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Irish Daily Star
21 hours ago
- Sport
- Irish Daily Star
British and Irish Lions betting: Predicting First Test XV could be a big earner for just €1
Take it as a certainty Andy Farrell has pored over Lions selection for the First Test against Australia on Saturday. He will have talked and talked for months and behind closed doors with such as Simon Easterby, Andrew Goodman, John Fogarty, David O'Siochan, Vinny Hammond, Aled Walters from his closed 'Irish' coaching circle on this Tour Yet he will still be very much his own man - and hard to predict. Indeed the bookies are quite certain neither the rugby experts nor the man in the street can guess his starting XV and they are quite literally willing to bet on it, player by player. Stop for a second and jot down your team; we have the prices down below so you can work out your combined odds and how impossible it is that you could be correct. While we have also put together some famous names and their predictions. There are those such as Brian O'Driscoll (his selection comes out as 328/1) and (ROG 240/1 against his XV) who, if you believe they are right, have tasty prices. A 'safe' team guess could net between 25/1 and 40/1 depending on, say, whether the preference is for Josh van der Flier or Jack Morgan or Tom Curry for no7 and whether it's Hugo Keenan or Blair Kinghorn no15. There is more than one player at a tasty price who has a sneaking chance and one of those, at 12/1 is good value, and could send your bet into very high numbers. Do remember there can often be injuries at training. Keep in mind that the Lions, so far this tour, have preferred to keep schtum about some of them (Ringrose's concussion, Keenan's illness...) On that subject Ringrose, who must go through the concussion protocols, is ruled out of the First Test and therefore not in the betting. "You don't mess around with those things, he is 12 days out but back in the midweek game before the Second Test," said Andy Farrell. Ringrose had started twice (Force, Brumbies) and came on as a sub once to here (Reds) scoring a try on each occasion while his absence will have scuppered a lot of ante-post bets. He would have been circa 1/2 to start and brought Bundee Aki to circa 10/11 with Huw Jones and Sione Tuipolutu more like 6/4 and 7/4 respectively. Owen Farrell, by the way, has to be taken into account here. He was parachuted into the squad for Elliot Daly who is a full-back, a winger and a second-centre but the replacement is not a like-for-like. Given the coach's choice for the first-centre shirt was, when they set off for Oz, between Bundee Aki and Sione Tuipulotu. Lion's Owen Farrell - can he make the XV (Image: ©INPHO/Dan Sheridan) And given Ringrose's injury and that the Scotland captain is not needed as captain here, was poor against Argentina, decent against Force and Waratahs and has yet to score, Andy may be thinking Owen could do a job... Putting the conspiracy theories aside for the minutes and notwithstanding Tuipulotu-Jones is a proven Six Nations combination and would be playing outside their Scotland no10 Finn Russell, Farrell is a meaty 12/1 to start. Watch too the way the second-row and the back-row has been laid out below. That's because Tadhg Beirne and Ollie Chessum could play in either of the rows if needed. There is a not unreasonable theory that Farrell wants Beirne in the side but he may have had that thought downgraded as Joe McCarty and Chessum threw down specific markers. Working from the high numbers down, Blair Kinghorn and Hugo Keenan were most likely level in the pecking order in the run up to the squad assembling. But Kinghorn's late arrival and spraining his knee against Brumbies, coupled with Keenan's strong showing coming back from illness against AUNZ last Saturday has swung this in the Irish player's favour. "Blair didn't look great against the Brumbies and it was the right call to take him off,' says Simon Easterby of this. 'But the scan showed up far better than we feared. "We're hopeful he'll be back in training by Tuesday(48 hours before team selection). Then it becomes a bit of a waiting game. We'll see how he responds and give him every chance to be available for that first Test. 