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Times
18-07-2025
- 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.


Toronto Star
21-06-2025
- Business
- Toronto Star
Made in Canada: How a Toronto startup is navigating supply-chain shake-ups
In this series, we explore how Canadian businesses are contending with global trade disruption. Jason Robinson is wearing old sneakers. The co-founder and CEO of Evoco, a Toronto cleantech startup that develops sustainable materials, knows that one of the best ways to reduce your carbon footprint is to avoid buying new things. But he also knows that buying new things becomes a necessity as components wear out, which is why his shoes have a new insert: Evoco's FATES insoles, which are made from up to 85 per cent renewable plant-based content and are designed to biodegrade at the end of their lifecycle.


Irish Times
27-05-2025
- Lifestyle
- Irish Times
Trash-talk and rough sleeping: following the 2001 Lions' tour of Australia
June 2001. I'm on an overnight Greyhound bus from Cairns to Townsville. A typical post-university year travelling in Australia and New Zealand has taken an unwelcome turn after an equally typical relationship breakup. Initially there had been no plans to follow that year's British & Irish Lions tour, even though I had been enthralled by the classic encounter against the Springboks four years earlier. With my newfound freedom it seemed logical to head south, a couple of hundred miles down the coast, to see the legendary tourists in action. Unbeknown to me I was on the way to witness the birth of a new star in rugby union's galaxy. The next day Jason Robinson, freshly converted from rugby league, scored five tries in an 83-6 victory against the Queensland Presidents' XV. Robinson had been an unknown quantity in his new code, but no longer. 'The only real question now,' wrote Robert Kitson, 'is just how the Wallabies will deal with him when the Test series starts.' As the Australian media increasingly placed itself on a war footing it was Robinson – along with a budding Brian O'Driscoll – they were most concerned about. READ MORE After a taste of the unique Lions atmosphere, I was hooked. Itineraries were changed, flights booked, tickets rustled up. Sourcing a first-Test ticket proved impossible, so I settled for watching in a packed bar on Magnetic Island. Cue Robinson burning past Chris Latham, the Wallabies full-back, for that exhilarating first try at the Gabba. Cue utter pandemonium. A little later, the celebrations that met O'Driscoll's second-half breakaway try, one of the great Lions moments, remain imprinted in my memory. So does the local fan who told me after the match: 'Mate, it's the All Blacks we really want to beat. The Lions doesn't matter.' Jason Robinson celebrates a try for the Lions during the third test in 2001. Photograph: Billy Stickland/Inpho Not on the evidence of the coming weeks. 'Threat of a rout hangs in the air,' read one rueful headline as Australia came to terms with the Lions' first-Test supremacy. Martin Johnson's side had been dominant and Rod Macqueen, Australia's coach, had some thinking to do. On and off the pitch the Lions had been in the ascendancy. An inquest was held as to how so many foreign fans secured tickets for the Gabba. Australian gold T-shirts and flags were produced and distributed to home supporters in a desperate attempt to redress the balance. I was taken aback by the Australian media's tactics as defeat loomed into view. As far as they were concerned this was all-out war. Journalists saw themselves as the Wallabies' 16th man, and every opportunity to take a potshot at the tourists was enthusiastically seized. To Melbourne for round two, where Nathan Grey put the fearsome England blindside flanker, Richard Hill, out of the series. Graham Henry's side had looked on course for a series-sealing victory – they led 11-6 at half-time after Neil Back's try. A couple of big chances were missed – a break by Dafydd James, the Wales wing, lingers in the mind. Hill's enforced departure, and a momentum-turning Joe Roff intercept from a looping Jonny Wilkinson pass culminated in a 35-14 home win. Matthew Burke kicked six penalties and a conversion, Roff crossed twice. Game on. Richard Hill and Keith Wood of the Lions burst through the Queensland defence in 2001 - Hill's injury in the second test would be a major controversy. Photograph: Billy Stickland/Inpho 'The management insist it was an unpunished act of thuggery,' Kitson wrote of Grey v Hill. 