Latest news with #HunterPaisami
BBC News
4 hours ago
- Sport
- BBC News
Australia release two Reds players to face Lions
Western Force v British and Irish LionsDate: Saturday, 28 June Venue: Optus Stadium, Perth Time: 11:00 BST Coverage: Live text commentary on BBC Sport website Centre Hunter Paisami and hooker Matt Faessler have been released by Australia to play for Queensland Reds against the British and Irish Lions in their match next six other Reds players - including Wallabies captain Harry Wilson and key back row Fraser McReight - have instead stayed with Australia to prepare for their warm-up Test against Fiji on 6 coach Joe Schmidt's decision to allow Paisami and Faessler to return to the Reds for the match on 2 July follows tension over whether the hosts' big names will be allowed to play against the Lions for their Super Rugby sides. Lions chief executive Ben Calveley had warned holding back Test players for the fixtures was contrary to an agreement with Rugby Australia and risked devaluing the Schmidt has argued it is counterproductive to release all Wallabies back to their provincial sides as he attempts to prepare for the three-Test also pointed out the Lions will not put out a first-choice line-up for every match, with a Test team and midweek side made up of more fringe squad members invariably and Rugby Australia counterpart Phil Waugh met on Wednesday to discuss the issue, before Schmidt opted to release Faessler and Ben Donaldson, who will stay in the Wallabies camp instead, admitted it would have been "awesome" to play for Western Force on Saturday in the Lions' first match on Australian soil. "Yes and no," he said when asked if he regretted not being able to turn out for the Perth-based side."Obviously it is out of the players' control - we do what the coaches want, we get the schedule and we come into camp."There are four Force boys here [retained by the Wallabies], five back there, so there is a good share back there ready to rip in this weekend."It would have been awesome to play - any game you get to play against the Lions is pretty cool - but we are in camp, preparing for Fiji next week and we are really excited to watch the Force boys play at the weekend."Donaldson is one of three fly-halves in the Wallabies squad, competing with Tom Lynagh to back up first-choice Noah Lolesio. If selection goes against him, he could miss out on facing the Lions at finished ninth in this season's Super Rugby Pacific table, the lowest of any of the Australian sides."Yeah, they will win I reckon," Donaldson said with a smile when asked about the outcome of Saturday's match."It is an awesome experience for them and a great challenge, you saw the Brumbies win 12 years ago so it is not impossible."Lions assistant coach Andrew Goodman said he expects all the Super Rugby sides to raise their game considerably for a meeting with the Lions that only comes around once every 12 years."If you watch a Force team or a Reds team during Super Rugby, it's not an indication of what you're going to get against a Lions team," he said."It's a once-in-a-life opportunity for most of those guys, so the level of intensity is going to be through the roof."
Daily Mail
5 hours ago
- Sport
- Daily Mail
British & Irish Lions demands pay off amid player availability row as Australia release more stars for tour matches
The Lions' demand for more Australia players to be released for tour matches has paid off, with two members of the Wallabies squad dispatched to bolster Queensland Reds. Following a meeting between Lions chief executive Ben Calveley and his Rugby Australia counterpart here on the west coast on Tuesday morning, it was confirmed that hooker Matt Faessler and centre Hunter Paisami are returning to Brisbane to represent their Super Rugby franchise. The duo will bolster the Reds for their showdown with the Lions at Suncorp Stadium on July 2. This will be perceived as a climb-down by Australia and a coup for Calveley, who had suggested the hosts could be in breach of the tour agreement if they didn't make their stars available for fixtures involving the state sides. 'The agreement is very clear; it says that Test players have to be released to play in fixtures leading into that series,' said Calveley. 'That is our expectation. It's very important that these games are competitive.' The addition of Faessler and Paisami – who have been training with the Wallabies squad in Sydney ahead of a warm-up Test against Fiji in Newcastle – will ensure that the Reds should be competitive in Queensland's state capital next Wednesday. It means that the Lions should be aided by another meaningful match, after facing a Western Force side featuring five Wallabies at Optus Stadium here in Perth on Saturday. Joe Schmidt, Australia's head coach, had responded to Calveley's comments by claiming that more players could be released after all – despite previously indicating that he would keep some 25 of his leading lights in camp, to avoid the spectre of untimely injuries prior to the Test series. Now, his Lions counterpart, Andy Farrell, will wait to discover if the Waratahs and Brumbies will be similarly bolstered for clashes with the tourists on July 5 and July 9 respectively, in Sydney and Canberra. News of the Reds reinforcements was welcomed by the Lions, as attack coach Andrew Goodman said: 'Oh lovely. It's exciting. Hunter is a great player. 