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Irish Times
27-05-2025
- Lifestyle
- Irish Times
Trash-talk and rough sleeping: following the 2001 Lions' tour of Australia
June 2001. I'm on an overnight Greyhound bus from Cairns to Townsville. A typical post-university year travelling in Australia and New Zealand has taken an unwelcome turn after an equally typical relationship breakup. Initially there had been no plans to follow that year's British & Irish Lions tour, even though I had been enthralled by the classic encounter against the Springboks four years earlier. With my newfound freedom it seemed logical to head south, a couple of hundred miles down the coast, to see the legendary tourists in action. Unbeknown to me I was on the way to witness the birth of a new star in rugby union's galaxy. The next day Jason Robinson, freshly converted from rugby league, scored five tries in an 83-6 victory against the Queensland Presidents' XV. Robinson had been an unknown quantity in his new code, but no longer. 'The only real question now,' wrote Robert Kitson, 'is just how the Wallabies will deal with him when the Test series starts.' As the Australian media increasingly placed itself on a war footing it was Robinson – along with a budding Brian O'Driscoll – they were most concerned about. READ MORE After a taste of the unique Lions atmosphere, I was hooked. Itineraries were changed, flights booked, tickets rustled up. Sourcing a first-Test ticket proved impossible, so I settled for watching in a packed bar on Magnetic Island. Cue Robinson burning past Chris Latham, the Wallabies full-back, for that exhilarating first try at the Gabba. Cue utter pandemonium. A little later, the celebrations that met O'Driscoll's second-half breakaway try, one of the great Lions moments, remain imprinted in my memory. So does the local fan who told me after the match: 'Mate, it's the All Blacks we really want to beat. The Lions doesn't matter.' Jason Robinson celebrates a try for the Lions during the third test in 2001. Photograph: Billy Stickland/Inpho Not on the evidence of the coming weeks. 'Threat of a rout hangs in the air,' read one rueful headline as Australia came to terms with the Lions' first-Test supremacy. Martin Johnson's side had been dominant and Rod Macqueen, Australia's coach, had some thinking to do. On and off the pitch the Lions had been in the ascendancy. An inquest was held as to how so many foreign fans secured tickets for the Gabba. Australian gold T-shirts and flags were produced and distributed to home supporters in a desperate attempt to redress the balance. I was taken aback by the Australian media's tactics as defeat loomed into view. As far as they were concerned this was all-out war. Journalists saw themselves as the Wallabies' 16th man, and every opportunity to take a potshot at the tourists was enthusiastically seized. To Melbourne for round two, where Nathan Grey put the fearsome England blindside flanker, Richard Hill, out of the series. Graham Henry's side had looked on course for a series-sealing victory – they led 11-6 at half-time after Neil Back's try. A couple of big chances were missed – a break by Dafydd James, the Wales wing, lingers in the mind. Hill's enforced departure, and a momentum-turning Joe Roff intercept from a looping Jonny Wilkinson pass culminated in a 35-14 home win. Matthew Burke kicked six penalties and a conversion, Roff crossed twice. Game on. Richard Hill and Keith Wood of the Lions burst through the Queensland defence in 2001 - Hill's injury in the second test would be a major controversy. Photograph: Billy Stickland/Inpho 'The management insist it was an unpunished act of thuggery,' Kitson wrote of Grey v Hill. 'It is fair to say we are very disappointed,' said Donal Lenihan, the tourists' manager, after the Wallabies centre – who subsequently said the incident was accidental – escaped punishment. The Lions won three halves of rugby with Hill, and lost the next three without him. But perhaps some of the Lions' problems were self-inflicted. There were rumblings of discontent within camp about how hard the players were being worked. (Peaking in Brisbane before fading in Melbourne and Sydney would ultimately point to fatigue being a factor.) Austin Healey, meanwhile, caused a furore before the final Test when he labelled the Australia lock Justin Harrison an 'ape' and a 'plank'. The Australian media needed no further invitation to give Healey and the Lions both barrels. Tickets for that Sydney decider were like gold dust. Securing one involved a night in a sleeping bag on the pavement outside a branch of Ticketek. My girlfriend – we were back together by then – bravely joined me on the concrete. My personal life may have been mended temporarily, but a sporting calamity beckoned. Rob Henderson and Jonny Wilkinson in action for the Lions during the first test against Australia. Photograph: Billy Stickland/Inpho Wilkinson, a major injury doubt for the third Test, recovered and performed with customary grit. Home fans around us at Stadium Australia endlessly insisted he was about to 'choke', but a personal haul of 18 points would suggest otherwise. Still the Lions trailed in the dying minutes. They won a lineout in the corner. With Wilkinson kicking metronomically, even a pushover score out wide would surely be converted? But Harrison didn't need to think too hard about who the tourists would look for in the all-important lineout. He snaffled a throw intended for Johnson, and with it the series. Order restored, as the Aussies saw it, the Lions' threat safely seen off. But the conflict continued. Wearing a Lions shirt around Sydney attracted some trash-talk in the following days, often from children: the life of a sporting tourist in Australia. Those formative memories of 2001 – almost a generation ago, or what can feel like the blink of an eye – will last for ever, but some things never change. Maro Itoje and co be warned: the Aussies still hate losing, and are sure to indulge in a spot of Lions-baiting, too. — Guardian