'These things are often touch and go, we'll take it day by day. And if it doesn't work out, we've got strong depth and guys who are ready to step in.' Some got a little over excited about Mack Hansen's cameo from the bench in that AUNZ game but England's Tommy Freeman was one of the first players to nail down a spot once the games began. Whatever about metres-made, scurrying, tackling and other things Hansen does well, he is not a patch on Freeman when Northampton winger, helped by his 6'3" frame, is superb in the air. James Lowe is central to a lot of Farrell's thinking around defensive exit plays, hasn't put a foot wrong and is miles ahead of the left-wing contender Duhan van der Merwe who is having an error-strewn tour. Finn Russell and Jamison Gibson-Park will comprise the half-backs, to such an extent they may be about to go down in history as one of the Lions best ever half-back combinations - certainly the best mixed-nation half-back combination ever. The Andrew-Porter-Ellis Genge call is much tighter than the betting suggests, with Porter available at 9/4 to start and Genge 1/3. If Farrell picked this team four/five/six months ago, Porter was the guy in form at the 2025 Six Nations while Genge hit the ground running on Tour. This is an interesting two cents from Ronan O'Gara here (see 'ROG's XV' below) who suggests the Lions would be best served by flipping some of the front-row and using them as 'finishers'. He wants Ronan Kelleher to start for instance. Notwithstanding that logic, Dan Sheehan is favourite to start not least as his early captaincy established his leadership credentials - Farrell, the 'Man of Steel, loves leaders. Tadhg Furlong looked to have done enough last time out, Will Stuart's stock has gone backwards since they have been in-country, he has looked nervous, hesitant. Finlay Bealham might even make the bench here. Itoje is a certainty bar catching 'flu or closing a door on his nose this week while, as mentioned, messines, enthusiasm and willingness to put himself about has McCarthy sticking his big oar in. The in-form Chessum is being considered for no6 on the back of his size and line-out work. There is a three-way spat for the no7 jersey between Morgan, Curry and Van der Flier. Morgan has been making a late surge for the shirt, the English media have been over-hyping Curry and, if the team was picked some months back there isn't any direct evidence either should be ahead of van der Flier. Jack Conan has been used sparingly, a sub against Force on first arrival, starting against Reds and clocking up astonishing attacking and defensive numbers against Brumbies. He is the only natural no8 in the squad and started each of the three Tests four years back. He holds all the aces over Ben Earl. FIRST TEST vs Australia PLAYER BY PLAYER BETTING BACK-THREE - Tommy Freeman 1/8, James Lowe 1/8, Hugo Keenan 8/11, Blair Kinghorn 1/1, Mack Hansen 11/4, Duhan van der Merwe 5/1 CENTRES - Huw Jones 1/8, Sione Tuipulotu 1/8, Bundee Aki 7/4, Owen Farrell 12/1 HALF BACKS - Finn Russell 1/10, Jamison Gibson-Park 1/8, Alex Mitchell 5/1, Fin Smith 11/2, Marcus Smith 6/1, Ben White 12/1 READ MORE: British and Irish Lions vs Brumbies player Ratings: The good, the average, and you won't be making the Test Team mate READ MORE: Calling for a 'leader' mid-Lions Tour highlights pre-Tour selection absurdity - There is Only One F in Foley FRONT-ROW Ellis Genge 1/3, Andrew Porter 9/4, Pierre Schoman 11/1 Dan Sheehan 1/33, Ronan Kelleher 9/1, Jamie George 12/1 Tadhg Furlong 2/5, Will Stuart 5/2, Finlay Bealham 4/1 BACK-FIVE Maro Itoje 1/50, Joe McCarty 1/3, James Ryan 12/1, Scott Cummins 16/1 Tadhg Beirne 8/11, Ollie Chessum 1/4 Jack Conan 1/4, Jac Morgan 5/6, Tom Curry 10/11, Josh van der Flier 11/10, Henry Pollock 5/2, Ben Earl 5/2 So who would pick who, O'Gara, O'Driscoll, McGeechan, Woodward have all nailed their colours to the mast - who have they chosen and how big a bet would that be? First up, Ronan O'Gara says he would keep Porter-Sheehan-Furlong back as 'finishers' to overwhelm Australia at the close. ROG's XV: Keenan; Freeman, Jones, Aki, Lowe; Russell, Gibson-Park; Genge, Kelleher, Stuart, McCarthy, Itoje (capt), Beirne, Van der Flier, Conan . Pays a potential €240 for a €1 bet Brian Driscoll had Garry Ringrose in initially but we have substituted Huw Jones in there for him. This line up came without a nailed on tighthead so we have left the position vacant, it's a XIV! Brian O'Driscoll's XV: Keenan; Freeman, Jones, Tuipulotu, Lowe; Russell, Gibson-Park; Porter, Sheehan, AN Other, Beirne, Itoje (capt), Curry, Van der Flier, Pollock. Pays €328/2 for a €1 bet Lions legend Ian McGeechan has nine Irish players, selects Bundee Aki because of the way he 'carries the ball over the gain-line' but leaves Tadhg Beirne out as he wants 'big' at No6. Ian McGeechan's XV: Keenan; Freeman, Ringrose, Aki, Lowe; Russell, Gibson-Park; Genge, Sheehan, Furlong, McCarthy, Itoje (capt), Chessum, Morgan, Conan . Pays €66 for a €1 bet Former World Cup winning and Lions coach Clive