Lions cut loose with a eight-try win over Western Force for solid start in Australia
A commanding first tour win for the British & Irish Lions in Australia and plenty for the tour management to ponder. There was much to admire in the way the Lions unzipped a gallant but outgunned Force side, not least the playmaking vision of their fly-half Finn Russell and the youthful energy of Henry Pollock, but this eight-try triumph did not come entirely cost-free.
The scrum-half Tomos Williams, one of only two Welshmen on the tour, contributed a brace of tries but was left clutching his left hamstring after completing a brilliant team score in the right corner. With the Lions facing a hectic series of fixtures in the coming fortnight it may be that they will need to whistle up some emergency cover.
For the most part, though, this performance will have also alerted the Wallabies to the Lions' counterattacking potential and collective depth. Russell, in particular, looked in good touch, helping to create two of the Lions first three tries and also kicking five conversions in a display which strongly suggested he will be a key figure in the looming Test series.
There was also no ignoring the contribution of Pollock who was never far from the centre of the action. In many ways Pollock performed just as Andy Farrell would have wished, frequently making a nuisance off himself and bursting away to set up Williams's first try. While the No 8 was also shown a yellow card just before half-time, his work-rate and energy were also conspicuous.
There were a further two tries for Elliot Daly, who again looked sharp, while his back-three colleagues James Lowe and Mack Hansen were similarly busy. With skipper Dan Sheehan, lock Joe McCarthy and flanker Josh van der Flier also showing up well, it was not a bad start for the squad's sizeable Irish contingent.
Western Force: Donaldson; Grealy, Proctor, Stewart, Pietsch; Harford, White (capt); Robertson, Paenga-Amosa, Hoskins, Carter, Swain, Harris, Champion de Crespigny, Ekuasi. Replacements: Horton,Pearce, Tauakipulu, Faifua, Prinsep, Robertson, Burey, Kuenzle.
Tries: White. Conversions: Donaldson.
British & Irish Lions: Daly; Hansen, Ringrose, Tuipulotu, Lowe; Russell, Williams; Schoeman, Sheehan, Furlong, Cummings, McCarthy, Beirne, Van der Flier, Pollock.Replacements: Kelleher, Porter, Stuart, Chessum, Conan, Mitchell, Jones, M Smith.
Tries: Williams 2, Daly 2, Sheehan, Ringrose, McCarthy, Mitchell. Conversions: Russell 5, M Smith 2.Referee: B O'Keefe (NZ)
Russell, though, was the game's pre-eminent architect. A perfect illustration was the Lions' first try after just 90 seconds. With the cover already stretched, a cross-kick by Russell found Sheehan lurking wide on the right. The hooker deftly offloaded to Lowe before scrambling to his feet and making himself available to take the winger's return pass.
The Force often struggle to live up to their name but, initially at least, they were spirited. Ollie Hospkins and Sam Carter were both playing their final games before retirement and had absolutely nothing to lose while Nic White, the moustachioed Wallaby scrum-half, always relishes this kind of challenge. Sure enough it was the former Exeter nine who scored the game's opening points, sniping over from close range after a 14-phase buildup.
The Lions' penalty count was also an early issue but they are unquestionably a quick-thinking bunch with ball in hand. Pollock's instinct for a half-chance is also sharp and he showed that knack again by bursting on to a short ball from Van der Flier and surging to within five metres of the Force line. Better still he did not die with the ball, instead popping it up neatly to allow Williams to score.
Sign up to The Breakdown
The latest rugby union news and analysis, plus all the week's action reviewed
after newsletter promotion
Defensively, though, the Lions were not always as connected as they might have wanted and the deft combination of Dylan Pietsch and Ben Donaldson caused a few flutters down the left. The high amount of ball in play time, though, was also sapping the Force's energy and Russell was quick to exploit it. The fly-half took a quick tap when the home side were expecting him to kick to the posts or the corner and glided his way towards the line before again offloading off the deck to Daly.
Pollock, in celebrating the score, attracted the ire of the splendidly named Force flanker Nick Champion de Crespigny, prompting an outbreak of handbags that is also fast becoming a regular feature of games involving the youngster. When the Northampton forward subsequently saw yellow seconds before half-time for not releasing a tackled player it summed up a rollercoaster half of rugby.
