Latest news with #PremiershipFinal
Belfast Telegraph
27-06-2025
- Sport
- Belfast Telegraph
I hung up boots on high after treble joy with Bath… now I'm relishing fresh start with Ulster, says homecoming hero
Premiership Cup champion. Challenge Cup champion. Gallagher Premiership champion. Not a bad season to go out on for Niall Annett, all things considered. The 34-year-old could hardly have dreamed of a better swansong, coming off the bench in both the win over Lyon to clinch the Challenge Cup and then the Premiership Final against the Leicester Tigers, seeing out a nervy 23-21 triumph at Twickenham to secure all three trophies.
The South African
24-06-2025
- Sport
- The South African
Rassie: Barbarians clash a vital step in Springbok season Build-Up
Springbok head coach Rassie Erasmus believes Saturday's clash against the Barbarians offers a crucial opportunity to assess new talent, reintegrate overseas-based players, and fine-tune the squad's systems ahead of a packed Test season. With four uncapped players named and several Springbok stars returning from injury, Erasmus is using the high-profile fixture to test depth and refine combinations before the start of the incoming mid-year series. Speaking ahead of the encounter at Cape Town Stadium, Erasmus outlined the strategic value of the non-Test fixture in South Africa's broader 2024 plans. 'We've said over the last few weeks that this match will provide the ideal opportunity to get the Japanese-based players and a few other players back into full match-mode for the incoming mid-year series,' said the Springboks boss. 'We also have the opportunity to see first-hand how a few of the newer players in the squad perform at this level, so we are excited to see what this group can do.' Erasmus explained that Springbok squad selection for the Barbarians match took player workload into account, especially following the recent URC and English Premiership finals. 'With a handful of players having participated in the URC Grand Final and Handré in the Premiership Final, they lost out on over a week of training,' he said. 'So it was our plan from the outset to select players who we have been working with for the last few weeks and who are already functioning well within our structures. That said, we are planning to rotate our squad throughout the season to manage the players, and we are pleased with the depth we have within this group.' The match also sees the return of key players from injury, including Lood de Jager, Faf de Klerk and Sacha Feinberg-Mngomezulu. 'Lood is in great form and hopped straight back into the thick of things with the intensity and work rate that we are used to seeing him deliver,' Erasmus said. 'We are thrilled to see him and players like Faf and Sacha back from injury.' Looking ahead to the Barbarians themselves, Erasmus expects a challenge despite the invitational side's limited preparation time. 'A whole lot of players in this squad have played for the Baabaas, and I've also coached them before, so we have an idea of what to expect,' he said. 'They don't have much time to train together, but if one looks at the calibre of players they've announced and the history between the teams, we know it's going to take a top-class effort to get the desired result.' 'That said, we are pleased with how our preparations are going. The Springboks' focus in this match will be to get our structures and systems in place for the Test matches coming up. So, this is a vital game for us.' WHO DO YOU THINK WILL WIN THE MATCH BETWEEN THE BARBARIANS AND SPRINGBOKS? Let us know by leaving a comment below, or send a WhatsApp to 060 011 0211. Subscribe to The South African website's newsletters and follow us on WhatsApp, Facebook, X and Bluesky for the latest news.
Irish Daily Mirror
22-06-2025
- Sport
- Irish Daily Mirror
Andy Farrell hints at a record number of Ireland players for Force on Saturday.
Andy Farrell has hinted that he is ready to roll out the Leinster contingent for the opening game on Australian soil. And the prediction is there could be as many as eight Ireland players in the side - with the 2025 'gag' being rolled out - the scoreboard will show Ireland and British Lions! Essentially the focus for Force will turn to those who were unavailable last weekend and who arrived 'late' to camp following club duties. These include the dozen-strong Leinster contingent albeit Ronan Kelleher and Tadhg Furlong got a run from the bench - and did reasonably well - against Argentina while Jamison Gibson-Park and Hugo Keenan are still being tasked with light work Andy Farrell of the injuries holding Keenan and Gibson-Park back: 'We'll see how they pull up in midweek. Huw Jones is good, he's been training. He trained fully with us last week so he's up and running. 'We're here to build for what's going to be a fantastic Test series. We want to play some good rugby along the way.'We'll find out more about each other as we keep on going. Of course we'll analyse what went on against Argentina and why, but that's all part of the journey – to understand where we need to go next.'It's great to be here, this is what it's all about. We're here for a good time. Hopefully we can start this part of the tour off really well on further indicated Bath's out-half Finn Russell and loosehead Will Stuart will come into immediate contention following their Premiership Final win over Leicester Tigers whose secondrow Ollie Chessum has also linked up with the makes for 37 of the 38 players in situ in Perth, the odd man out being Scotland star Blair Kinghorn who, based at Toulouse, is still 10 days or so away from joining the party. Toulouse beat Bayonne 32-25 last weekend to earn a place in the Top 14 final against Bordeaux next Saturday (8.05pm local).Russell, Stuart and Chessum are expected to be named to start against Force while Garry Ringrose, James Lowe, Dan Sheehan, Tadhg Furlong, Josh van der Flier, Jack Conan and either James Ryan or Joe McCarthy are expected to be involved in the Smith is a front-runner to remain at full-back. Wales Tomos Williams is the likely have their own problems to contend with following underperforming at Super Rugby level, finishing ninth of the 11 was despite being placed half-way at the half-way mark albeit operating out of the easier side of the initial draw. Their wins came at home to Fijian Drua, Moana Pasifika, Highlanders and away at Brumbies while there was a home draw with by Waratahs on the last day of the season saw Force fail to climb above the 'Tahs to Simon Cron, who will also coach the Aus/NZ XV scheduled to take on the Lions at the Adelaide Oval on July 12th (the fifth game in-country) and directly ahead of the First Test, has been feeling the heat."A number of guys in our team have given their heart and soul this year," said Cron after the Waratahs defeat."We have got to look at how we can add people around them to keep driving us forward and how we can push forward the ones that are still learning to get more consistent performances."The core group staying together is important for the club. A big area of growth for us is our rugby brains in key moments. We sometimes make it a bit hard for ourselves but that's where they've got to keep learning."Indeed there was some thinly disguised relief when Joe Schmidt, having put nine Force players in his initial squad for the Lions series, agreed to release five of them back to the club for the Lions comprise veteran scrum-half Nic White, back-row Nick Champion De Crespigny, secondrow Dylan Swain, prop Tom Robertson and winger Dylan Ben Donaldson, full-back/winger Harry Potter, back-row Carlo Tizzano, secondrow and Force captain Jeremy Williams were retained by Schmidt.