Woodward is most worried about the composition of the back-row. Jack Conan, he says, is the only specialist no8, Jac Morgan get there by a nose following his superb Reds and AUNZ performances Clive Woodward's XV: Keenan; Freeman, Jones, Aki, Lowe; Russell, Gibson-Park; Genge, Sheehan, Stuart, McCarthy, Itoje (capt), Chessum, Morgan, Conan. Pays €64 for a €1 bet AI has looked at the tighthead slot and feels Finlay Bealham deserves a start which is an outlier of note. It also favours Tadhg Beirne at no6. AI, via and ChatGPT, has a go XV: Kinghorn; Freeman, Jones, Tuipulotu, Lowe; Russell, Gibson-Park; Genge, Sheehan, Bealham, McCarthy, Itoje (capt), Beirne, Morgan, Conan. €Pays 145/1 for a €1 bet Some believe this side was selected a good way in advance, that's the Andy Farrell way. Thus Keenan over Kinghorn, JVDF over Morgan, Conan over only player to have played himself in is Ollie Chessum. There is Only One F in Foley XV: Keenan; Freeman, Jones, Tuipulotu, Lowe; Russell, Gibson-Park; Genge, Sheehan, Furlong, McCarthy, Itoje (capt), Chessum, Van der Flier, Conan. Pays €29 for a €1 bet Sneaky One F bet (same team as directly above but with Owen Farrell as no12 instead of Bundee Aki... Pays €339 for a €1 bet Get the latest sports headlines straight to your inbox by signing up for free email .
Irish Daily Mirror
a day ago
- Sport
- Irish Daily Mirror
British and Irish Lions betting: €1 guess at 1st Test XV could be a big earner
Take it as a certainty Andy Farrell has pored over Lions selection for the First Test against Australia on Saturday. He will have talked and talked for months and behind closed doors with such as Simon Easterby, Andrew Goodman, John Fogarty, David O'Siochan, Vinny Hammond, Aled Walters from his closed 'Irish' coaching circle on this Tour Yet he will still be very much his own man - and hard to predict. Indeed the bookies are quite certain neither the rugby experts nor the man in the street can guess his starting XV and they are quite literally willing to bet on it, player by player. Stop for a second and jot down your team; we have the prices down below so you can work out your combined odds and how impossible it is that you could be correct. While we have also put together some famous names and their predictions. There are those such as Brian O'Driscoll (his selection comes out as 328/1) and (ROG 240/1 against his XV) who, if you believe they are right, have tasty prices. A 'safe' team guess could net between 25/1 and 40/1 depending on, say, whether the preference is for Josh van der Flier or Jack Morgan or Tom Curry for no7 and whether it's Hugo Keenan or Blair Kinghorn no15. There is more than one player at a tasty price who has a sneaking chance and one of those, at 12/1 is good value, and could send your bet into very high numbers. Do remember there can often be injuries at training. Keep in mind that the Lions, so far this tour, have preferred to keep schtum about some of them (Ringrose's concussion, Keenan's illness...) On that subject Ringrose, who must go through the concussion protocols, is ruled out of the First Test and therefore not in the betting. "You don't mess around with those things, he is 12 days out but back in the midweek game before the Second Test," said Andy Farrell. Ringrose had started twice (Force, Brumbies) and came on as a sub once to here (Reds) scoring a try on each occasion while his absence will have scuppered a lot of ante-post bets. He would have been circa 1/2 to start and brought Bundee Aki to circa 10/11 with Huw Jones and Sione Tuipolutu more like 6/4 and 7/4 respectively. Owen Farrell, by the way, has to be taken into account here. He was parachuted into the squad for Elliot Daly who is a full-back, a winger and a second-centre but the replacement is not a like-for-like. Given the coach's choice for the first-centre shirt was, when they set off for Oz, between Bundee Aki and Sione Tuipulotu. And given Ringrose's injury and that the Scotland captain is not needed as captain here, was poor against Argentina, decent against Force and Waratahs and has yet to score, Andy may be thinking Owen could do a job... Putting the conspiracy theories aside for the minutes and notwithstanding Tuipulotu-Jones is a proven Six Nations combination and would be playing outside their Scotland no10 Finn Russell, Farrell is a meaty 12/1 to start. Watch too the way the second-row and the back-row has been laid out below. That's because Tadhg Beirne and Ollie Chessum could play in either of the rows if needed. There is a not unreasonable theory that Farrell wants Beirne in the side but he may have had that thought downgraded as Joe McCarty and Chessum threw down specific markers. Working from the high numbers down, Blair Kinghorn and Hugo Keenan were most likely level in the pecking order in the run up to the squad assembling. But Kinghorn's late arrival and spraining his knee against Brumbies, coupled with Keenan's strong showing coming back from illness against AUNZ last Saturday has swung this in the Irish player's favour. "Blair didn't look great against the Brumbies and it was the right call to take him off,' says Simon Easterby of this. 