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Daily Mirror
10-05-2025
- Sport
- Daily Mirror
Ugo Monye backs Lions for Australia glory amid 'extra motivation' for squad
The British & Irish Lions squad for the upcoming tour of Australia has been named and former England and Lions star Ugo Monye has tipped them to seal a momentous victory Ugo Monye says the British & Irish Lions have all the experience they need both on and off the pitch to win in Australia. Coach Andy Farrell announced his squad for the summer tour this week and Monye expects the cohort to do the business. Monye, the top try scorer on the classic 2009 tour to South Africa, believes Farrell and captain Maro Itoje have the right tools to succeed in what will be a brutal series. He said: 'They absolutely can win in Australia. To my knowledge, this could be the first time in the modern era that they go back-to-back in Australia – they won in 2013, and now 12 years on it's back Down Under and they have this huge opportunity to do it again. 'It's an opportunity of huge magnitude but also huge difficulty. That said, this will serve as extra motivation for Andy Farrell and the squad. 'As for who needs to deliver big performances? All of them. And I truly mean that, literally all of them. It's not a cliche - literally every member of that squad needs to stand up and be counted. And there's loads of games to play before the Test matches. If the midweek team delivers, it gives energy to the Test team. ' Everyone needs to be rowing in the same direction for a Lions Test to be successful. Andy Farrell's such an experienced coach and before he coached he was a natural born winner as a player, too. And he did it in two sports. Andy is a legend in rugby league and a legend in rugby union. 'He coached me at England, so I understand how highly motivated he is. He wants to win everything. And he brings a unique approach to the table. 'He knows how to bring a team together, how to help the players have fun and feel relaxed. The balance of all that is very important, and he selected the right personalities in this squad to bring out all of those elements. I'm hugely excited for him and what he can bring to the Lions.' As for what Itoje can bring to the table after his spell leading England, Monye is in no doubt. He added: 'The biggest thing Maro will bring to the captaincy is being himself, and that's exactly what I expect him to do. Be himself. 'He's so experienced. He's captained Saracens, captained England, five Premiership titles, three Champions Cups, three Six Nations crowns and a World Cup Final appearance. 'When you're that experienced, and you be yourself, you allow others to be themselves as well. That's a fantastic thing, as everyone will feel comfortable in that squad and that will bring out the best in every player as a result. 'When you speak to Maro, he's a well-rounded character and he has often said himself that leadership is all about serving. He'll lead by example and he'll do it by serving his team-mates. 'I think his leadership qualities during the tour will look like many different things in many different ways but I'm thrilled for him. He's a truly exceptional person.' Meanwhile, Itoje believes it was the right call not to take Owen Farrell in the squad this time. He said: 'As always, there were loads of players that were close to going. It should always be difficult to pick the final squad for the British and Irish Lions, that's the idea. 'It's four nations coming together as one, with tons of individual quality across all four. It speaks volumes to the depth of the quality and players the calibre of Owen Farrell cannot make the cut. 'It's tough for Farrell and others who will, no doubt, be devastated. But while announcement day itself has come and gone, there will of course be the possibility of developments that are unfortunate for players in the squad but fortunate for those on the fringe - injuries, and so on. 'Between now and the tour, there may be some situations arise that lead to openings for new additions to the squad. And that's just the reality of these things.'
Irish Examiner
05-05-2025
- Sport
- Irish Examiner
Peter Jackson: Leinster fans must wonder if their team are under a curse
The Boston Red Sox went 86 years without winning the World Series in what became known as 'The Curse of the Bambino.' Leinster may now be sorely tempted to dabble in the paranormal and find out whether they have a similar affliction. For 86 years from 1918, the Red Sox finished runners-up four times, an average of once every 21-and-a-half years. The Blues from D4 have lost seven Champions Cups in the last seven seasons: four finals, two semi-finals and one quarter-final. This is exclusive subscriber content. Already a subscriber? Sign in Subscribe to access all of the Irish Examiner. Annual €120€60 Best value Monthly €10€4 / month Unlimited access. Subscriber content. Daily ePaper. Additional benefits.
