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Telegraph
2 days ago
- Business
- Telegraph
Why Lions were right to bank on Sione Tuipulotu
One senses there is further selection drama to come in the build-up to this British and Irish Lions tour. With a game against Argentina in Dublin on June 20, six days after the Premiership and United Rugby Championship (URC) finals, Andy Farrell seems likely to draft in reinforcements. Injury replacements are an inevitability as well. At the initial squad announcement on May 8, there were not too many shocks. It reflects the quality of Sione Tuipulotu that his inclusion, despite not having played since January 10, barely raised an eyebrow. Excellent for Glasgow Warriors and Scotland over the past few years, the 28-year-old had evidently done enough to secure his place before a pectoral problem wiped out his Six Nations. Farrell must regard Tuipulotu as a potential Test starter, and the latter's performance against the Stormers on Friday evening will have heartened the Lions head coach. Glasgow progressed to the URC semi-finals with a display underpinned by Tuipulotu's influence as a midfield triple threat. Up the guts and coast to coast Power and poise on the gain line are essential assets for centres, particularly those who regularly step up at first-receiver in first-phase situations. Tuipulotu is a master at manipulating defences in tight spaces with subtle deception, as we will examine later. But he can also surge through heavy traffic to generate impetus. From this early line-out, Tuipulotu begins on the outside of Tom Jordan… …before bustling across his fly-half to link up with Rory Darge at the tail of a driving maul: Warriors are running a planned strike play and, on the third phase, Tuipulotu is on his feet on the far side of the breakdown to offer himself. Meanwhile, another Lion in Scott Cummings stands at the front of a three-man pod of forwards with Jordan arcing behind. This looks conventional enough, but a trailing Kyle Steyn is the runner to watch: Cummings goes to the gain-line and, rather than turn to his left to throw a pull-back to Jordan, plays an inside pass to Steyn, who cuts in front of Alex Samuel and through the Stormers line: Steyn's surge brings about a yellow card for Seabelo Senatla, the Stormers wing. Everything is set up by Tuipulotu's piercing carry in traffic, and he was dangerous in unstructured situations as well. Here, Sacha Feinberg-Mngomezulu has just seen his drop-goal attempt come off the post. Tuipulotu and Gregor Hiddleston are pointing up-field, urging their team-mates to counter-attack towards space: Tuipulotu joins the break-out, latching on to Josh McKay's offload and bumping off Ben Loader: A couple of minutes later, Feinberg-Mngomezulu sends a grubber through the middle. Initially on the other side of the breakdown… …Tuipulotu retreats as Kyle Rowe fields the ball and gives Glasgow some impetus. The hosts then reorganise far more quickly than the Stormers. They have an obvious overlap and Tuipulotu has worked into position to take advantage: His simple pass puts McKay outside the Stormers front line and Glasgow are in behind: The next ruck is messy, with a hint of a knock-on from George Horne, but Tuipulotu has again dropped deeper. You can see how he is scanning the defence from that position: Horne and Jordan spread the ball to him and a neat grubber finds Rowe: Andrew Goodman, one of the Lions assistant coaches, is renowned as an intelligent shaper of smart strike moves. Tuipulotu will offer him scope to put together an effective repertoire. Influential body language This next clip comes to nothing but a Glasgow spill, yet hints at the nuances of Tuipulotu's gain-line prowess. From this scrum, Horne feigns towards the far side, which causes Stormers scrum-half Stefan Ungerer to head in the same direction. This in turn deprives Feinberg-Mngomezulu of cover to