'It is fair to say we are very disappointed,' said Donal Lenihan, the tourists' manager, after the Wallabies centre – who subsequently said the incident was accidental – escaped punishment. The Lions won three halves of rugby with Hill, and lost the next three without him. But perhaps some of the Lions' problems were self-inflicted. There were rumblings of discontent within camp about how hard the players were being worked. (Peaking in Brisbane before fading in Melbourne and Sydney would ultimately point to fatigue being a factor.) Austin Healey, meanwhile, caused a furore before the final Test when he labelled the Australia lock Justin Harrison an 'ape' and a 'plank'. The Australian media needed no further invitation to give Healey and the Lions both barrels. Tickets for that Sydney decider were like gold dust. Securing one involved a night in a sleeping bag on the pavement outside a branch of Ticketek. My girlfriend – we were back together by then – bravely joined me on the concrete. My personal life may have been mended temporarily, but a sporting calamity beckoned. Rob Henderson and Jonny Wilkinson in action for the Lions during the first test against Australia. Photograph: Billy Stickland/Inpho Wilkinson, a major injury doubt for the third Test, recovered and performed with customary grit. Home fans around us at Stadium Australia endlessly insisted he was about to 'choke', but a personal haul of 18 points would suggest otherwise. Still the Lions trailed in the dying minutes. They won a lineout in the corner. With Wilkinson kicking metronomically, even a pushover score out wide would surely be converted? But Harrison didn't need to think too hard about who the tourists would look for in the all-important lineout. He snaffled a throw intended for Johnson, and with it the series. Order restored, as the Aussies saw it, the Lions' threat safely seen off. But the conflict continued. Wearing a Lions shirt around Sydney attracted some trash-talk in the following days, often from children: the life of a sporting tourist in Australia. Those formative memories of 2001 – almost a generation ago, or what can feel like the blink of an eye – will last for ever, but some things never change. Maro Itoje and co be warned: the Aussies still hate losing, and are sure to indulge in a spot of Lions-baiting, too. — Guardian
Yahoo
27-05-2025
- Lifestyle
- Yahoo
Trash-talk and rough sleeping: following the 2001 Lions' tour of Australia
Jason Robinson scored five tries for the British & Irish Lions in their emphatic victory against the Queensland Presidents' XV in 2001. Jason Robinson scored five tries for the British & Irish Lions in their emphatic victory against the Queensland Presidents' XV in 2001. Photograph:June 2001. I'm on an overnight Greyhound bus from Cairns to Townsville. A typical post-university year travelling in Australia and New Zealand has taken an unwelcome turn after an equally typical relationship breakup. Initially there had been no plans to follow that year's British & Irish Lions tour, even though I had been enthralled by the classic encounter against the Springboks four years earlier. With my newfound freedom it seemed logical to head south, a couple of hundred miles down the coast, to see the legendary tourists in action. Advertisement Unbeknown to me I was on the way to witness the birth of a new star in rugby union's galaxy. The next day Jason Robinson, freshly converted from rugby league, scored five tries in an 83-6 victory against the Queensland Presidents' XV. Robinson had been an unknown quantity in his new code, but no longer. 'The only real question now,' wrote Robert Kitson, 'is just how the Wallabies will deal with him when the Test series starts.' As the Australian media increasingly placed itself on a war footing it was Robinson – along with a budding Brian O'Driscoll – they were most concerned about. After a taste of the unique Lions atmosphere, I was hooked. Itineraries were changed, flights booked, tickets rustled up. Sourcing a first-Test ticket proved impossible, so I settled for watching in a packed bar on Magnetic Island. Cue Robinson burning past Chris Latham, the Wallabies full-back, for that exhilarating first try at the Gabba. Cue utter pandemonium. A little later, the celebrations that met O'Driscoll's second-half breakaway try, one of the great Lions moments, remain imprinted in my memory. So does the local fan who told me after the match: 'Mate, it's the All Blacks we really want to beat. The Lions doesn't matter.' Advertisement Not on the evidence of the coming weeks. 'Threat of a rout hangs in the air,' read one rueful headline as Australia came to terms with the Lions' first-Test supremacy. Martin Johnson's side had been dominant and Rod Macqueen, Australia's coach, had some thinking to do. On and off the pitch the Lions had been in the ascendancy. An inquest was held as to how so many foreign fans secured tickets for the Gabba. Australian gold T-shirts and flags were produced and distributed to home supporters in a desperate attempt to redress the balance. As an English cricket fan, I was accustomed to Australia's Ashes tourists being received by largely upbeat media coverage, a smattering of polite applause, perhaps even a word or two of encouragement. I was taken aback by the Australian media's tactics as defeat loomed into view. As far as they were concerned this was all-out war. Journalists saw themselves as the Wallabies' 16th man, and every opportunity to take a potshot at the tourists was enthusiastically seized. Advertisement To Melbourne for round two, where Nathan Grey put the fearsome England blindside flanker, Richard Hill, out of the series. Graham Henry's side had looked on course for a series-sealing victory – they led 11-6 at half-time after Neil Back's try. A couple of big chances were missed – a break by Dafydd James, the Wales wing, lingers in the mind. Hill's enforced departure, and a momentum-turning Joe Roff intercept from a looping Jonny Wilkinson pass culminated in a 35-14 home win. Matthew Burke kicked six penalties and a conversion, Roff crossed twice. Game on. 