Rúaidhrí O'Connor: Brumbies clash set to be Lions' Test dress rehearsal as Wallabies show just how vulnerable they are
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Irish Examiner
30 minutes ago
- Irish Examiner
Johnny Sexton: Lions need to realise 'every time you play in the jersey it means a lot and it's remembered'
Johnny Sexton has urged British & Irish Lions players to make the most of every opportunity they get in the tourists' famous red jersey as the first Test against Australia looms ever larger. The former Ireland captain and fly-half talisman was speaking from Canberra's GIO Stadium on Tuesday as he oversaw the Lions kickers' training ahead of Wednesday's tour match against Super Rugby semi-finalists the Brumbies. Sexton had been the stands at the venue 12 years ago as a non-playing Lions squad member when the Brumbies beat Warren Gatland's side four days before the series opener against the Wallabies and he referenced that loss when he underlined the importance of players taking every chance they get to shine on tour. Wednesday's renewal with a side now coached by Stephen Larkham comes 10 days out from this tour's first Test and with head coach Andy Farrell picking a possible full strength side to face the Brumbies, assistant coach Sexton feels there is no time to lose for players to make a statement. Asked if he felt the Lions were at a point the coaches felt was on schedule for that opening Test, he referred back to the pre-tour defeat to Argentina in Dublin on June 20. 'I think - and you might laugh when I say this - but the most impressive thing about the Argentina game was how cohesive we were in terms of the gameplan,' Sexton said. 'What cost us was showing 50-50 passes that weren't on and we paid a huge price for that in terms of their transition and they punished us with tries and we didn't make the most of our entries into the 22. 'So, our cohesion has been pretty impressive. I think Andy's done a great job with that and the other coaches. It's about putting that out there and I think the group needs to realise every time you play in the jersey it means a lot and it's remembered. 'I remember what happened 12 years ago, I remember what happened 24 years ago. These games stick in people's memories despite it not being as important as the Test. So you've got to make the most of every opportunity you have in the jersey.' Addressing the key objectives for the Lions in Australia's capital city, Sexton said he was looking for improvements on last Saturday's hard-fought win over the Waratahs in Sydney. 'A better performance and good result, same as every game. We are not thinking too far ahead. We are not thinking about Saturday and we're not thinking about Test one. 'We are thinking about as good a performance as we can put out there tomorrow night and the boys are in a good place. The strange thing about this is fitting everything into two days. We travelled yesterday and we have one day prep for the Brumbies with a slightly different game plan for the one we had against the Waratahs. 'It is a challenge for the players, it is a challenge for the coaches, but that's the beauty of a Lions tour, isn't it?' Sexton added: 'We learnt some great lessons against the Waratahs. In the other three games, I think we played some great rugby. We don't just concentrate on one game. You take each part of the game, whether it is breakdown or set-piece, and you concentrate on those areas to get better. 'The guys have a huge opportunity to go out and keep the run of good form going and try and get another good result. Then we've got one more game before the Test series and then obviously the other one is sandwiched in between the first and second Tests. So we're really just game-by-game focused. 'We've never been fully happy with any of the performances. We always try and take the result out of it and just focus on the different areas of the game. There was plenty in the last game that really jumped out at us. They (the Brumbies) have obviously spoken about how they've seen some chinks in our armour and how they're going to go after us so we need to make sure we show them some different pictures.'
Irish Independent
2 hours ago
- Irish Independent
Places still up for grabs as Lions hone in on the Test series against the Wallabies
Ruaidhri O'Connor reports from the Gio Stadium in Canberra ahead of Wednesday's Lions game against the Brumbies. He discusses the areas of the team that remain up for grabs in Andy Farrell's team for the Tests
Irish Examiner
2 hours ago
- Irish Examiner
Jac Morgan misses out on Lions selection with Wales now ‘at the bottom'
What has Andy Farrell done? There s no end to our demise! Just when Welsh rugby thought things couldn't get any worse, British & Irish Lions head coach Andy Farrell has delivered another bruising blow by not including Jac Morgan in his side to face the Brumbies on Wednesday. Coming on top of an 18th successive defeat in Japan last weekend it means Welsh fans will have nobody to cheer in Canberra as the Lions go into a game on a Test tour to Australia, South Africa or New Zealand without a Welsh player for the first time since 25 July 1899. You have to go back more than 550 matches to find a Lions team without a Welsh representative. The last time it happened was 126 years ago against New England at the Armidale Racecourse on the fourth tour undertaken by the combined side. This is the 32nd tour Lions to Australia, New Zealand or South Africa dating back to 1888. There were three tours to Argentina in 1910, 1927 and 1936 organised by the RFU that didn't include any Welsh or Irish players. There were no Tests played on the inaugural tour to New Zealand and Australia, when the Cambridge Blue and London Welsh back row man Willie Thomas was the sole Welsh representative, and the first seven international matches were played in South Africa in 1891 and 1896 when no Welsh players were considered. The first opportunity a Welsh player had to play for the Lions in a Test match came in Australia in 1899 when the 'Prince of Wales centres' Gwyn Nicholls was the sole Welsh player. He missed only two of the 21 tour games played in 1899, the last being against New England, and featured in all four Tests. That started an unbroken run of the Lions having a Welsh starter in each and every one of their 106 Tests played since then. Will Morgan make it into the first Test matchday 23 next week to continue that run and avoid another unenviable record being broken for Welsh rugby? Farrell only picked two Welshmen in his tour party and Tomos Williams has already been ruled out of the rest of the tour due to a hamstring injury sustained in scoring his second try against the Western Force. It is a situation that has left many of Wales great Lions of the past worrying about the future of the game in their own backyard. Three-time tourist Shane Williams believes the national game has it rock bottom. 'We're now in the position in Wales where Scotland have been in recent tours. We aren't a good side at the moment,' said Williams. 'Ireland are at the top of the tree, England are revitalised and Scotland have a crop of exciting players. We have a handful of good players here in Wales, but Andy Farrell wasn't going to want to take players who weren't in the habit of winning games. 'There is nothing worse than playing for a side that is struggling to win week in, week out, and you don't want to risk take that sort of attitude being carried into a Lions team. That's why we've seen so few Welsh players in this Lions squad compared to previous years - it's the result of the poor performances of the national side. 'It's exactly where we are – at the bottom. We need to be looking at what we can do to improve the state of the game in Wales, from the schools all the way up to the national side.' The last time the Lions played a Test match in Australia 12 years ago, there were 10 Welshmen in the starting XV and another came off the bench.
