Latest news with #FirstNations&PasifikaXV
The Irish Sun
5 days ago
- Sport
- The Irish Sun
Garry Ringrose praised for selfless act that sent ‘very powerful message' to rugby players at all levels
GARRY Ringrose hailed medics for saving his Lions dream after a head knock almost KO'd his tour. The Ireland centre suffered a 2 The Blackrock native came off the bench in the Lions' win against First Nations & Pasifika XV 2 Ringrose's first international Test try actually came against Australia in 2016 That torpedoed his chances of playing in last weekend's 27-19 First But he chucked his hat in the ring for Test selection on Saturday by returning off the bench in Tuesday's 24-19 defeat of a First Nations & Pasifika XV. Ringrose, capped 67 times by Ireland, said: 'The medics and coaches are very supportive and probably after that game something wasn't sitting right. Read more on Irish sport 'Then I spoke with the doc and I didn't quite feel right so we made a call. 'It's a tough decision to make but they only want what's best for the player — so it is nice having that support. 'It's the nature of the beast. If you weren't dealing with that, there's some other little battle someone else is dealing with. "Everyone has their own story as they try to do themselves proud for their team-mates and family.' Most read in Rugby Union Lions boss Andy Farrell complimented his player's "unbelievably selfless" act. The Ireland manager said: "It was literally as I was walking off the field, Garry came to me. Once it's mentioned, that's that. England rugby stars marched off pitch after lightning strikes vs USA.. with match already delayed by hour due to storms "It's very easy to keep it to yourself, and lie, and not be honest and open. "It was very big of him, and the right thing to do. 100%. For the team,as well, not just for Garry." Irish Independent rugby writer Cian Tracey also praised the courageous decision by the Leinster centre. He said: "By self-reporting his concussive symptoms, Garry Ringrose has done more for rugby as a sport than scoring the winning try in a Lions Series. "It is a very powerful message that should be noted by every rugby player, regardless of what age/level they play at. If in doubt, sit them out." Fans have also commended Ringrose's bravery with one commenting: "He's shown a huge amount of integrity and courage. I hope other players learn from his example." Another fan added: "I have to agree with this. Well done Garry. One of the biggest opportunities of your career. Very tough after playing so well earlier in the series." BIG FAN OF THE FARRELLS Ringrose was sent on early during Tuesday's clash as he linked up with Owen Farrell in midfield. Ex-England skipper Farrell, 33, was a late replacement for Elliot Daly but stood out as he made three tries and led the charge in an early-game bust-up. And Ringrose revealed how Farrell — captain for the night in Melbourne — stamped his no-frills style on the squad. The Lions travelled from Brisbane to Victoria on Sunday and had just two days to prepare for Pasifika. Ahead of Saturday's second Wallabies clash, Ringrose added: 'When he talks, everyone listens. And in big moments, he consistently delivers.' While Ringrose is fit ahead of today's team announcement, concerns remain over Ireland pal Joe McCarthy. He limped out of the first Test with plantar fasciitis.
Irish Examiner
6 days ago
- Sport
- Irish Examiner
Selection headache for Farrell ahead of 'biggest game of our lives'
British and Irish Lions Tour: First Nations & Pasifika XV 19 Lions 24 The mantra which usually applies in terms of selecting a team to back up a victory is 'If it ain't broke, don't fix it'. Yet listening to British & Irish Lions head coach Andy Farrell in the wake of this midweek victory at Marvel Stadium gives one the sense that the golden rule of not changing a winning side is by no means hard and fast. That is not to suggest the performance produced by Tuesday's Lions team in overcoming a passionate and physical First Nations & Pasifika XV was an emphatic statement from a side of hopefuls eager to be included for this Saturday's second Test against Australia at the Melbourne Cricket Ground. Rather it underlined the current fluidity of Farrell's selection process in this three-Test series. Foot injuries to both Mack Hansen and Joe McCarthy could