BBC News
17-06-2025
- Sport
- BBC News
Russell comments 'blown out of proportion'
Johnny Sexton says he is looking forward to working with Finn Russell on the British and Irish Lions tour to Australia, claiming his comments about the Scotland fly-half were "blown out of proportion". Writing in his autobiography last year, Sexton suggested Russell's status as the "darling of the media" was a factor in head coach Warren Gatland picking the Scot over him for the 2021 Lions tour to South a subsequent newspaper interview while promoting his book in October, Sexton said he would select former England captain Owen Farrell ahead of the "flashy" Russell for this summer's tour. "There's a lot been made of the whole situation, primarily by you guys [the media]," said Sexton, who will work closely with Russell in his role as Lions kicking coach this summer. "I don't even think it's what I wrote in the book, it's more the comments I said when doing media for the book, but it's probably been blown out of proportion really. "I was talking about myself in 2021 and how I felt back then. It was more really what I thought [Warren] Gatland was thinking as opposed to what I was thinking. But look, you have to deal with these types of challenges and it won't be the last time." Sexton said he and Russell shared a "handshake" and a "brief chat" in Lions camp before the Bath out-half returned to his club for what Sexton called an "outstanding" performance in last week's Premiership final victory over Leicester."He was racing off obviously because those guys were in finals, they didn't stay around too long, they came in, got their kit, did a bit of media and were gone," added the former Ireland captain."I'm looking forward to catching up with him later. What the Lions demands of you is that if there is a rivalry, which there's not, you leave it at the door. I'm here to help him now, I'm, here to give him experiences, to answer questions, I'm not here to force myself or tell him what to do, it's not that relationship. I'm here to help."Sexton also believes his coaching inexperience will not hinder him given the wisdom he gained during the highs and lows of a 17-year professional career."I'm an inexperienced coach but I probably have seen it all in terms of rugby. I've been bad, I've been dropped, I've been not picked, I've been injured, my career has been like this. "Being here to help those guys when they have a tough game, being able to help them out and pick them up is something I'm quite passionate about and here to help." 'As a player, I always doubted myself' Having spent a year away from rugby following his retirement in 2023, Sexton is part of Andy Farrell's Lions backroom team despite having only started coaching Ireland on a part-time basis last autumn. He will take up a full-time role with the Irish Rugby Football Union (IRFU) after the Lions tour, but admits to being daunted by the challenges that come with rising quickly through the coaching ranks. "As a player, I always would have doubted myself throughout the years. Like when you come into the Irish set-up for the first time or become a Lion for the first time or Leinster, you always have those doubts."It's no different now. You're going in, you want to prove yourself, you want to show that you can bring value. "It was something I considered when Andy picked up the phone, you're going, 'wow, it's such an honour', how can you say no? "I didn't pick myself. He asked me to come, I considered it for about 30 seconds and ultimately how could you [not]? I'd regret it for the rest of my life if I didn't."
Yahoo
16-06-2025
- Sport
- Yahoo
Premiership final heartache for Reading's Hassell-Collins as Bath edge out Leicester
Leicester Tigers' Ollie Hassell-Collins (right) breaks free from Bath Rugby's Max Ojomoh during the Gallagher Premiership Rugby Final at the Allianz Stadium, London. Picture date: Saturday June 14, 2025. PA Photo. Photo credit should read: Adam Davy/PA (Image: Adam Davy) It was Premiership final heartache for Reading's Ollie Hassell-Collins as Leicester Tigers were defeated by treble winners Bath. 26-year-old Hassell-Collins started at Twickenham for the Tigers, who finished 11 points behind league leaders Bath, in the showpiece final. Advertisement A close-fought and cagey occasion played in blistering heat, Bath edged their rivals out 23-21 to win their first top-flight title for 29 years and complete a domestic and European treble after already lifting the Premiership Cup and European Challenge Cup. The Tigers twice had men sent to the sin bin – departing captain Julian Montoya late the first half, while it was not an ideal send-off for the retiring Dan Cole, who saw yellow late in the second. (Image: Mike Egerton) The former London Irish winger was facing fellow former Exile Joe Cokanasiga and was joined in the second half by Matt Rogerson, former London Irish captain before their expulsion in 2023. Advertisement He scored 19 tries across the 2024/25 campaign and has played for England since his move to the Midlands. Former teammate Henry Arundell, former Young Player of the Year with London Irish, is to join champions Bath ahead of the new season from Racing 92 in France. Irish, who played at Reading's Select Car Leasing Stadium between 2000 and 2020, were rescued by the late Eddie Jordan in February, with hopes that they will return to professional rugby in 2026.
