
Jamie George predicts Lions will face backlash from ‘much better' Australia
The Lions seized a 1-0 lead in the series after prevailing 27-19 at Suncorp Stadium but are braced for the backlash with bulldozing forwards Will Skelton and Rob Valetini set to return from calf injuries to reinforce the Wallabies.
George starts against the First Nations and Pasifika XV on Tuesday in an opportunity to force his way into Andy Farrell's Test plans in what will be the first appearance of his third Lions tour.
'In my eyes, I don't see a world where Australia looked like winning the first Test,' said George, a late call-up from England's tour of Argentina.
'In the first half of that Test, the physicality that I saw from the Lions team was something else. Tom Curry was on jet fuel. It was crazy. There were some seriously good performances.
'We're 1-0 up in the series and the potential of the team is huge, but I'm expecting a much better Australia team.
'I think they would have been disappointed with the way they played. There's talk of them bringing in some pretty big hitters.
'That means they're going to be a much better team. Is Test two going to go nuclear? I imagine so, from both sides.'

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BBC News
6 minutes ago
- BBC News
'It would be cool to be the fastest of all time'
British sprinter Matthew Richardson wants to become the "fastest track cyclist of all time" as he aims to break the 200m flying start time trial world record in Turkey next who switched his allegiance to Great Britain from Australia after the Paris Olympics last summer, is attempting to break the record that stands at 9.088 is one of three British cyclists bidding to break records on the same track on 14 August, with Charlie Tanfield attempting the elite hour mark and para-cyclist Will Bjergfelt taking on the C5 category hour milestone."It has a nice ring to it, being the fastest track discipline," Richardson said. "There's no extra caveats to it afterwards - it's in a flat 200 [metres], you reached the highest peak speed possible on the track. It'd be cool, if I do it, to call myself the fastest of all time," Richardson, who was born in Maidstone, Kent and moved to Western Australia aged nine, won two silver medals and a bronze for Australia last summer before switching his won a trio of sprint titles at the British Track Championships at the start of the year, and followed it with two golds on his Great Britain debut at the Nations Cup in March, on the Konya track in Turkey where the new attempts will all take briefly set a new flying 200m record at the Olympics of 9.091 seconds, before Dutchman Harrie Lavreysen broke it minutes 26-year-old said he was "confident" going into next week and that the record would fall below nine seconds soon - a feat that requires speeds of more than 80km/hr."I'm pretty confident that I'm in a really good place to get the job done," he said."It's a bit of a race between Harrie and I to be the first person to do it [break nine seconds]. It's been on my radar for the last couple of years as the world's got a bit closer and closer to going below nine." Tanfield is aiming to become the fourth British man to break the hour record, registering the biggest distance cycled around a track in 60 minutes - since the UCI (International Cycling Union) changed the rules in 2014 - following Alex Dowsett, Bradley Wiggins and Dan current record stands at 56.792km set by Italy's Filippo Ganna in 2022."I identified this year after the Games as a time when I'd have the freedom to give it a go," Tanfield said."I've been preparing for this since I started training again after the Games, so there's been months of training and learning to get to this point. On the day my goal is to execute the perfect ride for my ability, if can do that and put it all together I'll be happy." 'I want to be the first para-cyclist to crack 50km' Bjergfelt said the C5 hour record of 47.569km, set in 2014 by Italy's Andrea Tarlao, had been something he had wanted to attempt for a long time. The 46-year-old believes the advancements in technology over the past 11 years make not only breaking it achievable but also adding considerably to the distance."Aerodynamics have evolved massively, I feel I'll be in a very, very good place to forward the record on and push it on and make it something big again," Bjergfelt said."I definitely want to see if I can crack 50km, if so I'll be the first C5 para-cyclist to break that barrier. That would be something that's pretty special. "I want to put out there that if you do have an impairment or a slight disability there's so many amazing things that you can do that it shouldn't hold anyone back." Bjergfelt made history in 2021 as the first para-cyclist to race in the men's Tour of Britain and he is back juggling full-time work as an engineer alongside racing after taking two years off to focus on hour record is known for being one of the most gruelling tests in cycling and Bjergfelt said the challenge is managing your effort to perfection."With the hour record you have to be really conservative in the first 40-45 minutes. You still want to be on a pace to beat the record but you have to be really within yourself, because it's an effort that comes back to bite you," he said. "In that last 10, 15 minutes that's where hopefully I'll be on pace to have broken the record and at the same time I'll still have enough in the tank to really extend myself in the last five minutes."