rule the wing and lock out of this potential series decider. Hansen missed the 1st Test victory in Brisbane while McCarthy was withdrawn on 42 minutes as he succumbed to plantar fasciitis. Neither have trained this week and with a day for the squad on Wednesday there is just Thursday's training session for them to prove their readiness ahead of that day's team announcement. The nature of the Lions' 27-19 victory is also food for thought, given their dominance over the Wallabies for the first 42 minutes as they opened a 24-5, four tries to one lead quickly gave way to a listlessness that allowed Joe Schmidt's side back into the game at Suncorp Stadium. Having the Wallabies bench outgun his own Lions replacements will have concerned Farrell and he will also be mindful that Schmidt is set to welcome back his two biggest ball carriers in Will Skelton and Rob Valetini. So dealing with a likely absent McCarthy and an underpowered bench all has to enter the conversation when Farrell and his coaches convene on Wednesday to finalise their second Test 23, a process the head coach conceded could be more challenging that last week's discussions in Brisbane. 'There's all sorts that goes into it, some performances, there's no doubt about that,' the Lions boss said on Tuesday night following their victory. 'But there's also what's right for this second game and what that presents and the make-up of the squad and how it feels, you know, is a few changes going to freshen it up or do we go with the same guys. 'All that comes into the pot and it's whatever's best for the team that we think that we need on a game like that at the MCG with over 90,000 people. So yeah, it should be like that shouldn't it, it should be challenging. 'I let everyone have their say, I play devil's advocate, and we thrash it out and we all agree. And that's it. That's exactly what we'll do again tomorrow.' Straight from the final whistle last week, the Lions acknowledged there was plenty of room for improvement from their first Test performance, however impressive they had been in that opening half. 'Plenty,' Farrell said on Tuesday. 'There will have to be plenty to get to the point where a win's on the cards because we know that Australia are going to you put a percentage on it, it's going to be a lot. 'If you can't get up for what's coming, we're all in the wrong place. To me, this is the biggest game of our lives, every one of us, that's part of our squad so we'll make sure that we address the week like that.' The performance at Marvel Stadium will also serve as a reminder to Farrell's squad about the importance of staying focused, concentrated and in the moment, even having raced into a 14-0 lead after 11 minutes. 'We weren't earning the right to play. There's an allure of space that we thought was there and it wasn't there because we found space nice and early. 'But we kept playing out the back and big wide passes and getting hit behind the gainline and making it tough for ourselves, especially when they were getting off the line and putting so many people through the ruck. It's very hard to control the ruck when you're going backwards. 'We just needed to keep playing the game that's in front of us and at times the space wasn't there so we needed to do the right thing and play in the right parts of the field. We were our own worst enemy once or twice there but I thought we recovered pretty well. 'It's a feeling of momentum isn't it? Whether it's flowing or not. A 14-point start shouldn't put you in a position where you start thinking that the space is everywhere so we need to be better than that.' FIRST NATIONS & PASIFIKA XV: A Muirhead; F Daugunu (J Debreczeni, 10 - HIA), L Foketi, D Feliuai (J McLeod, 41 - HIA), T Reilly; K Beale – captain; K Thomas (H Goddard, 55); L Ieli (M Pearce, 54), B Paenga-Amosa (R Asiata, 45), T Tupou (M Doge, 45); D Swain, L Salakaia-Loto; S Uru (R Leota, 51), C Gamble, T Taii Tualima (M Vocevoce, 67). LIONS: B Kinghorn; D Graham (G Ringrose, 16), J Osborne, O Farrell – captain, D van der Merwe; F Smith (M Smith, 66, F Smith 72 - HIA), B White; P Schoeman (R Sutherland, 74), J George (E Ashman, 74), F Bealham (T Clarkson, 50); J Ryan (G Brown, 55), S Cummings; J Morgan (B Earl, 50), J van der Flier, H Pollock. Replacement not used: A Mitchell. Referee: Nika Amashukeli (Georgia).
