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The Star
11 hours ago
- Sport
- The Star
Rugby-Sheehan captains Lions, Pollock at number eight for Western Force tour match
Rugby Union - Ireland Captain's Run - Aviva Stadium, Dublin, Republic of Ireland - August 18, 2023 Ireland's Dan Sheehan during the captain's run REUTERS/Clodagh Kilcoyne SYDNEY (Reuters) -Ireland hooker Dan Sheehan will captain the British & Irish Lions on debut in their tour match against Western Force in Perth on Saturday, while young England loose forward Henry Pollock has been named to start at number eight. Coach Andy Farrell has completely overhauled his team with only Sione Tuipulotu and Tadhg Beirne surviving in the starting line-up from the side that lost 28-24 to Argentina in Dublin last week. Beirne moves from lock into a back row also featuring 20-year-old Pollock and openside Josh van der Flier, while Australia-born Tuipulotu shifts from outside to inside centre in a midfield partnership with Garry Ringrose. Finn Russell starts at flyhalf in his first appearance on his third Lions tour and is paired with Wales scrumhalf Tomos Williams, who made his debut off the bench against Argentina. Marcus Smith, who played at fullback against the Pumas, drops to the bench with his England teammate Elliot Daly handed the number 15 shirt. Another Australia-born player, Mack Hansen, makes his first Lions start on the right wing with James Lowe replacing Duhan van der Merwe on the left. Sheehan and his Leinster teammates Ringrose, Lowe, Joe McCarthy and Van Der Flier will all play their first Lions match at Perth Stadium, having joined the squad late after their URC Championship triumph. "Dan Sheehan gets the opportunity to lead the side against Western Force, which is a great honour for him and his family - so congratulations to Dan as he captains the side on his Lions debut," Farrell said in a statement. A further four players -- lock Ollie Chessum, centre Huw Jones and props Andrew Porter and Will Stuart -- could make their Lions debut off the bench. The Force named a team studded with test players earlier on Thursday, their side reinforced at the last minute by the release from the Wallabies camp of playmaker Ben Donaldson. "We know the quality and experience the Force have and the opportunity to play against the Lions always brings out special performances from the Super Rugby sides, so we expect them to be at their best," Farrell added. 15–Elliot Daly, 14–Mack Hansen, 13–Garry Ringrose, 12–Sione Tuipulotu, 11–James Lowe, 10–Finn Russell, 9–Tomos Williams, 8–Henry Pollock, 7–Josh van der Flier, 6–Tadhg Beirne, 5–Joe McCarthy, 4–Scott Cummings, 3–Tadhg Furlong, 2–Dan Sheehan (captain), 1–Pierre Schoeman. Replacements: 16–Ronan Kelleher, 17–Andrew Porter, 18–Will Stuart, 19–Ollie Chessum, 20–Jack Conan, 21–Alex Mitchell, 22–Huw Jones, 23–Marcus Smith. (Reporting by Nick Mulvenney, editing by Peter Rutherford)
Straits Times
11 hours ago
- Sport
- Straits Times
Sheehan captains Lions, Pollock at number eight for Western Force tour match
SYDNEY - Ireland hooker Dan Sheehan will captain the British & Irish Lions on debut in their tour match against Western Force in Perth on Saturday, while young England loose forward Henry Pollock has been named to start at number eight. Coach Andy Farrell has completely overhauled his team with only Sione Tuipulotu and Tadhg Beirne surviving in the starting line-up from the side that lost 28-24 to Argentina in Dublin last week. Beirne moves from lock into a back row also featuring 20-year-old Pollock and openside Josh van der Flier, while Australia-born Tuipulotu shifts from outside to inside centre in a midfield partnership with Garry Ringrose. Finn Russell starts at flyhalf in his first appearance on his third Lions tour and is paired with Wales scrumhalf Tomos Williams, who made his debut off the bench against Argentina. Marcus Smith, who played at fullback against the Pumas, drops to the bench with his England teammate Elliot Daly handed the number 15 shirt. Another Australia-born player, Mack Hansen, makes his first Lions start on the right wing with James Lowe replacing Duhan van der Merwe on the left. Sheehan and his Leinster teammates Ringrose, Lowe, Joe McCarthy and Van Der Flier will all play their first Lions match at Perth Stadium, having joined the squad late after their URC Championship triumph. "Dan Sheehan gets the opportunity to lead the side against Western Force, which is a great honour for him and his family - so congratulations to Dan as he captains the side on his Lions debut," Farrell said in a statement. A further four players -- lock Ollie Chessum, centre Huw Jones and props Andrew Porter and Will Stuart -- could make their Lions debut off the bench. The Force named a team studded with test players earlier on Thursday, their side reinforced at the last minute by the release from the Wallabies camp of playmaker Ben Donaldson. "We know the quality and experience the Force have and the opportunity to play against the Lions always brings out special performances from the Super Rugby sides, so we expect them to be at their best," Farrell added. 15–Elliot Daly, 14–Mack Hansen, 13–Garry Ringrose, 12–Sione Tuipulotu, 11–James Lowe, 10–Finn Russell, 9–Tomos Williams, 8–Henry Pollock, 7–Josh van der Flier, 6–Tadhg Beirne, 5–Joe McCarthy, 4–Scott Cummings, 3–Tadhg Furlong, 2–Dan Sheehan (captain), 1–Pierre Schoeman. Replacements: 16–Ronan Kelleher, 17–Andrew Porter, 18–Will Stuart, 19–Ollie Chessum, 20–Jack Conan, 21–Alex Mitchell, 22–Huw Jones, 23–Marcus Smith. REUTERS Join ST's Telegram channel and get the latest breaking news delivered to you.
