Fans laud Garry Ringrose after centre rules himself out of second test
It must be even harder when you have to make that decision yourself just like Garry Ringrose had to before the second test against the Wallabies.
He was slated to start alongside Bundee Aki in the centre but after training on Thursday, he told Andy Farrell he was still suffering some concussion symptoms that ruled him out of the first test.
It meant that Huw Jones starts again at 13 alongside Aki, who replaces Sione Tuipulotu in 12 after the Scot was ruled out with a tight hamstring. Garry Ringrose and Duhan van der Merwe. Pic: INPHO/James Crombie
Speaking to the media after announcing his squad for Saturday, Lions Head Coach Andy Farrell said that Ringrose's withdrawal came as a surprise to him as the Leinster man hadn't been struggling following Tuesday's outing against the First Nations & Pasifika.
'So there was no incident. He was feeling good, well in advance of Tuesday, and fit and ready to play.' Garry Ringrose. Pic: INPHO/Billy Stickland
'No incident through the game at all, nothing yesterday and nothing this morning at all, but with these type of things, players are getting very good at telling the truth of how they feel, so it was a no-brainer to make the change straight away.
'It's very easy to keep it to yourself and lie and not be honest and open. It was very big of him and the right thing to do, 100%. For the team as well, not just for Garry.'
Lions captain Maro Itoje continued that sentiment of commending Ringrose for making the uneasy decision to rule himself out of a Lions test match. Garry Ringrose of the British & Irish Lions charges upfield. Pic:'To play with him and get to know him over the last couple of months has been a real privilege and honour. I'm gutted for him that he's in this position,' Itoje told the press.
'But, also, it shows the measure of the man to be so selfless. All we ask of all of us is to be selfless and put the team first.
'When push comes to shove, you see who really does it. Garry is a man who really did it.'
Concussion is obviously a hot topic in rugby these days and while a lot of measures have been put in to help limit the number of head traumas, so often the symptoms go unnoticed unless the player speaks up themselves. Garry Ringrose of British & Irish Lions during the tour match against First Nations & Pasifika XV. Pic: Brendan Moran/Sportsfile
Reacting to the news on Twitter, one commenter said; 'It's a great, powerful piece of role modelling by Ringrose. If a guy desperate to be a test Lion is happy to self declare his concussion symptoms, hopefully players at community level can realise that their health comes first when they have concussion symptoms.'
Another said; 'Terrible to hear Ringrose's post concussion symptoms have returned. Good on him for stepping aside after being told he was set to get his Lions test debut on the weekend. This is not soft as some old boys may think. There is a responsibility for the jersey and his own future.'
Lastly Progressive Rugby, a non-profit player welfare group commented on Twitter that; 'Absolute fair play to Ringrose but he should never have been in this position – the minimum stand down period for a concussion / traumatic brain injury must be 21 days at professional level, as it is at amateur. And he shouldn't have been playing last Tuesday.' Garry Ringrose. Pic: Brendan Moran/Sportsfile
It's a heartbreaking turn of events for Ringrose but as many have said, he's made the right call if he didn't feel 100%. There's still a third test to come so hopefully he can recover in time for that next Saturday but this may have been his only chance to dawn the Lions jersey in this series.
Saturday is still a huge day for the Lions as a win in front of nearly 100,000 people at the Melbourne Cricket Ground will secure the series and it would be the first series the Lions have won since 2013.
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Irish Daily Mirror
10 minutes ago
- Irish Daily Mirror
Jack O'Connor paid the ultimate compliment by Jarlath Burns with Micko comment
GAA President Jarlath Burns paid Jack O'Connor the ultimate compliment today as he claimed that the Kerry manager deserved to be mentioned in the same breath as iconic Kingdom bainisteoir Mick O'Dwyer. With his win today, O'Connor tasted victory for the fifth time as a manager with Kerry, 21-years on from lifting the Sam Maguire trophy for the first time as head coach. Today's win moves O'Connor to within three of the legendary 'Micko,' who won a staggering eight Celtic Crosses as manager of The Kingdom throughout his career. President of the GAA Jarlath Burns before the game (Image: Mandatory Credit ©INPHO/Laszlo Geczo) Micko is arguably the most revered manager in GAA history let alone Kerry, and his work at counties like Kildare and Laois cemented his legacy across the island. He passed away in April of this year at the age of 88. Once upon a time, comparisons to Micko would have been outlandish, but on the steps of the Hogan Stand this evening, Burns suggested that it is now time for 'Micko' and 'Jacko' to be mentioned in the same conversation in the Kingdom. GAA Hall of Famer Mick O'Dwyer (Image: ©INPHO/Cathal Noonan) And with five All-Ireland medals secured, who can really argue with that?