The 42
7 days ago
- Sport
- The 42
Ringrose shows class on Lions return in front of his family
THERE'S A BIT of a Ringrose reunion going on in Melbourne. Lions centre Garry's wife and young son have flown in to follow his efforts in Australia, as have his parents and two brothers. Throw in the fact that his aunt and cousins live in Melbourne and Ringrose is not shy of support. They would all have been delighted to see the 30-year-old make such an impressive return from head injury in the Lions' hard-fought win over the First Nations & Pasifika XV at Marvel Stadium tonight. 'The effort that they make to come to the other side of the world, you want to do them proud,' said Ringrose. Ringrose missed last weekend's first Test against the Wallabies because of that concussion but he is firmly back in the mix for the second Test on Saturday, having played more than 60 minutes off the bench against the First Nations & Pasifika XV. Speaking post-match, Ringrose was a happy man. But, as is his way, he firstly stressed how gutted he was for Scotland wing Darcy Graham having to limp off injured so soon after scoring a try on his Lions debut. Jamie Osborne shifted to the wing and Ringrose came on earlier than expected. He did his Test chances no harm with a razor-sharp performance alongside the equally impressive captain Owen Farrell. 'It was actually pretty cool to get a chance to play with Owen, someone I would have admired for my whole career,' said Ringrose. Advertisement Ringrose consoles the injured Darcy Graham. Billy Stickland / INPHO Billy Stickland / INPHO / INPHO The Irishman said it was hard to pick out just one thing that impressed him about Farrell. 'From the off, his leadership in the week. It was a challenging turnaround from the first Test, then you're travelling, then your captain's run. He didn't miss a beat in terms of that leadership and bringing players with him. Even the guys coming in, the challenge of new guys into the environment, and getting guys up to speed, he was leading that. 'When he talks, everyone listens. What he's saying is the right pitch and hits the spot every time, and I could feel it out there as well. That's not even talking about the rugby side of things. His ability at the line because he's that kind of 10/12, physicality at the line when it's needed. What else? His work rate for Duhan's try. 'The work rate to take the ball to the far edge, then off the ball his work rate to then be the link player for Duhan to score on the other edge. In big moments, he's someone who consistently delivers and he delivered today.' Ringrose delivered too. He was seen as being in the driving seat for the Test number 13 shirt before his concussion. Scotland's Huw Jones was good in that jersey last Saturday, but Andy Farrell must be heavily tempted to go with Ringrose this weekend. He said the second Test selection hasn't caused him any sleepless nights, although he obviously hopes he has done enough. 'Ah yeah, but it's the team first,' said Ringrose. 'Wherever I fit in to help the team win, I'll be all in on that. Yeah, happy out with the win today and then it's kind of a cool challenge in that it's a Test game in a few days and it's all hands on deck from tomorrow morning really.' Ringrose with Jamie Osborne. Dan Sheridan / INPHO Dan Sheridan / INPHO / INPHO The Lions have a day off tomorrow and while Ringrose said he will get some family time in, he will also be on the laptop reviewing his game and thinking ahead to the next challenge against the Wallabies. With Sione Tuipulotu, Bundee Aki, Ringrose, Jones, Farrell, and now Osborne all capable of playing in the midfield, the Lions aren't short of options. Ringrose was delighted to see Osborne scoring two tries on his Lions debut tonight. 'It doesn't surprise me,' said Ringrose. 'Lucky enough to train with him, especially before he even made his Leinster debut. 'You're training with him for a year or two, and you could just see he's got something. So absolutely delighted for him and his family as well. Called in late from Irish camp and then to fit in, it just doesn't surprise me.' And it wouldn't be any great surprise if Ringrose has a part to play this Saturday.
Irish Examiner
7 days ago
- Sport
- Irish Examiner
Andy Farrell: 'We started to play the game a little bit like an exhibition match and it was never going to be like that'
Andy Farrell railed against the 'exhibition match' rugby his British & Irish Lions played at times in a hard-fought 24-19 victory over the First Nations & Pasifika XV but acknowledged some individual performances had made selection for Saturday's second Test against Australia more challenging. The Lions were pushed hard by a team playing together for the first time to represent their cultural heritages as indigenous First Nations Australians and Pacific islanders. Farrell's tourists had raced into a 14-0 lead after 11 minutes at Marvel Stadium thanks to converted tries from debutants Jamie Osborne and Darcy Graham before sloppy play allowed their opponents to level the scores by half-time at 14-14. Second-half tries from Osborne once more and Duhan van der Merwe gave the Lions a 10-point cushion that proved to be required when replacement back-rower Rob Leota grabbed his side's third try of the night with 10 minutes to go. The First Nations & Pasifika XV performance earned Farrell's praise at full-time and though the head coach was pleased to have extended the tourists' winning run on this Australian tour to seven from seven since arriving in Perth a month ago, there still some issues with the collective performance he wished to address. 'I suppose first and foremost it is 100% congratulations for what was a great performance for First Nations & Pasifika side, it showed exactly what it meant to them,' Farrell said. 