The Force announcer had also given the pot a gentle stir, referring to 'Our former Aussie, Mack Hansen' and 'Another former Aussie, Sione Tuipulotu' in a not-so-subtle dig at the mixed heritage of several Lions players on this tour. Then again the Australian-born former England hooker Nic Dolly had been due to feature for the Force before withdrawing just before kick-off, so the never-ending nationality debate works both ways.
The rest was relatively routine, with McCarthy, Daly and Mitchell hoisting the Lions past their half-century. From here the Lions are off to Brisbane to face the Reds on Wednesday before heading down to Sydney to play the Waratahs three days later. There will be scant opportunity for leisurely reflection but, for the most part, this was an encouraging first hit out on Australian soil.
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Times
21 minutes ago
- Times
In buyers' market art is in the sale, just look at Brighton (not United)
The key to poker is understanding the value of what is in your hand. In the winter transfer window of 2023, when Chelsea offered £55million for Moisés Caicedo, Brighton & Hove Albion said 'no'. They said the same again when Arsenal followed with a £60million bid, and still no when they raised it to £70million. From the outside, there was consternation. Danny Murphy told talkSPORT Brighton's stance was 'ridiculous' and 'for £70million I would have driven Caicedo there'. But when the summer window opened and Chelsea returned with offers of £60million, then £70million and then £80million, Brighton's answers remained emphatic: no, no, and no again. It was another no when Manchester United entered the running and no when Chelsea suddenly raised the ante and went all the way to the £100million mark. At last, when Liverpool mooted £111million, Brighton accepted a bid — and yet still there were cards to play. Chelsea returned to the table with £115million and finally, in August 2023, Caicedo was on his way. Though not before Brighton, who had paid only £4million for the Ecuadorian midfielder 18 months previously, managed to insert a sell-on clause, guaranteeing a healthy slice of any transfer fee Chelsea get for Caicedo in future, into the deal. Brighton's owner, Tony Bloom, was known as 'The Lizard' during his professional poker career and there may be no one better in the game for the cold-blooded execution of player sales. There are a thousand books and courses on the art of selling but it is the most undervalued, unperfected element in English clubs' transfer operations; the overlooked secret of player trading. Bloom and Brighton are outliers. According to a senior figure in the recruitment department of a top Premier League club: 'Everyone invests loads and loads of money on scouting, talent ID, data, coaching, blah, blah, but very little on the sales side of things. There is no strategy. What's the plan when clubs want to sell a player? Sit there saying, 'I hope someone comes in for him.' ' The situation is made all the more curious by the fact that in this age of Profitability and Sustainability Rules (PSR) and inflated fees — which must be funded somehow — an ability to raise money through sales has never been more important. So many Premier League clubs, in this window, find their plans dependent on how effectively, and lucratively, they can offload players. United are the most obvious example, but Liverpool, Arsenal, Manchester City, Aston Villa and many others need to offload players. It doesn't excite fans, who focus on the shiny new stars arriving, but getting rid of the right ones, at the right prices, can be as crucial as signing well. United, in straightened times and in the straitjacket of PSR, are trying to fund a squad makeover to fit Ruben Amorim's style. Having spent £62.5million on Matheus Cunha and had two bids — the latest for £55million plus £7.5million in add-ons — rejected for Bryan Mbeumo, they want a striker, wingback, midfielder and goalkeeper but whether they recruit in all those positions will depend on what funds they can realise from offloading their unwanted players, such as Alejandro Garnacho, Marcus Rashford, Antony and Jadon Sancho. All bar Garnacho are on wages that severely restrict which clubs can afford them, and United's new director of football, Jason Wilcox, has the added headache of Amorim and/or those players themselves making clear it is time for them to leave United, taking away any chance of hard-balling would-be