'If you look at the Force players who've been released, I've watched a lot of their rugby this year and they've got an exciting group. If you watch a Force team or a Reds team during Super Rugby, it's not an indication of what you're going to get against a Lions team. It's a once-in-a-life opportunity for most of those guys so the level of intensity is going to be through the roof.' Meanwhile, the Lions will name their team on Thursday for the encounter with the Force and Ireland full-back Hugo Keenan is unlikely to be considered while he continues his recovery from injury, while compatriot James Ryan is also a doubt. However, scrum-half Jamison Gibson-Park – another of the large Leinster and Irish contingent – is set to be available for selection. Asked for an update on the recent casualties, Goodman said: 'Jamison trained pretty much fully today, Hugo continued on with a bit of rehab and James Ryan was out there doing some bits and pieces as well. It's all tracking well. 'A couple of them are still in return-to-play and we'll see how they pull up after today. We've got another training session on Friday. Hugo is still in that return-to-play process but the rest of them took part in training today.' Andy Farrell will name his team on Thursday for the match against Western Force this weekend Pierre Schoeman defended the presence of imports into the Lions squad from outside the UK Reflecting on the pre-tour defeat against Argentina, which saw the Lions punished for some loose and overly-ambitious handling, Goodman insisted that the British and Irish squad won't opt to 'tighten up' as a result. They are intent on winning the series against the Wallabies, but also winning hearts and minds in the process. 'We want to play good rugby. The group we've got here want to come over to Australia and play a nice, attractive brand of rugby. It will help grow the game if there are two teams attacking. When it comes to a Test match it's about winning, but we are going to develop our game so we can play at speed and give something to the fans who, as we've talked about, have paid a lot of money to come over here and watch us.' Meanwhile, Scotland's South African prop, Pierre Schoeman, has become the latest player born outside the UK and Ireland to defend the presence of so many foreign imports in the Lions ranks. It has been a contentious issue since Farrell named his tour squad on May 8, but the 31-year-old loosehead said: 'If you're good enough to play for your country, then you're good enough to play for the Lions and you're selected, obviously you're going to do that. 'Scotland is home for us; my wife and myself. I know other players, like Mack Hansen (Australia-born wing) has made Ireland home. You embrace that. It's like the movie Outlander. You move to a different country, and now that's your house. You live there. 'You buy into the culture. And now to represent the British and Irish Lions, you fully buy into that. You fully submerge into that. Nothing else matters. Not your past, not the future. It's about the now. Yesterday is gone forever, tomorrow might never come, so now is the time to live. That's what we do as Lions. It's about the now; this tour. This is what really matters.'
Straits Times
6 hours ago
- Sport
- Straits Times
Two Wallabies released to face British Lions in Queensland tour match
SYDNEY - The Wallabies released hooker Matt Faessler and centre Hunter Paisami from camp on Wednesday, allowing the pair to return to the Queensland Reds ahead of a match against the British & Irish Lions in Brisbane next week. The release of test players to play tour matches for their Super Rugby teams has been the subject of some disagreement between Lions management and Rugby Australia. Although Faessler and Paisami are experienced internationals with 14 and 31 caps respectively, six other Queensland Reds players will stay in camp preparing for Australia's only warm-up test against Fiji on July 6. Lions chief executive Ben Calveley on his arrival in Australia this week said that it was tourists' expectation that Wallabies would be released to ensure the tour matches were competitive. Australia coach Joe Schmidt responded by pointing out that the Lions traditionally put out a team of "dirt-trackers" made up of players who are unlikely to feature in the tests for some tour matches. The New Zealander also said there were plenty of players at the Reds who still might make the Wallabies squad for the test series. "You've got a lot of guys there who played for the Wallabies last year and some of them are returning from injury and we wanted them to play anyway," Schmidt told the Sydney Morning Herald. "Lukhan Salakaia-Loto played a lot for us last year. Josh Flook and Josh Canham played. Seru Uru played for us. Angus Blyth played. "Just about every player who will play against the Lions was in our wider squad." The Lions face Western Force in Perth on Saturday and play four other tour matches before the first of three tests against the Wallabies on July 19. Force flyhalf Ben Donaldson, who has been retained in the Wallabies camp, said he would have liked to face the Lions on Saturday. "We just do what the coaches want. We got the schedule, we come into camp. So there's four of us Force boys who are here, five still back there," he told reporters in Sydney. "Would have been awesome to play, any game you get to play against the Lions team is pretty cool. But like I said, we're in camp now." REUTERS Join ST's Telegram channel and get the latest breaking news delivered to you.
