Latest news with #Underdogs
The Guardian
5 days ago
- Sport
- The Guardian
Captain Harry Wilson backs Wallabies to surprise British & Irish Lions in first Test
Australia captain Harry Wilson said the Wallabies were confident of beating the British & Irish Lions in the first Test at Lang Park on Saturday despite being heavy underdogs after losing several key players to injury. The Wallabies have won only four of their last 11 Tests and on Saturday will be without regular fly-half Noah Lolesio and their best Test player of the last two years, loose forward Rob Valetini. Wilson expressed confidence in their replacements, debutant flanker Nick Champion de Crespigny and playmaker Tom Lynagh, and said the whole team were ready to stand up and be counted in front of a sell-out crowd. 'We're very confident,' the No 8 said on Friday. 'We've had a really good week preparation. We've done everything we've wanted to do, and we feel like we're in a really good place. 'The only thing we can control is what we've done during the week and what we're going to go out there and do tomorrow night.' Coach Joe Schmidt said on Thursday that Wilson would have to carry more ball on Saturday but his captain thought everyone in the pack would need to fill the void left by Valetini against a big Lions pack. 'I'd say all of us have to,' Wilson said. 'The thing with Bobby is he takes the tough carries for us, week in, week out. It's something you don't take for granted, but you just appreciate a bloke who can take on two, three people. 'And I think the whole forward pack has got to really step up, because when you're missing a player like him, it's obviously not ideal, but if everyone just picks up that little 10%, I think it's very exciting.' Wilson plays his club rugby with Lynagh at the Queensland Reds and said the 22-year-old had revealed a new side to himself ahead of his first Test start at fly-half. Sign up to The Breakdown The latest rugby union news and analysis, plus all the week's action reviewed after newsletter promotion 'He doesn't overuse his words,' Wilson said. 'This week, he really has found a voice in the group. 'He knows when he gets that 10 on his back, it's his team and that's the way he's treated it and he's been talking to us, telling us what he wants. I just want to watch him go to play.' Wilson said he had spoken to John Eales, who captained the winning Wallabies in 2001, and James Horwill, who led the side that lost the 2013 series 2-1, and had a clear idea of what he wanted from Saturday night. 'Definitely to enjoy the moment,' he said. 'None of us have really got to enjoy something like this so a sold-out stadium, we really want to take it in. 'But we've got a job to do and for us it's about focusing on ourselves, just trying to win every moment in front of our face.'
The Guardian
5 days ago
- Sport
- The Guardian
Captain Harry Wilson backs Wallabies to surprise British & Irish Lions in first Test
Australia captain Harry Wilson said the Wallabies were confident of beating the British & Irish Lions in the first Test at Lang Park on Saturday despite being heavy underdogs after losing several key players to injury. The Wallabies have won only four of their last 11 Tests and on Saturday will be without regular fly-half Noah Lolesio and their best Test player of the last two years, loose forward Rob Valetini. Wilson expressed confidence in their replacements, debutant flanker Nick Champion de Crespigny and playmaker Tom Lynagh, and said the whole team were ready to stand up and be counted in front of a sell-out crowd. 'We're very confident,' the No 8 said on Friday. 'We've had a really good week preparation. We've done everything we've wanted to do, and we feel like we're in a really good place. 'The only thing we can control is what we've done during the week and what we're going to go out there and do tomorrow night.' Coach Joe Schmidt said on Thursday that Wilson would have to carry more ball on Saturday but his captain thought everyone in the pack would need to fill the void left by Valetini against a big Lions pack. 'I'd say all of us have to,' Wilson said. 'The thing with Bobby is he takes the tough carries for us, week in, week out. It's something you don't take for granted, but you just appreciate a bloke who can take on two, three people. 'And I think the whole forward pack has got to really step up, because when you're missing a player like him, it's obviously not ideal, but if everyone just picks up that little 10%, I think it's very exciting.' Wilson plays his club rugby with Lynagh at the Queensland Reds and said the 22-year-old had revealed a new side to himself ahead of his first Test start at fly-half. Sign up to The Breakdown The latest rugby union news and analysis, plus all the week's action reviewed after newsletter promotion 'He doesn't overuse his words,' Wilson said. 'This week, he really has found a voice in the group. 'He knows when he gets that 10 on his back, it's his team and that's the way he's treated it and he's been talking to us, telling us what he wants. I just want to watch him go to play.' Wilson said he had spoken to John Eales, who captained the winning Wallabies in 2001, and James Horwill, who led the side that lost the 2013 series 2-1, and had a clear idea of what he wanted from Saturday night. 'Definitely to enjoy the moment,' he said. 'None of us have really got to enjoy something like this so a sold-out stadium, we really want to take it in. 'But we've got a job to do and for us it's about focusing on ourselves, just trying to win every moment in front of our face.'
