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RTÉ News
6 days ago
- Sport
- RTÉ News
Preview: Lions won't be bowled over by history at the MCG
Only 21 games of rugby union have ever been played at the iconic Melbourne Cricket Ground. The British and Irish Lions didn't even exist when the Carlton football club hosted Waratah from New South Wales in June 1878 for that first game of rugby at the MCG. They played two games that weekend, one as a game of rugby, and the other under Victorian rules – the game we now know to be Australian Rules Football. An estimated 6,000 people were in attendance for that game, the result of which was disputed by both teams. The MCG will look a lot different this week, as the Wallabies and British and Irish Lions look to threaten the biggest ever crowd for a rugby game at Australia's most famous sporting venue, that being the 90,119 that watched Australia host New Zealand in 1997. The Lions have been here twice before, defeating Victoria on their 1899 and in 1930 tours, but they've never played a Test at 'The G'. In fact, this will be just the fifth international Test ever to be played at the ground, all four being Bledisloe Cup games between the Wallabies and the All Blacks. Rugby union is practically a minority sport in Melbourne, with pretty much everything playing far behind Aussie Rules during the winter in this town. However, it hasn't been an easy place for the Lions to visit. In 2001 and 2013 they brought a 1-0 lead to Docklands Stadium (now Marvel Stadium), where the Wallabies tied up the series, but it would take something special for Joe Schmidt's side to set up a deciding Test in Sydney next week. It was jarring to see how easily the Lions bullied the Wallabies a week ago in that first half as they cruised towards a 17-5 half-time lead, before extending it minutes after the break to effectively kill off the game. 'We were probably all a danger to ourselves, this wouldn't have happened.' #RTERugby podcast pundits @jonnyholland10 and @MurphyJohne hail Garry Ringrose for self-reporting a head injury after being included in the Lions starting XV for second Test — RTÉ Sport (@RTEsport) July 24, 2025 They played in a way we simply don't associate with a Joe Schmidt side, with Tom Lynagh floundering behind a pack that was going backwards phase on phase, and their attacking shape appearing disorganised and improvised – not in a good way. There was plenty of heart on display, but heart can only get you so far in a game of collisions, and their late rally to score two tries and put some respectability on the scoreboard was as much down to the tourists taking their foot off the gas rather than the Wallabies finding an extra gear. Farrell was clearly frustrated last Saturday evening at how his side took their foot off the throat in the final half an hour at Suncorp Stadium, and when he referred back to it on Thursday after naming his side for this week's second Test, he described it as a "dip in focus" from his players. "We thoroughly believe that we're way better than what we showed, and we've got another chance to prove that," he said, after naming his side for the second Test yesterday. Joe McCarthy (above) misses out due to the plantar fasciitis which forced him off early in the second half last week, and Farrell has resisted the temptation to move Tadhg Beirne into his usual position at lock, slotting Ollie Chessum in alongside captain Maro Itoje and retaining last week's exceptional back row trio of Beirne, Tom Curry and Jack Conan. Andrew Porter also starts, perhaps to create a change in the picture they present at the scrum after some decisions went the Wallabies way last week, but equally to unleash Ellis Genge's explosive qualities on a tiring Australian pack in the second half. In the centre, Bundee Aki (below) comes in for Scotland's Sione Tuipulotu, where Farrell had plans to pair him with his Ireland team-mate Garry Ringrose, but after the Leinster centre had to drop out due to concussion, Huw Jones came back into this week's line-up. Despite having played his Irish and Scottish centres together for the majority of this tour, Farrell is backing the Aki-Jones combination to gel. "At this stage of the tour, and well before this stage of the tour, actually, the combinations have been absolutely fine together. So Bundee and Huw will hit it off exactly like any other type of partnership. "These things happen in the warm-up of any game, the pressure is off and people tend to play freely because of that type of situation. Huw won't miss a beat in that regard," Farrell added. Given the head coach's frustrations at how little impact he got from his bench last week, his decision to shuffle the replacements is worth noting. Genge is arguably a victim of his own high-octane style of play, held back to keep the energy levels him when he comes on in the second half. With Chessum starting, James Ryan got the nod to step up to the bench, and while it's been suggested that Scot Cummings is the