buyers. Arsenal are close to announcing deals for Martín Zubimendi, Christian Norgaard and Kepa Arrizabalaga and are working on the signing of Cristhian Mosquera from Valencia — all for sensible fees. Yet Mikel Arteta's main requirement is a new striker, and with targets Viktor Gyokeres and Benjamin Sesko priced in excess of £60million, the club are looking to raise about £50million from sales. They would listen to offers for Oleksandr Zinchenko, Jakub Kiwior, Reiss Nelson and perhaps even Gabriel Martinelli. With their income slashed by failing to reach the Champions League, Aston Villa are looking to reduce player costs by £80million this summer. They have sold cleverly in the past — getting €188million (£160million) for Jhon Durán, Moussa Diaby and Douglas Luiz last season — and will have to sell smartly again, ideally starting before the PSR 2024-25 accounting deadline of midnight Monday. Pep Guardiola has threatened to quit if City don't reduce the size of his squad, and Jack Grealish is the most eye-catching item in their shop window. Guardiola may benefit from having a new sporting director, Hugo Viana, whose experience (gained at Sporting Lisbon) is within a player-trading model as opposed to the departing Txiki Begiristain, one of the best sporting directors of all time but who has only worked at dominant clubs in periods where there was little emphasis on sales. After the £40million signing of Milos Kerkez pushed their summer spending beyond £200million, Liverpool are not finished recruiting but need to balance their expenditure with more sales on top of the £24million already received for Caoimhin Kelleher, Nat Phillips and Trent Alexander-Arnold. Jarell Quansah is expected to join Bayer Leverkusen for £35million after the European Under-21 Championship and Tyler Morton, also excelling at the tournament, is another asset they will seek to realise. Talks are continuing with Napoli over a deal to sell Darwin Núñez, while Federico Chiesa, who interests several Serie A clubs, is also likely to be sold. Ideally, with Kerkez aboard, the Liverpool would raise funds by disposing of a left back. Andrew Robertson is considering interest from Atletico Madrid but may stay for the final year of his contract, though, and Kostas Tsimikas is happy in a back-up role. A 'Greek Scouser' who describes Liverpool as 'the Broadway of football' may be hard to shift. The importance of sales was laid out at the end of the previous summer transfer window by the online football finance expert Swiss Ramble. From 2022-24, Brighton's gross spending on players (£411million) exceeded that of Liverpool, Newcastle United, Villa and — by a significant margin — the outlays of supposed peer clubs such as Brentford, Fulham and Crystal Palace. But their net spend? It was just £20million. They had traded their squad upwards — readying it to finish a club-record eighth in 2024-25 — for less than £7million per season, thanks to sales. The analysis showed Chelsea and City to have been by far the period's biggest sellers. The massive recruitment programmes undergone by both would have been impossible without recouping through player disposals. The pressure on Arsenal, United, Tottenham Hotspur and Newcastle was also clear in the figures. Those clubs' relatively low sales left them with big net spends. Arsenal's gross outlay on players was only £50million more than City's over a five-year period, but their net spend was £480million more. The problems that stores up perhaps explain why City can now spend with abandon to help Guardiola rebuild while Arteta is still waiting for his striker. Everton were the only club to make a transfer profit from 2020-24, showing how selling was fundamental to the club's very survival during the stricken final years of Farhad Moshiri's ownership. But selling is not just about how much you make, it's about which goods you are willing to part with, and though City raised £499million by offloading players from 2022-24 it was a period where they parted with talents including Cole Palmer, Morgan Rogers, Liam Delap, James Trafford and Julián Alvarez. None look like wise disposals now. There are different ways of measuring how 'good' a player sale is. One is to compare at the price achieved to market value and, using Transfermarkt's calculations, the best business of last summer included Newcastle realising £22.2million more than market value when selling Elliot Anderson to Nottingham Forest, Bournemouth achieving £20.8million