Senegal not so friendly in stunning win over England
Senegal have became the first African team to beat England in 22 games, their 3-1 win in a friendly at the City Ground prompting boos from disappointed home fans.
Senegal stretched their unbeaten streak to 24 games, thanks to goals from Ismaila Sarr, Habib Diarra and Cheikh Sabaly.
England's loss on Tuesday (Wednesday AEST), which included a disallowed late goal from Jude Bellingham for a handball in the build-up, was their first defeat in four games under new manager Thomas Tuchel.
"Not good enough," captain Harry Kane told ITV. "We had moments, but with and without the ball things aren't clicking, we're not finding the right tempo. We've lost that aggressive nature that we had."
England, who made 10 changes from Saturday's 1-0 lacklustre World Cup qualifying win over Andorra, took the lead when Kane struck in the seventh minute after Senegal goalkeeper Edouard Mendy saved Anthony Gordon's shot but spilled the ball into the striker's path.
The hosts conceded for the first time under Tuchel when Sarr caught Kyle Walker napping to poke in Nicolas Jackson's cross in the 40th minute.
The visitors doubled their tally in the 62nd minute when Diarra latched on to a ball over the top then fired through goalkeeper Dean Henderson's legs.
Sabaly struck deep into stoppage time, prompting boos from England fans after the final whistle.
"We're not going to panic, but we know we need to be better," Kane said. "New ideas, there's new players coming into the team that don't have experience at international level.
"It's a mixture of things, but no excuses. We need to find it quick, the World Cup is going to come around really fast, so every camp is really important right now."
Senegal peppered Henderson with nine shots on target to England's four, including an early header from Sarr that the goalkeeper pushed wide of the post.
Gordon squandered a glorious chance to give England a two-goal lead in the first half when he mis-hit Walker's cross from close range.
Mendy made a great late save to deny England what would have been an equaliser from Bukayo Saka, before Senegal added their third.
"Disappointing result, not sure if maybe we didn't deserve a little bit more result-wise," Tuchel said. "But felt again a bit frozen, not active enough for a long time of the match.''
Senegal have became the first African team to beat England in 22 games, their 3-1 win in a friendly at the City Ground prompting boos from disappointed home fans.
Senegal stretched their unbeaten streak to 24 games, thanks to goals from Ismaila Sarr, Habib Diarra and Cheikh Sabaly.
England's loss on Tuesday (Wednesday AEST), which included a disallowed late goal from Jude Bellingham for a handball in the build-up, was their first defeat in four games under new manager Thomas Tuchel.
"Not good enough," captain Harry Kane told ITV. "We had moments, but with and without the ball things aren't clicking, we're not finding the right tempo. We've lost that aggressive nature that we had."
England, who made 10 changes from Saturday's 1-0 lacklustre World Cup qualifying win over Andorra, took the lead when Kane struck in the seventh minute after Senegal goalkeeper Edouard Mendy saved Anthony Gordon's shot but spilled the ball into the striker's path.
The hosts conceded for the first time under Tuchel when Sarr caught Kyle Walker napping to poke in Nicolas Jackson's cross in the 40th minute.
The visitors doubled their tally in the 62nd minute when Diarra latched on to a ball over the top then fired through goalkeeper Dean Henderson's legs.
Sabaly struck deep into stoppage time, prompting boos from England fans after the final whistle.
"We're not going to panic, but we know we need to be better," Kane said. "New ideas, there's new players coming into the team that don't have experience at international level.
"It's a mixture of things, but no excuses. We need to find it quick, the World Cup is going to come around really fast, so every camp is really important right now."
Senegal peppered Henderson with nine shots on target to England's four, including an early header from Sarr that the goalkeeper pushed wide of the post.
Gordon squandered a glorious chance to give England a two-goal lead in the first half when he mis-hit Walker's cross from close range.
Mendy made a great late save to deny England what would have been an equaliser from Bukayo Saka, before Senegal added their third.
"Disappointing result, not sure if maybe we didn't deserve a little bit more result-wise," Tuchel said. "But felt again a bit frozen, not active enough for a long time of the match.''
Senegal have became the first African team to beat England in 22 games, their 3-1 win in a friendly at the City Ground prompting boos from disappointed home fans.
Senegal stretched their unbeaten streak to 24 games, thanks to goals from Ismaila Sarr, Habib Diarra and Cheikh Sabaly.
England's loss on Tuesday (Wednesday AEST), which included a disallowed late goal from Jude Bellingham for a handball in the build-up, was their first defeat in four games under new manager Thomas Tuchel.