more in-form of the two, Ryan's abrasiveness at the breakdown is something Farrell has always valued. Farrell did go for the form option of Jac Morgan as his back row replacement ahead of Ben Earl's versatility, while the decision to play Owen Farrell over Marcus Smith as the replacement out-half shows the stock Andy is putting in leadership. For their worth, Australia have clearly addressed the power imbalance of last week in their selection. Leinster-nemesis Will Skelton - all 6ft 8in and 135kg of him – comes in at second row, while reigning Australian player of the year Rob Valetini has also recovered from injury to start. Flanker Langi Gleeson has also been declared fit, and is named on the bench, with Andrew Kellaway dropping out to allow for the 6:2 split, something the haven't done since a World Cup warm-up against France in 2023. While Skelton has been a consistent thorn in the side of the many Leinster players in this group, Valetini's return is more important for the Wallabies for his ball-carrying ability. 'A member of the Concrete XV', as described by the Sydney Morning Herald's Iain Payten (above) on this week's RTÉ Rugby Podcast, the Wallabies tried to share the burden of his ball-carrying in Brisbane last week, Nick Frost and Fraser McReight their two leading carriers in the pack with just 42 metres made from a combined 26 carries. If Valetini can get on the ball and make the Lions defence go backwards, the field could open up, with more time in the hands of Lynagh and more space in midfield for their wildcard, Joseph-Aukuso Suaalii. It should be a better Wallabies team than we saw in Brisbane, but the feeling is that it's still not good enough, and the performances of Taniela Tupou, Lukhan Salakai-Loto and Darcy Swain for the First Nations and Pasifika XV last week suggest that while there is top level talent in Australia at the moment, it's not all being picked by the Wallabies. Verdict: Lions Australia: Tom Wright; Max Jorgensen, Joseph-Aukuso Suaalii, Len Ikitau, Harry Potter; Tom Lynagh, Jake Gordon; James Slipper, David Porecki, Allan Alaalatoa; Nick Frost, Will Skelton; Rob Valetini, Fraser McReight, Harry Wilson. Replacements: Billy Pollard, Angus Bell, Tom Robertson, Jeremy Williams, Langi Gleeson, Carlo Tizzano, Tate McDermott, Ben Donaldson. British and Irish Lions: Hugo Keenan; Tommy Freeman, Huw Jones, Bundee Aki, James Lowe; Finn Russell, Jamison Gibson-Park; Andrew Porter, Dan Sheehan, Tadhg Furlong; Maro Itoje, Ollie Chessum; Tadhg Beirne, Tom Curry, Jack Conan.
The Age
23-07-2025
- Business
- The Age
AUKUS agreement: Trump official questions Australia's commitment amid Pentagon review
'That's still a jump ball as far as I'm concerned. Because the Australians have been noticeably fickle. We need to understand, Australia has a population of around 30 million people. It's a remarkably small tax base, and they are making a significant tax investment in this over the next 10 years.' A jump ball in basketball is similar to a ball-up in Australian Rules Football, where either team has a chance of gaining control of the play. Both Labor and the Coalition have expressed consistent commitment to AUKUS. Hendrix has also argued AUKUS does not provide enough capacity for Australian shipyards to repair American and British submarines, as well as Australian ones, and the US should 'more heavily leverage' the agreement. He has said of Australia and the Philippines: 'We're going to need them and their assistance and their basing rights and infrastructure, and I don't think they're ready to host Americans in the way that we're going to need to be hosted to do a counter-campaign to the Chinese invasion.' Hendrix appears to have deleted a number of posts on X about Australia and AUKUS. In one that is still online, from April 2024, he said there were two key questions – 'whether the Australian government will sustain their commitment across the coming years and change of governments', and 'whether the US will actually be willing to give up Virginia-class boats'. Loading Last week, Hendrix welcomed a news story that reported the Pentagon was asking Australia and Japan to make clear commitments about what they would do in a conflict between the US and China over Taiwan. 'Given these nations [are] critical [to] the task of logistically supporting US forces should we come to the aid of Taiwan, this inquiry is legitimate,' he said. 'I would be shocked to find that the previous administration hadn't asked the partners.' Reached by text, Hendrix declined to comment and referred questions to the White House. Spokeswoman Anna Kelly supplied a statement that said US shipbuilding had been neglected for decades and would be boosted by a $US43 billion ($66 billion) investment in the president's One Big Beautiful Bill. 