more when selling Dominic Solanke to Tottenham and Wolves extracting £13.2million more for Max Kilman than the market said he was worth. However, another way is to look at the value of the player sold a year down the line. The blossoming of Anderson at Forest suggests Newcastle actually undervalued him. On the other hand the Kilman deal looks even better from Wolves' point of view — 12 months on he is now worth £19.2million less than West Ham paid for him. City selling Alvarez to Atletico Madrid for £64million seems a bad deal by both measures. The price was £13million below the Argentina forward's market value at the time and now it is £21.4million below his market value — albeit add-ons included in the deal may allow City to recoup up to £17million. United fare dreadfully in the analysis. They have made 14 significant sales in the past three seasons, 11 of whom now valued higher than the fees received for them, with Scott McTominay, Anthony Elanga and Álvaro Carreras worth a combined £63million more. To value players, Brighton use the unique information provided by Jamestown Analytics, an offshoot of Bloom's betting data company, Starlizard. They stick to those valuations and ignore distractions: back in January 2023, Caicedo agitated to go, even posting a plea to leave on Instagram. Brighton did not go to war with their asset but calmly asked him to stay away from training until the transfer window closed and then extended his contract, to further increase his value. Only selling when a replacement has been signed or lined up is also the Brighton way. Marc Cucurella was replaced by Pervis Estupiñán, Robert Sánchez by Bart Verbruggen and Leandro Trossard by João Pedro. Caicedo himself was the replacement for Yves Bissouma and on the same day he signed for Chelsea, Brighton entered talks with Lille for his replacement, Carlos Baleba. Now Baleba, 21, is projected to be a future £100million sale but a club who made gentle inquiries came away with the impression that Brighton are unlikely to let him go until next season, because his replacement has not been identified yet. Liverpool's headaches are eased by having Michael Edwards and Richard Hughes to oversee trading. Hughes sold well at Bournemouth and squeezing €10million from Real Madrid for the last month of Alexander-Arnold's contract was remarkable even by Edwards's standards. During the building phase of the modern Liverpool, as sporting director Edwards raised £396million from sales from 2014-17 — enabling the recruitment of Virgil van Dijk, Mo Salah, Sadio Mané, Roberto Firmino, Joël Matip, Gini Wijnaldum, Adam Lallana, Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain, Joe Gomez and Robertson on a pretty much obscene £58million net spend. There were many coups, like persuading Bournemouth to spend a club record £15million on Jordon Ibe, and Leicester £12.5million on Danny Ward, but none beat getting Barcelona to not just lavish £142million on Philippe Coutinho but agree a clause meaning they would pay a €100million (then £89million) premium in addition to any transfer fee if they signed a Liverpool player over the next 2½ seasons. It would prove the deterrent to Barça targeting Salah and Van Dijk. Selling, like buying in the transfer market, depends on relationships with clubs, agents and players; on planning ahead and having the right handle on valuations. 'It's not rocket science,' said the senior recruiter. 'I just think it's a cultural psyche because nearly everyone in England sees winning as points but a handful of clubs like Brighton rightly see winning as selling.' His suggestion is that clubs should have player sales specialists and, the moment a player signs, already have a plan for when they might be sold and involve that player and their agent in the process. A former sporting director, now working as an agent, agrees the issue is cultural. 'Managers in England often don't want to sell because there is a mindset of holding on to your assets. Fans get pissed off when you sell someone good and clubs have egos — for example Man United don't want to sell to Real Madrid and feel they are further down the food chain.' He remembers taking a player to a club in Serie A, where selling is embedded in a culture of player trading. As his client was signing the contract and they were posing for pictures he felt a hand on his shoulder. It was the sporting director. 'Now your job is to get English clubs to watch him,' the guy said, 'so we can sell.'