The Guardian
27-05-2025
- Lifestyle
- The Guardian
A flashback to following the 2001 Lions' tour in Australia
June 2001. I'm on an overnight Greyhound bus from Cairns to Townsville. A typical post-university year travelling in Australia and New Zealand has taken an unwelcome turn after an equally typical relationship breakup. Initially there had been no plans to follow that year's British & Irish Lions tour, even though I had been enthralled by the classic encounter against the Springboks four years before. With my newfound freedom it seemed logical to head south, a couple of hundred miles down the coast, to see the legendary tourists in action. Unbeknownst to me I was on the way to witness the birth of a new star in rugby union's galaxy. The next day Jason Robinson, freshly converted from rugby league, scored five tries in an 83-6 victory against the Queensland Presidents' XV. Robinson had been an unknown quantity in his new code, but no longer. 'The only real question now,' wrote Robert Kitson, 'is just how the Wallabies will deal with him when the Test series starts.' As the Australian media increasingly placed itself on a war footing it was Robinson – along with a budding Brian O'Driscoll – they were most concerned about. After a taste of the unique Lions atmosphere, I was hooked. Itineraries were changed, flights booked, tickets rustled up. Sourcing a first-Test ticket proved impossible, so I settled for watching in a packed bar on Magnetic Island. Cue Robinson burning past Chris Latham, the Wallabies full-back, for that exhilarating first try at the Gabba. Cue utter pandemonium. A little later, the celebrations that met O'Driscoll's second-half breakaway try, one of the great Lions moments, remain imprinted in my memory. So does the local fan who told me after the match: 'Mate, it's the All Blacks we really want to beat. The Lions doesn't matter.' Not on the evidence of the coming weeks. 'Threat of a rout hangs in the air,' read one rueful headline as Australia came to terms with the Lions' first-Test supremacy. Martin Johnson's side had been dominant and Rod Macqueen, Australia's coach, had some thinking to do. On and off the pitch the Lions had been in the ascendancy. An inquest was held as to how so many foreign fans secured tickets for the Gabba. Australian gold T-shirts and flags were produced and distributed to home supporters in a desperate attempt to redress the balance. As an English cricket fan, I was accustomed to Australia's Ashes tourists being received by largely upbeat media coverage, a smattering of polite applause, perhaps even a word or two of encouragement. I was taken aback by the Australian media's tactics as defeat loomed into view. As far as they were concerned this was all-out war. Journalists saw themselves as the Wallabies' 16th man, and every opportunity to take a potshot at the tourists was enthusiastically seized. To Melbourne for round two, where Nathan Grey put the fearsome England blindside flanker, Richard Hill, out of the series. Graham Henry's side had looked on course for a series-sealing victory – they led 11-6 at half time after Neil Back's try. A couple of big chances were missed – a break by Dafydd James, the Wales wing, lingers in the mind. Hill's enforced departure, and a momentum-turning Joe Roff intercept from a looping Jonny Wilkinson pass culminated in a 35-14 home win. Matthew Burke kicked six penalties and a conversion, Roff crossed twice. Game on. 'The management insist it was an unpunished act of thuggery,' Kitson wrote of Grey v Hill. 'It is fair to say we are very disappointed,' said Donal Lenihan, the tourists' manager, after the Wallabies centre – who subsequently said the incident was accidental – escaped punishment. The Lions won three halves of rugby with Hill, and lost the next three without him. But perhaps some of the Lions' problems were self-inflicted. There were rumblings of discontent within camp about how hard the players were being worked. (Peaking in Brisbane before fading in Melbourne and Sydney would ultimately point to fatigue being a factor.) Austin Healey's Observer column, meanwhile, caused a furore before the final Test when he labelled the Australia lock Justin Harrison an 'ape' and a 'plank'. The Australian media needed no further invitation to give Healey and the Lions both barrels. Tickets for that Sydney decider were like gold dust. Securing one involved a night in a sleeping bag on the pavement outside a branch of Ticketek. My girlfriend – we were back together by then – bravely joined me on the concrete. My personal life may have been mended temporarily, but a sporting calamity beckoned. Wilkinson, a major injury doubt for the third