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Yahoo
2 days ago
- Sport
- Yahoo
Is Lions vs First Nations & Pasifika XV on TV? Kick-off time, channel and how to watch
With a 1-0 lead in the Test series secured in Brisbane on Saturday, the British and Irish Lions return to midweek action as they bid to continue their unbeaten run since arriving in Australia. A First Nations & Pasifika XV provide the opposition in Melbourne ahead of the second Test, with the invitational side replacing the Melbourne Rebels after the demise of the Super Rugby side. LIVE: Follow all of the latest from the tour clash The build-up to the game has been marred by an eligibility row that has seen back row Pete Samu ruled unable to feature for the home side having played his club rugby in France last season, though there is still plenty of talent in the ranks assembled by Toutai Kefu, the former Wallabies No 8 and Tonga head coach. The Lions will hope to maintain momentum as their wider squad get a chance to impress and perhaps force their way into Andy Farrell's thinking for Saturday's second Test. Here's everything you need to know. When do the First Nations & Pasifika XV play the British and Irish Lions? The tour game is scheduled to kick off at 11am BST on Tuesday 22 July at Marvel Stadium in Melbourne. How can I watch it? Viewers in the United Kingdom can watch the match live on Sky Sports Action and Sky Sports Main Event. A live stream will be available via Sky Go and NOW. Team news The First Nations & Pasifika side is captained by fly half Kurtley Beale, who gets a shot at Lions redemption 12 years on from his untimely slip in the first Test. Beale is back fit after missing an outing for the Western Force earlier in the tour through injury. He steers a side that blends some of Australian rugby's in-form Super Rugby Pacific stars with a couple of additions from the Fijian Drua on the bench. Pete Samu may be unavailable but it's still a strong back row group named by Toutai Kefu, with Charlie Gamble very good for the Waratahs earlier in the tour and the explosive Rob Leota on the bench. Tighthead Taniela Tupou and wing Filipo Daugunu have been released from Wallabies camp to feature. The Lions are led by Owen Farrell, with the Englishman stationed at inside centre outside of compatriot Fin Smith. Only three of those involved in the first Test back up as Ben Earl, Alex Mitchell and Marcus Smith retain bench spots in what is an otherwise new-look Lions side. Blair Kinghorn, who starts at full-back, and Garry Ringrose, set to feature off the bench, are welcome returnees from injury. Jamie George, Jamie Osborne, Darcy Graham, Ewan Ashman, Rory Sutherland, Tom Clarkson and Gregor Brown are all in line for their first appearances of the tour after being called up to the squad. Line-ups First Nations & Pasifika XV: 1 Lington Ieli, 2 Brandon Paenga-Amosa, 3 Taniela Tupou; 4 Darcy Swain, 5 Lukhan Salakaia-Loto; 6 Seru Uru, 7 Charlie Gamble, 8 Tuaina Taii Tualima; 9 Kalani Thomas, 10 Kurtley Beale (capt.); 11 Filipo Daugunu, 12 David Feliuai, 13 Lalakai Foketi, 14 Triston Reilly; 15 Andy Muirhead. 16 Richie Asiata, 17 Marley Pearce, 18 Mesake Doge, 19 Mesake Vocevoce, 20 Rob Leota; 21 Harrison Goddard, 22 Jack Debreczeni, 23 Jarrah McLeod. British and Irish Lions XV: 1 Pierre Schoeman, 2 Jamie George, 3 Finlay Bealham; 4 James Ryan, 5 Scott Cummings; 6 Jac Morgan, 7 Josh van der Flier, 8 Henry Pollock; 9 Ben White, 10 Fin Smith; 11 Duhan van der Merwe, 12 Owen Farrell (capt.), 13 Jamie Osborne, 14 Darcy Graham; 15 Blair Kinghorn. : 16 Ewan Ashman, 17 Rory Sutherland, 18 Tom Clarkson, 19 Gregor Brown, 20 Ben Earl; 21 Alex Mitchell, 22 Marcus Smith, 23 Garry Ringrose.
