First Nations & Pasifika XV v British & Irish Lions live: score, commentary, updates
Having played the Lions already for the Waratahs two weeks ago, today's game will probably be the Tongan Thor's final opportunity to impress Joe Schmidt and fulfil that goal.
Read Alex Lowe's full interview from July 7 here.
The 33-year-old will captain the Lions on his fourth tour today, knowing that a strong performance at inside centre could earn him a Test spot.
After taking some time away from the international stage to protect his mental health, Farrell now has a fresh, lighter perspective on the game, and has talked about himself having fun on this tour.
Read the full piece from Alex Lowe here.
There are plenty of Australia hopefuls in the First Nations & Pasifika team who will be keen to impress the head coach Joe Schmidt before the final two Test matches, such as Darcy Swain, Taniela Tupou and Filipo Daugunu.
Captaining the side is Kurtley Beale, now 36, who played in all three Lions Tests 12 years ago, will be hoping for better luck than he had in the first Test of that year, when he slipped while taking a potentially match-winning penalty late in the game.
A reminder of team news for this morning's match…
Owen Farrell captains the side on his fourth Lions tour after being called up as injury cover for his former England team-mate Elliot Daly, while Fin Smith and Henry Pollock also start. There's an all Scottish back three of Duhan van der Merwe, the recently arrived Darcy Graham and the Test hopeful Blair Kinghorn at full back, whose tour has been disrupted by injuries.
Having missed out on selection for the first Test, the Wales flanker Jac Morgan is back in the side.
Good morning and welcome to the Times' live coverage of the British & Irish Lions' final tour match in Australia. Andy Farrell's side face a First Nations & Pasifika XV in Melbourne before two final Test matches against the Wallabies at the MCG and Accor Stadium in Sydney.
Keep up to date with expert analysis and insight from our writers at the ground in Melbourne.
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Reuters
12 hours ago
- Reuters
Piardi call in Australia-Lions test should be accepted, Erasmus says
July 29 (Reuters) - South Africa coach Rassie Erasmus believes the decision to award the British & Irish Lions a series-winning try in last weekend's 29-26 win, opens new tab over Australia was "touch-and-go" but World Rugby's explanation of the contentious call should be accepted. The Lions won the test with a try from Hugo Keenan in the final seconds but Australia believe a ruling from referee Andrea Piardi at a ruck immediately beforehand was incorrect. Australia coach Joe Schmidt said the call was an error in his post-match press conference, suggesting Jac Morgan's clear-out of Carlo Tizzano was dangerous, and Rugby Australia chief executive Phil Waugh said he would seekg "accountability" from World Rugby over it. But Erasmus, who received a two-month ban from World Rugby for a 62-minute video that was critical of Australian referee Nic Berry after the first Lions test in South Africa in 2021, said he could see both sides of the argument. "I had Australia (winning) by four points in the game, so I lost our internal (coach's competition) on that one," Erasmus told reporters with a smile on Tuesday. "It's such a tough decision. World Rugby has come out to say it was the right decision. It was a very tough call for the referee to make. "If I was Joe, I would be really disappointed, and if I was (Lions coach) Andy (Farrell), I would be really happy. I think it was touch-and-go, so I can understand both sides of what each coach sees. "But World Rugby has ruled on it and that is what everybody has to accept." World Rugby chief Alan Gilpin backed the call from Piardi earlier on Tuesday. "We do share with Joe and the coaching team why the match officials made that decision," he said. "Joe's got a view about what was wrong with that decision and there'll be a debate so that Joe and his players can go into the next test understanding how that game's going to be officiated." South Africa will host Australia in two Rugby Championship tests in Johannesburg and Cape Town next month. Italian Piardi will officiate the defending champion Springboks' final match in the competition against Argentina in London in October.