Test, recovered and performed with customary grit. Home fans around us at Stadium Australia endlessly insisted he was about to 'choke', but a personal haul of 18 points would suggest otherwise. Still the Lions trailed in the dying minutes. They won a lineout in the corner. With Wilkinson kicking metronomically, even a pushover score out wide would surely be converted? But Harrison didn't need to think too hard about who the tourists would look for in the all-important lineout. He snaffled a throw intended for Johnson, and with it the series. Order restored, as the Aussies saw it, the Lions' threat safely seen off. But the conflict continued. Wearing a Lions shirt around Sydney attracted some trash-talk in the following days, often from children: the life of a sporting tourist in Australia. Those formative memories of 2001 – almost a generation ago, or what can feel like the blink of an eye – will last for ever, but some things never change. Maro Itoje and co. be warned: the Aussies still hate losing, and are sure to indulge in a spot of Lions-baiting, too. There were a number of award winners last week at the Rugby Union Writers' Club lunch at the Oval, none more deserving than Sedgley Park's Matt Riley, recently retired from playing after 457 appearances for the National League 1 club. The 38-year-old former Sale centre represented the Lancashire side for 19 years, captaining them for the last decade, and holds the professional-era record for appearances at a single club across England and France. Riley plans to stay involved in a support role – training, video analysis and working alongside his successor as captain. 'There were a lot of sacrifices. I don't know how but I managed to balance work, family and rugby,' Riley said, having bowed out with a 63-24 home victory against Darlington Mowden Park last month. 'I honestly don't know how when I look back, but I got the best out of everything.' Perhaps some of the well-paid suits also present might have paused to reflect on what a career of selfless service to rugby looks like. Paul Turner, who left Ampthill on Sunday after 14 years as head coach having taken them from Midlands Three to a seemingly perennial Championship side, starred for Bedford during their victory against Rotherham in October 1996. Robert Kitson explains why rugby really doesn't need a Club World Cup. Michael Aylwin was at the Champions Cup final to witness colour and passion win out over exhausted Northampton. And Rob was also in Cardiff the previous evening to see Spencer's sparkle help Bath to glory over Lyon. To subscribe to the Breakdown, just visit this page and follow the instructions. And sign up for The Recap, the best of our sports writing from the past seven days.
Telegraph
22-05-2025
- Sport
- Telegraph
Aoife Wafer interview: I wore a scrum cap to hide my hair so boys would treat me the same
Of all the talent that has emerged from the rugby hotbed of Leinster in recent years, it is one of the province's women's players whose story is perhaps the most fascinating. Aoife Wafer, one of the breakout stars from an improving Ireland side, no longer has designs to play club rugby in her home country, having on Thursday been unveiled by Harlequins. Her rationale for joining England's Premiership Women's Rugby is simple. 'I want to test myself and I want to be the best in the world,' Wafer tells Telegraph Sport at Twickenham Stoop. 'Coming to the environment at Harlequins will help me to do that.' Having been named in World Rugby's 2024 team of the year and won Six Nations player of the championship for 2025, Wafer is the most exciting overseas recruit to the PWR since the arrival of United States superstar Ilona Maher at the start of the year. Her exploits on the international stage have transformed her into a standard-bearer for Irish women's rugby and have earned her admiration from the likes of Brian O'Driscoll. What a year it's been for Aoife Wafer 🤩🏆 Full Interview here ➡️ #GuinnessW6N #GuinnessPOTC @IrishRugby — Guinness Women's Six Nations (@Womens6Nations) May 19, 2025 🗣"You want to have that individual's respect." 🗣"They inspire others to improve their game." Brian O'Driscoll outlines his admiration for Aoife Wafer and her ambition to be the best player in the world. #Rugby @BankOfIreland #NeverStopCompeting — Off The Ball (@offtheball) April 22, 2025 Deceptively mobile and a powerful weapon off the base of the scrum, Wafer topped the charts for carries and made a staggering 424.7 metres in this year's Six Nations – a tally that surpassed many back-three players. But it was her polished performance against New Zealand last autumn – when Ireland stunned the world champions – that left a lasting impression on Harlequins head coach Ross Chisholm, who describes the 22-year-old as 'world class'. Even Wafer's trademark red scrum cap has made her something of a cult heroine in her homeland. 'When we were down at Musgrave Park in Cork [ against England during the Six Nations ], there were kids asking me to sign red scrum caps,' she says. 'It's the coolest feeling and it's only going to get bigger with the World Cup being so close to Ireland.' The scrum cap was Wafer's vehicle for acceptance at her childhood club, Gorey RFC, where she started out as a six-year-old on the boys' team. 'Little Aoife thought it would hide her hair,' she says, laughing. 