"Not good enough," captain Harry Kane told ITV. "We had moments, but with and without the ball things aren't clicking, we're not finding the right tempo. We've lost that aggressive nature that we had."
England, who made 10 changes from Saturday's 1-0 lacklustre World Cup qualifying win over Andorra, took the lead when Kane struck in the seventh minute after Senegal goalkeeper Edouard Mendy saved Anthony Gordon's shot but spilled the ball into the striker's path.
The hosts conceded for the first time under Tuchel when Sarr caught Kyle Walker napping to poke in Nicolas Jackson's cross in the 40th minute.
The visitors doubled their tally in the 62nd minute when Diarra latched on to a ball over the top then fired through goalkeeper Dean Henderson's legs.
Sabaly struck deep into stoppage time, prompting boos from England fans after the final whistle.
"We're not going to panic, but we know we need to be better," Kane said. "New ideas, there's new players coming into the team that don't have experience at international level.
"It's a mixture of things, but no excuses. We need to find it quick, the World Cup is going to come around really fast, so every camp is really important right now."
Senegal peppered Henderson with nine shots on target to England's four, including an early header from Sarr that the goalkeeper pushed wide of the post.
Gordon squandered a glorious chance to give England a two-goal lead in the first half when he mis-hit Walker's cross from close range.
Mendy made a great late save to deny England what would have been an equaliser from Bukayo Saka, before Senegal added their third.
"Disappointing result, not sure if maybe we didn't deserve a little bit more result-wise," Tuchel said. "But felt again a bit frozen, not active enough for a long time of the match.''
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The Wallabies sit fifth, ahead of the Boomers, just. But maybe, just maybe, it's time for the Australian public to jump back on board. An encouraging 2024 under well-credentialed Kiwi coach Joe Schmidt is reason for optimism. The Wallabies take on Fiji at McDonald Jones Stadium on Sunday ahead of a blockbuster series against the British and Irish Lions. The hard work has not been restricted to the training paddock and gym. The Wallabies have gone above and beyong to interact with the community since arriving in Newcastle. "Going to watch the Shute Shield, everyone was very accommodating," Wallabies breakaway Fraser McReight said. "There were plenty of young fans getting autographs. We had about 300 school kids at an open training session as well. It has been great. "Getting together with communities and representing the brand of the Wallabies is super important." So too is winning Test matches. While there is much hype about the Lions series, the Wallabies are focused on Fiji. 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Western Force back-rower Nick Champion de Crespigny is one of two uncapped players, alongside Corey Toole, in the 36-man Wallabies squad. The 28-year-old from Canberra, like many of the current crop, is largely unknown in the wider rugby community. He finished school and moved to Sydney, where he played in the Shute Shield before four years in the Top 14 in France with Castres. He played for the Force in a 54-7 defeat to the Lions on Saturday - the tourists' opening game - and arrived in Newcastle Sunday night. Now, he has a chance to make a name for himself with the Wallabies. "To play for the Wallabies is the pinnacle," Champion de Crespigny. "You grow up watching them. It would mean everything to me." And just maybe to the rest of us. THE Wallabies were once Australia's favourite team. Sports fans above the age of 30 will recall the halcyon days. But times have changed, which is why the new-generation Wallabies have been bending over backwards to connect with fans in Newcastle the past few days. Players were mobbed by school kids at an open training session on Friday. Wallabies then served in the canteen, cooked snags on the barbecue, sold raffle tickets, and stood in the cold watching club rugby on Saturday Joseph Sua'ali'i - the game's $5 million man - joined starry-eyed youngsters for a game of touch footy. The Wallabies have invested in Newcastle, and they're hoping the city invests in them when they play Fiji this weekend. It's a long way from those glory years, and it's hard to imagine the likes of George Gregan, Wendell Sailor or Matt Burke having to man the canteen to drum up support. In 2002, the Bledisloe Cup took pride of place in a clattered trophy cabinet. Not even a heart-breaking defeat courtesy of a Johnny Wilkinson drop goal in the World Cup final on home soil in 2003 hurt the Wallabies' popularity. As the saying goes - or went - 'everyone wanted tro be a Wallaby'. You could mount a similar argument in 2015. Again, Australia made the World Cup final, going down 34-17 to the All Blacks. Kids wanted to be the next Will Genia, the next Israel Folau, Matt Giteau, Michael Hooper, Kurtley Beale ... However, the Wallabies results and popularity have since dropped off a cliff. Rock bottom was the 2023 World Cup in France and Australia's failure to progress past the group stage. The Matildas, Aussie cricket, Socceroos and Kangaroos now vie for Australia's most-loved-team tag. The Wallabies sit fifth, ahead of the Boomers, just. But maybe, just maybe, it's time for the Australian public to jump back on board. An encouraging 2024 under