Telegraph
13 hours ago
- Telegraph
Joe Schmidt hits back at Carlo Tizzano ‘dive' critics: ‘He suffered a high-magnitude impact'
Joe Schmidt has hit back at critics of Carlo Tizzano by claiming the Australia flanker suffered a 'high-magnitude impact' as a result of Jac Morgan's controversial clear-out in the second Test. The Australia head coach was speaking just hours after he was admonished by World Rugby for his initial comments about the incident. Australia were incensed that Morgan was not penalised for his clear-out on Tizzano, the replacement Wallabies flanker, in the ruck preceding Hugo Keenan's winning try in the second Test. HUGO KEENAN WINS IT FOR THE LIONS! 🦁 — Sky Sports (@SkySports) July 26, 2025 Referee Andrea Piardi reviewed the clear-out but deemed it was a 'rugby' incident, which effectively clinched a series victory for the Lions. That prompted Schmidt to not only criticise Piardi's decision but to allege that it undermined World Rugby's messaging on player welfare. While Schmidt will escape any formal sanction, his comments drew short shrift from Alan Gilpin, World Rugby's chief executive, who called on coaches to remember the impact their actions have on officials. 'While, from a World Rugby perspective, we always say we do not publicly comment on match officials' decisions, given the nature of the commentary surrounding last weekend, we just want to express our support for the match officials involved,' Gilpin said at an event for the 2027 Rugby World Cup ticketing launch. 'There is no other position on the field that is under the scrutiny our match officials are under, and yet they do an incredible job under that pressure in a live environment. I think it is fair to say that when the refereeing groups review decisions, they review them with the coaches and across the game. We are always proud to support our officials in that review process and that is what we are doing now and in the coming days with our colleagues from Australia and the Lions.' The Lions always felt confident in the legality of Morgan's clear-out and many felt Tizzano exaggerated the impact of the collision by dramatically collapsing to the floor holding his head. However, Schmidt hit back at accusations that Tizzano dived by revealing that his instrumented mouthguard registered a significant force from Morgan's clear-out. 'Talking about the instrumental mouthguards, with Carlo when he was hit, I feel sorry for him because I think he's copping a lot of flak, but that impact was almost double what they determine as a high-magnitude impact,' Schmidt told Stan Sports. 'So that's the degree of force that he had to wear, and that in itself is enough to force someone to recoil as he did. He's had a pretty sore neck for the last 24-48 hours, but he's back, he's resilient, and he's looking forward to the weekend.' Despite Schmidt's complaints – which were endorsed by Rugby Australia chief executive Phil Waugh – World Rugby are understood to be confident that Piardi made the right decision. The wider issue, in their view, is the heightened scrutiny officials are placed under for making marginal decisions. In the last Lions series, referee Nic Berry received death threats as a result of South Africa head coach Rassie Erasmus's extraordinary deconstruction of his decisions in the Springboks' first Test defeat. Wayne Barnes also received death threats following the 2023 World Cup final. 'You'll all recall four years ago in the last Lions series in South Africa, when the match official in the first Test was very heavily criticised, which brought mental health challenges,' Gilpin said. 'Wayne Barnes has talked about it [after the 2023 World Cup], we've got match officials who, when they're criticised publicly, having their families targeted outside the school gates, that's not good, that's not fair, and that's not right, so we've got to support these guys.' Lions challenged to match 1974 'Invincibles' with Farrell to select fully loaded team The British and Irish Lions have been challenged to match the achievements of the 1974 'Invincibles' as coach Andrew Goodman confirmed they intend to go fully loaded for the third Test against Australia. Centre Garry Ringrose has been ruled out of Saturday's match in Sydney after reporting concussion symptoms in training last week but otherwise the Lions have a clean bill of health with centre Sione Tuipulotu, wing Mack Hansen and lock Joe McCarthy back in contention. History now awaits the Lions who – notwithstanding their defeat by Argentina in Dublin – are seeking to complete the first unbeaten tour on foreign soil since the 1974 trip to South Africa, and the first clean Test sweep since 1927 in Argentina. In that context, Goodman says that the Lions coaching staff will have no thoughts of resting players or rotating the squad for the sake of it and will approach the match as if the series was tied 1-1. 