Latest news with #props
Telegraph
20 hours ago
- Entertainment
- Telegraph
‘Props are quite weird people': Inside the Lions' secret society
If the first rule of Prop Club is that you do not talk about Prop Club then Pierre Schoeman may have revoked his membership of the most exclusive and secret societies within the Lions squad. Historically, the beauty of a Lions tour is that it breaks down all national and provincial groupings. Some barriers, however, can never be overcome. Props, as the wildly engaging Schoeman articulates, are a breed apart, physically and psychologically from all others. 'I think looseheads all around the world are very similar,' Schoeman said. 'They are quite weird people. Something isn't right. We always say that playing rugby you must have a screw loose but playing rugby as a loosehead prop… I won't even get into the tighthead props. Looseheads like going to dark places, physically, mentally, spiritually. But tightheads can go even darker sometimes.' And so the six props – looseheads Schoeman, Ellis Genge, Andrew Porter and tightheads Tadhg Furlong, Will Stuart and Finlay Bealham – naturally band together whether walking down the street together or by night, they sneak into each other's hotel rooms without the other players' knowledge. 'We actually have a prop group that none of our other team members are allowed on,' Schoeman said. 'We are like bison, migrating together. We have a secret meeting every night, Finlay Bealham started it and now all the props have bought in. We stick together and have a tea after every training session and we get to meet each other's families and ask deep questions. But it is just for props in our group in whatever hotel we live in.' To be clear, it is props only. Hookers do not qualify and Luke Cowan-Dickie was nonplussed to discover its existence on Friday. 'They [the rest of the squad] don't know about it,' Schoeman said. 'But our secret is out now.' It is not always harmonious within the prop camp, particularly if they are rooming with Schoeman. 'I room with Ellis at the moment,' Schoeman. 'If I snore too much he gets grumpy, then I snore more.' Competition in training is also ferocious with Schoeman calling the props 'gladiators'. In which case what role does John Fogarty, the scrum coach, play? 'He has the key for the cage to unlock the gladiators,' Schoeman said. 'That's probably the best way to describe him.' The point of prop club is not necessarily to exclude the wingers and fly-halves but to build bonds among themselves by opening up to each other. Porter, for instance, discusses the challenges of being away from his six-week-old son while Genge has filled in Schoeman on the charms of his native Knowle West in Bristol. 'I know a lot of things about Gengey. I sat through phone calls, I know all his business friends, family everything,' Schoeman said. 'I have asked him to phone my family as well.' Those bonds extend through the generations of the Lions props. South Africa-born Schoeman, who qualifies for Scotland on residency, is fully aware of the outsized influence props have exerted in Lions history. That extends back to the role that the late Tom Smith and Paul Wallace's heroics in the 1997 series against the Springboks to Ian 'Mighty Mouse' McLauchlan, a star of the 1971 and 1974 tours, who passed away on the day of the Lions' opening match against Argentina on June 20. 'Tom Smith is close to my heart because he has played for Scotland as well and I have sat on the same seat as him at Murrayfield which I have been honoured and blessed with, but it is not about me,' Schoeman said. 'It is an amazing question and we do deep dive on it [history], sometimes Si [Easterby] our defensive coach before training or matches will take us through some of the key figures to create that aura. We speak about it, just a word, we have to be present in them and we have to deliver physically and mentally in that moment. 'That's what the jersey demands of us as loosehead props, like Mighty Mouse –- his family watch all our games – and that's the legacy of it. Our families will hopefully live a long and abundant life but it's much bigger than just that, it is much bigger than just that, so give it your all. That means fully submerge in everything in your tour.' After an encouraging performance up front in the 28-24 defeat by Argentina, the Lions scrum has been on the wrong end of the penalty count in the past two warm-up games against Western Force and Queensland Reds. On Saturday, Schoeman will aim to put the Lions on the front foot alongside Bealham against the Waratahs. This will be no easy task as Australia have released the 'Tongan Thor' Taniela Tupou specifically to play in this match. At his best, Tupou is one of the most destructive scrummagers in the world and Lions head coach Andy Farrell says that 'he's got a point to prove' on Saturday. With the games now coming thick and fast, the pressure is also on Schoeman's considerable shoulders to put the fear factor back into the Lions' scrum. 'We have massive respect for [Tupou],' Schoeman said. 'I played him for a few years in Super Rugby, when I played for the Bulls. It was a few years ago, RG Snyman was playing with me at the Bulls. I think we got the win. Since then he has been a powerhouse, played against him for Australia a few times, so have the other boys in the Lions squad. Respect to him. 'You have to be resilient [with the schedule]. They obviously chose the squad for their super strengths. But as Faz mentioned, as a Lion you put a smile on your face and there's no excuses. You have to deliver. Fans, travel, media, friends… anything goes. You have to deliver. You have to be sharp in training. You have to be on your game but also enjoy it.'