Daily Mirror
7 minutes ago
- Daily Mirror
Ferrari told to snub Oliver Bearman for 'super' F1 rookie to replace Lewis Hamilton
Lewis Hamilton raised doubts over his own Formula 1 future at the Hungarian Grand Prix when he responded to his qualifying nightmare by saying Ferrari 'should change driver' Bernie Ecclestone thinks Ferrari should look towards two Formula 1 rookies when identifying a potential replacement for Lewis Hamilton. But the 94-year-old former F1 supremo did not mention the name of Oliver Bearman who is the one actually being prepared by Ferrari as Hamilton's eventual successor. Hamilton's future is firmly in the spotlight right now as a result of his comments at the Hungarian Grand Prix. After qualifying 12th in Budapest, the seven-time F1 champion declared himself "useless" and said his team "probably need to change driver". His mood was not much better a day later when he failed to make any progress in the race and finished where he started, one lap down on the leaders. But Hamilton did at least tell reporters that he would be back after the summer break and that he still loves racing. Ferrari team principal Frederic Vasseur has also jumped to the defence of his driver and it is understood that the team is not even beginning to entertain the idea of replacing Hamilton, either during this season or before the end of his contract which currently runs until the end of 2026. If they were to make a change, they would in theory turn to one of their reserve drivers, Zhou Guanyu and Antonio Giovinazzi, both of whom are former F1 racers with Sauber, or British academy graduate Bearman who is currently plying his trade with customer team Haas and who is seen as Hamilton's eventual successor. But Bernie Ecclestone believes there are a couple of other rookies on the grid who should also be considered. "If I could steal him, I would take Isack Hadjar from Racing Bulls," the former F1 supremo told Mail Sport. "He has done super well in his first year and is a great guy. I also rate our friend from Brazil [Sauber driver Gabriel Bortoleto ]. He is talented. Both of them are sensible, too." While it is unlikely that Hamilton will give up on his dream of winning an eighth F1 title just yet, Ecclestone believes it is time for the 40-year-old to move on. He said: "Lewis is very talented, was and probably still is. But, like a lot of leading sports personalities when they reach the top, there is only one way to go, and it is not a good direction. It is only down. Sky Sports launches discounted Formula 1 package This article contains affiliate links, we will receive a commission on any sales we generate from it. Learn more £43 £35 Sky Get Sky Sports here Product Description "They get tired. Lewis is tired. He has been doing what he is doing forever. He needs a rest from it for good, a total reset to do something completely different. He may not think it, but he will soon get used to doing other stuff away from motor racing in retirement. I think he should have done it a while ago. The guy is not a cheat. But he would be cheating himself if he goes on. He should stop now. "If I were looking after him I would negotiate with Ferrari immediately and say, 'If you have someone to replace Lewis, he will step aside. He is not fighting for a World championship and is at a stage of his life when it would not be worth him spending two years laid up in bed with a broken back or anything else nasty. He does not need to take the risk any longer. He has won seven world titles and that is quite enough."


