Latest news with #debutants
RNZ News
10 hours ago
- Sport
- RNZ News
Five debutants and some noteable omissions in All Blacks squad
Coach Scott Robertson has sprung a few surprises in the first All Blacks squad of the year, with five debutants and some notable omissions. The 33-man squad to play France in next month's three-test series was named this afternoon at the Coastal Rugby Club in South Taranaki. Rugby reporter Joe Porter was there Tags: To embed this content on your own webpage, cut and paste the following: See terms of use.
News.com.au
5 days ago
- Sport
- News.com.au
AFL round 15 Fremantle v Essendon: Live scores, updates and SuperCoach news
A lengthy Essendon injury list that has prompted the Bombers to play 11 debutants so far in 2025, but Brad Scott is still holding out hope that his side won't fade out of the season again. The last team to field 11 first-gamers in a single season was North Melbourne in 2017 when Scott was in charge. It's still two players short of the modern day record of 13 among non-expansion teams, a number set by the now-defunct Fitzroy who played 13 debutants in 1991. While Scott couldn't rule out more first-gamers amid the injury crisis, he also hoped for the return of plenty of injured players sooner rather than later, conscious there are fears of a serious fade-out from the Bombers. In 2024 Essendon lost nine of the final 12 games, having won eight of the first 11, to drop out of finals contention in alarming fashion. In 2023, the Bombers lost five of the last seven games, including the final two matches of the season by a combined 196 points. It's a trend Scott is keen to avoid, and hopeful the competitiveness of his young players, outside last week's 92-point loss to Geelong, was evidence that shouldn't happen again. 'This is a bit of the thing with trends, there are things you can't deny. You can't turn around and say we haven't had poor second halves of the year in the past two years,' he said. 'But the thing you have to dig down on is the reason. 'At the moment we've also got to be careful with that because we hopefully will get some personnel, not all of our personnel, back in the back half of the year, that that's the panacea.' But Scott said young players being thrown into the big time earlier could provide capacity for quicker than expected improvement. 'You've just got to keep coaching,' he said. 'While we would have loved to have won our last three games, you have a more captive playing group when you get taught a lesson … they want answers, they want to improve, we can give them clear lessons on that. 'Sometimes young players can, not consciously, but subconsciously drift through the first couple of years of their career because they're seen as developing players. 'Our developing players are playing key roles in our senior team against stars of the competition. They haven't shown any signs of being overawed by that. 'We'll learn the lessons and try and turn it around.'
The Sun
16-06-2025
- Sport
- The Sun
Chelsea set to unleash brand new spine TONIGHT with six stars set for debuts against LAFC at the Club World Cup
CHELSEA could unleash a brand new SPINE at the Club World Cup with six new stars hoping to make their debuts today. The Blues are kicking off their US adventure against MLS heavyweights LAFC tonight. 15 15 Enzo Maresca's men face a tricky test against former Chelsea hero Olivier Giroud in Atlanta, Georgia — where temperatures could hit a sticky 30 degrees celsius. But with an even tougher fixture on the horizon against Brazilian giants Flamengo, today's match could provide opportunities for some new faces. Chelsea have taken no less than 28 players to the States, with Conference League winners like Cole Palmer, Enzo Fernandez and Reece James included. Promising youngsters such as Tyrique George, Marc Guiu and Josh Acheampong have also travelled. However, there could be as many as six debutants tonight in scenes bound to excite Blues fans. And should they all feature on the pitch at the same time, they would create a new spine to mark the latest point of Chelsea's fast-paced revolution. Hoping to line up between the sticks is Belgian goalkeeper Mike Penders. The 19-year-old joined from Genk last summer before returning on loan, playing 21 times to help them finish first in the Pro League's 'regular season' table. Standing at a whopping 6ft 7in, Penders' imposing frame has inevitably seen him dubbed the 'new Thibaut Courtois.' And with Chelsea struggling for an established No1 ever since Courtois' exit to Real Madrid in 2018, the time appears right for Penders to stake his claim. Club World Cup 2025 Guide SOME of the world's biggest clubs are heading Stateside for a MAMMOTH Club World Cup. Chelsea, Paris Saint-Germain, Real Madrid, Man City, and Inter Miami are among the 32 teams taking part in the tournament, which runs from June 14 to July 13. Lionel Messi, Kylian Mbappe, Erling Haaland, Ousmane Dembele, Cole Palmer and Harry Kane will be showing their skills to packed crowds across the