Scotsman
07-06-2025
- Sport
- Scotsman
Glasgow Warriors reaction: Dressing room tears shed as admission made over defeat to Leinster
Franco Smith accepts Glasgow beaten by 'world class' opponents Sign up to our Rugby Union newsletter – Regular news stories and round-ups from around Scotland direct to your inbox Sign up Thank you for signing up! Did you know with a Digital Subscription to The Scotsman, you can get unlimited access to the website including our premium content, as well as benefiting from fewer ads, loyalty rewards and much more. Learn More Sorry, there seem to be some issues. Please try again later. Submitting... Franco Smith admitted that Leinster are way out in front in the United Rugby Championship after the Irish side ended Glasgow Warriors' tenure as champions with a comprehensive victory in Dublin. Smith expressed pride in his side's reign but they were ultimately outplayed by the hosts who won the semi-final 37-19 at the Aviva Stadium. Advertisement Hide Ad Advertisement Hide Ad Leinster, who also knocked Glasgow out of the Champions Cup this season, thrashing them 52-0 in the quarter-finals, will now meet the Bulls in the final at Croke Park next weekend and there will be a new name added to the URC roll of honour. Neither side has won the trophy before. Franco Smith accepted that Leinster were just too strong for his Glasgow Warriors side. (Photo by) | Getty Images Leinster, for all their brilliance, have lost in the semi-finals in each of the last three seasons but will be hot favourites to lift silverware for the first time since 2021 when they won the old Pro14 Championship. Glasgow were overwhelmed in the first half, conceding four tries through Dan Sheehan (two), Jamie Osborne and Thomas Clarkson, with George Horne replying for the visitors. Osborne and Ciaran Frawley pressed home Leinster's superiority after the break before Jamie Dobie and Sione Tuipulotu scored late consolations for the Warriors. 'Tears were shed in the changing room, to be honest,' said Smith. 'In the first 20 minutes, we just had no luck. We turned the ball over too many times and we made 70 tackles in the first quarter of the game, which is way too many and ended up going into the sheds at half-time 25-5 down. That means you're chasing against a world-class team. Advertisement Hide Ad Advertisement Hide Ad 'You chase the scoreline and Leinster were very good. I was never in any doubt that they would be. I know the press asked a lot of questions around their mentality but I never had doubt. There are too many class A players. I sat here a month ago talking about the [Champions Cup] quarter-final and it's still a world-class team, nothing's changed. So, if we were going to lose the URC Championship title, I'd rather it was against them than anybody else. 'That said, we're a proud team. I thought we gave it everything. I see this holistically, not just in terms of today's game. We defended our title bravely but today we fell short.' Ronan Kelleher of Leinster is tackled by Kyle Rowe of Glasgow Warriors during the United Rugby Championship semi-final match at the Aviva Stadium in Dublin. (Photo By Brendan Moran/Sportsfile via Getty Images) | Sportsfile via Getty Images Smith refused to use an extensive injury list as an excuse but there is no doubt Glasgow suffered in the absence of Zander and Matt Fagerson, Jack Dempsey, Huw Jones and Gregor Brown. 'I don't want to make excuses because I definitely felt the team that we named could have won the game,' said the Glasgow coach. 'So, yes, it would have been good to have had some of those boys back, but I backed the team that we picked. I backed the depth and the growth of the club that we've seen, with more players becoming eligible for Scotland and putting their hands up to play at this level this whole season.' Advertisement Hide Ad Advertisement Hide Ad 'Leinster are ahead of everybody else,' he added. 'They started this process way back when. I think I was still coaching Benetton and they were already on top of their game. With Joe Schmidt bringing in certain structures and certain expectations, they've got an unbelievable feeding source here from the schools and a huge academy.
