SIR CLIVE WOODWARD: A Lions series win has always got to be applauded, so big congratulations to Andy Farrell and Maro Itoje - but here is why I don't think the Class of 2025 can be seen in the same bracket as the best ones like 1974 or 1997
How will this tour be remembered? A lot of it depends on the outcome and there's no doubt they will have slipped down the pecking order a bit because of how it went in this last Test.
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Reuters
8 minutes ago
- Reuters
McIntosh signs off from stellar world championships with fourth gold
Aug 3 (Reuters) - Summer McIntosh capped a brilliant world championships with the 400 metres individual medley (IM) title and a fourth individual gold medal while Leon Marchand roared to victory in the men's event in Singapore on Sunday. The United States set a world record in the women's 4x100 medley relay to win the final title and ensure they topped the medals table with nine golds, one ahead of Australia. France finished third with Canada fourth, all four of their golds won by 18-year-old McIntosh, only the third swimmer to win five individual medals at a world championships, joining Michael Phelps (2007) and Sarah Sjostrom (2019). McIntosh blitzed the field in the 400 IM with a time of 4:25.78, the world record holder coming home more than seven seconds ahead of joint silver medallists Jenna Forrester of Australia and Japan's Mio Narita. China's 12-year-old prodigy Yu Zidi finished just off the podium again having also come fourth in the 200 IM and 200 butterfly. Olympic champion McIntosh's third 400 IM world title added to her 200 IM, 200 butterfly and 400 freestyle golds at the World Aquatics Championships Arena in Singapore, with only the 800 freestyle won by the great Katie Ledecky eluding her. Marchand, dubbed the 'French Phelps', nearly missed the 400 IM final after a slow heat in the morning but was back to his best in the evening, clocking 4:04.73 to finish well clear of Japan's Tomoyuki Matsushita, the Paris Olympics runnerup behind Marchand. It was a stripped-back programme from Paris where Marchand won four individual titles but he made it count with the 200 IM world record on the way to the title earlier in the week. Two years after Tunisia's Ahmed Hafnaoui won the 800 and 1,500 freestyle at the Fukuoka championships, compatriot Ahmed Jaouadi completed the double by winning the 1,500 in 14:34.41 ahead of German Sven Schwarz and American Olympic champion Bobby Finke. Jaouadi shaved nearly nine seconds off his personal best and said it was a struggle. "I wasn't the only one. My body was in a lot of pain," he added. "But through my mind is that I want this medal and I want to win it." The big names may dominate the headlines but Australian relay stalwart Meg Harris grabbed the spotlight for herself as she won 50 freestyle gold in 24.02 ahead of Chinese duo Wu Qingfeng (24.26) and Cheng Yujie (24.28). The 23-year-old Harris clinched her first individual title on the global stage after sharing two Olympic and five world relay golds in the last four years. No Russian athletes competed at last year's world championships in Doha but the nation's swimmers have racked up medals in Singapore under a neutral flag. Russians were allowed to compete on condition they have not publicly supported the invasion of Ukraine and have no affiliation to the Russian military. Russian Kliment Kolesnikov stormed to the men's 50 backstroke title in 23.68, just 0.13 off his world record, while compatriot Pavel Samusenko took a silver along with South African Pieter Coetze, each finishing in 24.17. Russian swimmers then combined to win a shock gold in the men's 4x100 medley, giving the world record (3:26.78) a huge shake with a time of 3:26.93, a second clear of France. With the U.S. men taking bronze it was up to the nation's women to secure top spot on the medal table in the final event of the night by beating Australia. They did just that and in some style, Regan Smith, Kate Douglass, Gretchen Walsh and Torri Huske combining to set a world record of 3:49.34, improving on the U.S. mark of 3:49.63 set at the Paris Games. World record holder Ruta Meilutyte earlier powered to the 50 breaststroke gold in 29.55, nearly half a second clear of China's Tang Qianting. It was the Lithuanian's fourth successive world title in the event since returning from a two-year ban for anti-doping violations. Retiring American Lilly King, who won the 100 breaststroke at the Rio 2016 Games, bowed out fifth in her last individual event.
