Latest news with #NicDolly
The Guardian
11 hours ago
- Sport
- The Guardian
Western Force v British & Irish Lions: rugby union
Update: Date: 2025-06-28T09:00:21.000Z Title: Preamble Content: There's much mystique about the British & Irish Lions; chiefly born of the legendary victorious tours of the early 1970s and the 1997 outing to South Africa with it's associated documentary. This has led many to assume and expect that the Lions is about winning, but for years the tours were more about taking the notion of home country and nostalgia out to the colonies as a celebration of the putative factors that united us. Losing overall usually came in tandem with this. Handy then, that this year's tour has managed to uphold tradition and heritage by losing nice and early so all the 'invincibles' chat can be shushed. However, the loss v Argentina was not technically part of the actual tour, so maybe not. Either way, this is the first game on Aussie soil and Andy Farrell and his men will be raring to have a W on the board before they cross the country to Queensland later in the week. In the way is a Western Force side with some test experience smattered across them, not least in experienced scrum half Nic White. A quirky stat among the caps is replacement Australian hooker Nic Dolly, with his only test appearance being single game in 2021… for England. This should be a nice and comfortable opener down under for the tourists, but let's see shall we?
Yahoo
06-02-2025
- Entertainment
- Yahoo
Force's mullet man eyes Wallabies gold
He's a one-cap England international whose glorious mullet is already causing problems at schools, and now Nic Dolly has his eyes firmly set on donning Wallabies gold. Dolly was among the Western Force's big off-season signings, and he has high hopes of helping the Super Rugby Pacific franchise snare a finals berth this year. His journey to Perth has been a unique one. Sydney-born Dolly had just completed high school when he set off to England at the end of 2016 for what was meant to be an eight-week holiday to visit family. That eight-week plan turned into an eight-year English adventure, which included a shock Test debut for England against South Africa in 2021 under Eddie Jones. Dolly, whose mother was born in England, also played for the Sale Sharks, Rotherham Titans, Jersey Reds, Coventry and Leicester Tigers during his stint there. Congratulations to Nic Dolly on winning his first England cap today 🌹#ENGvRSA — England Rugby (@EnglandRugby) November 20, 2021 "Going to England, because I've got grandparents there, it was more just for the New Year's and Christmas holidays," Dolly said. "Then I just asked my grandad if there was a chance to get a bit of rugby done over there, just to be fit for pre-season in Australia. "It just snowballed from there. "My return ticket (to Australia) was booked for somewhere mid-January, then I pushed it back to mid-May, then I had to push it back even further. "I don't actually know if I ended up using it. Eight weeks turned into eight years." The 25-year-old's shock appearance for England ended up being in a brave win over South Africa, and Dolly sung 'Back for Good' by Take That to his teammates after the match as part of the team's debutant tradition. It would prove to be Dolly's only appearance for England, and he is now eligible to represent Australia given more than three years have passed. "I'd be very proud representing Australia, because it's my home where I was born," Dolly said. "But I am very aware that there's so much work to do between now and then. "I just want to play well for the Force and give this club my all." View this post on Instagram A post shared by Western Force (@westernforce) Dolly's mullet has already had a big impact on kids across England, and the theme is set to continue in Australia. "It's quite funny when parents come up to you and say, 'My kid's got a mullet because of you', or 'The school made him chop it off and he's devastated'," Dolly said with a laugh. "It's pretty cool you can have that influence on kids. "If it breaks the ice with people and stuff like that, so be it. "I see my old man. I see my future. I thought, 'OK, whilst I've got a bit of hair, I may as well try and do something with it'. "Maybe down the line if I do feel the need to shave it off, it won't just be a sporadic thing. "I'd like to try and raise some awareness and raise some funds for charity. "I've had parents that have gone through cancers, and grandparents and whatnot." Dolly, who will compete with Brandon Paenga-Amosa and Tom Horton for the hooker role at the Force, declared he is keen to stick around and help the club achieve long-term success.