Irish Times
15-07-2025
- Sport
- Irish Times
Kerry and Donegal show underdogs that only the ruthless survive
Underdogs have to take all of their chances, whether it's shots at the posts, half-chances at goal or minding possession in tight areas. Neither Meath nor Tyrone were able to do these things and thus Donegal and Kerry were treated to armchair semi-final victories. On Sunday, Meath started the game with two-pointers in the opening 12 minutes from Eoghan Frayne and Ruairi Kinsella, but that was as good as it got for the Royals, as their preferred shooting method subsequently malfunctioned. After a great turnover inside their own 45, Jordan Morris carried the ball from deep, a momentary reprieve from his marker, Brendan McCole. The Meath forward tried to play a defence splitting pass into Matthew Costello, but his tormentor Brendan McCole intercepted the ball just ahead of the onrushing Matthew Costello. Robbie Brennan spoke after the Galway win about Jordan Morris and his creativity, saying that he doesn't want to restrict players who have a little bit of magic. Brennan has given them the freedom to concede what he terms 'creative turnovers'. This was one of them and it was acceptable at that stage of the game with just six minutes on the clock. READ MORE Robbie Brennan has encouraged Meath to play freely, and here Morris gambles to try and create a goal chance, leading to a "creative turnover" In the next phase, Donegal continued to attack as they usually do, but were turned over as they approached the Meath arc. Meath attacked with pace, but the two-point effort from Conor Duke went wide, under severe pressure from Oisín Gallen, who had worked hard to get back to cover. An underdog needs to take those chances. The game would have been very different at this point if the scoreboard read 1-5 to 0-2 in favour of the Royals, rather than just the one-point advantage. As a cagey opening quarter played out, Donegal were only up 0-6 to 0-5, with Meath scoring 2/4 of their two-point efforts. However, for the remainder of the half, they missed four two-point efforts to go into half time with a conversion rate of 2/8 (25%) on two-point shots and 4/8 (50%) inside the arc. Meath two-point attempts (1-4): Meath's conversion rate in the first half for two-pointer was 25 per cent, as they often took the wrong option. In the 18th minute, Jordan Morris had yet to register a score and, under pressure from McCole again, he dropped a two-point attempt tamely wide. As the television cameras panned to Robbie Brennan and Shane Supple on the sideline, there was frustration evident in their body language, their willingness to embrace 'creative turnovers' maybe not as high at this moment. They would not have been happy, as Meath were very much in the game, with success on the Donegal kickout, some great defensive turnovers from Sean Rafferty and strong ball carrying from Ciaran Caulfield, but they needed to convert their chances. Donegal definitely afforded them chances. Meath two-point attempts (5-8): Meath's four consecutive two-point misses badly hurt their chances of staying in the game. Jordan Morris finally got his sole contribution to the scoreboard in the 32nd minute as his delightful dummy onto his left gave him momentary breathing space to bring the Meath tally to 0-8. However, Donegal finished the half off with two points as they continually put Billy Hogan's kickout under pressure. Ruairi Kinsella missed a rushed two-point effort as the buzzer sounded, when calm was needed to work the right shot. At half-time Donegal led 0-13 to 0-8 and the game was close to over. The removal of Michael Murphy in the 44th minute signified that Donegal has started preparation for their final joust with Kerry. A day earlier in Croke Park, the underdog struggled again but in a different way. Tyrone dominated the Kerry kickout in the first half as they won seven out of 10 of Shane Ryan's restarts, giving them a huge platform. However they were not able to punish accordingly, as Kerry came with a teak tough defensive structure and a real edge, where they had no interest in conceding soft frees or affording goal chances. Battle lines were firmly drawn as within 30 seconds Kerry executed the perfect choke tackle on Darragh Canavan and turned over Tyrone. Kerry controlled the tempo of the game in the next phase, before David Clifford won a free in front of the posts which Sean O'Shea converted. Kerry executed a perfect choke tackle on Darragh Canavan inside a minute, setting the tone The one scoreable free that Tyrone conceded in the first half was a foul with a purpose, as Joe O'Connor's quickly snuffed out a rare Tyrone jaunt toward Shane Ryan's goal. Joe O'Connor made the smart choice to give Tyrone a handy free, rather than a rare chance at goal O'Connor was involved again in the 9th minute as Kerry forced a turnover after a long spell of controlled Tyrone possession. O'Connor showed his confrontational side by winning a turnover under the Hogan stand as he hassled Brian Kennedy vigorously. O'Connor once again forcing a turnover, this time popping the ball out of Brian Kennedy In the 24th minute, Tyrone won a miscued Shane Ryan kickout but weren't able to punish with Eoin McElholm's attempt tailing wide as Kerry scrambled back. The defining turnover of the half came in the 28th minute as Mattie Donnelly wound up to shoot at the posts, but a diving block from two Kerry defenders sent the Kingdom on the attack for David Clifford's goal at the far end of the field. This block on Mattie Donnelly was rewarded, as Kerry scored their goal from it at the opposite end Clifford demonstrated the perfect back door cut, followed by a dummy bounce to beat Niall Morgan and stick it in the net. David Clifford's genius on and off the ball on show, executing the backdoor cut, rounding Niall Morgan and finishing Tyrone led after the first quarter by 0-6 to 0-4, but by half-time the scoreline was 1-9 to 0-9. Tyrone lacked some of the edge you'd associate with their tempestuous clashes with Kerry over the last 20 years, where they dictated terms. After dominating possession for much of the half, the score at the break left the Ulster underdogs with too much to do. While the scoreline on Saturday wasn't quite the massacre that Donegal delivered on Sunday, this game was just as comfortable for Kerry. After their initial second half scoring burst, Tyrone were dictated to by the Kingdom, setting up an All-Ireland final full of intrigue.