Yahoo
2 days ago
- Sport
- Yahoo
Owen Farrell to captain Lions against First Nations & Pasifika XV
Owen Farrell will captain the British and Irish Lions in their midweek clash with a First Nations & Pasifika XV in Melbourne. Farrell, called up earlier in the tour to replace Elliot Daly, leads a much-changed Lions side for the Tuesday night encounter at Marvel Stadium, with head coach Andy Farrell electing not to risk most of those involved in the first Test. Blair Kinghorn gets an opportunity to stake a claim for the full-back shirt after overcoming a knee injury, while Garry Ringrose is back involved on the bench after a concussion. Ben Earl, Alex Mitchell and Marcus Smith retain bench spots from the win over the Wallabies in Brisbane on Saturday, while Scottish lock Gregor Brown is named in the 23 just a day after being summoned to join the squad. 'This fixture gives players another opportunity to put their hand up for selection for the final two Tests,' head coach Farrell said. 'The coaches' minds are open when it comes to selection, they have to be with so many players performing and pushing for places and we want that to continue for the remaining two Tests. 'This group know the level of performance that we will require against a First Nations Pasifika team that is packed with talent and power.' Farrell partners fellow late call-up Jamie Osborne in the centres, with Fin Smith stationed at fly half. Darcy Graham, like Osborne making his first appearance in Lions red, joins compatriots Duhan van der Merwe and Kinghorn in the back three. Jamie George is part of a powerful front row alongside Pierre Schoeman and Finlay Bealham, while James Ryan and Scott Cummings make up the second row. Flankers Jac Morgan and Josh van der Flier will hope to impress either side of Henry Pollock having narrowly missed out on Test selection. The First Nations & Pasifika side is formed from some of the top performers in Super Rugby Pacific, and celebrates the heritage of the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Island communities as well as the Pacific Island diaspora in Australia. They are captained by fly half Kurtley Beale and bolstered by the availability of Taniela Tupou and Filipo Daugunu, who have been released from Wallabies camp. Lions XV to face the First Nations & Pasifika XV: 1 Pierre Schoeman, 2 Jamie George, 3 Finlay Bealham; 4 James Ryan, 5 Scott Cummings; 6 Jac Morgan, 7 Josh van der Flier, 8 Henry Pollock; 9 Ben White, 10 Fin Smith; 11 Duhan van der Merwe, 12 Owen Farrell, 13 Jamie Osborne, 14 Darcy Graham; 15 Blair Kinghorn. : 16 Ewan Ashman, 17 Rory Sutherland, 18 Tom Clarkson, 19 Gregor Brown, 20 Ben Earl; 21 Alex Mitchell, 22 Marcus Smith, 23 Garry Ringrose. First Nations & Pasifika XV: 1 Lington Ieli, 2 Brandon Paenga-Amosa, 3 Taniela Tupou; 4 Darcy Swain, 5 Lukhan Salakaia-Loto; 6 Seru Uru, 7 Charlie Gamble, 8 Tuaina Taii Tualima; 9 Kalani Thomas, 10 Kurtley Beale; 11 Filipo Daugunu, 12 David Feliuai, 13 Lalakai Foketi, 14 Triston Reilly; 15 Andy Muirhead. 16 Richie Asiata, 17 Marley Pearce, 18 Mesake Doge, 19 Mesake Vocevoce, 20 Rob Leota; 21 Harrison Goddard, 22 Jack Debreczeni, 23 Jarrah McLeod.
Yahoo
2 days ago
- Sport
- Yahoo
Owen Farrell opens up on his Lions return, social media ‘poison' and new-found perspective
Many a young British traveller claims to have found themselves during a year abroad; perhaps Owen Farrell really has. It is a Monday evening in Melbourne, and Farrell is sitting at Marvel Stadium as a British and Irish Lions captain, a situation that feels remarkable given his initial omission from the tour party. It may only be the midweek meeting with the First Nations & Pasifika XV for which Farrell has been installed as skipper but across an illuminating half-hour, the qualities that have made him such a valuable late addition become perfectly clear. The focus, the winning edge, the emphasis on the team – they do not come as a surprise. The joviality and a willingness to open up about a tricky 18 months? That's rather more unexpected. This is, of course, a figure known for being publicly more taciturn than talkative, as guarded an individual as one will come across in rugby. But as he bares sections of his soul, and cracks jokes about the antics of his Canberra roommate Henry Pollock, this is a different Farrell – one, pleasingly, in a far better headspace than the player who stepped away from England duty after the 2023 Rugby World Cup. 'I just got asked to come on tour and I thought I'd love to,' Farrell explains. 'I went and did something different for a while, and I'm coming back now, but it was just where I was at the time and the opportunity that was there. I wanted to take it and I'm glad I'm here. Farrell was in a surprisingly open mood after answering a call-up to the Lions (Getty) 'I appreciated my time in France. It obviously didn't go well and I was injured for a large period of it but I don't regret it. I'm happy with being back. There's loads left in me and I'm just determined to enjoy it. I'm really enjoying this tour.' Ostensibly, the playmaker is here to talk about tomorrow's tour encounter, but he and all involved are aware of the questions likely to come. It is the first time that the 33-year-old has spoken at length since being summoned after the injury to Elliot Daly, a call that plenty in rugby expected to come but still met with plenty of noise. Farrell junior fielded his father's call while on the golf course celebrating the testimonial of old Saracens chum Jackson Wray – 'it was his testimonial about four years ago, but he still had a golf day', Farrell quips. Having snuck away from playing partner Alex Goode, the decision to accept the call-up came quickly, despite a sabbatical from England duty that is still, technically, ongoing. He arrived here not laden with an expectation of earning a Test shirt but simply to do his best for the team. Naturally, the drive to be the best never dims but Farrell himself concedes that he is touring with a different mindset than how he'd have dealt with this situation five years ago. 