Irish Times
05-05-2025
- Sport
- Irish Times
Leo Cullen under scrutiny after Leinster loss to Northampton
No team has a divine right to win the Champions Cup , as Leinster know better than most. Maybe winning their first four finals in 10 years set the bar too high. Even so, in the aftermath of Saturday's 37-34 semi-final exit to Northampton, a return of one Champions Cup in 13 years seems poor for all the investment in the playing squad, facilities and coaches in that time. The final in Cardiff in three weeks on Saturday, May 24th, will be between Northampton and first-time finalists Bordeaux Bègles, with Joey Carbery playing the last 11 minutes in dethroning the six-time winners Toulouse, by winning Sunday's semi-final 35-18 in Bordeaux. That will be a hard watch for Leinster supporters, management and players alike. 'I can't, unfortunately, comment on how you get judged over a long period of time,' said Leo Cullen when the return of one European title in 13 years was put to him after his 10th Champions Cup campaign as head coach. Leinster vs Northampton – the comeback final revisited Listen | 35:17 'If you wind the clock a bit further back, if you asked us in 2009, in 16 years' time you'll have, what, four Champions Cups? In the previous 14 years we had doughnut. So, it depends again how far you go back with some of those questions. READ MORE 'We would have loved to have won more. If you ask every team in the competition, they would have loved to have won more but we know how bloody hard it is to do it. We understand the pain that we're in at the moment. It's a horrible feeling for everyone in there, I can assure you. But what do we do? Dust ourselves off and go again.' Cullen has often cited how the Leinster/Irish model operates in contrast to the French and English clubs, who are backed by wealthy benefactors, although Leinster cannot really play the poor mouth. The playing budgets of Northampton and the other Premiership clubs are capped at €7.2 million, while the salary cap in the Top 14 is, in theory, €10.7 million. Leinster head coach Leo Cullen Cullen disputed the latest claims in the French and English media that the province's annual players' budget is € Leinster's budget is swollen by 11 players under central IRFU contracts, their annual wage bill is unknown. Most likely it is around the €12-14 million mark, but in any event, Cullen disputed the latest claims in the French and English media that Leinster's annual players' budget is €17 million. 'It is wild. That's miles off,' maintained Cullen. 'Unfortunately, people can write whatever they want. As we know, the system here is a little more complex than in other countries but we don't have a published salary cap. I don't think it's a conversation for this moment in time. I've seen some of those figures and they're just not accurate. How do you correct people who write things that aren't true in the current media?' Coming up short again hurts all the more after investing in a dual World Cup-winning defensive coach, a renowned French scrummaging prop, a two-time World Cup winning lock and a world-class, 68-times capped All Black utility back. But as well as the debatable decision to leave Jordie Barrett on the bench for the first 50 minutes after his man-of-the-match display in the quarter-finals, a defence which had kept two attack-orientated sides scoreless in their previous two knock-out ties was clinically dissected. A delighted Joey Carbery with his son after his side, Bordeaux Bègles, beat Toulouse in the Champions Cup semi–final. Photograph: Dan Sheridan/Inpho 'There will be a bit of head scratching there in terms of some of our mentality around defence and were we really clued in enough for some of the threats Northampton have,' admitted Cullen. 'We've seen them attack. The players have seen them, they know, but that's a big score to concede in a play-off game.' Cullen and Jacques Nienaber are both under contract next season and for all the disgruntlement among Leinster supporters, both will assuredly be in situ next season. A little taken aback by being asked if he was the right man to one day take Leinster to that cherished fifth star, Cullen responded with increasing defiance. 'Yeah, I think I am. Yeah. I believe that I am, yes. I think we've worked hard to try and improve the group year on year on year and I think the group is very strong right now. That's not something that's just created last week; it's year on year. Bottoms up? Exposed in a maul during the Champions Cup semi–final between Leinster and Northampton. Photograph: Billy Stickland/Inpho 'We've lost three finals over the last three years, but I believe we've a stronger group now than we've had and that's the way I will continue to approach the day-to-day in preparing the short term, medium term, long term. So, yes. And I'm very committed to that as well.' If there was any complacency in this semi-final after 62-0 and 52-0 wins in the previous rounds, it could only have been compounded by leaving Barrett on an all-international bench boasting 358 caps, as against Northampton's seven. 'I will look back on lots of different things, over the course of the next few weeks,' said Cullen. 'And, yes, when you don't win a game, particularly in a semi-final, everyone is going to second-guess everything. 'Jordie brought huge impact, and that is what we wanted from him. Similar with Jack Conan, as well, and a lot of other players that were on the bench. You look at us at the end of the game, we looked like a strong team, attacking the game. There's probably bits before where we weren't quite accurate enough. But I don't have regrets about that plan, specifically.'