'Exactly, the best team available to win the series,' Goodman said. 'That might look like some changes, that might look like consistency. We will see how the boys go through their recovery process over the next couple of days and whatever 23's picked will go out there and do the best for the team. 'You've got to reward form when guys have been playing well and are match-hardened in those Test matches. It is a balance and I'm sure we'll have some good discussions as we always have around selecting the best 23 for the group. '[Winning 3-0] is huge. It's everything for us as a group to get excited about. It was 1974 the last time a Lions team went through the Test series unbeaten, so there's huge motivation for the group. It's one of those weeks where after two hard physical Tests it's about getting the battery filled up and making sure we're good to go by the end of the week. 'Faz has been massive on that since the start, his expectation not just of the players but us as management and coaches, to be the most successful team. It has been driving us, not just as players, but as a management group every day to get better every day and push each other forward.' Being self-reporting his own concussion symptoms, Ringrose, the Ireland centre, is likely to never become a Test match Lion. The 30-year-old, who missed out on selection for the 2017 and 2021 tours, was ruled out of the first Test after suffering a concussion in the warm-up match against the Brumbies. However, Goodman says that Ringrose has remained a positive influence within the camp. 'He's disappointed as you can imagine,' Goodman said. 'Garry was playing some amazing rugby through this tour and someone you know who it's been a dream of his for so long to represent the Lions and he's managed to do that. But he wanted to be a Test-match Lion, so it's been devastating for him. 'To his credit he's been good around the group. As you can imagine, anyone that knows Garry, he's a great lad and a team man so the boys have all been disappointed for him. Obviously he's disappointed for himself but he's getting around everyone and making sure he helps prepare everyone as much as he can. 'He's a real leader for us in terms our back line in particular, so he's been great.' Squid Game challenge for Lions Lions players were welcomed back from two days of partying to training in Sydney with a special version of Squid Game arranged by head coach Andy Farrell. After securing a series victory in the 29-26 win over Australia at the MCG on Saturday, the Lions squad were given dispensation to let their hair down over the course of Saturday and Sunday nights with several members of the touring party spotted looking slightly worse for wear in Sydney on Monday. With Farrell targeting a 3-0 whitewash of the Wallabies, a gentle reintroduction to training was administered by John Fogarty, the scrum coach, who at Farrell's bequest set up the 'green light, red light' game from the Netflix series where contestants are allowed to sneak forward on the green light signal but are eliminated if they move when the light is red. 'Andy's always on having fun as a group, today we got down to training and he'd sent Fogs down early to set up the Squid Game mini-team challenge, the whole field was covered in equipment,' Goodman, the assistant coach, said. 'The staff were dressed up in all that kit, the speakers were all set up, a bit of fun, stuff like that to get a bit of energy back in the group. It was green light, red light, the whole field was covered in different things they could hide behind, and they had people in the top tier keeping an eye on people. It was a good craic.' According to Goodman, Thomas Clarkson, the Leinster prop, was the first player eliminated in the game but the fun element of the game underlines Farrell's ability to mix business with pleasure. 'Every week we've done things like that,' Goodman said. 'All part of touring, isn't it? Even with Ireland it's a part of his week to make sure there's fun involved. The mini-team stuff, the little challenges he'll have at the start of meetings, there's always a bit of craic, a bit of a laugh involved. It keeps the boys engaged and fresh and it's not just going into a meeting where it's rugby all the time. There are little bits like that that make it enjoyable as well.'