'I think the most important thing is that I come here, be myself, help and then see where that goes,' he says. 'And genuinely, I'm not saying that but don't mean it. I mean it. We'll see what happens.' Farrell intends to enjoy every minute of the Australia tour (PA) Several times he is pressed on a possible England return; several times he gently brushes it away. A move back to Saracens after his struggles with Racing 92 will again make him available to Steve Borthwick – with three English fly-halves on tour in Australia, but new centurion George Ford in as good a form as any of them, big decisions loom. That discussion can wait, though, for Farrell has not fully made up his mind what comes next. What he knows, though, is that he is enjoying his rugby deeply in Australia, having joined a select group of four-time tourists. Tuesday's match in Melbourne will be his 20th in Lions red – for a squad short of those who have experienced a proper tour, the acuity accumulated is invaluable. Farrell is clear, though, that his goal is to make the most of his time in Australia. Farrell will captain the Lions against the First Nations & Pasifika XV (Getty) How does he do that? 'Take it for what it is,' he suggests. 'Have some perspective. There are obviously a lot of external factors that can creep in but ultimately, it's up to me how I am. Making sure I'm looking after myself, making sure I'm giving myself a break at times. 'I'm not someone who needs revving up too much. It's normally the other way of coming back down and relaxing. So having some perspective and making sure I look after myself in that way will, I think, lead to me being more myself.' It is encouraging to hear Farrell talk in such terms after stepping away from the international arena to prioritise his mental wellbeing in November of 2023. Again, though, his call-up for this trip was met with a reaction beyond that which would have been received by any other player. Does Farrell understand why he generates such strong opinions in each direction? 'Not really.' What does he make of the social media praise and criticism? 'Both are a poison. The good and the bad. That's not to say that it's all bad, but the things that should matter to me and should matter to us as players are the people that matter to us. Farrell: 'I think the most important thing is that I come here, be myself, help and then see where that goes' (Getty) 'If you go and knock on someone's door and ask them their opinion of how you played at the weekend, you wouldn't really listen to their answer. The people that I think we should listen to are the proper rugby people. Your mates. Not to say people will just pat you on the back, you know that you have people who will tell you how it is but they'll give you a real answer. I think if you do that and you're in a good place yourself, then you can deal with it.'
Irish Times
2 days ago
- Sport
- Irish Times
Overnight sensation Thomas Clarkson taking advantage of surprise Lions call-up
If ever there was a five-year overnight sensation it is assuredly Thomas Clarkson . He made his Leinster debut in August 2020 but went into this campaign with less than 20 starts under his belt and as his province's third choice tighthead. Yet there he was on Tuesday night in the Marvel Stadium mixed zone after the 24-19 win over the Pasifika XV , a bona fide British & Irish Lion. No one seemed more incredulous as well as delighted than the 25-year-old himself, for he freely admitted he wouldn't have thought all of this was possible when he was named as one of the additional, or development, players to train with Ireland's squad last November, before making his debut against Argentina off the bench, backing it up against Fiji, and then playing in four Six Nations games, starting against Wales. 'I wasn't even really expecting to play in that. So, to get a cap I was delighted. 'The Six Nations; I was happy enough with how it went. I wouldn't have said I set the world alight or anything. So, to then play well for Leinster at the end of the season and come in here, it's pretty mad.' READ MORE As recently as January 2025, Clarkson was playing an AIL Division 1B game for Blackrock. 'I made my Leinster debut five years ago now, so I've been waiting a long time. So, the fact that when it has come, it's all come at once is a bit crazy. Because I went through a good few years of not getting a sniff in at all really.' It's been a Lions tour of an unprecedented and, frankly, unexpected bounty for Irish tightheads, three of them making the tour. And two of whom are inextricably linked. Had it not been for the calf and hamstring issues which restricted Tadhg Furlong to just seven games for Leinster and one for Ireland, Clarkson would never have had the opportunities that came for province and country. Ireland's Thomas Clarkson runs in try against Portugal. Photograph: Ben Brady/Inpho Even so, after adding three more Champions Cup pool games to his one outing before this season, Clarkson didn't make the Leinster 23 in their European knockout games. But with Furlong sidelined again, Leo Cullen started Clarkson in their round 18 game against Glasgow. 'It all kind of just clicked and then kept that momentum going. That was the first game when I thought: 'That was a proper performance'.' David Humphreys has now lifted his moratorium on the provinces signing props from abroad and although Furlong's injury woes have been a factor, Clarkson's own account of his growth this season shows how Irish players can learn from overseas acquisitions like Rabah Slimani. 