his inside: Tuipulotu, stationed at first-receiver again, aims to capitalise by stepping towards Feinberg-Mngomezulu's outside. He wants to tempt Dan du Plessis to bite in. Stafford McDowall, meanwhile, is running an 'overs line' and essentially curving from in to out to beat Du Plessis: Tuipulotu fulfils his role perfectly, fixing both Feinberg-Mngomezulu and Du Plessis, pushing a pass across the latter for McDowall to gallop on to and gather. However, the ball is fumbled and Stormers get the put-in: Du Plessis may have readjusted to complete the tackle, but Glasgow would have certainly won ground and a quick ruck at the very least. Tuipulotu's footwork and pass selection are crucial in crowded spaces, where two-metre gains can be hugely important. Although needed to defend for long periods, Tuipulotu only registered seven tackles across the 80 minutes. Glasgow's forwards, led by the relentless Rory Darge, were more prominent than their backs when Stormers were in possession. That said, at the end of a critical stand in the final minutes of the first half, watch how Tuipulotu and Horne press out of the line together. This seems to convince Feinberg-Mngomezulu to step back inside: Henco Venter forces a fumble, and Glasgow know it could be a pivotal moment in the game. Tuipulotu celebrates heartily, geeing up his colleagues and thumping his chest: Just before the break, he is back at first-receiver from another scrum. This time, Ungerer has backed away to bolster the defensive line and is on the inside of Manie Libbok, who has come off the bench at fly-half with Feinberg-Mngomezulu shifting to centre. From this set-up, one would expect Jordan to circle around Tuipulotu to receive a pass that goes behind McDowall. However, Glasgow react to the defence and Jordan stays on the inside of Tuipulotu. Jordan, a powerful carrier himself, trucks up to the Stormers 22: On the next phase, Tuipulotu is at first-receiver again and feeds McKay, who bounces off a tackle and offloads to Steyn to sweep Glasgow deep into opposition territory: While Warriors do not add to their tally here, they pulled away in the second period. Looking further ahead to the Lions tour, Tuipulotu already has an existing relationship with Finn Russell. It will be fascinating to see how quickly he can gel with Fin and Marcus Smith, because Tuipulotu is as adept at creating space for others as he is troubling defences with the ball in his hands. Quality in attack and defence Tuipulotu's cut-out pass to McKay was a vital component of Horne's try on Friday evening: "Contender for try of the season!" 🤩 George Horne caps off a dazzling team score and stretches @GlasgowWarriors ' lead ⚔️ — Premier Sports (@PremSportsTV) May 30, 2025 And this run brought about Glasgow's last three points. From yet another scrum, he sees Stormers defenders scrambling over towards him and catches them over-chasing by stepping against the grain. The offload to McDowall keeps the ball alive: Returning to defence, Tuipulotu was perhaps caught a bit narrow for Senatla's try early in the second half. He bites on the decoy line from Suleiman Hartzenberg and cannot readjust when Libbok wraps around: Later, though, having moved to outside centre upon the introduction of Adam Hastings in place of McDowall, there was this calm piece of defence. Stormers run a play that involves Libbok and Senatla circling Feinberg-Mngomezulu: Tuipulotu backs off, trusting Jordan on his inside, and tackles Senatla when the pass comes: Farrell is gradually finding out who will be available for the Lions opener against Argentina in Dublin. The URC semi-final between Leinster and Glasgow will shape plans significantly given the Irish province had 12 players named in the squad. Either way, it will offer Farrell an opportunity to scrutinise Tuipulotu's form further. Early signs are highly positive, pointing to a seminal summer for the Scotland centre.
