logo
Queensland Reds 12 British & Irish Lions 52: Maro Itoje leads by example as tourist make it two from two in Australia

Queensland Reds 12 British & Irish Lions 52: Maro Itoje leads by example as tourist make it two from two in Australia

The Irish Suna day ago
MARO ITOJE led from the front as his Lions made it two from two on Australian soil with his tourists hit the Reds for an eight-try half century.
But Andy Farrell's men had a late injury worry when Elliot Daly, himself a late call-up to the starting XV, went off with an arm injury after 66 minutes.
2
Maro Itoje celebrates with a team-mate Luke Cowan-Dickie
Credit: AFP
And Itoje went down after a blow on the shoulder late on but carried on to ensure his side got over the line safely.
Daly was attempting a tackle on home full-back Jock Campbell when he pulled up holding his left arm and was replaced then later seen with blood coming from a bandage on the limb.
Itoje was everywhere for the Lions, dominating the line outs, bossing the breakdown and scoring a try in the second half.
There were other pluses for boss Andy Farrell with fly-half
The Lions were hit by the late withdrawal of Ireland full-back Hugo Keenan, who was listed as sick, and Daly was parachuted in from outside the 23 to start.
Keenan has not played on the tour so far, after a calf injury, but is expected to be fit to face the Waratahs in Sydney on Saturday with time running out to make a claim for a Test spot.
That means the versatile Saracen has been named in a Lions 23 for the last 11 games stretching back to the tourists' opening game in South Africa in 2021.
The Lions led 21-21 at the break but had been given the hurry-up by a Reds side who drew first blood through former Wasps prop Jeff Toomaga-Allen on seven minutes.
Most read in Sport
CASINO SPECIAL - BEST CASINO BONUSES FROM £10 DEPOSITS
But Freeman, with a neat finish, got the Lions back in it, but Queensland centre Josh Flook made the most of a bounce that bamboozled Duhan van der Merwe to get the hosts in front.
Itoje's side then returned fire with a double salvo from prop Andrew Porter and Van der Merwe before the skipper stormed over off a short pass from Jamison Gibson-Park on 44 minutes.
Morgan, now the only Welsh player left on tour, finished it as a contest when he hit a strong line off Alex Mitchell's pass to cap a great evening for the Osprey.
Freeman grabbed a second and Huw Jones ran in from 50 metres before Daly was forced off but the Lions were home and hosed.
2
British and Irish Lions' made in two for two
Credit: AFP
Orange background

Try Our AI Features

Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:

Comments

No comments yet...

Related Articles

Andy Farrell ups the Lions ante with call for prodigal son Owen
Andy Farrell ups the Lions ante with call for prodigal son Owen