'I've been kind of understudy to Tadhg for a good few years now. He's consistently been probably the best tighthead in the world over the last few years. It's been unbelievable being there, just around him. 'Rabah's come in and probably offered something a bit different, where he's 100 per cent scrum. Tadhg obviously has an array of different stuff that he brings to it, whereas Rabah, when you're scrumming against him in training, it's all or nothing against him. It's been a different kind of experience with him, but I've felt I've come out the other end well.' Clarkson retained his starting place at tighthead in the URC quarter-final, semi-final and final wins, before playing against Georgia and Portugal. That Saturday night in Lisbon, he thought his breakthrough season was done until he received a text from Andy Farrell at 3am. 'We were on a night out; I had to go home straight away. But yeah, some text to get. It was like: 'ring me when you're awake', so I said: 'Oh yeah, grand'. Then Paulie [O'Connell] rang me and was like: 'Ring him right now'. So yeah, I had to just compose myself and go outside. I told Jack Boyle and then just legged it.' Lions Thomas Clarkson and Jamie Osborne celebrate after the game. Photograph: Billy Stickland/Inpho Sadly, social media can be a nasty world, and on foot of the backlash to him and Jamie Osborne being called up, Clarkson opted to ignore it. 'I feel like the last few weeks in Leinster, before the semi-final, was fairly negative. I just tried to use that as a bit of motivation. I knew, just because Jamie got called in right before me, there was a bit of backlash to that. So, I knew it was going to be even more when I got the nod. So yeah, I just tried to stay away from it.' 'It was a bit of a shock at the start, to be honest. You grow up using social media. It was hard to step away from it. But I just had to get rid of a lot of that.' Clarkson admits that linking up with the Lions at short notice was a good deal easier for him than the late Scottish call-ups given his familiarity with so many players and coaches, not least Andy Farrell and John Fogarty. On Tuesday morning Fogarty told Clarkson that his form for Leinster merited his call-up and encouraged him to continue that form into the match that night, so building up his confidence. 'I felt like I was chasing my tail a little bit, but happy enough with the scrum and I made a few tackles. It was a good start.' To make Clarkson's landmark night even better, his father Finbarr made it out in time for Tuesday's match. 'I think he knew if he was going to be here for any game, it would be this game. So yeah, he legged it down.' All the while in the mixed zone, he still had his Lions cap in his grasp, which had been given to him by Ieuen Evans. 'It's crazy, 886,' he says, of his number in Lions' playing history. 'I didn't even know they did caps if you don't play in the Test.' He's a Lion now all right.
BBC News
3 days ago
- Sport
- BBC News
Proud Welshman Morgan hopes for Lions Test spot
Wales flanker Jac Morgan says he is determined to make Wales proud as he targets a British and Irish Lions Test team who missed out on selection to Tom Curry in the first Test, played 50 minutes in the 24-19 win against the First Nations Pasifika on Tuesday before being there being only one Welshman in a squad of 45 players, Morgan received a massive cheer as the names were read out at the Marvel Ospreys captain is aware of the support he's receiving from the thousands of Welsh fans who have made the journey.''It's hard to put into words," said Morgan. "I'm obviously chuffed and I'm trying to make everyone proud in a way."I've heard a couple of the cheers. It's great to have the support. There's a lot of Welsh out here." 'It would be a massive honour' Morgan is no stranger to a fierce contest for the seven shirt in a red jersey and has approached a similar battle on this tour with hard work and drive. The 25-year-old has been unfazed by any selection debates and headlines that arose last week when the first Test side was was given the nod at seven and excelled in the 27-19 win in Brisbane, with the second Test taking place in Melbourne on Saturday.''The last week has been no different," said Morgan."I've had the opportunity today and I just try and train and perform the best I can. It's a highly competitive position and Tom Curry was outstanding on Saturday. "He's a great player and so is Josh (Van der Flier), so the competition is always high in that position and we try and get the best out of each other.''Lions head coach Andy Farrell confirmed Irish lock Joe McCarthy has not trained this week following a foot there is still time for him to recover for the second Test in Melbourne, he remains a serious doubt for the McCarthy is ruled out, it would mean a forward addition to the Test squad with a number of different bench combinations possible, including another back rower the big stage of a Rugby World Cup, Morgan captained Wales to their greatest ever win against Australia in admits it would be some achievement to face the Wallabies while representing the Lions.''It would be a massive honour and a very proud moment to be selected.," said Morgan. Welcoming Tandy to Wales Morgan, who captained Wales during the 2025 Six Nations, has also welcomed the announcement of new head coach Steve has left his role as Scotland defence coach - a position he has held since 2019 - to fill a vacancy created by Warren Gatland's departure in February."It's great to be able to have a head coach now so we can look to the future," said Morgan."I've spoken to a lot of the boys and they've all said he's a great coach, but more than that he's a good bloke as well."
