
Head-to-head
Can Andy Farrell's class of 2025 make it eight series wins over Australia this summer?It all begins in Brisbane on Saturday (11:00 BST).
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The Sun
4 hours ago
- The Sun
I'm raising my toddler on a desert island… he loves daily swims & crab hunting, but it's not easy when he's sick
WALKING along the island's crystal-clear shoreline, my partner Heinrich and I smiled as our two year old excitedly pointed to a blue starfish. But we weren't on holiday – we were enjoying our morning walk, because we are the only residents of One Tree Island in the Pacific Ocean, where we're raising our son Lukas. 4 In October 2019, Heinrich and I moved here after a friend sent us details of two job vacancies for research station managers to host visiting researchers. I'd grown up near the coast in Australia and had a degree in marine biology, while Heinrich had worked as a free diver on a remote island, so we were excited to learn we'd both been successful in our interviews. When we arrived, I was blown away by the beauty. Surrounded by clear ocean, 100km from the mainland and 20km from the nearest island, it felt like our own paradise. We'd been working in Australia, New Zealand, Fiji and Tonga on boats, so it was great to have more space to explore nature and not feel so confined. But when the Covid pandemic struck a few months later, it felt very isolating. We had to go six weeks without a food delivery, and while we were prepared so didn't go hungry, I was craving texture after weeks of eating frozen fruit and veg. Then, in 2021, our island life was left in jeopardy when I became pregnant, as children weren't then allowed to live on One Tree. UK's loneliest school on remote island offers free accommodation & £41k salary - but you have a long way to get there Luckily, The University of Sydney, which manages the station, put a child policy in place. So, we left the island to give birth and returned with our baby three months later. We questioned if we were doing the right thing, but Lukas adores his daily swims and kayaking with Heinrich. Of course, having a baby presented a whole new set of challenges. Our days start earlier, as Lukas loves a 5am wake-up, but the sunrises over the reef are so beautiful that we now adore going for an early morning family walk. New challenges He enjoys looking for crabs and likes the porcupine rays. One night, I even found a mother green sea turtle in our front room! People assume our life is easy, but it's not always. Just before Lukas turned two, he caught scarlet fever from a researcher. Thankfully, we were able to talk to a doctor on the phone and use antibiotics we keep in our locked medical kit. Work-wise, we are constantly on call, and because we both work full-time we have an au pair living with us to help with Lukas. 4 4 Of course, Heinrich and I argue, but we have great communication skills, which is important when you live and work in close proximity. We also respect each other's space – I love to do workouts to blow off steam, while Heinrich has his workshop he can retreat to. We can't always get deliveries, so we plan food, medical supplies, fuel, you name it. Unpredictable weather We order groceries fortnightly, which come by barge to Heron Island, which can be a two-hour boat trip for us, depending on the weather. There's no dash to the store for late-night snacks, which means we eat pretty healthily! The unpredictable weather can be stressful, and while we've not had a major cyclone, there are evacuation plans in place. We have satellite phones and internet, but we can't just pop over to visit family and friends, who we miss. I don't worry about Lukas socialising, because researchers sometimes bring children with them and friends and family do visit. We also try to get off the island three times a year, and go on holidays. For now, we plan to have Lukas home-schooled on the island, but we don't yet know what the future holds. We feel so lucky to be bringing him up in a simple way without television or tablets. Hopefully, this experience stays with Lukas and he always remembers the remote paradise we were lucky enough to call home.'


The Independent
4 hours ago
- The Independent
How Tadhg Beirne responded to selection ‘pressure' with statement first Test performance
British and Irish Lions forward Tadhg Beirne has admitted that he 'felt the pressure' to produce a big performance in the first Test win against Australia after his selection had been questioned ahead of the game. Beirne had been somewhat surprisingly installed on the blindside by head coach Andy Farrell for the opening clash of the series against the Wallabies having been short of his best since arriving on tour. The 33-year-old Munster and Ireland forward upped his level, however, in Brisbane, combining with fellow flanker Tom Curry to set the tone physically as the Lions took a 1-0 lead in the series. While Curry would not be drawn on the criticism his own selection ahead of Jac Morgan and Josh van der Flier had garnered, Farrell hailed both he and Beirne as 'big game players'. And Beirne, who looks well placed to keep his place in Melbourne next week, admitted that he had been fuelled by a desire to prove the critics wrong and hit the heights he had been yet to reach in Australia. 'I felt the pressure,' Beirne conceded. 'I'm not going to lie, I did feel the pressure this week. There are some things you can't shy away from. A lot of people [were] calling for your head out there. 'I know my performances to this date weren't up to par by my standards. Faz [Farrell] has put a lot of trust in me and it was an honour to be selected. I had to put in a performance today. All of us did. 'This is the game. Big games. You want to perform. You either step up to it or you don't. I tried my best to step up to it and hopefully when [the coaches] review the game they will be happy with my performance. 'You have to back yourself, but I also knew that if I didn't put in a performance today that there was a good chance I won't be there next week. It's a credit to the whole team here because the whole team put in a great performance, particularly in the first half. We controlled the game really well.' The fight for back row places had shaped as a theme of the tour from the moment Farrell named his party, with real strength in the area. The exclusion of Morgan, particularly, had attracted attention with the openside in fine form as the last Welshman in the touring party. Beirne revealed that Farrell had underlined to he, Curry, No 8 Jack Conan and Ben Earl the need to be at their best given the internal competition for places. 'Look, Andy had a quiet word with the back row, the captains, and he said a few things to us,' the 33-year-old explained. 'He put a little bit of pressure on us without putting pressure on us, you know, as Andy does. 'But it gives you motivation and it gives you a little bit of realisation as to where his head's at and the opportunity that's being presented to us. Those words certainly sat with me for the 24 hours leading up to the game. 'That's the thing about the Lions. Any man next up has more than earned their spot. There's been incredible performances in the lead-up to these Tests. If I'd have gone down with an injury, [ Ollie Chessum ] would have went into six, no-one would have batted an eyelid there, not 'oh no, Tadhg's out', do you know what I mean? It would have been like 'great, Chess is in'. 'So that's the tour we're in. These guys everyone's gunning for a position here and everyone's worthy of a position here. The responsibility is on us to try and keep our positions.'