'They obviously talked a lot about how much they were enjoying their time together and they showed they were a really tough nut to crack especially when we went 14 points up. For them to stay in the fight like they did and put it to us for large parts of the game they deserve a huge pat on the back. 'As far as the game is concerned, I thought 14 points up and finding space everywhere, we started to play the game a little bit like an exhibition match and it was never going to be like that. So I was pretty pleased with how we addressed that at half time and started showing some proper intent in our game. 'Whether we got the rewards for it is a different story but we fought our way back into the game. I am delighted for a lot of lads who have just played their first game, some have just played their first game on tour, delighted to keep the Ws rolling.' The Lions boss expanded on his exhibition match comment by adding: 'We weren't earning the right to play. There's an allure of space that we thought was there and it wasn't there because we found space nice and early. 'But we kept playing out the back and big wide passes and getting hit behind the gainline and making it tough for ourselves, especially when they were getting off the line and putting so many people through the rock. It's very hard to control the ruck when you're going backwards. 'We just needed to keep playing the game that's in front of us and at times the space wasn't there so we needed to do the right thing and play in the right parts of the field. We were our own worst enemy once or twice there but I thought we recovered pretty well. 'A 14-point start shouldn't put you in a position where you start thinking that the space is everywhere so we need to be better than that.' Of the positives, Farrell pointed to the performance of two-try debutant Jamie Osborne, the versatile Ireland back called in as cover when Blair Kinghorn, Garry Ringrose and Mack Hansen were all injured. He also praised Ringrose, whose comeback from a 12-day stand-down due to concussion had come off the bench, pressed into service ahead of schedule on 16 minutes when tryscorer Graham's debut was cut short by injury. 'I thought he performed really well,' Farrell said of Ringrose, 'so some real good positives as far as that is concerned. Jamie Osborne for his first time wearing the shirt, I thought he was very good, so were others, Ben White has not been around for too long, I thought he controlled the game really well (at scrum-half). There were some nice individual performances out there.' As to whether any of those involved in Tuesday's game, the final midweek fixture of the tour, had muscled their way into consideration for Saturday's second Test against Australia at the Melbourne Cricket Ground, the head coach said: 'It has always been about the squad and we will assess where everyone is at. It is a different week for us with this game in between Test matches. We get to have a day off tomorrow and roll into work Thursday, Friday and see where we are at.' Farrell has injury doubts over wing Mack Hansen, sidelined since the AUSNZ Invitational XV win 10 days ago with a foot injury, and lock Joe McCarthy, who was withdrawn early in the second half of the series opener with the Wallabies due to plantar fasciitis in his foot. Yet fly-half Marcus Smith, the covering fly-half in Brisbane at the weekend, on Tuesday passed his Head Injury Assessment in the last 10 minutes of the game having just come onto the field as a replacement. Both players have just Thursday's training session to prove their fitness for the MCG and a potential series decider for the Lions following their 27-19 win over Australia. Of McCarthy, Farrell said: 'He hasn't trained so far but with the nature of the week, which is a bit different we will see how he is for Thursday,' adding that the lock was 'hopefully,' in contention. 'Mack's progressing. Whether he's progressing quick enough we'll see towards the end of the week.'
Extra.ie
7 days ago
- Sport
- Extra.ie
Watch: Lions fans slam 'stupid' Pollock after igniting fight
The British and Irish Lions just about got the job done on Tuesday after narrowly beating First Nations & Pasifika XV 19-24 in Melbourne. Leinster back Jamie Osborne was one of the highlights in a lacklustre performance after scoring two tries in his first Lions appearance. However, there was a brief moment in the first-half that caught fans' eyes when England's Henry Pollock found himself in a pushing and shoving match with FNP's second try-scorer Seru Uru. Henry Pollock's antics got mixed reactions on social media. Pic: Brendan Moran/Sportsfile The WWE-style fight was very much ignited by the Lions man but fans believe there was a bit of regret in his eyes before he was wiped out by the Fijian-born Australian flanker. Fans took to social media to slam Henry over his 'childish' antics that led to him getting thrown to the floor. One fan wrote: 'I know who I fancy in a scrap and it isn't the posh 20 year old public school boy.' Another added: 'Lucky the referee was there to stop Pollock getting taught a real lesson.' A third commented: 'Sooner or later Pollock is going to be laid out. That boy consistently bites off more than he can chew. To loosely quote Top Gun: 'His ego is writing cheques his body can't cash'. Tick tick on that.' Yet another said: 'Pollock yet to learn an important life lesson, no matter how hard you think you are there's always someone harder out there.' Henry Pollock and Sere Uru getting to know each other a little better 😅 — Sky Sports Rugby Union (@SkySportsRugby) July 22, 2025 However, it wasn't all negativity being thrown at the young player online. One supporter shared: 'The comments are embarrassing. You are meant to support your team.' Another remarked: 'There was a moment in that schmozzle where Pollock's life literally flashed before his eyes. In fairness to him, after the initial shock, he doubled down and fought back.' There was a TMO review of the incident but the referee decided that a lecture was enough for the pair of them.