Yahoo
a day ago
- Sport
- Yahoo
Lions' props roam the team hotel like ‘migrating bison'
Pierre Schoeman has revealed the British and Irish Lions' props are gelling so well that they have taken to roaming their team hotels together like 'migrating bison'. The Lions have taken six of the front rows to Australia and while they are competing hard for the four available places in the Test series that begins in Brisbane on July 19, they have still formed a tight bond off the field. Advertisement 'We actually have a prop group that none of our other team members are allowed on. They don't know about it, but our secret is out now,' Schoeman said. 'We are like bison, migrating together. We have a secret meeting every night. Finlay Bealham started it and now all the props have bought in. 'We stick together and have a tea after every training session and we get to meet each other's families and ask deep questions. But it's just for props in whatever hotel we live in.' Within the prop contingent those that fill the number one jersey have gravitated towards each other, with Schoeman striking up a close relationship with fellow 'gladiators' Ellis Genge and Andrew Porter. Advertisement 'Looseheads all around the world are very similar. They are quite weird and unique people. Something isn't right,' the South African-born Scotland prop said. 'We always say that playing rugby you must have a screw loose, but playing rugby as a loosehead prop…We like going to dark places – physically, mentally, spiritually. 'We're different but similar. We are almost like a gladiator when all the gladiators come together. (Scrum coach) John Fogarty has the key for the cage to unlock the gladiators. 'We all associate with being loosehead props in the professional era with different backgrounds. 'It's just nice knowing each other and we are learning from each other as well. You have to get along. You have to make it work. At this moment it is like a small mini unit and the engine has to go. Advertisement 'It is the healthiest competition I've seen in my career. You learn from each other and you really use your super strengths. If someone else is better, you learn from them. 'You can clearly see we are all driving towards the same collective. Whatever your job is on the sailing yard, you have to do that otherwise you won't get to the destination.' Schoeman starts Saturday's clash with New South Wales Waratahs in Sydney as the Lions continue a hectic schedule of four matches in 11 days leading into the first Test against the Wallabies. 'You have to be resilient, but as a Lion you put a smile on your face and there are no excuses. You have to deliver. Fans, travel, media, friends…anything goes,' he said.
The Independent
a day ago
- Sport
- The Independent
Lions' props roam the team hotel like ‘migrating bison'
Pierre Schoeman has revealed the British and Irish Lions' props are gelling so well that they have taken to roaming their team hotels together like 'migrating bison'. The Lions have taken six of the front rows to Australia and while they are competing hard for the four available places in the Test series that begins in Brisbane on July 19, they have still formed a tight bond off the field. 'We actually have a prop group that none of our other team members are allowed on. They don't know about it, but our secret is out now,' Schoeman said. 'We are like bison, migrating together. We have a secret meeting every night. Finlay Bealham started it and now all the props have bought in. 'We stick together and have a tea after every training session and we get to meet each other's families and ask deep questions. But it's just for props in whatever hotel we live in.' Within the prop contingent those that fill the number one jersey have gravitated towards each other, with Schoeman striking up a close relationship with fellow 'gladiators' Ellis Genge and Andrew Porter. 'Looseheads all around the world are very similar. They are quite weird and unique people. Something isn't right,' the South African-born Scotland prop said. 'We always say that playing rugby you must have a screw loose, but playing rugby as a loosehead prop…We like going to dark places – physically, mentally, spiritually. 'We're different but similar. We are almost like a gladiator when all the gladiators come together. (Scrum coach) John Fogarty has the key for the cage to unlock the gladiators. 'We all associate with being loosehead props in the professional era with different backgrounds. 'It's just nice knowing each other and we are learning from each other as well. You have to get along. You have to make it work. At this moment it is like a small mini unit and the engine has to go. 'It is the healthiest competition I've seen in my career. You learn from each other and you really use your super strengths. If someone else is better, you learn from them. 'You can clearly see we are all driving towards the same collective. Whatever your job is on the sailing yard, you have to do that otherwise you won't get to the destination.' Schoeman starts Saturday's clash with New South Wales Waratahs in Sydney as the Lions continue a hectic schedule of four matches in 11 days leading into the first Test against the Wallabies. 'You have to be resilient, but as a Lion you put a smile on your face and there are no excuses. You have to deliver. Fans, travel, media, friends…anything goes,' he said.
