Latest news with #BritishLions
Daily Mail
5 days ago
- Sport
- Daily Mail
EXCLUSIVE Inside Finn Russell's incredible transformation: how unorthodox star who rallied against drinking rules became the Lions' game changing genius
Everything good that the Lions do today in the first Test against Australia will go through Finn Russell. He's the lynchpin, the man who can create something from nothing, and in the form of his life.
Times
5 days ago
- Entertainment
- Times
Jason Robinson recreates iconic try at Gabba … leaving me in a heap
I am standing opposite Jason Robinson, out on the field at the Gabba, pretending to be Chris Latham, the Australian full back who 'Billy Whizz' danced around to score one of the great British & Irish Lions Test tries back in 2001. The issue is, even now he is 50 years old (he doesn't look it, does he?), Robinson is too fast for me to get near enough to him with a flailing tackle, or for our Times photographer Marc Aspland to track his run as we recreate the try in the Brisbane sunshine. 'Can you do it slower?' Marc asks. 'I don't do anything slow,' Robinson replies with a smile. As he did 24 years ago, Robinson jinks around his man with a hot-step, leaving him to eat the turf. He then finishes in the left corner, lets out a roar and punches the air. This was the moment he announced himself as a rugby union star on his first Test start, which came seven months after his debut in the code for Sale Sharks, having left Wigan, and after only three substitute appearances for England in the 2001 Six Nations. Was he nervous before the game that made him in union? Not a bit of it. 'I didn't even know all my England team-mates' names, then three months after that I'm on a Lions tour,' Robinson says. 'What people don't really digest is the fact I came into it not knowing bloody what to do. 'So going round Latham — I never put it across in an arrogant way, but I didn't know who he was. I didn't know a lot of the stuff that was going on, but I realised you just need to be good at something, and I was completely different from everybody else on the pitch. 'I'd scored nearly 200 tries before I came into union. My style of play, not too dissimilar to a Shane Williams — tight space is our thing. We've got great feet, we've got explosive power, and we've got confidence. 'He probably didn't expect me to go around the outside. You've got to do what naturally comes to you, and that came naturally; 2½ minutes into the game, we scored and were on the front foot. I remember punching the air after the try, and the atmosphere in here was bloody electric. 'Before we came out of the changing rooms, Johnno [the captain Martin Johnson] said, 'You're not going to believe what's out there' with all the red shirts. What is unique about the Lions is the travelling fans, the four nations coming together and supporting that one shirt. That's why it's so special. It's just great to be back out here. 'Thinking back 24 years, you shouldn't be able to go into a sport you've no clue about, and in three months play for your country, and then three months after that be on a Lions tour.' Only the special ones do something like that. Maybe another league convert, Australia's centre Joseph-Aukuso Suaalii, can be the one to light up this year's series. 'Making that switch, there's a lot of pressure and a lot of people that you come up against want to prove you wrong,' Robinson says. 'He has great footwork, great hands, is great in the air and can create something out of nothing. He is a huge star, but you've got to back it up. It's a great stage for him and when you get there it is about proving what you're all about every week. There's no better place for him to prove himself than against the Lions.' A moment to ignite the series within three minutes, Robinson's try was followed by Brian O'Driscoll waltzing through the middle of the Wallabies, and a 29-13 win for the Lions in the opening Test. However, they ended up losing the series 2-1, and Robinson still regrets it. He hopes the Lions of 2025 grasp their moment. 'We should have won that series, there's no doubt about it. It was a one that got away, but it just makes you realise what an opportunity the guys have this time round,' adds Robinson, an ambassador for Howden, the Lions' sponsors. 'It's a very strong team, a great time to take on Australia. They've not been as good as we've known, so this is a great opportunity. If you can come away from this 3-0, that's massive. That's something that they'll look back and think, as Lions tours go, this could be a great one. 'I'm looking forward to seeing who steps up, as in 2001 lots of players stepped up. You've got an opportunity to create history and respect amongst your peers, which is one of the key things when you come on a Lions tour. 'The team now have a great opportunity to keep that shirt for the next three Tests. It's up to them to prove they're worthy of it.' Clearly, I am not worthy of sharing a field with the great Jason Robinson, but it was an honour to do so — even if it was so he could take the mickey out of me. It happened to far better men.
BreakingNews.ie
5 days ago
- Entertainment
- BreakingNews.ie
Weekend sport preview: What is on and where to watch?