The Star
10 hours ago
- Sport
- The Star
Rugby-Two Wallabies released to face British Lions in Queensland tour match
FILE PHOTO: Rugby Union - Autumn International - Wales v Australia - Principality Stadium, Cardiff, Wales, Britain - November 20, 2021 Australia's Hunter Paisami in action Action Images via Reuters/Andrew Boyers/File Photo SYDNEY (Reuters) -The Wallabies released hooker Matt Faessler and centre Hunter Paisami from camp on Wednesday, allowing the pair to return to the Queensland Reds ahead of a match against the British & Irish Lions in Brisbane next week. The release of test players to play tour matches for their Super Rugby teams has been the subject of some disagreement between Lions management and Rugby Australia. Although Faessler and Paisami are experienced internationals with 14 and 31 caps respectively, six other Queensland Reds players will stay in camp preparing for Australia's only warm-up test against Fiji on July 6. Lions chief executive Ben Calveley on his arrival in Australia this week said that it was tourists' expectation that Wallabies would be released to ensure the tour matches were competitive. Australia coach Joe Schmidt responded by pointing out that the Lions traditionally put out a team of "dirt-trackers" made up of players who are unlikely to feature in the tests for some tour matches. The New Zealander also said there were plenty of players at the Reds who still might make the Wallabies squad for the test series. "You've got a lot of guys there who played for the Wallabies last year and some of them are returning from injury and we wanted them to play anyway," Schmidt told the Sydney Morning Herald. "Lukhan Salakaia-Loto played a lot for us last year. Josh Flook and Josh Canham played. Seru Uru played for us. Angus Blyth played. "Just about every player who will play against the Lions was in our wider squad." The Lions face Western Force in Perth on Saturday and play four other tour matches before the first of three tests against the Wallabies on July 19. (Reporting by Nick Mulvenney, editing by Peter Rutherford)
Reuters
10 hours ago
- Sport
- Reuters
Two Wallabies released to face British Lions in Queensland tour match
SYDNEY, June 25 (Reuters) - The Wallabies released hooker Matt Faessler and centre Hunter Paisami from camp on Wednesday, allowing the pair to return to the Queensland Reds ahead of a match against the British & Irish Lions in Brisbane next week. The release of test players to play tour matches for their Super Rugby teams has been the subject of some disagreement between Lions management and Rugby Australia. Although Faessler and Paisami are experienced internationals with 14 and 31 caps respectively, six other Queensland Reds players will stay in camp preparing for Australia's only warm-up test against Fiji on July 6. Lions chief executive Ben Calveley on his arrival in Australia this week said that it was tourists' expectation that Wallabies would be released to ensure the tour matches were competitive. Australia coach Joe Schmidt responded by pointing out that the Lions traditionally put out a team of "dirt-trackers" made up of players who are unlikely to feature in the tests for some tour matches. The New Zealander also said there were plenty of players at the Reds who still might make the Wallabies squad for the test series. "You've got a lot of guys there who played for the Wallabies last year and some of them are returning from injury and we wanted them to play anyway," Schmidt told the Sydney Morning Herald. "Lukhan Salakaia-Loto played a lot for us last year. Josh Flook and Josh Canham played. Seru Uru played for us. Angus Blyth played. "Just about every player who will play against the Lions was in our wider squad." The Lions face Western Force in Perth on Saturday and play four other tour matches before the first of three tests against the Wallabies on July 19.