The Irish Sun
2 hours ago
- The Irish Sun
‘I've never had to do so many' – David Moyes fears Everton crisis has left him in uncharted managerial territory
DAVID Moyes claims Everton's numbers crisis has left him in uncharted managerial territory. Veteran Moyes is beginning his 28th campaign in the dugout, leading the Toffees into their new home at the 5 David Moyes' Everton are facing a recruitment crisis Credit: Shutterstock Editorial 5 Moyes' Everton were crushed 3-0 by Bournemouth on Saturday in the Premier League Summer Series in the US Credit: Getty But the Scot says he needs 'five or six' players in the next few weeks - and that requirement was made clear as Moyes, who confirmed he is looking to land 'That's what we have to try and do. 'In the past I probably have had to sign a lot of players, but I've never had to do so many in one window as we need now.' READ MORE ON FOOTBALL Moyes suggested that he and the club's new Friedkin Group owners are paying for the chaos of the final years under He said: 'We're sort of picking up a little bit of what we're at the end of now. 'We had a lot of people out of contracts, a lot of loan players, because of the financial situation. 'So we're having to sort of find a way around that and we're trying really, really hard behind the scenes to get things done. Most read in Football CASINO SPECIAL - BEST CASINO BONUSES FROM £10 DEPOSITS 'But you can see we're going to need it. 'We've got no centre-halves and we're really struggling.' Everton and West Ham to fight it out for Douglas Luiz Quizzed on Aznou, who has made just two Bundesliga appearances but did well on loan at Valladolid in Spain in the second half of last term, he added: 'We have made an offer. Whether it's accepted and all done is another thing. 'But he's a young player, someone who we see having a good future and potential, rather than ready. 5 Bayern Munich's Adam Aznou (middle) is a high priority signing for Moyes Credit: AP 5 Moyes is facing a defensive crisis with a swathe of key personnel being ruled out through injury Credit: Getty 'If I'm being honest, we've tried to actually target more senior players if we can, players who are over the age of 25 with Premier League experience. 'That's not taking us away from the fact that we want to try and buy some young players as well. 'I'm hoping by the time we get to the end of the transfer window, we might have a balance of youth and experience.' Moyes is without And he is already concerned about the impact of the African Cup of Nations that starts before Christmas and will strip him of 5 Everton's top scorer last season, Iliman Ndiaye, will be unavailable during AFCON due to his commitments to the Senegal national team Credit: Getty He said: 'I always want my players to be selected for their country. I want them to represent their countries because I think that's the right thing to do. 'But when they get taken away in the mid-season, it becomes a problem. 'So we will miss them. And it's something which I know a lot of clubs are considering. 'If you're going to buy an African player who's in the AFCON, what's going to happen? Will clubs not sign African players because of the AFCON?'
The 42
3 hours ago
- The 42
Dan Sheehan's very clever and somewhat confusing try
WE'VE GOT LOTS of different examples of Dan Sheehan finishing tries in recent months but he surprised all of us, including the Wallabies, with his latest big play. Most teams task their hookers with being the person to tap five-metre penalties. Sheehan is good in this role. He has the size, acceleration, and bravery to thrust himself at the tryline, generally making a few metres for Leinster, Ireland or the Lions before the other forwards take over. Sometimes Sheehan is involved in trick plays where he needs to dummy a carry but instead pass, or leave the ball for someone else to tap. All in all, Sheehan brings a nice variety in this area of the game. When most players tap and carry, they do their best to stay low to the ground, attempting to drive in under the defenders as they race up off the tryline. Getting caught upright is a recipe for disaster into what are usually double or triple tackles. We get an example of that low-carrying approach from Sheehan in last weekend's first Test win over the Wallabies just before Tom Curry's try. Sheehan places his left foot ahead of the ball, bringing himself closer to the tryline, then uses his right foot to tap it. He scoops the ball up as he accelerates off his planted left foot. Sheehan's acceleration takes him over the first couple of metres and then he starts to dive down towards the ground before tacklers James Slipper, Allan Alaalatoa, and Harry Wilson can make heay contact with him. The idea of dropping in low is that Sheehan can burrow under the tacklers, rather than getting rocked back by them. Essentially, his decision to drive low in the carry means he can bank those first three metres he has made off the tap. Curry scores a crucial try for the Lions two phases later. Fast forward to the second Test in Melbourne on Saturday and Sheehan uses the same approach on the first occasion the Lions decide to go for a five-metre tap penalty. Sheehan taps with his right leg, races over the first few metres and dives down into the tackle from Slipper and Wallabies hooker Dave Porecki. The Lions then try a 'Leicester' play – something Ireland and Leinster also use, inspired originally by the Tigers – by switching into the shortside with Andrew Porter, only for the Wallabies to read it well and stop him. A few phases later, the Wallabies are caught offside and the Lions decide to go for another