There is a stacked weekend of sport ahead with a mix of big games both home and abroad. The All-Ireland hurling final is the big showcase event this weekend as Cork and Tipperary face off at Croke Park on Sunday. It was the Rebels who came out on top when they meet in the Munster championship. Advertisement On Saturday morning, The British & Lions will take on Australia in the first test of the series. There are eight Irish players in the starting lineup including the likes of Tadgh Furlong, Joe McCarthy, Tadgh Beirne and Jack Conan. There is also The Open in Portrush, Tour de France and Women's Euro quarter-finals to round out a packed weekend. If you are wondering when it is all on and where you can watch it, here is you what you need to know: Friday, July 18th Golf-The Open Championship, 6:30am-9:30pm, Sky Sports Golf. Advertisement Rugby- Samoa v Scotland, 9:05am on Premier Sports 2 Cycling-Stage 13 Tour de France, noon-5:05pm on TG4 2pm-5pm on ITV4. Football-Women's Euro Quarter-final, Spain v Switzerland, 8pm on RTÉ Two and BBC 1 Golf-Open highlights, 9pm-10:30pm on BBC 2. Advertisement Golf- Barracuda Championship, 10pm-1am on Sky Sports Golf. The roar for Rory. He starts with a birdie. — The Open (@TheOpen) July 18, 2025 Saturday, July 19th Rugby-New Zealand v France, 8:05am on Sky Sports Action. Golf-The Open Championship, 9am-8:30pm, Sky Sports Golf. Advertisement Rugby-Australia vs Lions, 11am on Sky Sports Action. Our line up for Saturday's first Test! 👊🦁 #Lions2025 — British & Irish Lions (@lionsofficial) July 17, 2025 Cycling-Stage 14 Tour de France, 11:30am-4:55pm on TG4, 10:30am-5pm on TNT Sports 1. Athletics-London Diamond League, 1:15pm-4:25pm on BBC 1, 2pm-4pm on Virgin Media Two. Racing- Newbury, 1.30pm-4pm on UTV. Advertisement Racing-The Curragh, 2:30pm-4:30pm on RTÉ Two. Rugby-South Africa v Georgia, 4:10pm on Sky Sports Action. GAA-Women's SFC Semi-finals, Meath v Kerry 5:15pm on TG4. GAA-Women's SFC Semi-finals, Dublin vs Galway 7:30pm on TG4. Darts- Blackpool World Matchplay, 7pm-11pm on Sky Sports+. Football-Women's Euro Quarter-final, France v Germany, 8pm on RTÉ Two. Golf-Open highlights, 8pm-10pm on BBC 2. Rugby-Argentina v Uruguay, 8:40pm on Sky Sports+. GAA-Up for the Match, 9:30pm-11:25pm on RTÉ 1. Golf- Barracuda Championship, 10pm-1am on Sky Sports Golf. Sunday, July 20th UFC-Max Holloway v Dustin Poirier, 3am on TNT Sports 1. Golf-The Open Championship, 8am-7:30pm on Sky Sports Golf. Cycling-Stage 15 Tour de France, 12:05pm-5pm on TG4, 1:30pm-4:50pm on TNT Sports 1. Golf-The Open Championship, 8am-7.30pm on Sky Sports Golf. Darts-Blackpool World Matchplay, 1pm-5pm, 7pm-11pm on Sky Sports+. GAA-All-Ireland SHC Final, 3:30pm on RTÉ 2 & BBC 2. Starting XV's are locked in 🔐 #CORVTIPP @OfficialCorkGAA @TipperaryGAA — The GAA (@officialgaa) July 18, 2025 GAA- Deferred All-Ireland SHC Final, 7:15pm-8:45pm on TG4. Golf- Open highlights, 8pm-10pm on BBC 2. Golf- Barracuda Championship, 9pm-12am on Sky Sports Golf. GAA-The Sunday Game, 9.30pm-11.30pm on RTÉ Two.