'The management insist it was an unpunished act of thuggery,' Kitson wrote of Grey v Hill. 'It is fair to say we are very disappointed,' said Donal Lenihan, the tourists' manager, after the Wallabies centre – who subsequently said the incident was accidental – escaped punishment. The Lions won three halves of rugby with Hill, and lost the next three without him. But perhaps some of the Lions' problems were self-inflicted. There were rumblings of discontent within camp about how hard the players were being worked. (Peaking in Brisbane before fading in Melbourne and Sydney would ultimately point to fatigue being a factor.) Advertisement Austin Healey's Observer column, meanwhile, caused a furore before the final Test when he labelled the Australia lock Justin Harrison an 'ape' and a 'plank'. The Australian media needed no further invitation to give Healey and the Lions both barrels. Tickets for that Sydney decider were like gold dust. Securing one involved a night in a sleeping bag on the pavement outside a branch of Ticketek. My girlfriend – we were back together by then – bravely joined me on the concrete. My personal life may have been mended temporarily, but a sporting calamity beckoned. Wilkinson, a major injury doubt for the third Test, recovered and performed with customary grit. Home fans around us at Stadium Australia endlessly insisted he was about to 'choke', but a personal haul of 18 points would suggest otherwise. Still the Lions trailed in the dying minutes. They won a lineout in the corner. With Wilkinson kicking metronomically, even a pushover score out wide would surely be converted? But Harrison didn't need to think too hard about who the tourists would look for in the all-important lineout. He snaffled a throw intended for Johnson, and with it the series. Advertisement Order restored, as the Aussies saw it, the Lions' threat safely seen off. But the conflict continued. Wearing a Lions shirt around Sydney attracted some trash-talk in the following days, often from children: the life of a sporting tourist in Australia. Those formative memories of 2001 – almost a generation ago, or what can feel like the blink of an eye – will last for ever, but some things never change. Maro Itoje and co be warned: the Aussies still hate losing, and are sure to indulge in a spot of Lions-baiting, too. This is an extract taken from our weekly rugby union email, the Breakdown. To sign up, just visit this page and follow the instructions.


The Guardian
27-05-2025
- Lifestyle
- The Guardian
A flashback to following the 2001 Lions' tour in Australia
June 2001. I'm on an overnight Greyhound bus from Cairns to Townsville. A typical post-university year travelling in Australia and New Zealand has taken an unwelcome turn after an equally typical relationship breakup. Initially there had been no plans to follow that year's British & Irish Lions tour, even though I had been enthralled by the classic encounter against the Springboks four years before. With my newfound freedom it seemed logical to head south, a couple of hundred miles down the coast, to see the legendary tourists in action. Unbeknownst to me I was on the way to witness the birth of a new star in rugby union's galaxy. The next day Jason Robinson, freshly converted from rugby league, scored five tries in an 83-6 victory against the Queensland Presidents' XV. Robinson had been an unknown quantity in his new code, but no longer. 'The only real question now,' wrote Robert Kitson, 'is just how the Wallabies will deal with him when the Test series starts.' As the Australian media increasingly placed itself on a war footing it was Robinson – along with a budding Brian O'Driscoll – they were most concerned about. After a taste of the unique Lions atmosphere, I was hooked. Itineraries were changed, flights booked, tickets rustled up. Sourcing a first-Test ticket proved impossible, so I settled for watching in a packed bar on Magnetic Island. Cue Robinson burning past Chris Latham, the Wallabies full-back, for that exhilarating first try at the Gabba. Cue utter pandemonium. A little later, the celebrations that met O'Driscoll's second-half breakaway try, one of the great Lions moments, remain imprinted in my memory. So does the local fan who told me after the match: 'Mate, it's the All Blacks we really want to beat. The Lions doesn't matter.' Not on the evidence of the coming weeks. 