Daily Mail
15 hours ago
- Daily Mail
James Haskell hits back at Wallabies coach's reaction to controversial flashpoint that secured the Lions a series victory against Australia: 'That is utter c**p'
James Haskell and Mike Tindall believe Joe Schmidt has no reason to feel aggrieved by the contentious last-gasp decision that has overshadowed the British and Irish Lions ' 29-26 victory against Australia on Saturday afternoon. The Australia coach lashed out at officials and World Rugby over why the Lions match-winning try from Hugo Keenan was allowed to stand after Jac Morgan appeared to clear out Carlo Tizzano, while making contact with the Australian's neck. 'In a world of player welfare… It's what they are there to enforce. A player who dives off his feet and is clearly beaten to the position over the ball, makes neck contact,' Schmidt fumed after the match. Schmidt used World Rugby's Law 9.20 to justify his point, which states that players cannot enter a ruck and make contact with a player above the shoulder line. 'You just have to read Law 9.20, then listen to the referee's description and watch the vision. A player who dives off his feet, is clearly beaten to the position over the ball, makes neck contact - it's a tough one to take,' the coach, who has previously worked as a technical advisor for World Rugby, fumed. The incident has divided the rugby community, with Tindall and Haskell both arguing on The Good, The Bad and The Rugby Podcast, that Schmidt wouldn't be making the same claim had the coin flipped in the other direction. When asked by Alex Payne if Schmidt was right to feel aggrieved, Tindall replied, 'No. The pair then jointly said: 'Absolutely not.' Haskell then proceeded to deliver an impassioned rant about the comments, with the former Wasps and England star, claiming that the real foul was Tizzano's alleged 'dive' and that if they had penalised Morgan for the clear out, they 'may as well have just disbanded the whole game'. After Morgan made contact with Tizzano, the flanker appeared to fall backwards and has been blasted for an apperent 'dive' by some members of the English media. 'The only bit of foul play nonsense in that incident was that Australian player [Carlo Tizzano] diving,' Haskell said on the podcast. 'That should have been red carded, because that is utter c**p.' He then went on to delve into the technicalities of the incident, claiming World Rugby's current laws don't allow players to remove a jackler in any other manner than how Morgan pushed Tizzano away. 'I'm telling you now, there is no physical way to clear out a player who is that low over the ball, without... the only other way that you used to be able to do it is if you put your head underneath him and go head-on-head, because when you're that low over the ball you've got a small window... You've got to get your head underneath him. 'But if you can't get any space to do that, and it would be head-on-head because you just lead with your head, you have to hit where he hit. That was a clear out I did every game, every week for 20 years...' Summarising his point, Haskell, who toured with the Lions in 2017, said the game would have serious questions to answer had Morgan been penalised over the clear out. Haskell added: 'That is the only way to do it. Because if you come in at the side at an angle, you'd end up doing a croc roll. It is utter, utter b*******. It is people clutching at straws. When a player is over the ball so low, what we used to be taught to do is I come in and I put my hand on the ground underneath him and lead up with my hands and hit him. 'All of that was just a rugby thing and the only foul was the Australian diving.' While Haskell praised the Australia coach Joe Schmidt as a 'great bloke' he fumed at how Schmidt had 'the audacity' to question the decision. Tindall replied: 'Again, if he's on the other side of the coin, it's not even a debate. He's going: 'That's what the game is'.' Haskell isn't the only person to have slammed Tizzano following the incident. Writing in his column in The Telegraph, Oliver Brown, 'Stop moaning, Australia, your player dived.' 'Tizzano clearly milked the incident, collapsing with a melodrama that could easily have persuaded some officials to chalk off Keenan's try,' he added. Andy Farrell, meanwhile, praised Morgan for securing the ball so well. 'I thought it was a brilliant clear-out, didn't you?' the Lions coach said, before admitting: 'It depends on what side of the fence you come from.' However, the refereeing decision has left one ex-Wallabies star livid. Morgan Turinui, who won 20 caps for Australia, hit out at the officials over the contentious call. 'That decision is 100 per cent completely wrong,' he said. 'The referee got it wrong,' Turinui said after the game. 'His two assistant referees got it wrong.' He then explained that the referee needed to be brought before World Rugby's Match Official Manager, Joel Jutge. 'Joel Jutge, the head of the referees, is out here on a junket. He needs to haul those referees in and ask for a please explain. But World Rugby cheif executive Alan Gilpin has claimed that they were standing by Piardi (left) and his team following the incident 'Dan Herbert, the chair of Australian rugby and if I'm Phil Waugh, the CEO, I'm sorry I'm asking for a please explain. 'He did have a good game, but the refereeing group, when it counted, got the match-defining decision completely wrong. 'It's a point of law. It's in black and white. It's not about bias. It's not about colouring. 'There's nothing there. Get away from the fact that it's a wrong call. It's a penalty sanction. It's not a yellow card. It happens. 'The try must be disallowed and we should be going one-all to Sydney.' But in a fresh turn of events, World Rugby has since made clear their stance on the matter, refuting Schmidt's claims before stating that they were throwing their support behind Piardi and his team of officials. World Rugby boss Alan Gilpin said: 'It is disappointing when the reaction is, 'this means player welfare isn't taken seriously', because everyone knows we are putting player welfare, in its broadest sense, at the top of the agenda. So, that part is challenging, in terms of the player welfare statements (by Schmidt).'