'But the scan showed up far better than we feared. "We're hopeful he'll be back in training by Tuesday(48 hours before team selection). Then it becomes a bit of a waiting game. We'll see how he responds and give him every chance to be available for that first Test. 'These things are often touch and go, we'll take it day by day. And if it doesn't work out, we've got strong depth and guys who are ready to step in.' Some got a little over excited about Mack Hansen's cameo from the bench in that AUNZ game but England's Tommy Freeman was one of the first players to nail down a spot once the games began. Whatever about metres-made, scurrying, tackling and other things Hansen does well, he is not a patch on Freeman when Northampton winger, helped by his 6'3" frame, is superb in the air. James Lowe is central to a lot of Farrell's thinking around defensive exit plays, hasn't put a foot wrong and is miles ahead of the left-wing contender Duhan van der Merwe who is having an error-strewn tour. Finn Russell and Jamison Gibson-Park will comprise the half-backs, to such an extent they may be about to go down in history as one of the Lions best ever half-back combinations - certainly the best mixed-nation half-back combination ever. The Andrew-Porter-Ellis Genge call is much tighter than the betting suggests, with Porter available at 9/4 to start and Genge 1/3. If Farrell picked this team four/five/six months ago, Porter was the guy in form at the 2025 Six Nations while Genge hit the ground running on Tour. This is an interesting two cents from Ronan O'Gara here (see 'ROG's XV' below) who suggests the Lions would be best served by flipping some of the front-row and using them as 'finishers'. He wants Ronan Kelleher to start for instance. Notwithstanding that logic, Dan Sheehan is favourite to start not least as his early captaincy established his leadership credentials - Farrell, the 'Man of Steel, loves leaders. Tadhg Furlong looked to have done enough last time out, Will Stuart's stock has gone backwards since they have been in-country, he has looked nervous, hesitant. Finlay Bealham might even make the bench here. Itoje is a certainty bar catching 'flu or closing a door on his nose this week while, as mentioned, messines, enthusiasm and willingness to put himself about has McCarthy sticking his big oar in. The in-form Chessum is being considered for no6 on the back of his size and line-out work. There is a three-way spat for the no7 jersey between Morgan, Curry and Van der Flier. Morgan has been making a late surge for the shirt, the English media have been over-hyping Curry and, if the team was picked some months back there isn't any direct evidence either should be ahead of van der Flier. Jack Conan has been used sparingly, a sub against Force on first arrival, starting against Reds and clocking up astonishing attacking and defensive numbers against Brumbies. He is the only natural no8 in the squad and started each of the three Tests four years back. He holds all the aces over Ben Earl. FIRST TEST vs Australia PLAYER BY PLAYER BETTING BACK-THREE - Tommy Freeman 1/8, James Lowe 1/8, Hugo Keenan 8/11, Blair Kinghorn 1/1, Mack Hansen 11/4, Duhan van der Merwe 5/1 CENTRES -Huw Jones 1/8, Sione Tuipulotu 1/8, Bundee Aki 7/4, Owen Farrell 12/1HALF BACKS - Finn Russell 1/10, Jamison Gibson-Park 1/8, Alex Mitchell 5/1, Fin Smith 11/2, Marcus Smith 6/1, Ben White 12/1 FRONT-ROWEllis Genge 1/3, Andrew Porter 9/4, Pierre Schoman 11/1Dan Sheehan 1/33, Ronan Kelleher 9/1, Jamie George 12/1Tadhg Furlong 2/5, Will Stuart 5/2, Finlay Bealham 4/1BACK-FIVEMaro Itoje 1/50, Joe McCarty 1/3, James Ryan 12/1, Scott Cummins 16/1Tadhg Beirne 8/11, Ollie Chessum 1/4Jack Conan 1/4, Jac Morgan 5/6, Tom Curry 10/11, Josh van der Flier 11/10, Henry Pollock 5/2, Ben Earl 5/2So who would pick who, O'Gara, O'Driscoll, McGeechan, Woodward have all nailed their colours to the mast - who have they chosen and how big a bet would that be?First up, Ronan O'Gara says he would keep Porter-Sheehan-Furlong back as 'finishers' to overwhelm Australia at the close. ROG's XV: Keenan; Freeman, Jones, Aki, Lowe; Russell, Gibson-Park; Genge, Kelleher, Stuart, McCarthy, Itoje (capt), Beirne, Van der Flier, Conan. Pays a potential €240 for a €1 betBrian Driscoll had Garry Ringrose in initially but we have substituted Huw Jones in there for him. This line up came without a nailed on tighthead so we have left the position vacant, it's a XIV!Brian O'Driscoll's XV:Keenan; Freeman, Jones, Tuipulotu, Lowe; Russell, Gibson-Park; Porter, Sheehan, AN Other, Beirne, Itoje (capt), Curry, Van der Flier, €328/2 for a €1 betLions legend Ian McGeechan has nine Irish players, selects Bundee Aki because of the way he 'carries the ball over the gain-line' but leaves Tadhg Beirne out as he wants 'big' at McGeechan's XV:Keenan; Freeman, Ringrose, Aki, Lowe; Russell, Gibson-Park; Genge, Sheehan, Furlong, McCarthy, Itoje (capt), Chessum, Morgan, Conan. Pays €66 for a €1 betFormer World Cup winning and Lions coach Clive Woodward is most worried about the composition of the back-row. Jack Conan, he says, is the only specialist no8, Jac Morgan get there by a nose following his superb Reds and AUNZ performancesClive Woodward's XV:Keenan; Freeman, Jones, Aki, Lowe; Russell, Gibson-Park; Genge, Sheehan, Stuart, McCarthy, Itoje (capt), Chessum, Morgan, €64 for a €1 betSome believe this side was selected a good way in advance, that's the Andy Farrell way. Thus Keenan over Kinghorn, JVDF over Morgan, Conan over only player to have played himself in is Ollie is Only One F in Foley XV:Keenan; Freeman, Jones, Tuipulotu, Lowe; Russell, Gibson-Park; Genge, Sheehan, Furlong, McCarthy, Itoje (capt), Chessum, Van der Flier, Conan. Pays €29 for a €1 betSneaky One F bet (same team as directly above but with Owen Farrell as no12 instead of Bundee €339 for a €1 bet Get the latest sports headlines straight to your inbox by signing up for free email.
New York Post
5 days ago
- Politics
- New York Post
Dozens of troubled NYPD recruits finally forced to resign after faulty hiring standards
Dozens of NYPD recruits who failed to meet the department's standards – including for mental health – are now being forced to resign, or else they will be fired from the Force, law enforcement sources revealed Thursday. A total of 31 cops – hired between 2023 and 2024 under Inspector Terrell Anderson, who has since been transferred out of his role with the Police Academy – are receiving final notices for disqualification throughout the day Thursday, according to the sources. 'They all got called down,' a police source told The Post. 'They're being told: 'You didn't meet the qualifications. You shouldn't have been hired. You have 24 hours to resign or be fired.'' 5 Former NYPD inspector Terrell Anderson could face departmental charges. NYDP/ 5 Dozens of NYPD recruits will be forced to resign after failing to meet the department's standards. Matthew McDermott 'A lot of them are psych issues,' the source said. 'There are other issues too.' The officers' guns were removed over the past few days, the sources. Patrick Hendry, president of the Police Benevolent Association, is seeking a temporary restraining order to stop the cops' removal from the department. 5 Former NYPD inspector Terrell Anderson led the NYPD 'Candidate Assessment Division.' Facebook 'These police officers aren't responsible for the NYPD's broken hiring process,' Hendry said. 'As far as they know, they were qualified to be New York City police officers, because the NYPD hired and trained them.' 'It is an absolute travesty that the department is trying to cover its tracks by summarily forcing them off the job, without affording them the same appeal process available to other applicants,' the union head said. 'We are exploring all legal options to protect our members' rights and hold the NYPD accountable for this complete management failure.' 5 Dozens of NYPD recruits who failed to meet the department's standards are being forced to resign. STEPHEN YANG Meanwhile, Anderson, who led the NYPD's 'Candidate Assessment Division,' was transferred to the housing unit back May 12 as part of an Internal Affairs Bureau probe into claims he allowed more than 70 candidates to stay at the academy, even though they had failed the psych requirements. Anderson could now face departmental charges, according to the sources. Among the troubled recruits allegedly kept on by Anderson was Emilio Andino, the nephew of ex-NYPD Lt. Quathisha Epps — the former department bigwig implicated in a tawdry sex-for-OT scandal, the sources said. 5 Emilio Andino and his aunt Quathisha Epps. Obtained by the NY Post Andino, who was on probation, was previously fired after getting into a fight at the academy, according to the sources.