BBC News
8 minutes ago
- BBC News
Wales stars must 'want a piece of Lions action'
British and Irish Lions' Welsh chairman Ieuan Evans has urged Jac Morgan's leading compatriots to set their sights on making the 2029 tour to New was originally one of only two Welshmen in the touring squad and won two caps off the bench as Andy Farrell's side beat Australia scored a try in Saturday's final Test defeat in Sydney and was at the centre of the tour's most controversial moment in the clearout on Carlo Tizzano at a ruck in the build-up to Hugo Keenan's winning second-Test try was deemed over that incident has continued to rage, but Evans wants Morgan's impact at home to serve as inspiration.'That needs to drive players to say 'ok, I want a piece of the action. I want to be playing in four years time in New Zealand'," said former Wales and Lions wing Evans. "Fingers crossed that the future is bright for Welsh rugby and the Welsh national team.'' Farrell named Morgan and Gloucester scrum-half Tomos Williams in his original squad, but the latter was ruled out after suffering a hamstring injury in the opening game in Ospreys star was omitted from the first Test, but after entering the fray in the second in Melbourne, played a crucial part in the late drama that sealed the series.''If you weren't captured by the drama of that second Test at the MCG then, quite frankly, you haven't got a soul," said Evans. "That was exactly what a sporting legacy is all about, that's what sport is supposed to do at such an iconic venue as the MCG.'''If I'd have had a lifestyle watch on at the time, 'it'd have probably told me to go to ER very, very quickly. "But we got the result and it was a remarkable performance and again, one of character.'' Goodwill from the players 'important' While there are no plans to move away from the traditional touring schedule of Australia, New Zealand and South Africa, Evans says a full review of the past few weeks will take place. The Lions are open to freshening up the tour format to bolster the matches before the Test series, which were largely underwhelming in Australia.''Obviously New Zealand brings different parameters around touring. But the players have had a great time and we'll make sure that's the case because that goodwill from the players, is really important and you've got to keep replenishing that. "You can't rely on it because hubris gets everybody eventually. You can't just assume that this is the norm and everybody is going to love this for eternity. "We'll look, we'll assess, so we can do things differently.''
Powys County Times
25 minutes ago
- Powys County Times
Lions chief executive says Andy Farrell in ‘strong position' to return as coach
Andy Farrell's credentials to remain British and Irish Lions head coach for the 2029 tour to New Zealand have been endorsed by chief executive Ben Calveley. Farrell has steered the Lions to their first series triumph since 2013 with Saturday's 22-12 defeat by the Wallabies in Sydney the only loss of their nine-fixture visit to Australia. Even if their march towards the whitewash was conclusively halted at the final hurdle, the 50-year-old Ireland boss has presided over a successful tour notable for its results, squad cohesion, commitment to playing rugby and the character shown to win the second Test in the dying seconds. #Lions2025: completed ✅ — British & Irish Lions (@lionsofficial) August 2, 2025 Planning for 2029 is already underway with Calveley promising a similar structure and number of games to the itinerary just completed, although the final midweek fixture will be looked at closely because of the disruption it causes to Test preparations. Farrell is the favourite to lead that expedition and Calveley suggests that the most coveted post in British and Irish rugby is currently his to lose. 'Andy's done an incredible job and I have really enjoyed working with him,' Calveley said. 'I go right back to when I first met him to offer him the role. You could see right then that we had made the right decision in appointing Andy. 'Since he has started full time back in December, he has brought a real focus to the operation which has ultimately resulted in success on the field of play. We will now give him a bit of time off. 'When it comes to our appointments for future tours, we will start the process in about two years and I don't think it would be right to comment on where it ends up. But certainly he has put himself in a very strong position, let's put it that way.' Series winners, 2025 🏆🦁 #Lions2025 — British & Irish Lions (@lionsofficial) August 2, 2025 Australia entered the series ranked eighth in the world and their credibility as an ongoing Lions tour destination was at stake before the Suncorp Stadium opener. Their thumping in Brisbane was an inauspicious start, but at Melbourne Cricket Ground they went within 51 seconds of levelling the series before emerging emphatic winners on Saturday. The Lions won the series by an aggregate score of just 68-67 and their opponents led for more time across the three Tests. Factor in profits that are 'significantly higher than anything we've seen in the past' and it is clear that the Wallabies will continue to be adversaries for the elite of British and Irish rugby. 'I would absolutely envisage returning to Australia. I know there's been loads of speculation about whether that would be the case or not, but we've had a wonderful tour here,' Calveley said. 'It's 100 per cent our ambition to return and we would want the next one to be bigger and better than this one.' The Lions are seen as potentially being vulnerable to the proposed new breakaway franchise league R360, but Calveley insists their pulling power remains as strong as ever. 'You have seen these quotes come from players at every stage throughout the tour is that they remain absolutely committed to the Lions,' he said. 'We all know that we have our place in the calendar baked into regulation 9 and I wouldn't see that changing in the future. 'Our relationship with the professional game is better than it has ever been and I would see that continuing in the future.'