Los Angeles Times
15-07-2025
- Entertainment
- Los Angeles Times
Truth is stranger than fiction: National Geographic's Underdogs
Ever heard of barnacle geese? Macaque monkeys? They are not your typical nature documentary stars. Take a break from the lions and the tigers: these are nature's underdogs. National Geographic's Underdogs follows several of nature's most-overlooked creatures and how their curious behaviors shape our ecosystems. From the strange mating rituals of hyenas to thieving macaque monkeys, Underdogs strikes a balance between humor and science by spotlighting creatures whose stories typically go untold in the realm of nature documentaries. 'They had to be lesser known animals, certainly an animal that doesn't get to normally be the A-Lister or the star of the show…' said Polly Billam, series producer and writer, 'they had to be icky or kind of beaten on or looked down on, but they also had to have relatable characteristics. We wanted to find stories that people could connect to because underdog stories are so universal they're part of our culture.' Unlike other nature series whose process involves writing the script and finding a narrator afterward, Underdogs was conceived with Ryan Reynolds as the main narrative voice of the series. The challenge, however, lay in creating a script best suited to the actor's cadence. 'It's like learning a second language…' said writer and producer Polly Billam, 'I went and lived in Ryan Reynolds country and spent hours and hours watching his content and trying to familiarize myself with his tone and his delivery.' In addition to writing a script suited to his speaking style, the writing team was able to take advantage of Reynolds' ingenious narration in the recording booth. '[H]e's such a master of improv comedy and reactive comedy… and we changed our post production process to make sure we could make the best of all that riffing and material that he gives you.' By capitalizing on the audience Ryan Reynolds brings to the project, the creators of Underdogs seek to address the human disconnect from the natural world by educating audiences about the smaller yet curious acts of these underrated creatures. For Billam, the humanity and lighthearted irreverence at the core of the script allows the series to truly shine a spotlight on those whose stories are typically dismissed. 'The truth is stranger than fiction. These stories are incredible, [but] we're never punching down at nature or at the underdogs. We might be laughing at their circumstances, but we're rooting for them.' Underdogs is now available for streaming on Disney+ Related
IOL News
03-07-2025
- Entertainment
- IOL News
Ryan Reynolds takes you on a hilarious journey with 'Underdogs': meet nature's quirkiest stars
"Underdog" spotlights the unique and unpredictable behaviours of a cast of little-known animal characters in the natural world. The new Disney+ series "Underdogs," narrated by " Deadpool " actor Reynolds, takes a refreshing step back, opting to shine a light on the lesser-known and often quirky creatures of the animal kingdom. Step aside, Sir David Attenborough , because Ryan Reynolds is taking over. The five-part series from National Geographic celebrates the unsung heroes that are often left out of traditional nature documentaries and showcases their unique abilities, habits, "terrible parenting" strategies and at times, the downright gross aspects of the animal world. The first episode homes in on a set of animals Reynold's dubs the "Superzeros", a group of creatures from around the world with unique and fascinating "superpowers" that help them survive in the wild. Reynolds kicks off the global journey with the velvet worm, which launches a special adhesive at predators to trap them in their place. From there, viewers will get to learn about the nearly indestructible honey badger, the elusive glass frog, the echolocating Madagascar lemur, the unstoppable snapping pistol shrimp, the limb regenerating axolotl and the dopamine-inducing jewel wasp. Other episodes are aptly subtitled "Total Grossout", "The Unusual Suspects", "Sexy Beasts" and "Terrible Parenting", each with wildlife that fits the profile. While the animals are all-around fascinating to learn about, it is Reynolds's signature wit and humour that's a major draw.