'Threat of a rout hangs in the air,' read one rueful headline as Australia came to terms with the Lions' first-Test supremacy. Martin Johnson's side had been dominant and Rod Macqueen, Australia's coach, had some thinking to do. On and off the pitch the Lions had been in the ascendancy. An inquest was held as to how so many foreign fans secured tickets for the Gabba. Australian gold T-shirts and flags were produced and distributed to home supporters in a desperate attempt to redress the balance. As an English cricket fan, I was accustomed to Australia's Ashes tourists being received by largely upbeat media coverage, a smattering of polite applause, perhaps even a word or two of encouragement. I was taken aback by the Australian media's tactics as defeat loomed into view. As far as they were concerned this was all-out war. Journalists saw themselves as the Wallabies' 16th man, and every opportunity to take a potshot at the tourists was enthusiastically seized. To Melbourne for round two, where Nathan Grey put the fearsome England blindside flanker, Richard Hill, out of the series. Graham Henry's side had looked on course for a series-sealing victory – they led 11-6 at half time after Neil Back's try. A couple of big chances were missed – a break by Dafydd James, the Wales wing, lingers in the mind. Hill's enforced departure, and a momentum-turning Joe Roff intercept from a looping Jonny Wilkinson pass culminated in a 35-14 home win. Matthew Burke kicked six penalties and a conversion, Roff crossed twice. Game on. 'The management insist it was an unpunished act of thuggery,' Kitson wrote of Grey v Hill. 'It is fair to say we are very disappointed,' said Donal Lenihan, the tourists' manager, after the Wallabies centre – who subsequently said the incident was accidental – escaped punishment. The Lions won three halves of rugby with Hill, and lost the next three without him. But perhaps some of the Lions' problems were self-inflicted. There were rumblings of discontent within camp about how hard the players were being worked. (Peaking in Brisbane before fading in Melbourne and Sydney would ultimately point to fatigue being a factor.) Austin Healey's Observer column, meanwhile, caused a furore before the final Test when he labelled the Australia lock Justin Harrison an 'ape' and a 'plank'. The Australian media needed no further invitation to give Healey and the Lions both barrels. Tickets for that Sydney decider were like gold dust. Securing one involved a night in a sleeping bag on the pavement outside a branch of Ticketek. My girlfriend – we were back together by then – bravely joined me on the concrete. My personal life may have been mended temporarily, but a sporting calamity beckoned. Wilkinson, a major injury doubt for the third Test, recovered and performed with customary grit. Home fans around us at Stadium Australia endlessly insisted he was about to 'choke', but a personal haul of 18 points would suggest otherwise. Still the Lions trailed in the dying minutes. They won a lineout in the corner. With Wilkinson kicking metronomically, even a pushover score out wide would surely be converted? But Harrison didn't need to think too hard about who the tourists would look for in the all-important lineout. He snaffled a throw intended for Johnson, and with it the series. Order restored, as the Aussies saw it, the Lions' threat safely seen off. But the conflict continued. Wearing a Lions shirt around Sydney attracted some trash-talk in the following days, often from children: the life of a sporting tourist in Australia. Those formative memories of 2001 – almost a generation ago, or what can feel like the blink of an eye – will last for ever, but some things never change. Maro Itoje and co. be warned: the Aussies still hate losing, and are sure to indulge in a spot of Lions-baiting, too. There were a number of award winners last week at the Rugby Union Writers' Club lunch at the Oval, none more deserving than Sedgley Park's Matt Riley, recently retired from playing after 457 appearances for the National League 1 club. The 38-year-old former Sale centre represented the Lancashire side for 19 years, captaining them for the last decade, and holds the professional-era record for appearances at a single club across England and France. Riley plans to stay involved in a support role – training, video analysis and working alongside his successor as captain. 'There were a lot of sacrifices. I don't know how but I managed to balance work, family and rugby,' Riley said, having bowed out with a 63-24 home victory against Darlington Mowden Park last month. 'I honestly don't know how when I look back, but I got the best out of everything.' Perhaps some of the well-paid suits also present might have paused to reflect on what a career of selfless service to rugby looks like. Paul Turner, who left Ampthill on Sunday after 14 years as head coach having taken them from Midlands Three to a seemingly perennial Championship side, starred for Bedford during their victory against Rotherham in October 1996. Robert Kitson explains why rugby really doesn't need a Club World Cup. Michael Aylwin was at the Champions Cup final to witness colour and passion win out over exhausted Northampton. And Rob was also in Cardiff the previous evening to see Spencer's sparkle help Bath to glory over Lyon. To subscribe to the Breakdown, just visit this page and follow the instructions. And sign up for The Recap, the best of our sports writing from the past seven days.