Yahoo
4 days ago
- Entertainment
- Yahoo
'MottFest' Mott the Hoople celebration coming to county
A weekend celebration of Mott the Hoople, one of the most influential bands of the 70s, and offshoots Mott and British Lions takes place in October in Herefordshire, the county that spawned the original band. Featuring live music, film screenings and spoken word events, MottFest 2025 will trace the band's roots around original members Pete Overend Watts, Dale 'Buffin' Griffin, Mick Ralphs and Verden Allen. The latter will take part along with musical director Morgan Fisher, who played keyboards in all three, Luther 'Ariel Bender' Grosvenor from Mott the Hoople's second incarnation and British Lions front man John Fiddler. Music journalist Kris Needs will recall running Mott's fan club over 50 years ago and host panels also including members of Mott's worldwide family. Formed and playing their first gigs in Herefordshire, Mott the Hoople was created by legendary producer and Island Records A&R man Guy Stevens in 1969, who recruited singer-pianist Ian Hunter and helmed four albums before David Bowie rescued the floundering band with 'All the Young Dudes'. ALSO READ: Guitarist to cycle from Sussex to Shropshire for album launch Afghan food and henna hand painting at event Don't let this church become another restaurant! Hits followed including 'All the Way from Memphis', 'Roll Away the Stone' and 'The Golden Age of Rock 'n' Roll' along with global success before 1974's split resulted in Mott then the British Lions. Throughout the fame, superstar pals and highs including playing Broadway in New YorkCity, Mott stayed true to their roots and extraordinarily loyal fans, some flying in from around the world for this last great event honouring the band. 'Mott the Hoople were never huge in terms of record sales and stadium tours, but they were massively influential and were the human face of rock music,' says Simon Rowberry, an event co-organiser working closely with Amanda Austin, Morgan Fisher, John Fiddler, Bob Griffin, Sue Jay, David Ellis and Kris Needs to celebrate the extended Hoople family. 'They were always approachable, even when starring on Top of the Pops — and have been ever since. The fans have had a great time following a band that has been the catalyst for numerous friendships across the globe, and at least one marriage. This is probably going to be our final get together so we want it to be epic, like everything else associated with the Mott family tree!' 'I'm honoured to be taking part,' says Kris Needs. 'Running the Mott the Hoople Seadivers fan club after first seeing the band in 1969 was an early life-changing highlight, along with dozens of gigs that followed. Members included the pre-Smiths Morrissey and Benazir Bhutto, who turned up on my doorstep! I'm looking forward to it immensely, especially interviewing Verden and maybe Morgan leading 'Rest in Peace'. There won't be a dry eye in the house!' MottFest 2025 takes place at the Corn Exchange, Ross-on-Wye, from 6.30pm to 11pm on October 3 and 1pm to 11pm on October 4 with a special memorial event planned for the Sunday. All profits will go to St Michael's Hospice, Bartestree, Hereford, and The Alzheimer's Society, charities chosen, respectively, by the families of Overend Watts and Dale Griffin, Mott's original Ross-on-Wye rock-steady rhythm section. Tickets are available online at:
Otago Daily Times
27-05-2025
- Sport
- Otago Daily Times
Beloved stalwart of Otago rugby remembered
Tuppy Diack. File photo: Peter McIntosh One of the best rugby players to come out of Gore has died. Tuppy Diack died earlier this month in Dunedin, aged 94. Diack had only a brief stint in the All Blacks, just the second test, playing on the wing, against the touring British Lions at Athletic Park in 1959. Diack, who was the first person to play 100 games for Otago, was born in Southland and attended Gore High School where he was head boy in the late-1940s. He played in the first XV at the school for the last three years of his education. Though he was picked for the first test against the Lions in 1959, an ankle injury led to his withdrawal, but he did enough. He was the son of Charlie Diack, a solid provincial player of the 1920s and 1930s. But apart from a period in 1954, when he played six games for Southland, including a Ranfurly Shield challenge against Canterbury, all of Diack's rugby was with Otago. He played 101 matches for Otago between 1951 and 1964. He was a member of the Otago side which lifted the Ranfurly Shield in 1957 and the 1959 win over the Lions. Diack was a long time teacher at John McGlashan College in Dunedin. In 2005, he had the honour of being the Otago Rugby Football Union president, having already been made a life member of the union, a prestigious honour. He was a mainstay at many practices for both the Highlanders and Otago over the years. Diack played top rugby until 1964, when he retired at age 32. He scored 53 tries and 706 points in 146 first class games.