Daily Telegraph
6 days ago
- Sport
- Daily Telegraph
Wallabies captain confirmed as debutant locked in for Lions First Test
Don't miss out on the headlines from Rugby. Followed categories will be added to My News. THE 'psycho' and the silent assassin. That is who the Wallabies will be relying upon to pull off one of the great upsets this Saturday against the British & Irish Lions when they unleash debutant backrower Nick Champion de Crespigny and first-time starter Tom Lynagh. READ MORE Horwill: The stomp, the abuse, and my greatest rugby regret Ex-Wallabies coach McKenzie back after 11 years of silence Nick Champion de Crespigny will make his Test debut. Picture:Tom Lynagh will start for the Wallabies. Picture:The pair could not be more different in style and personality, but both will be essential to Australia's chances of beating a star-studded Lions outfit confident of winning this series 3-0, starting with victory at Brisbane's Suncorp Stadium. The loss of Rob Valetini and Will Skelton to calf injuries has severely impacted the Wallabies' go-forward capabilities, and it will be up to de Crespigny to bring the same aggression that saw him scuffle with Lions scrapper Henry Pollock earlier on tour when the tourists played the Western Force. Harry Wilson will captain the Wallabies, while Rob Valetini has been ruled out due to injuries. Picture:'I think we just have full confidence in Nick and what he brings, he's a psycho,' de Crespigny's backrow partner Fraser McReight said. 'He loves contact and he's ready to go. So obviously disappointing to (lose) Bobby, but again super excited to get to play with Nick and obviously Carlo (Tizzano). '(De Crespigny brings) physicality, he loves the whack and he loves that physical nature of the game, which is great. 'I haven't yet played with him, so I hear and see things at training, heard all the stories from the Force boys, so it's super exciting to see in person. 'Off the field he's a great man. Once he crosses that white line, he's a different beast.' While 29-year-old de Crespigny will be required to bring the mongrel, 22-year-old Lynagh needs to show the mastery of playmaking. Having played three Tests off the bench, he now starts his first, in the process creating history as the first father-son duo to play against the Lions, with dad Michael having worn the same No.10 jersey in 1989. 'I always felt that Michael had a real quiet control of games and a calmness about the way that he ran the game, and I do think there's a bit of that in Tom,' Wallabies coach Joe Schmidt said. Joe Schmidt during a Wallabies' training session at Ballymore. Picture: David Davies/PA Images via Getty Images 'It's always the same when you haven't seen someone at the level and they haven't been put under the pressure that's going to come, then you're not quite sure how things are going to work out. But I have real confidence in Tom and I'm sure Michael does as well. 'I'm really excited for Tom. He's a great kid. He's got a quiet confidence about him. You wouldn't think that he's necessarily designed to run a game and dictate what's happening, but he does have a quiet confidence that gives us a quiet confidence as well. 'And he's fitted in really well this week. He has given us the confidence, and the players the confidence, that he's going to run the game really well for us. His kicking game is strong. He's got good acceleration and he's incredibly brave to a fault. 'It's Suncorp. It's his home track. It's a fantastic opportunity for him. We twice had him lined up for his first start for the Wallabies last year and he picked up little niggles. So it's great this time. Probably not ideal to be starting your first Test match for the Wallabies against the British & Irish Lions, but you've got to start somewhere and if not now, when? So now is good.' Schmidt hailed de Crespigny's lineout capabilities, which will be vital against a starting Lions pack featuring jumping specialists Maro Itoje, Joe McCarthy and Tadhg Beirne. 'The good thing with Nick, he's a good lineout option, I thought he was very good in the Force lineout,' Schmidt said. 'He is probably a bit more of a roving scavenger than Bobby V, who in the past has been a big ball-carrier for us.' While Schmidt had kept the captaincy a mystery, Valetini's injury meant Harry Wilson had to start and therefore retain the skipper's role he's held since last year. Meanwhile, prop Taniela Tupou and winger Filipo Daugunu, who were left out of the squad, have flown to Melbourne to join the First Nations and Pasifika team to play the Lions next Tuesday. More Aussies than Welsh in Lions' team - Julian Linden At least one Aussie could walk off Suncorp Stadium a winner after Saturday's series opening Test between the Wallabies and the British & Irish Lions. This may not be what Wallabies fans had in mind but Australia does at least now have a foot in each camp after Melbourne-born and raised centre Sione Tuipulotu won himself a place in the Lions' starting team. Melbourne-born Sione Tuipulotu has been named for British & Irish Lions. Picture:The former Melbourne Rebel, who now plays for Scotland, was given the plum job of starting ahead of Ireland's ex Kiwi Bundee Aki in a powerful Lions team brimming with power and experience. So if the Wallabies don't win the game, Tuipulotu should end up on the right side of the ledger after being picked alongside his Glasgow Warriors teammate Huw Jones in an-all Scottish midfield. Of the 15 starters named in Andy Farrell's first Test team, eight are Irish, four are English and the other three are Scottish. No Welsh players made the starting side or the reserves bench for the first time since 1896. Andy Farrell, the British & Irish Lions head coach, walks into the media conference room to announce his team for the First Test. Picture:'We are entering the business end of the tour and it is time to put in our best performance to date,' Farrell said. 