The Guardian
4 hours ago
- The Guardian
Dominant Lions must now deliver a display that can stand the test of time
Had the British & Irish Lions been offered their current position a month ago, they would have jumped at it. One-nil up in the series with two to play and the chance to seal the deal in one of the world's greatest sporting arenas? For anyone raised on the mythical deeds of past Lions tours this should be as good as it gets. So why was the mood so pancake-flat at the final whistle after the 27-19 first Test win in Brisbane? Primarily because the best sport requires at least a hint of jeopardy. From an early stage at the Suncorp Stadium, sadly, there was absolutely no doubt which side was going to win. For the first time in living memory, a Lions Test victory had become a foregone conclusion. The boot has occasionally been on the other foot, notably in 2005 when it swiftly became clear the All Blacks were a class above Sir Clive Woodward's squad. There is no massive shame when that happens, and to witness Dan Carter twinkling in the second Test was a privilege. But Saturday was different: playing against distinctly moderate opposition, the Lions were so far in front after 42 minutes that everything else became irrelevant. This is not remotely to diminish the excellence of Tom Curry, Finn Russell, Tadhg Beirne and Huw Jones, among others. The Lions can beat only whatever is put in front of them. If England's cricketers come over later this year and take a big early lead in the Ashes series they are not going to waste time worrying about the shaky state of Australia's top order. But, goodness, it has made the second Test this Saturday a bellwether fixture. Here's hoping the Wallabies, for the sake of all concerned, will emerge a lot quicker from the blocks this time. They should have Rob Valetini and Will Skelton back, and Angus Bell, among others, could be promoted from the bench. What the hosts cannot afford to be is as deeply mediocre as they were made to look in the first half in Brisbane. Because another one-sided contest would do more than just bruise Australian pride. If the gap cannot be narrowed it risks undermining everything this series is meant to be about. The Lions' unique appeal is based squarely on the four‑yearly crackle of pre-game anticipation. It also has to make onlookers feel they are watching something genuinely special. In that regard, the game on Saturday fell short of the levels required. In certain quarters, of course, this is a minor problem. The father of one high-profile Lions player, over a beer on the eve of the game, told me how sick he was of hearing about the need for a closely contested series to lure more neutral eyeballs. His view is that winning every Test convincingly and grinding the Wallabies into the dirt is all that matters. Lions series are about winning: they do not arrange open-top bus parades for plucky losers. On a basic sporting level he is, of course, correct. But when sold-out stadiums fall quiet and even rugby diehards at home start channel-hopping to find more gripping viewing, something is not quite right. If the Lions return home having barely been run close in a single competitive game in Australia it will be a desperately sad state of affairs. So, for everyone's sake, one of two things now has to happen. Either Australia must boomerang their way back into the series at the Melbourne Cricket Ground as a matter of urgency, or the Lions need to give a statement performance that will stand the test of time. Listening to Australia's head coach, Joe Schmidt, suggesting after the game that the experience of this Lions series would benefit his younger players in the forthcoming Rugby Championship is to suspect the second option is the more likely. Either way, Andy Farrell will surely be stressing the need to dial things up at the MCG. He will have been frustrated by the lack of bench impact in Brisbane and may be tempted to inject some fresh energy. Henry Pollock, Jac Morgan, Josh van der Flier, Owen Farrell, Blair Kinghorn and Jamie George could all enter the conversation, while Joe McCarthy's injury may prompt a modest forward reshuffle. Might Beirne and Ollie Chessum both start? One of them will probably have to feature in the second row. Sign up to The Breakdown The latest rugby union news and analysis, plus all the week's action reviewed after newsletter promotion Whoever plays, this feels like the 2025 Lions' defining moment. Farrell rightly hailed the big-match temperaments of Curry, Beirne, Russell and Jamison Gibson‑Park but will now be seeking an all‑court, 80-minute performance similar to the final Test in Sydney in 2013 when the Lions stood up magnificently with the series on the line. He will want James Lowe and Tommy Freeman to show they can finish as sharply as Australia's Max Jorgensen, for Jones and Sione Tuipulotu to dovetail sweetly once again, and for the Lions to generally be more ruthless in their opponents' 22. He will want more ball claimed in the air and even more pressure heaped on the Wallabies' playmakers. Above all else, perhaps, he will want his chosen ones to show that, even if they were facing the All Blacks or the Springboks, they possess the requisite class and composure. That the thousands of fans who have made the long pilgrimage here have invested shrewdly. And that, emotionally, the Lions are still capable of stirring feelings other teams cannot. If, alternatively, they allow Australia back into the series – or, heaven forbid, lose the last two Tests – they will regret it for the rest of their days.