'No president has done more to bolster American maritime power, and his White House Office of Shipbuilding will operate under the Office of Management and Budget,' she said. In their letter to Hegseth, Republican committee chair John Moolenaar and Democratic representative Raja Krishnamoorthi said AUKUS had bipartisan support in Congress for a reason, and that it would strengthen US security as well as that of Australia and the United Kingdom. They noted Beijing's 'unprecedented' live-fire exercises in the Tasman Sea in February. Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth watches a display of drone technology at the Pentagon on Wednesday. Credit: AP 'This attempt to project power as far south as New Zealand's front door highlights the importance of AUKUS in cementing ties to longstanding allies like Australia, as well as advancing vital undersea capabilities that will be central to deterrence,' they wrote. 'We are stronger together under the AUKUS framework.' The committee will hold a hearing on Wednesday in Washington on strategies to counter economic coercion by the Chinese Communist Party against democracies. Former Australian prime minister Scott Morrison, who brokered the AUKUS deal, is scheduled to appear, as is former US senator and ambassador to Japan Rahm Emanuel. Undersecretary of defence for policy Elbridge Colby, who is heading the Pentagon's AUKUS review, has posted actively on social media over the past fortnight, doubling down on his calls for American allies to 'step up'. Loading 'No one at the Pentagon is asking for a blank cheque from our allies. Rather, the United States and our allies all benefit from a reasonable expectation of what contributions we can anticipate each other to make,' he said on Monday, US time. 'That is why we are working closely with our allies to align expectations, an approach akin to what we have with NATO and South Korea. This will make our alliances sturdier and more equitable. That's just common sense.' Get a note directly from our foreign correspondents on what's making headlines around the world. Sign up for our weekly What in the World newsletter.
ABC News
19-07-2025
- Sport
- ABC News
Football has evolved, but Barrie Robran would have been a 'champion in any era'
It was typical of Barrie Robran that when he was asked to reflect on what he described as his "claim to fame" on the sporting field, he chose to dwell on the abilities of someone other than himself. What made his answer surprising was not so much its humility as the fact that it did not involve the sport with which Robran's name will be forever associated. Since his death last week at the age of 77, Robran has been widely remembered as the greatest Australian rules footballer South Australia has produced. But in an interview with the ABC a quarter of a century ago, Robran highlighted the time that he and Barry Richards — the swashbuckling South African who helped South Australia secure the 1970/71 Sheffield Shield — played cricket together for Adelaide side Prospect. "I say my claim to fame is that I opened the batting one year with Barry Richards, and he's the best cricketer or the best batsman that I've ever seen," Robran said. "I wasn't fortunate enough to ever have seen Don Bradman play but I wished in some way that I could because if Sir Donald was a better batsman than Barry Richards, I think my sporting life's the poorer for not having seen Sir Donald bat." The reflection was tender and poignant, and was uttered with the soft-spoken sincerity for which Robran was renowned. But in the eyes of at least one observer, there was perhaps no need for Robran to have felt the twinge of regret. While Robran may not have seen Bradman at the crease, commentator Bruce McAvaney is very much of the view that the former was, in some sense, an heir to the latter, and that their names will always belong in the same breath. "We're talking of the Bradman of footy," McAvaney said of Robran on Wednesday. Robran would naturally have rejected the comparison, but McAvaney was adamant. That genius will today be commemorated when Robran's North Adelaide takes on Port Adelaide in the SANFL at Prospect Oval. A minute's silence has been held before the bounce of every SANFL competition match this weekend, and players and umpires will again wear black armbands when the Roosters — for whom Robran played 201 matches — and Port Adelaide take to the field this afternoon. "He'd come to every game and sit on the eastern side with his deck chair and his two mates," Roosters CEO Craig Burton said. "The words 'good bloke' get thrown around a lot but he's right at the top of the list." In a statement released late on Friday, members of Robran's family said they had been "overwhelmed" by the "many kind and thoughtful words and memories" that had been shared about their "loving and caring husband, father, grandfather, and uncle". While they "respectfully declined" a government offer of a state service, they said they had taken "solace in the knowledge that Barrie's impact and influence on so many was so great, in such a positive way". "His loss will have a profound impact on us all and we will miss him dearly," the family said. "Those who knew him