WORLD OF RUGBY: Why Andy Farrell must draw on familiarity to help Lions excel with Scotland trio key to Test chances
Midfield has become a primary area of intrigue during the first half of this tour and now the dilemma faced by the head coach and his assistants has become even more acute, given the removal of Garry Ringrose from first Test contention. Ireland's outside centre had been playing the house down – before suffering a concussion in the win over the Brumbies – but he's not the only one.
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Reuters
an hour ago
- Reuters
Amazing Grace: Kim becomes fifth Australian woman to claim a major
July 14 (Reuters) - A career that appeared stuck in second gear took a dramatic turn on Sunday as Grace Kim produced a stunning finish to become Australia's fifth major winner in women's golf at the Evian Championship. The former Youth Olympics champion was three shots adrift of the lead after 14 holes at Evian-les-Bains in the French Alps but went birdie-birdie-par-eagle to force her way into a playoff with Thai world number two Jeeno Thitikul. Kim's charge looked over when she dunked her approach to the 18th into a green-side pond in the first extra hole. Instead, she chipped in for birdie over the same pond to force another hole, then drained a 20-foot eagle putt to deny Thitikul and claim one of the great wins in major golf. In her third season on the LPGA Tour, Kim had been treading water with only one top-10 finish in her previous 11 starts but said she had come to Evian-les-Bains with a different mindset. "Obviously it's a huge achievement for me. I've had a lot of doubts early this year. I was kind of losing motivation,' said the 24-year-old, whose only previous win was in Hawaii in 2023. "I kind of had to get some hard conversations done with the team. Yeah, kind of had to wake up a little bit. "So to be sitting here next to this trophy is definitely surreal." Australian women's golf is in a good spot. Kim's win comes weeks after compatriot Minjee Lee won the Women's PGA Championship, shrugging off a lean period for her third major. Lee watched as Kim holed the winning putt on Sunday and bolted onto the green to spray her with champagne. Kim joins a select list of Australian major winners in women's golf, the others being seven-times champion Karrie Webb, three-times winner Jan Stephenson and Hannah Green. "I saw there is a picture of Karrie as you walk into the locker room, walking down 18 as well, so seeing that each day is motivating," said the Sydney native. "Obviously Minjee's first major was this one and this is now mine as well."
Daily Mail
an hour ago
- Daily Mail
AFL to investigate after TWO Indigenous stars were targeted by racist trolls
The AFL has been forced to confront an all-too-familiar problem after two of its brightest young Indigenous players were the targets of vile, racist abuse online. St Kilda star Nasiah Wanganeen-Milera and Port Adelaide 's Jase Burgoyne, two emerging stars of the game, both posted screenshots of the messages on Sunday night. The abuse was shocking in language and tone, and both clubs acted swiftly to bring the matter to the league's attention. 'Bro u f***ing n*****,' the message to Wanganeen-Milera read. 'Couldn't f***ing touch the ball once more. U f***ing me over.' Wanganeen-Milera, who had 24 disposals and was closely tagged during the game, responded calmly. The anonymous account sent this string of horrific messages to the in-demand St Kilda star 'Over a game of football. Hero mate,' he posted in response. St Kilda teammate Liam Stocker also chimed in: 'Get a grip. Put your name on it.' Fellow Indigenous Saint Bradley Hill shared his support too. 'Some people hey!!!! Love you @nasiah_wm7,' Hill posted. St Kilda and Port Adelaide referred the messages directly to AFL House following their matches that afternoon. Burgoyne was messaged by a profile only named 'Tim' that included a host of graphic sexual and racial abuse. 'Get a touch you weal a** c***,' it read. 