The Guardian
09-05-2025
- Entertainment
- The Guardian
‘A kick in the teeth': UK film industry's horror at possible Trump tariffs
It is a sunny May afternoon in leafy Surrey, and Richard St Clair is carefully preparing a bomb. It is not real, but it will look like it is when shown on a Netflix TV show. Across the workshop a colleague is cheerfully sandpapering a pile of hip bones for the 28 Years Later zombie trilogy – trailers suggest a lot of skeletons will be involved. They are working at db Props, a small company based at Shepperton Studios whose handiwork – made of expanding foam, wood, or assorted odds and sods – in films and shows has ranged from weapons in Ant Man to Thor's hammer to Alan Turing's computer in The Imitation Game. Yet for all its work on huge productions, the workshop has a shadow hanging over it, cast by Donald Trump. The US president this week sent shockwaves through the global film industry with a surprise statement that he will bring in a 100% tariff on movies 'produced in Foreign Lands'. 'WE WANT MOVIES MADE IN AMERICA, AGAIN!' he wrote on his social network. 'I'm terrified about this new Trump thing – whatever that may be,' says Dean Brooks, the owner of db Props, and a 45-year veteran of the props trade after joining at 16. 'This has been a proper kick in the teeth.' Britain's film and video production industry employs about 99,000 people, but it punches well above the UK's economic weight globally, and has a glamour that other industries cannot match. Hollywood relies heavily on Britain to make its films and big-budget TV series such as the recent Star Wars series Andor and Tom Cruise's Mission Impossible franchise. In turn the UK relies on Hollywood for work: inward investment and co-production spend on film and high-end television in the UK reached £4.8bn in 2024, representing 86% of the total, according to the British Film Institute. With a single post, investment into the UK industry has now become 'impossible' because of 'the trauma in the market, the uncertainty in the market', according to a senior industry executive. 'We should be bashing down the door at No 10,' the source says, calling for further UK tax breaks to show support for the industry. 'The UK government needs to do something to give the market a lift.' Shepperton is owned by the same company as Pinewood Studios in Buckinghamshire, Britain's most prominent production hub. There are many more in south-east England alone: big facilities includes Shinfield in Berkshire, two facilities at Hertfordshire's Elstree, the former aircraft hangars at Cardington in Bedfordshire. Cardiff, Bristol, Belfast and Scotland all have large spaces. Proposals for new spaces in Marlow, also in Buckinghamshire, Sunderland in Tyne and Wear, and the revival of the historic Ealing Studios in west London will add even more. 'Everybody thinks that the uncertainty alone already has a chilling effect,' says Jon Wardle, the director of the National Film and Television School in Buckinghamshire, whose recent alumni credits include Wicked, Conclave and Gladiator II. The UK has offered tax relief for film production for years, making it a 'boringly, Britishly consistent' bet for US producers, he says. Trump has cast doubt over that model. Hollywood studios can claim 25.5% tax relief on UK production expenditure, whereas there are no federal government subsidies in the US. The UK benefits from shared language and culture, up to a point, while costs in Hollywood are much higher in part because of strong unions. American film workers' unions have responded with delight at the prospect of work being forced back to California, although Wardle says he doubts they would benefit in the end if tariffs are imposed because the overall market might shrink. 'The fact that the UK has been eating the US's lunch when it comes to production for the last decade is no secret,' says one executive. Trump is 'absolutely right that the US should be more competitive', the executive adds, but has got the remedy 'horrifically wrong'. There is still a buzz of Netflix productions at Shepperton, but the overall industry has been struggling. The 'streaming wars' delivered a huge bounty of work, as Netflix's rapid ascent and interest rates that were historically low spurred huge spending on film and TV by the US rivals Disney, Amazon and Apple, on top of a host of smaller contenders. However, that boom was ended by a surge in borrowing costs, a Hollywood writers' strike and an actors' strike, plus a darkening global economy. 'It's been so bad,' says Brooks. 'We can't handle any more storms.' Brooks's workshop has areas for woodwork, metalwork and a 'sticky room' for forming intricate shapes in silicon moulds – plus shelves of random stuff that might be useful as a bomb fuse or a gothic door handle for the most recent Snow White film. However, he only has three people in his workshop compared with 12 three years ago, and some freelancers have decided to retrain as plumbers or carpenters. 'We're all creative people and we do enjoy it,' he adds. 'We're just not enjoying the environment.' Governments have wanted homegrown film production for almost as long as the industry has existed. In 1927 the UK forced Americans to make a certain number of films in Britain if the country also wanted to distribute Hollywood products there. Companies built studios at Elstree, Teddington and Wembley in response, but it spawned shabby 'quota quickies' that were churned out to meet the requirements. Nevertheless, Britain's industry got past that to become a world leader. Yet the UK faces an accelerating international race between governments keen for the glamour of film and TV jobs. Governments have given chunky tax breaks for productions in Budapest in Hungary, the Czech Republic, Australia's Gold Coast, New Zealand and across Canada. They would also face turmoil from tariffs. The White House has given no clues – if it has any to give – of how 'tariffs' would work on film in practice: valuing services as they cross borders is tricky, as is working out how to work out when a film counts as American, or who exactly would have to pay higher taxes. 'It all looks pretty unworkable given how the international film industry is all bound up together,' says Mike Downey, a veteran producer and chairman of the European Film Academy. 'It hasn't been thought through, and it looks to me almost impossible to regulate except with a very blunt instrument.' Yet Downey adds that signs that the US will go ahead will cause 'an initial freeze on production, while everyone works out what this means', and likely a reversal of so-called runaway productions, when a US-focused show is made abroad. 'If they go through in the worst possible case, it will be a total wipeout,' says Downey. 'There's nowhere to turn because no one ever envisaged a world where there would be no US business. The goose that laid the golden egg is ready to take off.'