appreciated his humility, reflected in a preference to let his achievements speak for themselves. "We will be following Barrie's wishes for a small private family funeral." For some, Robran's death has been a moment to reflect on the passing not just of a great of the game, but of a golden age. Robran's biographer Bruce Pointon said those who had grown up watching South Australian football in the 1970s had been privileged to see some of the state's best-ever players, including Robran and Russell Ebert. "They were really stars and made the game quite attractive," he said. Part of the attraction, Pointon explained, was the fact that Australian rules was then a more open game. While Pointon said football had become faster and more intense, the way it was played in the 1970s showcased the game's basic skills. "In those days you had a position to play and the zone of your involvement in the game was fairly strongly insisted upon, 'You're a half-forward flanker, you're a back pocket, so what are you doing down at centre wing?' "There was a much bigger emphasis on the position that the person played and therefore the role that that implied." Another major difference between football then and now is the remuneration to which players are entitled — a point made by Robran himself in his interview with ABC Radio in 2000. "The first year I played football in Adelaide for North Adelaide, I played 19 matches and I received $5 a game, which was a total of $95," Robran said of the year he debuted, in 1967. "Now some of them are getting — I dread to think what some of them are getting, but in the tens of thousands of dollars a game. I guess it's all relative but it certainly didn't detract from my enjoyment." Despite football's evolution, both Bruces — Pointon and McAvaney — remain certain of one thing: Robran would have excelled regardless of the age in which he played. "His skills of manoeuvring and dodging and weaving ... made him a very, very difficult person to tackle," Pointon said. "I don't think anyone read the game any better than Barrie. He could get to the contest as well as anybody," McAvaney added. ABC
ABC News
16-07-2025
- Sport
- ABC News
Australian rules football legend Barrie Robran dies aged 77
Australian rules football champion and AFL Hall of Fame legend Barrie Robran has died at the age of 77. Robran is widely regarded as one of the greatest footballers South Australia has produced. His list of honours includes three Magarey Medals and two SANFL premierships, and he was a seven-time North Adelaide best-and-fairest winner. Robran played 201 games for North Adelaide from 1967 to 1980 and 17 matches for South Australia's state side. A statue depicting him leaping for a mark was unveiled outside Adelaide Oval in 2014. He is survived by his wife Taimi and two sons, Jonathon and Matthew.
Perth Now
24-06-2025
- Sport
- Perth Now
Hawks sell iconic venue back to the AFL
Waverley Park, the site of one of only three AFL grand finals not played at the MCG, will remain a football venue after the league purchased it back from Hawthorn in a sale worth up to $20 million. Hawthorn won the 1991 grand final at what was then VFL Park and them made it the club's training base following the last match played at the venue in 1999. The AFL sold the surrounding land to a developer for $110 million, used the proceeds to fund the Marvel Stadium, which it also now owns, before the Hawks purchased the freehold to the oval and administration building for just $1. But ahead of a move to a $100m new training facility in Melbourne's southeast, Hawthorn put Waverley up for sale and the AFL snatched it up with plans to use it for 'talent pathways programs, community footy, and umpire development and programs'. Games could also return to the venue in some form, possibly AFLW or even Under 18 games. 'Waverley Park has had a long history in footy, being the first venue to be designed and built specifically for Australian Rules Football,' AFL boss Andrew Dillon said. Waverley Park is back in AFL hands. Mark Stewart Credit: News Corp Australia 'The purchase of the ground and facilities is a rare and timely solution that will help with our talent pathways programs, community footy, and umpire development and programs, all of which will now be worked through with the relevant stakeholders. 'The AFL has targeted having 10 million attendees at AFL/AFLW games, events, and festivals, two million AFL club members and one million participants and in order to achieve the target for participation we need two ovals a week every week for the next five years. 'We are always looking for green space so we can continue to expand the playing fields we need to accommodate the strong national growth in people playing our game.' Hawthorn defeated West Coast in the 1991 grand final, played away form the MCG which was being redeveloped. The only other two grand finals not at the MCG were at the Gabba in Brisbane in 2020 and Optus Stadium in Perth in 2021, both due to Covid restrictions.
