Furlong ready to roar for Lions on third tour
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The Independent
19 minutes ago
- The Independent
Joe Schmidt throws serious doubt on Australia's chances of beating Lions after narrow Fiji escape
Joe Schmidt admitted Australia 's shaky 21-18 victory over Fiji will have reinforced the British and Irish Lions ' status as favourites to win the Test series. It took a 78th-minute try from back-rower Harry Wilson to save the Wallabies from an embarrassing defeat less than two weeks out from the opener against the Lions at Suncorp Stadium. Fiji were rampant in the second half in Newcastle and Schmidt insisted that "quiet resolve" rather than outright conviction would be his team's currency during the three Tests against Andy Farrell 's tourists. 'We didn't play well enough for people to have the expectation that we're going to come bowling into Brisbane and knock the Lions over. I'm not sure that expectation was there before Fiji,' head coach Schmidt said. 'There's not real confidence, but there's a quiet resolve. And that quiet resolve, hopefully over the three-match series, can build to something that will earn us the support of a very interested group. 'We haven't been together for six months. To have five trainings and to be seamless would be an expectation that I hoped for rather than immediately believed would happen. Now we have another short runway to improve on where we were against Fiji.' Not only did Australia scrape home in a game that saw a Fijian try by Sireli Maqala controversially ruled out, but they also lost fly-half Noah Lolesio with 20 minutes to go after his head hit the ground during a tackle by Elia Canakaivata. Schmidt is hopeful that Lolesio will only be a short-term absentee after providing a positive update on the 25-year-old playmaker. 'The first question Noah asked me was 'did we win?'. He was still very much focused on the game and he appeared to be in good shape. That's the most important thing,' Schmidt said. 'It was whiplash and his head hit the ground. I'm hopeful that that will be something that resolves itself reasonably quickly. But we won't take any risks that we don't need to.'
The Guardian
an hour ago
- The Guardian
Wallabies maintain ‘quiet resolve' for Lions series despite injuries, errors and uncertainties
The Wallabies know they aren't expected to beat the formidable British & Irish Lions in the first Test in Brisbane in less than two weeks. Their performance in Newcastle on Sunday, a last-minute victory over Fiji 21-18 in their only lead-in match, suggests as much. Injuries to key players and a lack of composure against the Flying Fijians point to Australia having only a slim chance to defeat the tourists, even if the Waratahs on Saturday – and the Argentinians three weeks ago – showed they are beatable. But within the Wallabies camp, there remains hope. 'There's a quiet resolve,' Wallabies coach Joe Schmidt said. 'We'll just work away with that quiet resolve to try to be better as we work our way through the series.' Schmidt appears in a perpetual state of calm, but he describes himself as 'not a confident' person. True to form, his ambitions for the Tests are far from lofty. 'That quiet resolve, hopefully over the three match series can build to something,' he said. As he finalises the most anticipated Wallabies squad in his year and a half in charge, Schmidt is emphasising the process of gradual improvement. The national team continues to rebuild and the Wallabies' loss to Fiji in the 2023 World Cup was perhaps its lowest ebb. In that context it was significant that the team found a way to win on Sunday, thanks to captain Harry Wilson's back-down try in the dying stages. 'It was certainly a relief when Harry got over and dotted it down, that's for sure,' Schmidt said. In a spectacular contest enjoyed by a sell-out 28,132 crowd at McDonald Jones Stadium, the match looked in Australia's control late in the first half. At that point the hosts led 14-0 and had more than 70% of the territory. But a poor kick in midfield handed the Fijians the ball. Several missed tackles later came the try to trigger a shift in momentum, setting the scene for an exhilarating second half. '100% we should have went in the first half 14-0, but Fiji are a world-class team,' Joseph-Aukuso Suaalii said to Stan Sport after the match. The Flying Fijians are ranked just below Australia at ninth in the world, and will become the next nation to join tier one competition as early as next year. Suaalii, of course, is expected to be world class himself. The highly touted rugby league recruit is rightly lauded for his skills and physical ability, and his debut last year in Twickenham showed he can live up to expectation. But his muted contribution on Sunday, up against Fiji's imposing centre Josua Tuisova, was cause for concern, given the power the Lions also boast through Sione Tuipulotu and Bundee Aki in that part of the field. Scrum-half Nic White was asked by a British journalist to comment on the modest impact of the centre, who has missed two months of football with a broken jaw. 'I thought he was pretty good,' he replied flatly. 'Sometimes he's going to attract some attention and open up space for others, and some games there'd be space for him.' Sign up to The Breakdown The latest rugby union news and analysis, plus all the week's action reviewed after newsletter promotion The Wallabies will finalise their squad for the Lions series on Friday, and questions surround much of the side. Rob Valetini, the back-to-back John Eales Medallist and one of the Wallabies' few genuine strike weapons, has been nursing a calf complaint. Imposing lock Will Skelton and scrum-half Jake Gordon also missed the Fiji clash with injuries. Schmidt says all three will be ready for the first Test in Brisbane on 19 July. Yet they are far from the coach's only concerns. In the front-row Schmidt gained little clarity from Sunday's clash after starters James Slipper and David Porecki were both forced from the field due to injury at different times. Fly half Noah Lolesio appears unlikely to play in the first Lions Test after being driven off in a medicab with what looked like a serious neck injury. 'It was frustrating, just because we wanted to get some time with those combinations,' Schmidt said. 'That's the nature of sport. You don't get what you want.' There were a 'myriad of things', as Schmidt described, that will keep him up at night over the next two weeks. Whether Australia can get reward for their scrum and their lineout. Whether they will continue to make skill errors like the forward passes which cost the team two tries against the Fijians. Whether Australia's wingers can resist the urge to kick and keep possession in order to build pressure. Schmidt said he hadn't yet considered whether his team could harness the 'underdog' mindset that might be crucial in toppling the mighty Lions, but he recognised his side look like outsiders. 'We didn't play well enough today for people to have the expectation that we're going to come bowling into Brisbane and knock the Lions over,' he said. 'But then, I'm not sure whether that expectation was there before today, and we're just going to have to build that quiet resolve, that inch by inch we can work our way toward that.'
The Sun
an hour ago
- The Sun
Max Verstappen SPINS OUT and loses nine places in bizarre safety car incident as Oscar Piastri is given penalty
MAX VERSTAPPEN dramatically SPUN OUT and lost nine places after a bizarre safety car incident causing Oscar Piastri to be given a penalty. Piastri accelerated and then suddenly slowed down on the back straight causing Verstappen to spin out and drop to P10. THIS IS A DEVELOPING STORY..