'I had bright blonde hair down to my backside and I thought wearing a scrum cap would hide it because then maybe the boys would treat me the same. Obviously my hair hung out the back of it so they could all see it anyway! 'It's quite tough at that age. They don't want to pass you the ball because you're a girl. They don't want to tackle you because you're a girl. But once you score a few tries they're like, 'God we don't want girls scoring tries – just tackle her!' It's gas. Once the lads got on board, they were my biggest supporters. 'When I started making the likes of Leinster Under-18s or Ireland Under-18s, some of our games started being streamed. My late grandmother, Cathy Wafer, would watch all the games and having a red scrum cap was an easy way for her to pick me out on the pitch. So wearing it now is a way of honouring her.' 💪 Aoife Wafer doing Aoife Wafer things 🤩 #GuinnessW6N @IrishRugby — Guinness Women's Six Nations (@Womens6Nations) April 20, 2025 How proud her late grandmother would have been to see her further her career at a club that have been trying to lure her for the past year. Earlier this month, Harlequins flew Wafer over to south-west London to secure her signature and film promotional content. A drone specialist was even hired to capture her 'unveiling' video at the Stoop and come September, Wafer will be housed in one of the cottages in Guildford owned by the club. In the context of a sport that is still loss-making – the salary cap of the league will be pushed up to £255,000 next season – it is both serious and doubly impressive. An approach this innovative is yet to be mirrored across the women's club game in Ireland, where the Irish Rugby Football Union's historic neglect of women's XVs rugby has resulted in the country playing catch-up with the Rugby Football Union's world-leading Red Roses and PWR. While Wafer is not the first Irish player to join the PWR, her move could lead the IRFU to start haemorrhaging more home-grown talent because of its strict contracting policy. The union currently reserves contracts for players – 37 were signed up last season – who are based in Ireland. With Wafer's deal running until the end of the World Cup, should she then get injured whilst playing or training for Harlequins, the responsibility to cover the medical costs falls on the club rather than the union. Should others follow in her footsteps, there could be parallels with the RFU's own talent drain to France in the men's game. So does the IRFU's policy need a rethink? 'There's good things and bad things about it,' says Wafer, diplomatically. 'It was a difficult decision for a lot of different reasons, my family being the main one. To test myself against some Red Roses will only better me as a player. Who knows? In a few years, what Ireland plan on doing is really exciting. They're planning on potentially contracting players to the provinces. Who knows, I could be back at Leinster and be contracted to be a professional there with my home province.' One thing she will be packing in her suitcase is her tin whistle. Wafer is a talented musician, who also plays the traditional flute, the uilleann pipes and the classical flute. 'When you're in the midst of a campaign, it's like an escape,' she says. 'I love it. When we were over in Canada last year for WXV, the girls would go shopping and I'd stay in and play a bit of music. It's like bringing a bit of Ireland with me everywhere I go.' As someone already being lauded as a generational player, Wafer will be looking to hit top notes next season.
Times
12-05-2025
- Sport
- Times
Brian O'Driscoll: Andy Farrell swayed in Ireland's favour with Lions calls
Brian O'Driscoll had a busy schedule last Thursday. He sat down for our interview resplendent in a Lions shirt, having just come from a promotional shoot with Jamie Roberts, his centre partner on the 2009 tour. Before that, another journalist had asked him to name his starting team for the first Test, and to explain each selection. All part of the gig. 'I had to select as if the first Test was tomorrow,' he explains. 'I don't like getting forced into it, because things change and there are always 50-50 calls. Like, how do you pick a ten right now? How do you separate Huw Jones and Garry Ringrose at 13?' For some light relief, we show him his profile from the media guide for
Daily Mail
09-05-2025
- Sport
- Daily Mail
'Brian O'Driscoll is one of my all-time rugby heroes. To wear that Lions No 13 jersey would be really special': Huw Jones opens up on childhood dream as Scot shares hope for tour Down Under
In the long and storied history of the British and Irish Lions, there are few players whose legacy would compare to that of Brian O'Driscoll. Not only is the Irishman routinely mentioned in discussions about the greatest Lions of all-time, there are some who would argue that he's the greatest centre ever to play the game. Beyond his brilliance for both country and club, Leinster, the Lions became a huge part of O'Driscoll's career over four tours. In Australia in 2001, he scored one of the all-time great Lions tries in the first Test, waltzing through with an electric burst of pace and quicksilver footwork. In 2005, he was named captain for the tour of New Zealand but his involvement was cut short when he suffered a dislocated shoulder following a horrific spear tackle just 41 seconds into the first Test. He was