West Australian
07-07-2025
- Sport
- West Australian
Western Force's Simon Cron, Brandon Paenga-Amosa and Mac Grealy named in AUNZ invitational side
Having already impressed against the British and Irish Lions, a pair of Western Force starters — and their coach — will get a chance at an encore in Adelaide this week. Brandon Paenga-Amosa and Mac Grealy will be the Force representatives named in the AUNZ squad to face the Lions at Adelaide Oval on Saturday in their final tune-up before the Wallabies Tests begin. Force coach Simon Cron will also serve as an assistant to departing Reds and incoming Wallabies coach Les Kiss. The AUNZ invitational squad, which features players from both Australia and New Zealand, was officially unveiled today following the drip-feeding of several members over the past month. Hooker Paenga-Amosa, who had an injury-affected first season out west, showed his class against the Lions in the Force's clash with them at Optus Stadium. The Wallabies front-rower helped the Force turn the tables on the Lions' scrum and after he missed out on selection for Australia's squad to face Fiji, Paenga-Amosa will have another chance to catch Joe Schmidt's eye. Grealy's selection comes after his impressive showing against the Lions, where he repeatedly threatened with the ball in hand. The outside back finished the match with a team-high 71 carry metres and nine broken tackles. Eight All Blacks have been named in the 30-man squad, and a host of Super Rugby Pacific-based Kiwi stars have also been included, such as Hoskins Sotutu. There are also nine former Wallabies in the side, including Darcy Lancaster, who impressed for the Waratahs against the Lions over the weekend and has been linked with a move to the Force. Two-time John Eales Medalist Marika Koroibete has flown in from Japan for the game after the winger struggled to impress Schmidt for the Wallabies last year.
Irish Daily Mirror
06-07-2025
- Sport
- Irish Daily Mirror
Calling for a 'leader' mid-Tour is selection absurdity - Only One F in Foley
The decisions will have to come hard and fast from Andy Farrell from herein as the reality begins to sink in. He has learned little from assembly, travel and four games to here - and some of what has learned has had to be revised. Imagine spending your time with the certainty that the earth was flat only to find out the gang of geeks at the back of the class - Pythagoras, Permenides, Aristotle and Eratosthenes - were right all along. Turns out they weren't geeks after all; they were 'Greeks', you'd misheard, got that wrong too. This Lions squad assembled in Dublin 28 days ago (June 9th), played and lost against a highly motivated, world-ranked fifth opposition, Argentina, 13 days later and lost... Left for Australia the next day (June 21st) and set about on what was hoped would be a learning curve, aimed at sorting out Test selection, with facile wins over ready-up sides Force (June 28) and Reds (July 2nd). Only to slide down a greasy pole with an unnervingly listless display against Waratahs yesterday, another team they were supposed to have a handy training spin against. The 'Tahs did Farrell few favours, not least in allowing a few players back into the Test selection mix; last Friday night there was a list of eight players who were not going to be involved in the first Test, they had played and weren't up to scratch. Then came the game in Sydney and four of those played themselves back into contention in face of almost everyone else in the starting Xv looking like they were there after a night on the town. Charlie Gamble, the Waratahs no7, was the real Man of the Match no matter how desperate a fawning Lions supporting media wanted to give the TV bauble to a red shirt. Moreover the 29 year-old uncapped journeyman's (59 Waratahs appearances 2020-) moustache - which could probably store enough food for a 20-day outback walkabout, maybe even fight off wild animals - was the second best thing about the game. And given Farrell had gone into the game with a 'list' of eight players who had dropped off into the dirt-tracked category, Marcus Smith, Huw Jones, Pierre Schoeman, Scott Cummins, James Ryan, Tom Curry, Ben Earls... Plus Ben White, called in for the unfortunate Tomas Williams, and who to be fair doesn't have any blame attached to being the eighth. So