'We know how motivated the Wallabies will be and we know they are a well organised and dangerous side.' As expected, there was no place in the squad for either Owen Farrell, the coach's son, or Henry Pollock, the youngest member of the touring squad who brazenly tipped the Lions to complete a 3-0 series sweep. England lock Maro Itoje will lead the Lions as skipper for the first time in a Test with the Lions overwhelming favourites to win the match and the series. Maro Itoje will skipper the Lions for the first time. Picture:But Farrell, who played in the Wigan team that beat the Brisbane Broncos to win the 1994 World Club Challenge, said he remains wary of the Australians. 'We know the quality as far as their attacking threats, their athletic ability, the way that they want to play the game from turnover ball, counter-attack, all of that, the set piece is good,' he said. 'But when it comes around every 12 years and you're privileged to be able to represent Australia, they'll obviously be making sure that they use it appropriately.' With Brisbane being overrun by Lions fans in the lead up to the match, Farrell said he was expecting a big display from his side. Lions' fans in Adelaide. Picture: Brendan Moran/Sportsfile via Getty Images 'We want to see a performance that does everyone proud,' he said. 'What does that look like? I'm talking about everyone, you're seeing the thousands of people that are turning up now. You're walking around town and you get that lion's buzz, don't you? 'It's certainly going to hot up so it's making sure that we do everyone proud here and at home. 'You can talk about everything that the first Test of a Lions tour brings but it's making sure that we're concentrating on the performance and making sure that we attack it straight from the get-go.' Originally published as Wallabies confirm captain and lock in debutant for first Test against Lions, opponents include more Aussies than Welsh
Times
09-07-2025
- Sport
- Times
Blair Kinghorn: Lions full back hobbles off against Brumbies with knee issue
Blair Kinghorn is the latest British & Irish Lion to suffer a worrying injury after he hobbled off early in the 36-24 win over the Brumbies with a knee issue. The Lions were banged up by the Brumbies. Tom Curry walked gingerly out of the stadium and Bundee Aki was limping, with fresh tape on his knee. Kinghorn, the Scotland back-three player, took a bang on his knee eight minutes into the game, and was so frustrated that he slapped the turf at GIO Stadium with his hand. He played on for another 17 minutes, but then departed and was replaced by Marcus Smith. Andy Farrell, the Lions head coach, has already seen Elliot Daly (broken arm) and Tomos Williams (torn hamstring) leave the tour, but said Kinghorn was in high spirits as he was being assessed. 'You wouldn't know with Blair, he is always in good spirits anyway. He got a bang on the knee, he carried on for quite a bit but there was no need to keep him going,' Farrell said. 'He is on the bed now, singing away. There is a bit of music there and he is singing away as he is being assessed so we will see how he comes through that. It is late, we have an early flight in the morning [to Adelaide] and I don't know what the medical plan is but we will get on top of that.' Asked if he was concerned about the injury, Farrell said: 'No, not at this moment in time.' The Lions are thin at full back since Daly left the tour and was replaced by Owen Farrell. Hugo Keenan will play against the Australia & New Zealand Invitational team on Saturday in Adelaide, but has been reaching for form and fitness after suffering an illness last week. Smith played the remainder of the match at full back, and Farrell said he had some 'really nice touches' there. Generally, Farrell was frustrated at the Lions' inability to solve their issues at the breakdown, where the Brumbies caused them trouble. 'Historically Australia have always gone hard at the breakdown and anyone analyses the way we have been playing, that is what you would do. The pressure at the breakdown is no surprise to us,' Farrell said. 'Sometimes it is a mess, we have got to make sure we keep asking for clarity as far as that is concerned, but first things first we need to look after our own ruck. 'I thought we dominated the game. If you got the game and fast-forwarded through it you would see that and on the back of that we scored some lovely balanced tries but the other side of the story is, we certainly left three out there and maybe more, being held up over the line. 'There is plenty to do, obviously. We are in a good place, in the sense that we are doing well in certain aspects of the game and in fits and starts, but we need to improve in all areas.' Farrell admitted that the Lions were holding back their true tactical game plan too. 'The same amount as Australia. Probably quite a bit,' he said, when asked how much he was hiding during these low-key tour games. Farrell is sure the Test series, which begins in ten days time in Brisbane, will live up to the billing. 'You wait until everyone comes to terms and see what builds up in regards to the first Test. It's going to be fantastic.'