'Welcome to country you f***ing loser.' Burgoyne shared the message with a clown emoji. Burgoyne shared the messages he received to social media, only replying with a clown emoji 'The AFL integrity unit is investigating vile racist texts sent to Indigenous stars Nasiah Wanganeen-Milera and Jase Burgoyne via Instagram direct message,' 7NEWS reporter Xander McGuire confirmed. The league is treating the matter seriously, but players and fans are again left wondering how much longer this behaviour will go on. AFL players have faced repeated racial abuse on social media in recent years. This season, Willie Rioli was previously targeted online after his suspension for threatening Bulldogs defender Bailey Dale. In 2023, Western Bulldogs star Jamarra Ugle-Hagan was targeted with slurs online and at the ground, prompting the AFL to issue lifetime bans. That same year, Charlie Cameron, Michael Walters, Nathan Wilson, and Izak Rankine all reported receiving racist messages via Instagram. St Kilda's Bradley Hill also revealed his partner was sent vile abuse in 2021. West Coast's Liam Ryan was called a 'monkey' on social media in 2019, sparking public outrage. Joel Wilkinson was racially vilified both on the field and online during his time with the Suns. Adam Goodes endured years of racial taunts, including being called an 'ape' in 2013, leading to a prolonged booing saga that ended his career. In 2023, Eddie Betts reported racist abuse directed at his children outside their home, shared via social media video. The AFL has responded with lifetime stadium bans and formal investigations by its integrity unit. Wanganeen-Milera, 22, is not only a star on the rise but one of the league's most in-demand players. In the days before the incident, much of the media talk was about his future. Clubs are circling with offers north of $1million per year to lure him away from Moorabbin. Port Adelaide - where his uncle Gavin Wanganeen made his name - is considered a strong chance of bringing him back to South Australia. Adding fuel to the speculation is Wanganeen-Milera's close relationship with Port defender Burgoyne. The pair have been friends since they were kids, and Burgoyne recently signed a four-year extension with Port. 'We're extremely close,' Burgoyne said.
Daily Mail
2 hours ago
- Daily Mail
French woman shocked after realising AFL team copied her national anthem
A French traveller visiting Australia was left astonished after attending an AFL match at Marvel Stadium, where she discovered that the Brisbane Lions Football Club's team song sounded very familiar. TikTok user @bonjourmelbourne witnessed Brisbane's impressive 37-point win over Carlton on Thursday night and says her 'jaw dropped' when she heard the club's team song echoing around the ground. 'Can someone please explain why the French anthem is the Brisbane Lions theme song,' she posted. Some footy fans were also confused by the bizarre revelation, but diehard Lions fans set her straight in the comments section. The club's team song, 'The Pride of Brisbane Town', is indeed sung to the tune of La Marseillaise, the French national anthem. The Lions adopted the tune in 1997, but it originates from Fitzroy, who merged with the Brisbane Bears to form the club. The song was written by former player Bill Stephen while on an end-of-season trip to Perth in 1952. 'We really didn't have a song that united us at Fitzroy, and I had just been to the pictures to see Casablanca and was impressed by the scene in the restaurant,' Stephen explained. 'The Germans were belting out their Nazi song, and some bloke started singing this French song. Gradually all the French joined in and overwhelmed the Germans with their voice. I was very impressed with the song, La Marseillaise. 'As we were in a carriage on our way to the West having a booze-up, I told the boys that we needed a good song and gave them the tune to La Marseillaise. 'Anyway, I wanted all the boys to help make up the song. I started them off with the first line, which was, 'We are the boys from Fitzroy my lads,' then I went to all the others and each gave me a different line. 'We must have sung it 30,000 times by the time we got home a fortnight later. That song kept Fitzroy people alive during our bad days. People used to sing it, and sing it, and sing it.' The Lions showed no mercy against the Blues last week, romping to a 15.13 (103) to 9.12 (66) victory at Marvel Stadium. Brisbane's Josh Dunkley (28 disposals, 13 tackles) was awarded the inaugural Robert Walls Medal, struck in honour of the dual-club great, who died in May. The only sore point for the Lions (12-4-1) was Noah Answerth's suspected season-ending achilles injury, which led to the defender's substitution before halftime. Lachie Neale (31 disposals), Dayne Zorko (28) and Will Ashcroft (28) were all influential and Charlie Cameron (three majors) led a group of 11 Brisbane goal-kickers. 'Our pressure was good tonight,' Brisbane coach Chris Fagan said. 'We got 35 forward-half turnovers, which is a large number, 20 tackles inside-50, seven goals eight from forward-half turnovers. 'All that was on the back of pressure and good tackling, so it was a very good effort in that regard.'