Irish Times
23-05-2025
- Sport
- Irish Times
Gerry Thornley: Take criticism of Lions squad make-up with a hefty pinch of salt
Rarely, one imagines, can a British & Irish Lions selection have caused so little argument or controversy, save for predictable sources irritated and maybe even a little flabbergasted by the audacity of the best team from these islands in the last four years actually being the most numerously represented. Eh, seeing as it's little auld Ireland . What's happening to the world? And the temptation is also to avoid giving any oxygen to the headlines or red herring (dilute to taste) generated by Willie John McBride's comments on the inclusion of seven players in the squad who were born in the southern hemisphere. Yet McBride is a five-time tourist who played in a remarkable 17 Tests for the Lions, and who captained the undefeated side in South Africa in 1974. He also made 63 appearances for Ireland in a virtually unbroken run over 14 seasons, including 11 as captain, and was inducted into the World Rugby Hall of Fame in 2009. There's no doubt that McBride is one of the game's most iconic figures and is regarded as a Lions legend, not least in South Africa. In his squad for this summer's Lions tour, Andy Farrell included seven players – Jamison Gibson-Park, Bundee Aki, Mack Hansen, James Lowe, Pierre Schoeman, Sione Tuipulotu and Duhan van der Merwe – who were born in New Zealand, South Africa or Australia. READ MORE 'One thing that does bother me is that eight (sic) members of the squad are not born in Britain or Ireland,' McBride told South African publication Rapport. 'That's how things have changed over the past 60 years. In my day, the team consisted only of native players.' Of course, it is faintly ridiculous that the commitment of the aforementioned seven players to their adopted countries could be questioned, or that only 'native' players should be allowed wear the Lions jersey. Ireland, of all countries, should surely accept the right of, say, Mack Hansen representing the country from which his mother emigrated. Given Ireland's history of forced emigration, be it through famine or economic factors, it should be a welcoming country, one which embraces diversity. 'We've all done our time,' said Lowe. 'I am fully embedded in the culture of Ireland. Sione's captained Scotland. You don't have to question where his allegiance lies. My old man walks around in an Ireland jersey and a Leinster jumper. 'Everyone's got a different story, my story just didn't start in Ireland. But I can see it ending in Ireland. My two kids were born in Ireland. My wife and I are super happy with everything Ireland has given us and we don't see ourselves moving.' McBride's words probably carry more weight in South Africa (where he has been described as the Burly Britisher) than anywhere else. He has always retained a strong affinity with the country. Back in 1989, while South Africa was under the reprehensible apartheid regime and Nelson Mandela was still imprisoned in Victor Verstar Prison (he release came the following year), McBride was manager of a World Rugby XV tour to South Africa. The tour was opposed by the Irish Anti-Apartheid Movement and the Irish government. It was in clear breach of the UN policy on the sporting boycott of South Africa. Archbishop Desmond Tutu said the IRFU's support for the tour at a time when black children were being beaten, tear-gassed and detained without trial was 'obscene'. The IRFU subsequently expressed its regret over the tour but McBride was unrepentant. 'I will maintain that rugby players should be allowed to play against whomever they please, without politics spoiling everything,' he said. How convenient. The fact remains that the obscene tour of 1989 flew in the face of increasing global condemnation of apartheid and the sporting boycott of South Africa. More than any other sport, World Rugby's continuing ties with South Africa helped to validate the apartheid regime. More than any other sport, rugby's eventual conversion to boycotting South Africa – McBride and a few others apart – helped bring down the apartheid regime. So, if McBride is 'bothered' by the inclusion of seven players who happen to have been born outside of Britain and Ireland, then the rest of us probably shouldn't be remotely concerned.
Times
21-05-2025
- Sport
- Times
Steve Borthwick backs ‘incredible' Henry Pollock for Lions Test role
Steve Borthwick has tipped Henry Pollock to feature in the Test series for the British & Irish Lions, two months after he handed the young flanker his England debut. Pollock, 20, is the youngest player touring Australia this summer at the end of a breakout season. Since moving up from England Under-20 to the seniors during the Six Nations, scoring two tries in a 32-minute cameo against Wales, Pollock's form for Northampton Saints en route to Saturday's Investec Champions Cup final thrust him to the forefront of Lions head coach Andy Farrell's plans. 'I think nobody would bet against that,' Borthwick, the England head coach, said about the prospect of Pollock featuring in the Lions Tests. 'There's fierce competition there because you look at
