All Blacks prop Williams ruled out of France series
June 30 (Reuters) - All Blacks prop Tamaiti Williams has been ruled out of the test series against France with a knee injury, New Zealand Rugby (NZR) confirmed on Monday.
Williams pulled up sore after helping the Canterbury Crusaders beat the Waikato Chiefs in the Super Rugby championship-decider, and scans later revealed a torn meniscus. NZR said surgery would be required.
George Bower has been brought into the squad to replace Williams ahead of the series-opener against the French in Dunedin on Saturday.
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Wales Online
an hour ago
- Wales Online
All Black launches live TV rant at 'disrespectful' France
Our community members are treated to special offers, promotions and adverts from us and our partners. You can check out at any time. More info All Blacks legend Justin Marshall has heavily criticised France for sending a vastly underpowered squad to New Zealand this summer. The average age of the French squad is just over 25, with head coach Fabien Galthie deciding to leave out 20 'premium' internationals for the Test series against the All Blacks. That means the likes of Romain Ntamack, Damien Penaud and Gregory Alldritt will be staying at home this summer. Speaking on Sky Sports New Zealand's 'Breakdown' show, Marshall labelled their decision to leave out key players as "complete BS". The French Rugby Federation (FFR) and National Rugby League (LNR), who are in charge of the clubs, agreed in October last year that players who feature in the Top 14 final cannot take part in the mid-year internationals. This was an amendment to Galthie's premium player policy that rested players key to the national set-up, regardless of where they finished. With Toulouse and Bordeaux-Begles taking part in the Top 14 final last weekend, that means a large chunk of elite French players could not be selected for the summer's tour. "To be honest, I'm really disappointed, the way the side that the French have brought is clearly underpowered, the average age of 25 ,the average number of caps is 9.3," Marshall told The Breakdown on Sky Sports. Sign up to Inside Welsh rugby on Substack for the exclusive five-week tour diary from Japan and Australia. "This is a side that has a very little amount of experience and then at the end of the day, 49% of the players have got no caps at all. So it's a development team with a few senior players involved. "In my mind, it's complete BS the way that they're treating this tour, the way that the French always seem to have come up with excuses to not bring their top players, I feel they disrespect the international window. "I'm not going to say that it's not going to be a contest out there, but our fans deserve to see their best players playing in our country against our All Blacks because we do that in November to them, we send our very best players for filling their stadiums and giving the fans the best experience they can get by seeing the best players in the world. "They are not doing that and if they keep doing this, which is quite regular for them, just don't invite them. We'll play someone else, it's still going to be a good series, and they'll be competitive, and they've got depth. "But the reality is, they've left 70% of their best players in France, and I just don't feel that that is within the decency and the respect of the game." Watch the clip below. Speaking to L'Equipe, Galthie clarified why France do this. "We follow a hundred players. But above all we have identified a 'premium' group of 20 players," he said. "We want them to have consistent development. We want to work hand-in-hand with the league and the clubs. Our goal is for players to be able to give the best of themselves in the French team, but also in club. We want to go further while taking into account the challenges of the clubs. "Players will benefit from four mandatory weeks off and four weeks without matches." Galthie also argues that northern hemisphere players take part in seven or more games than their southern hemisphere counter-parts, which means Les Bleus feel they must manage the workload to avoid injury. (Image: (Photo by)) Conversely, French players reportedly do not agree with this policy, and view a tour New Zealand as a unique opportunity. "He's run into some real opposition over that from his own players," commentator Tony Johnson told Sport Nation's Afternoons with Staffy. "They want to come on this tour. They still see a series in New Zealand against the All Blacks as one of the ultimate challenges in rugby - perhaps the ultimate challenge outside of the World Cup." When this system was implemented by France in October, New Zealand Rugby even asked World Rugby for clarity around the rules, with regulation nine stating that players must be made available for international windows.
Daily Mirror
2 hours ago
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William wishes Lionesses luck for Euros and says men could learn from them
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The Sun
2 hours ago
- The Sun
I'm an OnlyFans model about to take on Novak Djokovic at Wimbledon, here's what I'm allowed to post – and what's banned
NOVAK DJOKOVIC will face a French tennis star on Tuesday who has a side hustle as an OnlyFans model. Alexandre Muller – the world No.41 – will face the legendary 24-time Grand Slam champion on Centre Court on Tuesday. 6 6 The 28-year-old has never been beyond the second round of a major in 12 attempts. But he has gained an army of fans outside the sport because of his account on the infamous adult site. In his biography, he describes himself as 'sexiest professional tennis player from France'. OnlyFans is a platform where people can post risque photos and images of themselves, some of which are semi-pornographic, and earn lots of cash from the public. Muller, who has earned more than $3million (£2.2m) in career tennis prize money, insists he does not do anything bar the odd topless gym photo. France's No.4 best player says the site organisers are trying to change their tardy image and he likes to show off instead behind-the-scenes footage from tournaments around the world. However, he is NOT allowed to post content from the Wimbledon locker rooms and can only show off facilities which are in public areas. Speaking to SunSport, Muller said: 'My agent told me that OnlyFans wanted to support me. BEST ONLINE CASINOS - TOP SITES IN THE UK 6 6 'Of course, I was thinking, is it a bit tricky to sign with OnlyFans? But to see the project, they want to change their image. 'They are supporting lots of players, golfers, boxers, UFC fighters, a lot of sportsmen. 'How is that even a sponsor-' – Tennis star thrilled to make biggest-ever final… but fans can't stop staring at his hat 'At the beginning my friends were laughing at me. Then I showed them my platform and they said: 'Okay, it's very cool.' Everybody wants to sign up now. 'I started two years ago. After two-three months the ATP (the sport's governing body) told me to get the OnlyFans logo off my sleeve. 'They said it was not the image of the ATP and wanted me to stop.' Other tennis stars on the site include Australian maverick Nick Kyrgios, French ace Chloe Paquet and Spaniard Pedro Martinez, who faces Britain's George Loffhagen in the first round on Tuesday. Muller says that the interactions with punters is much nicer on OnlyFans compared to the nasty betting messages he gets off angry individuals via Instagram. 6 Wimbledon 2025 LIVE - follow all the latest scores and updates from a thrilling fortnight at SW19 The Poissy-born star, who won the Hong Kong Open in January, said: 'On Instagram, I receive only messages from the guys who bet on me and lose money, who say a lot of bad words. 'When I go on OnlyFans there are only real fans who support me and send some nice messages even after some matches I've lost. 'I enjoy talking to these kinds of people and not the guys on Instagram. 'About 99 per cent of people who talk to me are very nice. There's no problem. 'DO I POST RISQUE PHOTOS?' 'People ask me about what happens behind the scenes, what does it look like, the gym, the courts. I just post things about tennis. 'Do I post risque photos? No, no. I don't do it. Because I don't want to. 'My job is a tennis player. Not making movies for adults. I received a lot of messages, saying: 'Alex, can you show me this?' But not my body. 'I like to show people where I go in the world, some nice places, my routine. 'It's not easy every day being a tennis player. We train every week. Not a lot of days off or holidays. I enjoy this life. 'This year I won my first title. For the moment I don't have any pain anywhere, the physique is good, everything is great.' ++ OnlyFans has a huge range of sport creators offering exclusive behind the scenes content and insights into their training. Fans can check out Alexandre Müller's OnlyFans page at: 6
