Farrell: Waratahs may have over-watered pitch to hinder Lions
SYDNEY (AP) — British and Irish Lions coach Andy Farrell has suggested the New South Wales Waratahs may have deliberately over-watered the pitch at Sydney's Allianz Stadium ahead of Saturday's match in which the tourists struggled to a 21-10 win.
The Lions kept their unbeaten record but produced their least impressive performance so far against a Waratahs team stripped of most of its Wallabies.
Farrell implied the pitch had been watered to disadvantage the Lions at a post-match news conference. Despite winning 62 percent of possession and 70 percent of territory, the Lions stumbled to a three tries to two win amid a flurry of handling errors.
Coastal areas of New South Wales state, including Sydney, had been hit by a 'bomb cyclone' in the week before the match which brought torrential rain and high winds. But Farrell said he had raised the possibility to pitch had been additionally watered after speaking with Waratahs attack coach and former England and Lions international Mike Catt.
'The pitch was very wet and I was asking Mike Catt after the game and he was laughing,' Farrell said. 'But, I mean, that's good tactics from them, isn't it? The ball's slippery, the breakdown's ferocious enough and the line speed is high-octane stuff as well from them.
'Catty just laughed and we've seen that done plenty of times. I don't know whether the pitch needed watering.'
Waratahs captain Hugh Sinclair and coach Dan McKellar laughed off Farrell's accusation.
'(Did you) see the weather on Tuesday? It was like a ... cyclone,' Sinclair said.
McKellar added 'no, no, no, no, no. Andy was probably sunning himself in Brisbane on Tuesday but it wasn't pleasant in Sydney, that's for sure.'
Farrell was willing to concede the Lions did not play well after posting 50 points in their first two tour matches against the Western Force and Queensland Reds.
'There's a bit of frustration there,' Farrell said. 'It's nice to get a win but at this stage we're trying to judge the performance and we are a little bit more disappointed with the amount of possession and territory that we had and how we dealt with certain situations.
'Let's congratulate the Waratahs as well for the the type of game that they played, But when you have 70 per cent territory and 20 turnovers, that's by far not clinical enough.'
___
AP rugby: https://apnews.com/hub/rugby
recommended
in this topic
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Hamilton Spectator
21 minutes ago
- Hamilton Spectator
Diamondbacks infielder Pavin Smith heads to the injured list with a strained right oblique
PHOENIX (AP) — The Arizona Diamondbacks have placed infielder Pavin Smith on the 10-day injured list with a strained right oblique and recalled infielder Tristan English from Triple-A Reno. Arizona also placed right-hander Ryan Thompson on the 15-day injured list with a strained scapular, retroactive to Saturday, and recalled right-hander Bryce Jarvis from Reno before Sunday's game against Kansas City. Right-hander Tommy Henry was recalled to the big league roster and placed on the 60-day injured list with a right elbow injury to make room for English on the 40-man roster. Smith is hitting .261 with eight homers and 28 RBIs in 79 games while primarily splitting time between first base and designated hitter. ___ AP MLB:
Yahoo
27 minutes ago
- Yahoo
Revealed – Football Algorithm Names Four Potential Replacements For Denzel Dumfries At Inter Milan
Revealed – Football Algorithm Names Four Potential Replacements For Denzel Dumfries At Inter Milan Football algorithm Wallabies has identified four possible replacements for Denzel Dumfries in the event that he leaves Inter Milan. This according to the Gazzetta dello Sport, via FCInterNews. They report that the algorithm has recommended Ansgar Knuaff, Ismaila Sarr, Dilane Wakba, and Raoul Bellanova. Advertisement Inter Milan could lose Denzel Dumfries this summer. The Dutchman has a €25 million release clause in his contract, and the Nerazzurri are waiting to see if any big names in Europe decide to trigger it. Therefore, Inter are on the lookout for potential replacements for Dumfries. As the Gazzetta dello Sport highlight, football algorithm Wallabies has identified some potential replacements. Four Potential Replacements For Denzel Dumfries At Inter MILAN, ITALY – MAY 18: Denzel Dumfries of FC Internazionale celebrates scoring his team's second goal during the Serie A match between FC Internazionale and SS Lazio at Stadio Giuseppe Meazza on May 18, 2025 in Milan, Italy. (Photo by) The Gazzetta note that the first suggestion of Wallabies in terms of a player with a similar profile to Dumfries and a fee of under €50 million is actually a player who Inter have already signed. Advertisement The algorithm name winger Luis Henrique as a prospective replacement for the Dutchman. Then, Wallabies has also identified Eintracht Frankfurt and former Borussia Dortmund wide man Ansgar Knauff. Also on the algorithm's list is 22-year-old Strasbourg winger Dilane Wakba. Lastly, whereas Luis Henrique is a player who Inter have already signed, the fourth suggestion for a replacement for Dumfries is a player who has been at Inter in the past.
Hamilton Spectator
an hour ago
- Hamilton Spectator
Hülkenberg's long wait is over after first podium finish in his 239th F1 race
SILVERSTONE, England (AP) — Fifteen years, 239 races, one trophy. Nico Hülkenberg finally made it onto the podium with third place at the British Grand Prix on Sunday. That ended the longest wait in career starts for a driver before claiming a top-three finish in Formula 1 history. To do this, he had to hold off none other than Lewis Hamilton, so often unbeatable in Britain. 'I was thinking that he's going to give it all here in front of his home crowd,' Hülkenberg said. 'And I was like: 'Sorry, guys, but it's also my day.'' Starting from 19th on the grid, a perfectly judged drive in the rain and smart strategy saw the 37-year-old German outperform his uncompetitive Sauber car as other contenders span off the road. He showed off his attacking skill by overtaking Lance Stroll for third and then had the toughest test of all, holding off seven-time champion Hamilton, who'd won his home race nine times. 'It's pretty surreal and to be honest, not sure how it all happened. Obviously crazy conditions, mixed conditions. It was a survival fight for a lot of the race,' Hülkenberg said. He was mobbed by his Sauber team after climbing out of the car and before climbing up to the podium to receive a long-awaited trophy. Hülkenberg made his F1 debut in 2010. In 2011 and for three years from 2020 through 2022, he was without a full-time race drive at all, except for a few emergency call-ups when other drivers caught COVID-19. Down the years, he's raced for many teams but never a true contender — Williams, Force India, Sauber, Force India again, Renault, Racing Point, Aston Martin, Haas and Sauber again. His previous best race result was a fourth place in 2013 and another in 2016. It was the first podium finish for Sauber since Kamui Kobayashi was third at the Japanese Grand Prix in 2012, and the first podium finish for any German driver in F1 since Sebastian Vettel in 2021. Red Bull's Yuki Tsunoda now has the most races of any current driver without a podium at 99, but Hülkenberg still holds the all-time record for most races without a win. ___ AP auto racing:
