logo
#

Latest news with #ChrisLatham

Jason Robinson recreates iconic try at Gabba … leaving me in a heap
Jason Robinson recreates iconic try at Gabba … leaving me in a heap

Times

time2 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.

British and Irish Lions ready for first Test against Wallabies, with the time for talking now over
British and Irish Lions ready for first Test against Wallabies, with the time for talking now over

ABC News

time2 days ago

  • Sport
  • ABC News

British and Irish Lions ready for first Test against Wallabies, with the time for talking now over

The time for talking is over for the British and Irish Lions, with the first Test against the Wallabies in Brisbane little more than 24 hours away. There's been quite a bit of talking, too. Ben Earl told the Guardian last week the squad had been open about "being one of the best Lions teams." Henry Pollock, with all the enthusiasm and confidence of youth, sang from the same team sheet. "We want to come here and be the best Lions team ever," the 20-year-old said this week. "We have been talking about that loads and 3-0 is definitely on the table, hopefully. "We are all trying to strive to be the best team we can be and get that 3-0 win." Given the Lions have not, in a standalone tour, won a Test series 3-0 since 1891 — also against Australia — that's quite some confidence. It's riled some people up too, former Wallaby Chris Latham included. "For me, and I'm sure for every Aussie, it's like, 'OK, righto. We'll shut you up'", Latham told the UK's Telegraph. "I'm a Queenslander and it's ingrained in us to be underdogs and be able to pull a win out from nothing. "This is perfect for us. I've been feeling this now for the last probably three, four weeks while the Lions have been thrashing everyone else and getting cockier and cockier. "Everything you read, it's about 'how good are we' and 'we're building' and 'this is so great'. It's like, 'Yeah, you keep talking that, you keep believing that.'" The question would be, should the Lions believe it? This is a hugely experienced Lions team, with 933 caps worth of experience to call upon in their starting line-up and another 370 on the bench. The Wallabies have less than half that in their line-up, just 408 caps in their starting XV. Of those, 143 caps belong to James Slipper alone, with 80 on the other side of the front row with Alan Alaalatoa. And yet, the Lions have not won a Test series since beating Australia 2-1 in 2013 — although they did draw, memorably, against New Zealand in 2017. Before that, the 2-1 victory over South Africa in 1997 was their only other series triumph in the last 30 years. A hit rate of just two series victories in their last eight shows just how hard it is for the Lions to win Test matches on tour after a month of crisscrossing the continent or, perhaps more pertinently, being beaten up by local sides. Historically, victories over Australia have been much easier to come by than South Africa and New Zealand. Overall, the Wallabies have won just two of the nine series they have played against the Lions: the one-off Test in 1930 and in 2001. In that time, the Wallabies have only won six of 23 Test matches against the vaunted tourists. New Zealand, by contrast, have won 30 of 21, and South Africa, 26 of 50 — which all suggests that the strength of the local sides plays more of a role than cross-country travel. Back to the present day though and, even accounting for the obvious issues around bringing together a group of disparate players from different countries and melding them into a cohesive unit, has this Lions team been ripping up trees on tour so far? Against the Force and Reds, the points eventually flowed but against the Waratahs and Brumbies, the Lions looked rather limp, disjointed and anaemic in attack, penalty-prone at the breakdown, laborious at the lineout and, frankly, disappointing in defence. The Lions also lost to Argentina in Dublin before leaving for Australia. To put that shock into perspective, an under-strength England have have since won back-to-back Tests against that same side in South America. Yes, the 48-0 battering of the AUNZ invitational team was much, much better from the Lions: there was a directness in their running and slickness in their handling that had been almost entirely absent in the opening few tour matches. But how much of that was down to the aforementioned issues of bringing different players together — however talented — on short notice? "There's no overconfidence at all," Lions coach Andy Farrell said this week. "It's having an inner confidence within our group that we are going to go execute the plan when it matters. "There's a realisation of what it is and what it means and how privileged we are, but that does not get in the way of how we prepare to make sure that we allow ourselves to be the best version of ourselves." Farrell has picked a side for this first Test in Brisbane that is relatively safe when it comes to it — much in the same way he picked his squad as a whole. An all-Scottish 10-12-13 axis makes sense — Finn Russell, Sione Tuipulotu and Huw Jones play together well and contain the necessary heft to match the Wallabies' own dynamic midfield duo of Len Ikitau and Joseph-Aukuso Suaalii. This will be the key battle in the back line, with potential flashpoints simmering as four physically imposing centres all look to get the early shot that lays down a marker for the rest of the series — patience will be necessary, from Suaalii in particular, as his suspect tackling technique is laid bare for examination. There are no surprises in the tight five and the outside backs, given the injury to Blair Kinghorn, with Hugo Keenan stepping in. The back row was always going to be debatable and there Farrell has gone for power and experience — all three of Jack Conan, Tom Curry and Tadhg Beirne have previous Lions Test match experience. However, Harry Wilson, Fraser McReight and new man Nick Champion de Crespigny should not and will not be overawed and should have the upper edge when it comes to the breakdown due to their immense jackling abilities. Which makes Jac Morgan's omission all the more glaring. Not only does it mean that Wales is without a representative in a Lions Test squad against one of the Southern Hemisphere's big three for the first time since 1896 — although historical appeasement should never be the deciding factor in Test selection — his performances on tour have been very impressive. The last time the Lions played in Brisbane, eight of the tourists' starting XV were Welsh, with two more on the bench. How the mighty have fallen. Perhaps his non-selection over Curry comes down to how the Englishman bullied the Welshman at the Millenium Stadium back in March's Six Nations flogging. "You're actually gutted for players like Jac, Josh [van der Flier] and Henry because, playing good rugby, they could easily have been in this side," Farrell said. "I suppose it just shows the good place we're at as a group." Pollock, for all his chat and exuberant performances, will not have a chance to put the Lions on the first step towards a whitewash, having been left off the bench as Farrell weighed up his back-row options. Earl will play, though, Ollie Chessum the other option to provide back-row cover in a strong bench, albeit one split 5:3 to match the Wallabies and negate the Springboks' blitz-boks impact style. That's it now, then. No more experimenting. No more chopping and changing. These are the 23 who will look to write their names down in Lions history. Lang Park will be packed to the rafters, the sea of red singing their hearts out. The talking is done. Game on. Wallabies match-day squad: Tom Wright, Max Jorgensen, Joseph-Aukuso Suaalii, Len Ikitau, Harry Potter, Tom Lynagh, Jake Gordon, Harry Wilson (c), Fraser McReight, Nick Champion de Crespigny, Jeremy Williams, Nick Frost, Allan Alaalatoa, Matt Faessler, James Slipper Reserves: Billy Pollard, Angus Bell, Tom Robertson, Tom Hooper, Carlo Tizzano, Tate McDermott, Ben Donaldson, Andrew Kellaway Lions match-day squad: Hugo Keenan, Tommy Freeman, Huw Jones, Sione Tuipulotu, James Lowe, Finn Russell, Jamison Gibson-Park, Jack Conan, Tom Curry, Tadhg Beirne, Joe McCarthy, Maro Itoje (c), Tadhg Furlong, Dan Sheehan, Ellis Genge Reserves: Rónan Kelleher, Andrew Porter, Will Stuart, Ollie Chessum, Ben Earl, Alex Mitchell, Marcus Smith, Bundee Aki

Australia will shut up ‘cocky' Lions after Henry Pollock claim
Australia will shut up ‘cocky' Lions after Henry Pollock claim

Telegraph

time5 days ago

  • Sport
  • Telegraph

Australia will shut up ‘cocky' Lions after Henry Pollock claim

The British and Irish Lions have been branded 'cocky' by former Wallaby World Cup-winner Chris Latham after Henry Pollock's bold declaration that a 3-0 whitewash is 'definitely on the table'. A backlash to Pollock's comments earlier this week risks blowing up on the tourists after the topic erupted on Tuesday ahead of the first Test, with Latham relishing Australia's chance to shut up Andy Farrell's side. The tourists have won every game since arriving Down Under, leading Pollock to claim a side aspiring to be 'the best Lions team ever' can sweep the series 3-0. Latham, full-back in the Wallaby team that came from behind to beat a Lions side captained by Martin Johnson in 2001, said the boasts were music to Australian ears. The World Cup winner said: 'Personally, that fires me up. For me, and I'm sure for every Aussie, it's like, 'OK, righto.. We'll shut you up'. I'm a Queenslander and it's ingrained in us to be underdogs and be able to pull a win out from nothing. 'This [talk] is perfect for us. I've been feeling this now for the last probably three, four weeks while the Lions have been thrashing everyone else and getting cockier and cockier. 'Everything you read, it's about 'how good are we' and 'we're building' and 'this is so great'. It's like, 'Yeah, you keep talking that, you keep believing that'.' The Lions are red-hot favourites for the series but Latham, who has returned from Chicago where he coaches in Major League Rugby to be at the game, insisted: 'Without a doubt [Australia can win]. 'This is what we're built on. This is the Aussie spirit. We're built on being the underdog. We're built on being the outcast. I probably shouldn't say this but we were sent here on a boat and we built something from nothing. We're tough.' Australian rugby has been a punchbag since Eddie Jones' ill-fated return to coach the Wallabies at the 2023 World Cup led to pool elimination for the first time. Time and again since they have heard it said they are no match for the best Britain and Ireland can muster, not least when Argentina stuck 67 points on them last summer. The performances of the warm-up acts here have done little to change the narrative after the Wallabies stumbled to a 21-18 victory over Fiji. But Latham, starting full-back for the Wallabies in the first Brisbane Test 24 years ago, said: 'I've heard it all before. The 'best Lions team to ever come out', Australia's 'got no chance'. We went 1-0 down in '01 and came back to win the next two. 'My heart hopes and wants Australia to do well. We need to be competitive, make sure these games go down to the wire, create heroes for the kids. 'Anything's possible in rugby, that's what I love about this game. Anything can happen. So... yeah, strap yourself in.'

DOWNLOAD THE APP

Get Started Now: Download the App

Ready to dive into a world of global content with local flavor? Download Daily8 app today from your preferred app store and start exploring.
app-storeplay-store