imagine the confusion as the done-to-there jig-saw gets tipped over as Cummins and Jones (along with Alex Mitchell) looked the best Lions on the pitch, Schoeman wins four scrum penalties from eight scrums and Earls rehabilitates himself as a contender for no8. If there was a notional first XV and matchday bench in place after the squad was announced it was always going to take a buffeting once the games began - no plan survives first contact. But three games in and having weeded out eight players, when it comes to four games in there are still 34 contenders and, embarrassingly, a player who has been called in has leap-frogged into contention before kicking a ball. Hello, my name is Owen Farrell: I can play out-half and first-centre or if deployed on the bench could be considered a utility centre or full-back too. Hello Owen, my name is Mr Every Lions Fan: Is it true that despite landing and assuming the role of the 40th player chosen you are now considered a real option because you have a 'stern' face... That the Lions management, who left you out of initial calculations, have brought you in when a player who does not play your position got injured - have looked at the raggle-taggle gypsy band to here and decried a lack of leadership? Consider this: Those who selected the Lions squad in the first place would have worked off a set list of criteria, sat down at no doubt exhaustive meetings and discussed with the boss - who remember had six months away from his day job with Ireland - who should travel. Skillsets, ability, form, durability, x-factorability, adaptability in terms of playing more than one position, disciplinary history, leadership qualities would have been in the mix. And that last one has ever so clearly been misjudged. There may be a very good reason for it too. It is, after all, hard to measure from a different foxhole. So when Chief of Staff Farrell (Ireland) along with Simon Easterby (Ireland), John Fogarty (Ireland), Andrew Goodman (Ireland), Aled Walters (Ireland), David Nucifora (IRFU 2014-24) and, undoubtedly, Johnny Sexton (Ireland) sat down to discuss this... The two most junior ranking coaches John Dalziel (Scotland) who is the lineout specialist and Richard Wigglesworth (England) who was appointed to his current England role in February 2023 can't have had much sway. Farrell is not wrong in bringing in his son Owen and he wouldn't have needed testimony from any of the other eight to make the decision. But this whole episode also asks questions of just how unlucky Scotland captain Rory Darge, Wales's Taulupe Faletau, Northampton's captain George Furbank, Bath's captain Ben Spencer or even Toulouse's Jack Willis were, not to have their leadership traits on tour. Scotland captain Darge and Faletau played in the 2025 Six Nations; Furbank and Spencer are the captains at their respective clubs and played in the November series for England while the latter starred in England's outstanding 35-12 win over Argentina in Buenos Aires at the weekend. European Cup winner Willis is ineligible to play for England under RFU instructions as he plays abroad. There are two theories as to what happens next in Australia as there are two games to come, against Brumbies (July 9th, this Wednesday) and against an Australia/New Zealand XV (July 12th) before the First Test (July 19th). The Brumbies were the best performing Australian 2025 Super Rugby club, making the semi-finals; the ANZAC selection up, will be a big step the toughest proposition to here; the move to Test rugby against the Wallabies will be on a different landing altogether. The Lions can either show their Test hand against Brumbies, which seems to be a majority opinion among observers. Or has Ronan O'Gara got it right when he says keep the potential Test side for the tougher of the two games, against Aus/NZ. This, he stressed, beds them down into a familiar international Monday-Friday week, working as they would in the Six Nations for a Saturday game. ATM the Lions first Test XV looks: Kinghorn; Freeman, Jones, Tuipulotu, Lowe; Russell, Gibson-Park; Genge, Sheehan, Stuart/Furlong, Itoje (capt), McCarthy, Beirne/Chessum, van der Flier/Morgan, Conan. If the side was picked before the side travelled Furlong, Beirne and JVDF get the call; if Farrell is to be swayed by the run to here they are under pressure.