The Sun
21 minutes ago
- The Sun
Tom Brady's Birmingham join transfer race for Nottingham Forest midfielder but will have to stump up £8million
NOTTINGHAM FOREST have set their price for in-demand midfielder Lewis O'Brien amid interest from a slew of Championship clubs. Southampton, Hull and Tom Brady-owned Birmingham City are all keen on the 26-year-old this summer. 2 Forest want £8million O'Brien, a figure that could cool the interest of those monitoring him. O'Brien shone on loan at Swansea last season, where he made 16 Championship appearances after making the switch in the winter window. But his eye-catching performances may have worked against him as Forest now chase a bigger fee big fee. Hull have already launched an approach at £5m and may up their offer to land him. O'Brien is in the last year of his deal at Forest having joined the club back in 2022. His time at The City Ground has been a frustrating one, making just 17 first-team appearances since arriving from Huddersfield Town. Instead, O'Brien has had to settle for minutes elsewhere - heading on loan to four separate clubs since his move. Those temporary switches have included spells in the Championship with Middlesbrough and Swansea, as well as two forays to the USA with MLS clubs LA FC and DC United. O'Brien left the door open for a return to Swansea at the end of last season. He said: "I have really enjoyed my time here. It's never out of the question [returning], but sometimes it's not in my hands, especially having to go back to my parent club. "We will see what the summer holds. It's never say never really." Meanwhile Swans manager Alan Sheehan also made it clear he would love O'Brien back in South Wales. He said: "The effect he has had on the place, he has been exceptional. I cannot speak highly enough about him and I make no secret of that. "If he is available, should you try to re-sign him? I think that's quite an obvious answer." 2
The Guardian
34 minutes ago
- The Guardian
Novak Djokovic confident Wimbledon is his ‘best chance' of extending slam record
Novak Djokovic believes that this year's Wimbledon likely represents his best chance of winning a record-extending 25th grand slam title as he tries to disrupt the dominance established by Jannik Sinner and Carlos Alcaraz at the biggest tournaments in the world. 'I would probably agree that Wimbledon could be the best chance because of the results I had, because of how I feel, how I play at Wimbledon, just getting that extra push mentally and motivation to perform the best tennis at the highest level,' said Djokovic. The seven-time champion at SW19 returns to the All England Club in an intriguing position. After defeating Alcaraz, the world No 2, en route to the Australian Open semi-finals in January, Djokovic reached the French Open semi-finals with a stellar win over the world No 3, Alexander Zverev, before losing in three tight sets to Sinner. The Serb departed Paris as the third best performer at the grand slam tournaments so far this year and he continues to compete at an extremely high level. At 38, long past his physical peak, the faster, less attritional grass courts are more conducive to his game. 'This year I played two semi-finals. Unfortunately in Australia I had to retire. In Roland Garros I was outplayed by Sinner. I think I still played a decent level of tennis that showed me that I can still play on a very high level at the later stages. That's what is also giving me an extra, I guess motivation to keep going. Obviously clay court, yeah, probably slightly less chances to win compared to grass.' Djokovic, the sixth seed this year, is attempting to break his tie with Pete Sampras and become the joint record holder at the All England Club alongside his great rival Roger Federer with eight titles. A victory would also mark him as the oldest grand slam champion in history. As was the case at the French Open, he is unsure of whether this will be his final appearance at Wimbledon. At such an advanced age in the sport, he has resolved to take things one tournament at a time. Should both players live up to their rankings, Djokovic would face Jack Draper, the British No 1, in the quarter-finals. The fourth seed continued his preparations for Wimbledon on Saturday by working through a friendly practice match with Jacob Fearnley, the British No 2. After suffering with tonsillitis during his semi-final run at Queen's last week, Draper again stressed that he is feeling much better. He rested for two days after Queen's but he has trained consistently since Tuesday. In addition to the challenge of tackling Wimbledon as a top contender for the first time, Draper has been handed an extremely difficult draw with a potential third-round match against Alexander Bublik, the Halle champion and his conqueror at the French Open. Unsurprisingly, Draper has had to field countless questions in interviews on his ability to handle the pressure that comes with his new status. 'Obviously you guys have asked me a lot about the pressure and all that sort of stuff. I'm not thinking about that at all,' he said. 'I'm thinking about how I can play my tennis out there. I'm aware that the crowd is going to really be behind me and support me and want me to drive forward in the tournament. That gives me a huge source of motivation to want to keep on trying to find my level and to try to beat these guys. So I feel good. That's the only thing I can say.' Meanwhile, Sinner, the top seed, declined to elaborate on his surprise decision to part ways with the fitness trainer Marco Panichi and the physiotherapist Ulises Badio after his second-round defeat at Halle last week. 'Nothing major happened,' said Sinner. 'Nothing big happened. I parted ways not long ago, but it's not affecting me. I feel ready to compete. I feel free. I feel me and my team, we are ready to do the best we can. I'm here to play good tennis. I think that's my main goal, the main reason why I'm here. 'We've reached incredible results in the past with them, so obviously huge thanks to them. We made some great job, but I decided to do something different.'