Irish Examiner

timean hour ago

  • Irish Examiner

Andy Farrell ups the Lions ante with call for prodigal son Owen

Andy Farrell says the arrival of his son Owen will 'inject a bit of life and experience' into the British & Irish Lions squad in Australia and is backing him to sharpen the team's competitive edge. Farrell also said he had no hesitation in picking the former England captain despite the fact he has not played Test rugby for 20 months and struggled for form and fitness this year. Farrell Jr is due to fly in to join the squad on Friday as a replacement for the luckless Elliot Daly who broke a forearm in the 52-12 win against the Queensland Reds. It is a big call for a number of reasons but Farrell Sr insists it is the right one for the squad as they build towards their best-of-three Test series against the Wallabies which kicks off in just over a fortnight. Farrell Jr has not played any rugby at all in the last two months and is not a like-for-like positional swap for Daly but his father is focused on the impact he could have on a squad which is not overflowing with Lions experience. With his 112 caps for England and six Lions Test appearances, there is certainly no questioning Farrell's big game mindset as he flies in for his fourth Lions tour. Owen Farrell of the British & Irish Lions during the Castle Lager Lions Series, First Test match at the Cape Town Stadium, Cape Town, South Africa. Picture date: Saturday July 24, 2021. In January last year Farrell announced he was stepping away from Test rugby to 'prioritise his and his family's mental wellbeing', but his father suggested when the squad was announced that the door could yet reopen. Sure enough, the Lions' prodigal son is now en route, his dad having lobbed a large rock into a previously tranquil touring pool. Listening to Farrell Sr, it sounded very much as if that was his deliberate intention. Far from worrying about accusations of nepotism or whether the decision implied a lack of faith in his younger English 10s Marcus Smith and Fin Smith, the management seem more concerned with upping the ante before a potentially intense series. 'We have said from minute one that the only thing we want is competition,' said Farrell Sr, stressing that Owen could yet be a contender for the Test squad. 'If he didn't have a chance then what is the point? Everybody should be competing, that is what everyone in the group would want.' Farrell Sr also cited 'the experience he brings, the support that you need for the group and how you make the room feel' among the reasons why Farrell has leapfrogged ahead of assorted other contenders including Scotland's Tom Jordan, Ireland's Jamie Osborne and England's George Ford. 'He's the right man at this moment in time for us. We see him adding to the group and injecting a bit of life and experience as far as what he can bring to the squad.' Farrell Jr, who will turn 34 in September, will be the sole player on tour who has tasted a previous Lions series victory. He is also a longtime Saracens colleague of the Lions captain Maro Itoje and assistant coach Richard Wigglesworth and his father stressed the whole management team had been consulted. 'There are other coaches in that conversation; it's not just on me. Obviously I make the final call and I'm happy to do that, but these conversations have been going on in the background the whole time about all sorts of players and that's the call we came to.' Not since Colin Cowdrey was summoned from the depths of an English winter in 1974-75 to take on Dennis Lillee and Jeff Thomson in an Ashes series at the age of 41, has a tour replacement arrived with more fanfare and less recent match practice. The jury of social media will also be keen to see if Farrell is picked on the bench against the ACT Brumbies on Wednesday – his father predicted he would feature 'soon enough' – almost two years on from the persistent online abuse which contributed to him stepping away from the international game. 'Look, I hope people can get past that,' said Farrell snr. 'There has been a lot of that nonsense for some time. That was in the past. We all just need to move on and embrace what the Lions is all about and what we have got coming ahead.' In the short term the priority is now this weekend's looming game against the Waratahs. Tadhg Beirne will captain the Lions for the first time with Hugo Keenan and Blair Kinghorn finally making their belated debuts. There is also a 6-2 forward bench split with Ben Earl covering the centre positions should injury strike Huw Jones or Sione Tuipulotu. LIONS (v NSW Waratahs): H Keenan (Ireland); M Hansen (Ireland), H Jones (Scotland), S Tuipulotu (Scotland), B Kinghorn (Scotland); F Smith (England), A Mitchell (England); P Schoeman (Scotland), L Cowan-Dickie (England), F Bealham (Ireland); T Beirne (Ireland, capt), J Ryan (Ireland); H Pollock (England), J van der Flier (Ireland), B Earl (England). Replacements: D Sheehan (Ireland), E Genge (England), T Furlong (Ireland), J McCarthy (Ireland), S Cummings (Scotland), J Morgan (Wales), B White (Scotland), M Smith (England). Guardian

Wimbledon star Sonay Kartal playing for life-changing payday after struggling to afford a tennis coach
Wimbledon star Sonay Kartal playing for life-changing payday after struggling to afford a tennis coach

The Irish Sun

timean hour ago

  • The Irish Sun

Wimbledon star Sonay Kartal playing for life-changing payday after struggling to afford a tennis coach