The Guardian
15 minutes ago
- The Guardian
Lions writer awards: man of the series, unsung hero and where tourists should go next
Man of series Finn Russell was at the heart of everything the Lions did well. Calm, assured, skilful and accurate from the tee. Chapeau. Try of series Tom Wright, second Test, Melbourne. What a ripper! Joseph-Aukuso Suaalii's midfield break split the Lions wide open and Wright's touchdown put his side 23-5 up. Biggest villain Has to be Australia's now-convicted 'mushroom murderer' Erin Patterson. Her shocking court case pushed the Lions way down the news agenda. Unsung hero Jac Morgan. The brave back-rower never started a Test but Wales's solitary representative did himself – and his country – proud. Favourite moment Everything about the second Test was brilliant. The stroll down to the iconic MCG, the pre-match vibe – excellent use of AC/DC's Hells Bells as intro music – followed by a belting game in front of 90,000 fans. This year's cricket Ashes will be fun. Worst moment Idly looking around for my laptop bag only to realise – agh! – I'd left it in a Sydney taxi which was now 25km away. Fortunately, there was a happy ending. This Lions tour was … A reminder that sport is nothing without an audience. The previous Lions tour in South Africa took place behind closed doors; this one was enhanced by up to 40,000 visiting supporters, many of whom have been saving up to make the trip for years. All hail the sea of red. Next stop for Lions should be … To sit down and reimagine what future Lions tours should look like. Australia in 2037 including games in Japan and Fiji? France? South America? Or maybe an oval-ball Ryder Cup equivalent: Europe v the Rest of the World? Before somebody else launches it instead. Man of series Will Skelton, Australia. The cumulative scoreboard reflects that with the 23st second row on the field, the Wallabies comfortably outscored the Lions. The overarching feeling at full-time in Sydney was just what might have happened had he been fit in Brisbane. Try of series Tomos Williams for Lions v Western Force. Williams's second try of the match was a peach. Mack Hansen made the initial break, offloading inside to James Lowe, who found Williams dashing down the wing. The scrum-half exchanged passes with Lowe again before diving in the corner. Such a shame he injured his hamstring in doing so. Biggest villain Not one individual but the TMO – a role occupied by various officials throughout – did not have a great tour. In Sydney on Saturday, Dan Sheehan's blatant illegal clearout on Tom Lynagh went unpunished before a second-half check for the most innocuous of occurrences. Unsung hero Charlie Gamble, Waratahs and First Nations & Pasifika XV. Maybe not unsung given he was named player of the match for the FNP side and was praised for his performance for the Waratahs, but the beauty of tours such as this is watching players such as Gamble rewarded with an unlikely appearance in the series. Alas it didn't happen. Favourite moment Owen Farrell giving his boots to a child who had run on to the pitch in Sydney, only to be led away by security. These are the sorts of gestures made by Farrell that tend to go unnoticed by those who love to slate the only member of this squad with two series wins to his name. Worst moment Sweet Caroline, or something similarly obnoxious, blaring out while players are receiving treatment for worrying looking injuries. It has happened far too often, most recently when James Ryan was knocked cold for a couple of minutes in Sydney. Tone deaf. This Lions tour was … A slow burner and suddenly over too quickly, leaving a lingering sense of frustration that the Wallabies started the Test series so tamely. It did reach a stunning peak at the MCG and it should also be said it is always a stunning country to travel. Next stop for Lions should be … The couch or beach. It is August, the new football season is almost upon us and most of these players – some clearly running on fumes in Sydney – have been going non-step since last September. There are mandated rest periods at the start of next season and the hope is that they are stuck to. Man of series Will Skelton. The return of the Wallabies' lock flipped the series' momentum and he starred again in the third Test. Try of series Tom Wright, second Test. Joseph-Aukuso Suaalii lacerated the Lions' midfield with his left foot and when Wright crossed, for a moment, Australia believed. Biggest villain Dan Sheehan. Tom Curry tackling a mid-air Tom Lynagh was egregious but Dan Sheehan's elbow to Lynagh's head was downright ugly. Unsung hero Ellis Genge. The prop was unlucky to be benched after a dominant first Test but helped to turn the second match in Melbourne to secure the series. Favourite moment The sheer drama of the final minute of the second Test, in front of 90,000, won't quickly be forgotten. The controversy made the Wallabies relevant to Australians again. Worst moment The Wallabies were flying at the MCG but Tom Lynagh's fumble and Joseph-Aukuso Suaalii's infringement both led to tries that handed the Lions the impetus and ultimately the series. This Lions tour was … A reset for Wallabies fans, who can now look to the home 2027 World Cup with optimism. Wait, here come the Springboks, Pumas and All Blacks again. Next stop for Lions should be … To book a Lions Women tour to Australia in 2031.