doesn't have to be West Indies. A Jamaica versus Trinidad game in New York would be massive. Some regional games could be played there and be huge." The U.S. may be the focus, but shoring up the entire Americas - where cricket does not have much of a traditional footprint - will be particularly beneficial for West Indies, who have to go deep into the pockets to cover travel costs of playing in far-flung cricket countries. 'The stronger the Americas get, the better it is for us," Dehring said. "Our youth teams just don't play enough because it is too costly going to the other side of the world. 'We have to help develop our own backyard.' West Indies have staged series at the Central Broward Regional Park in Lauderhill, Florida (Photo by ... More CHANDAN KHANNA/AFP via Getty Images) CWI is advocating for the implementation of a regional body, which could then lead to the creation of annual tournaments across the Americas with powerhouse regional countries Brazil and Argentina starting to emerge from the cricket wilderness. Four teams from the Caribbean will compete in the Bolivarian Games later this year in Peru, while cricket has been included in the 2027 Pan American Games in Lima. 'We want to formally create a wider association to look at creating a calendar of events over many years, just like track and field has done in the Americas,' Dehring said. 'An Americas Cup is the vision and should be coming together in some form down the track."
New York Times
31 minutes ago
- New York Times
All-Star Jacob Wilson, an AL Rookie of the Year candidate, lands on IL with broken forearm
Two weeks after he was the American League's starting shortstop in the All-Star Game, Athletics rookie Jacob Wilson is on the injured list with a broken left forearm, putting a significant damper on his candidacy for AL Rookie of the Year. The 23-year-old was batting .312/.354/.439 with 10 home runs in 94 games this season, though he had only four hits in 38 at-bats since being hit in the left arm by a pitch on July 8. He last played on July 25th. The A's have recalled infielder Darell Hernaiz from Triple A to take Wilson's spot on the roster. Advertisement Wilson got off to a red-hot start this season and was batting .337 as late as July 4, but was batting only .191 over his last 30 games and had started to lose ground in the AL Rookie of the Year race to teammate Nick Kurtz, who won the AL's Player of the Week award each of the past two weeks and hit four home runs in a game last Friday. Kurtz, who didn't make his major-league debut until April 23, is now leading the A's in bWAR with 3.4 and is batting .308/.376/.676 with 23 home runs in 68 games. The No. 6 pick in the 2023 MLB Draft, Wilson has had little trouble hitting for average since turning pro, batting .299 in 122 major-league games dating back to last season and .401 in 79 minor-league games. He's had trouble staying on the field, however. In his major-league debut last season, Wilson strained a hamstring running the bases after collecting a hit in his first at-bat. He missed more than a month with that injury and has missed games this season with hamstring soreness. He also missed time earlier in the 2024 season with knee soreness while with Triple-A Las Vegas. His pro debut season in 2023 also ended three weeks early with lower-body soreness. Wilson's injury further thins the A's at shortstop. The team is already missing 2021 first-round pick Max Muncy, who landed on the IL with a broken hand last week. Muncy had been playing all over the infield with Wilson getting the bulk of the time at short, but he is a natural shortstop. Utility man Max Schuemann has played short in Wilson's place recently and figures to share time at the position with Hernaiz. Acquired from the Orioles for left-hander Cole Irvin before the 2023 season, Hernaiz made the A's roster out of spring training last year but struggled and hit only .192 in 120 at-bats. He was playing well for Las Vegas, batting .305/.383/.424 in 96 games.