SONAY KARTAL has spoken of her tennis financial struggles while growing up – ahead of a potential £240,000 payday. 3 Sonay Kartal has dazzled the British crowd in SW19 Credit: Shutterstock Editorial Unlike some in the sport, the 23-year-old did not have a silver spoon in her mouth – she had a modest upbringing in Brighton and her family ran a local Turkish restaurant. Yet when it came to the sport she chose, having dabbled with football and cricket, she did not have any support until hooking up with the LTA aged 19 and earning Pro Scholarship Programme (PSP) funding. Kartal – who plays French qualifier Diane Parry on Friday – has £152,000 in her back pocket but if she wins two sets, she will add an extra £68,000 to her back balance. The British No.3 said: 'Obviously tennis is super expensive. READ MORE WIMBLEDON 'When I was growing up, I kind of did quite a lot of tournaments on my own because I couldn't afford to pay a coach week-in, week-out. 'It helped me develop as a teenager, grow up super fast, made me much more mature. I held myself accountable to a lot of things. 'The LTA helped me massively. It came at exactly the right time. It was when I started to come on the scene and was putting together a few good wins consistently. 'They really helped to give me all the equipment and access to everything I needed to develop as well. Most read in Tennis BEST ONLINE CASINOS - TOP SITES IN THE UK 3 Kartal, 23, did not have it as easy as many tennis players growing up Credit: Getty 'I've shot up the rankings. My game style really rocketed. 'My coaches back in the day, they would charge me I guess the lowest fee and would try to help me out as much as possible. Watch British Wimbledon stars Emma Raducanu and Sonay Kartal have incredible rally at 9-YEARS-OLD in throwback video 'I was out quite a lot of years injured as a teenager. 'I didn't pick up a racquet for a couple years. I was kind of a bit inconsistent as I was going through my teenage years.' 3 Wimbledon 2025 LIVE -

Jurgen Klopp pays emotiaonl tribute to late Diogo Jota
Jurgen Klopp pays emotiaonl tribute to late Diogo Jota

Extra.ie​

timean hour ago

  • Extra.ie​

Jurgen Klopp pays emotiaonl tribute to late Diogo Jota

Jurgen Klopp has paid an emotional tribute to Liverpool and Portugal winger Diogo Jota, branding him 'not only a fantastic player, but also a great friend, a loving and caring husband and father.' News that the 28-year-old had died following a car crash broke on Thursday morning, just two weeks after he had married his partner Rute. The tragedy occurred just off the province of Zamora on the A-52 in Northwestern Spain, with Diogo's brother André also fatally injured. Jurgen Klopp has paid an emotional tribute to Liverpool and Portugal winger Diogo Jota, branding him 'not only a fantastic player, but also a great friend, a loving and caring husband and father.' Pic: Paul ELLIS / AFP via Getty Images Heartbreaking tributes have been paid online throughout Thursday, with fans heading to Liverpool's home stadium, Anfield, where they laid floral tributes. Former Liverpool manager, Jurgen Klopp took to social media sharing a series of photos alongside the Portuguese forward detailing his heartbreak. 'This is a moment where I struggle!' the German manager wrote, 'There must be a bigger purpose! But I can't see it! View this post on Instagram A post shared by Jürgen Klopp (@kloppo) 'I'm heartbroken to hear about the passing of Diogo and his brother André. Diogo was not only a fantastic player, but also a great friend, a loving and caring husband and father! We will miss you so much!' Klopp extended his thoughts and prayers to Jota's family. 'Rest in peace — Love J,' he concluded. Diogo Jota with his wife Rute and their children. Pic: Rute Cardoso/Instagram Football star Jota had married just two weeks earlier and also had a victorious season with Liverpool, with the soccer team winning the league in May. In his final post on social media, Jota shared a video from his wedding to long-term partner Rute Cardoso, which took place on June 22. In the caption, the tragic footballer wrote: 'A day we will never forget.' The couple started their relationship in 2012, with Jota popping the question in 2022. They also share three children together. Soccer royalty Shay Given, Gary Neville, and Christiano Ronaldo are among those who have taken to social media paying tributes to the late player on Thursday.

DOWNLOAD THE APP

Get Started Now: Download the App

Ready to dive into a world of global content with local flavor? Download Daily8 app today from your preferred app store and start exploring.
app-storeplay-store