five-metre tap. As Sheehan stands over the ball, we know what the Wallabies are expecting. But he pulls out a new move that catches the Australians off guard. Sheehan again taps and accelerates but this time, he doesn't dive in low to get under the tacklers. Instead, he dives straight over the top of them for the tryline. It's clearly something the Lions had discussed and planned. We can see Maro Itoje grabbing Sheehan's shirt and looking to propel him forward just as the hooker dives for the line. Advertisement Itoje wants to add any additional velocity he can to Sheehan's dive for the tryline. We can see how the two Wallabies tacklers who Sheehan drove under on the earlier tap penalties – Slipper and Porecki – are expecting him to do the same again. Porecki and Slipper are both dropping in low to try and complete the tackle, expecting Sheehan to be down there too. Instead, he clears both of them on his way to the tryline. It's very clever from Sheehan and the Lions, who show the Wallabies one picture with the hooker's tap and low carries before they spring a completely different picture on them. Referee Andrea Piardi awards the try, but the Wallabies immediately appeal, claiming that Sheehan has illegally jumped over the tackle. 'He's allowed to jump to score the try,' says Piardi as Wilson vehemently tries to get the try overturned. World Rugby issued a law clarification around this kind of thing back in 2022 at the behest of New Zealand Rugby, following two incidents where players jumped as a defender tried to tackle them. In the first instance, below, World Rugby ruled that Chiefs number eight Pita Gus Sowakula should have been penalised for jumping to hurdle the tackler, Aaron Smith of the Highlanders. World Rugby said that Sowakula's actions here were against Law 9.11, 'Players must not do anything that is reckless or dangerous to others including leading with the elbow or forearm, or jumping into, or over, a tackler.' Wales' Blair Murray was penalised for the same offence during this year's Six Nations. The same month, Moana Pasifika wing Kyren Taumoefolau was not penalised for the incident below, but Super Rugby bosses later admitted that this should have been a penalty against Taumoefolau. As World Rugby underlined in 2022, 'jumping to hurdle a potential tackler is dangerous play' and should be penalised. In each of these instances involving Sowakula, Murray, and Taumoefolau, they are clearly jumping to clear the defender, with each of them landing again before continuing upfield. They are not diving for the tryline. The other incident that New Zealand Rugby asked for clarification on in 2022 was Jonny May's memorable try against Italy. Frustratingly, World Rugby didn't actually say whether this finish was legal or illegal. They rather confusingly said that players should be allowed to dive to score, but also that defenders may attempt 'safe and legal tackles' in these instances. World Rugby added that in rare situations like this one, 'match officials have to make a judgement call as to which actions have taken place' and that 'if there is any element of dangerous play, in line with the above ruling [re. Sowakula], then a try cannot be the reward.' It's very rugby for the governing body to simply say it's up to the officials to decide in the moment. Just last month, World Rugby had another request in this area from its own high performance referee manager, Joël Jutge. 'At a ruck/breakdown close to the goal line, the attacking scrum-half picks up the ball and dives forward over the ruck in an attempt to score a try,' read the request. 'Is this legal or should it be sanctioned?' Lions skipper Itoje was involved in one of the incidents examined. World Rugby said that these incidents were 'potentially dangerous actions, so a player who attempts this and makes any contact with players already on the ground can be sanctioned' with a penalty. World Rugby did refer to its 2022 clarification in underlining that in these 'specific ruck situations, it would be difficult to either dive safely, or then be tackled safely.' So diving over a ruck to score was confirmed as illegal, as long as the diving player makes contact with other players already on the ground. But of course, Sheehan doesn't dive over a ruck for his Lions try, so really the 2022 clarification on May's try was the most relevant thing for Piardi on Saturday at the MCG. He knew it was a judgment call from his point of view. The Italian referee decided that Sheehan was making a genuine dive to score the try, rather than dangerously hurdling a tackler. And that's the bottom line here – World Rugby basically said that the referee's judgement call in this kind of situation is the law. Piardi decided it was a try, so it was a try. Wallabies boss Joe Schmidt – a former World Rugby director of rugby – expressed his concerns about the score post-match. 'It's illegal to jump the tackle, but he dived over,' said Schmidt. 'What it now challenges World Rugby to do is that if we have two guys going in low and a guy dives over that, he is pretty much headfirst. 'So what do we do to stop him scoring, apart from stopping his head? There's not much else you can do.' It's a fair point from Schmidt and underlines how willing Sheehan was to put his body on the line for the Lions. If one of the Wallabies defenders had stayed up high or popped upwards late, it could have been a nasty collision. But they didn't. The Wallabies tacklers were lured down into low positions by Sheehan's previous set-up plays and he soared right over the top of them. Piardi was happy and Andy Farrell's men had five crucial points.