a key player once again in the tour of South Africa in 2009, before his biggest heartbreak in professional rugby came in 2013. Back where it all began in Australia, O'Driscoll was controversially dropped for the decisive final Test by head coach Warren Gatland, a match the tourists subsequently won. Yet, nonetheless, O'Driscoll remains one of the finest players ever to pull on the famous red jersey. How do you follow in those kind of footsteps? A tall order, no doubt. But it's a challenge Huw Jones is thoroughly looking forward to over these next few months. Jones was one of eight Scotland players selected in Andy Farrell's 38-man squad for the tour Down Under. Having grown up idolising O'Driscoll, Jones admits it would be the ultimate honour if he could get his hands on the 13 shirt and become a Test Lion. 'I've watched all the Lions tours going all the way back to when I was a kid,' said the 31-year-old Scot. 'I idolised these guys when I was growing up. 'I remember watching the tour against the All Blacks in 2005. I would have been 11 at the time, but I was totally immersed in it all. Me and my mate played rugby together at the same club. 'We'd be speaking constantly at school about what players we liked and who we thought should be in the team. 'For me, it was Brian O'Driscoll. He's one of my all-time rugby heroes. Most people will tell you he's one of the greatest to ever wear that red jersey. 'To have the chance now to follow in his footsteps and wear that 13 jersey would be really special. 'We are following in the footsteps of true rugby legends. As a player, I enjoy the history of it all. It's really inspiring.' It has been quite the journey for Jones. Four years ago, when the Lions last went on tour to South Africa, he was in the international wilderness. There was a period from 2021 until 2023 when he went the best part of two years without winning a single cap for Scotland. A brief spell with Harlequins in the Premiership was followed by a move back to Glasgow Warriors — and it's been under Franco Smith that he has really blossomed. Not only has he been back to the form he showed when he initially burst on to the scene in 2017 and 2018, Jones has actually gone beyond that. His partnership with Sione Tuipulotu has been key for club and country — and he admits it would be special if the 'Huwipulotu' double act lines up in a Lions midfield. 'I'm not going to lie, it was extremely nerve-wracking watching the squad being announced. I couldn't believe how long it took,' he said. 'We were told to be in the room for 2pm. I made sure I arrived literally at 1.59pm as I didn't want to wait for too long! 'I'll be honest, there was a point when I wasn't even sure I wanted to be in the room to watch it. 'I thought about just taking myself away from it all. If you watch the video back you can probably see the nerves on my face. 'But it feels amazing to be selected, just a great mixture of relief, happiness and excitement. As soon as my named was called out, I was just desperate to hear Sione's name as well. 'I've dreamt of this since I was a kid. In the last year or so, it's become a goal that I've really been chasing. I didn't want to think about it too much, but that's sometimes easier said than done. It's a dream come true. 'Sione and I have obviously built such a special relationship. It's great that we are able to share this together. 'It's great for the club in general to have four players selected. Since Franco came in, he's moved this club forward in a big way. 'He's improved us as players and moved our careers forward. We've had a lot of guys break through and establish themselves with Scotland over the past couple of years. 'To now have four guys selected to go on a Lions tour is really just testament to everything that Franco has built here at the club. 'I gave Franco a hug but it was never going to be too emotional — he's just focused on preparing the team for the game at the weekend! 'That's just what he's like as a guy, always focused on the next game, but this just shows that everything he asks of us as players can pay off. 'Along with myself and Sione, it's super-exciting to pretty much have our entire back line going on the tour — Finn (Russell), Duhie (Van der Merwe) and Blair (Kinghorn). 'But you obviously have to keep Darcy (Graham) in mind as well. We're gutted for him. It would have been great if we were all selected. 'Hopefully we can gel together and also gel with the other players in the back line as well and build connections. Combinations are so important.' Jones will be back in action for Glasgow today when they travel to face Benetton in the penultimate round of fixtures in the United Rugby Championship. He had been out of action since Scotland's final Six Nations match against France back in March due to a hand injury. But he's desperate to regain top form with Glasgow over the final few weeks of the season heading into the URC play-offs. He added: 'There's still some big games to come with Glasgow over the last few weeks of the season. After being picked for the Lions, it's not like you just sit back now and celebrate. 'We've got some massive games coming up — and we want to back-up what we did last season. 'Myself and Sione have both been back in training now for a couple of weeks. All being well, the two of us will be back playing over the next couple of weeks.'