US. Los Blancos are favourites to lift the trophy in New York but will face stiff competition from around the globe. Watch EVERY match of the Club World Cup 2025 on DAZN Here's everything you need to know ahead of the tournament... INFO Everything you need to know ahead of the Club World Cup Club World Cup draw in FULL LATEST NEWS & FEATURES 15 15 In defence, there could be debuts for not one but TWO centre-backs. The first is Mamadou Sarr, 19, who only joined Chelsea from sister club Strasbourg a week ago. Despite his age, the defender was entrusted with 27 Ligue 1 outings by former boss Liam Rosenior — who reckons Sarr can become 'world class.' His 6ft 4in height means Chelsea already have their replacement for Axel Disasi, who was left out of the Club World Cup squad. 15 And Sarr's technical ability means he can also fill in as a midfielder when needed. He could be joined in the backline by Argentine ace Aaron Anselmino, who signed for Chelsea last summer. The 20-year-old remained at Boca Juniors until January before moving to Stamford Bridge. And although Anselmino did not make his debut in the second half of the season, he is sure to have gained valuable experience training with the seniors. 15 15 Looking further forward, Chelsea could also be set for a new midfield pivot. With Romeo Lavia's injuries making him unreliable support for Moises Caicedo and Enzo Fernandez, a new top-class No6/8 was needed this summer. But Chelsea's savvy shopping means they already have the perfect man in Andrey Santos. It's been two-and-a-half years since the 21-year-old was signed from Vasco da Gama — yet he's still to make his bow for the Blues despite having won two caps for Brazil. A disappointing loan spell at Nottingham Forest was followed by a brilliant 18 months at sister club Strasbourg. This season saw Santos net 11 times in 34 outings while helping the French side qualify for the Conference League. 15 15 And he has the potential to even disrupt the blossoming partnership between Caicedo and Fernandez. Meanwhile, a fifth party has joined the midfield fray in the form of Portugal U21s star Dario Essugo. Snapped up in March from Sporting Lisbon, he shined on loan at Spanish side Las Palmas this season. Another youngster at 20, Essugo has been billed as a similar type of player to Caicedo. And his dynamism could be just what Chelsea need to close out tough matches as they go in search of Club World Cup glory. 15 15 Finally, the Blues will be hoping to have solved their goal problems with £30million striker Liam Delap. The former Ipswich man, 22, hit 12 Premier League goals this season and has the same build as iconic Chelsea forwards like Didier Drogba and Diego Costa. Of all six players hoping to make their debuts, Delap has the biggest chance of starting from the off tonight. And should he hit the ground running, Nicolas Jackson will find it hard to reclaim his spot as Chelsea chiefs aim to land Fifa's stunning £100m jackpot. 15 15 15
News.com.au
16-06-2025
- Sport
- News.com.au
Teenage ruckman Vigo Visentini to be Essendon's 11th debutant for 2025
The deluge of debutants at injury-hit Essendon is set to continue with ruckman Vigo Visentini called up for Thursday night's clash with Fremantle in Perth. A five-day break between games forced coach Brad Scott to find help for veteran Todd Goldstein, who has been filling the breach after season-ending injuries to Sam Draper and Nick Bryan. In last Saturday's smashing by Geelong, Lachie Blakiston and Archer May became the 9th and 10th Essendon players to make their AFL debuts this season, and now 203cm, 19-year-old Vistentini will get his chance. Visentini will be the 11th first-gamer for the Bombers in 2025, joining Isaac Kako, Tom Edwards, Saad El-Hawli, Archer Day-Wicks, Lewis Hayes, Angus Clarke, Zak Johnson, Luamon Lual, Blakiston and May. The teenage big man is the younger brother of Port Adelaide ruckman Dante Visentini. The moment 🥰 VIIIIGGGOOOOO. — Essendon FC (@essendonfc) June 16, 2025 Essendon has 13 players on its injury list and is also without midfield bull Sam Durham for one more week after copping a suspension. The Bombers are still in 12th spot despite Saturday night's 95-point shellacking from the Cats, after which Scott spoke about the challenge of trying to compete with such a young, inexperienced group. 'We're trying to educate the chess pieces where to go, and that's what we've got to get excited about as a coaching group,' he said. 'We stepped back tonight, without doubt, but the previous two weeks has shown that there's enough fight and there's enough capability within this group, and we'll never concede. 'We'll keep coaching, keep working with them. I've seen enough intestinal fortitude to suggest that there's reasons to be optimistic about the future, albeit it doesn't feel like that right now. 'The positive of that is we've exposed players to AFL footy that wouldn't have played otherwise, and there are some of those young boys that I don't think would go out of our team for a long time.'