well-credentialed Kiwi coach Joe Schmidt is reason for optimism. The Wallabies take on Fiji at McDonald Jones Stadium on Sunday ahead of a blockbuster series against the British and Irish Lions. The hard work has not been restricted to the training paddock and gym. The Wallabies have gone above and beyong to interact with the community since arriving in Newcastle. "Going to watch the Shute Shield, everyone was very accommodating," Wallabies breakaway Fraser McReight said. "There were plenty of young fans getting autographs. We had about 300 school kids at an open training session as well. It has been great. "Getting together with communities and representing the brand of the Wallabies is super important." So too is winning Test matches. While there is much hype about the Lions series, the Wallabies are focused on Fiji. The Pacific Island nation upset Australia 22-15 - and sent shockwaves across the 2023 World Cup - in their last encounter. "That was a tough game obviously," said McReight, who played breakaway at the Stade Geoffroy-Guichard. "They were up for it and played a cracker. It was the first time they had beaten us in 60 or 70 years. "This is not a warm-up game. This is a game we need to get ready for. It's a Test match against Fiji, which is a bloody good side. "They have threats all over the park, but so do we. It is about building on how we finished last year. "Now we are in year two under Joe Schmidt, we build a bigger base and be more clinical. "We watched some clips [from the last loss to Fiji] this week. A lot of the clips were the first time I had rewatched parts of that game. We are not too worried about getting revenge. "We have a new group here. We have a new destination where we want to go." Western Force back-rower Nick Champion de Crespigny is one of two uncapped players, alongside Corey Toole, in the 36-man Wallabies squad. The 28-year-old from Canberra, like many of the current crop, is largely unknown in the wider rugby community. He finished school and moved to Sydney, where he played in the Shute Shield before four years in the Top 14 in France with Castres. He played for the Force in a 54-7 defeat to the Lions on Saturday - the tourists' opening game - and arrived in Newcastle Sunday night. Now, he has a chance to make a name for himself with the Wallabies. "To play for the Wallabies is the pinnacle," Champion de Crespigny. "You grow up watching them. It would mean everything to me." And just maybe to the rest of us.
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Morahan then moved to England with Bristol, a five-year stint that yielded 47 tries in 107 games before a pre-retirement cameo with Top 14 outfit Bayonne. He played his last professional game in 2023 and is now back on the Gold Coast working in mergers and acquisitions with no regrets. "You can always look back and wish things would be different, or you can look back and say, 'How good was that?'," Morahan, who also won Commonwealth Games silver in India, said. "I got to play a Test, for the Barbarians, got to play a sevens World Cup. "I played in England, in France. That's rare; not many can say they've done that." The prospect of playing more Tests for the Wallabies went off the table with his European move. The 'Giteau Law', as Australia's overseas-based selection policy is commonly referred to, has since loosened in a move Morahan thinks is long overdue. "I had extremely talented guys in front of me like Digby Ioane, Drew Mitchell, Wallabies greats," he said. "So I look back and think fondly that I even got to play one Test. "But they need to open up the Giteau Law more. "I became a far better player by going over to experience different ways of playing the game. "Everyone's scared of the floodgates opening and leaving (Super Rugby) if they open it up, but there's not enough foreign spots in teams around the world. "Players go, they want to come back. It's starting to happen more now, with guys on sabbatical and Rugby Australia should be strategic and send guys over to become better players." Morahan will join old teammates at a Reds reunion lunch on Wednesday and will be in the crowd when the Lions return for the first Test on July 19. Luke Morahan doesn't get sick of talking about that try. It's just that, 12 years on from his Suncorp Stadium stunner against the British & Irish Lions, it's not what resonates with the former Queensland Reds winger. "You get tagged in stuff on social media, so you see it and you get nostalgic emotions," Morahan told AAP ahead of the Lions' return to Brisbane on Wednesday against the Reds. "But I look back and start to see the players I ended up playing next to for six or seven years that I didn't know at the time. "It doesn't feel that long ago, but you realise your career lasted a bit longer than you anticipated." Sick in the lead-up, Morahan said he was just relieved to make it onto the park before producing an effort still regarded as one of rugby's great solo tries. On a long, weaving run, Morahan beat four defenders, regathered his own chip kick and finally dragged the fullback over the line to score. It was one of two Reds' five-pointers on a wet night and, while the Lions only managed one try, they had the boot of Owen Farrell to thank for a 22-12 win. "I remember the occasion more than the actual try itself," Morahan said. "The lead-up to the game that week, it has a real strange feeling ... a mix between a Test and a Barbarians game where you want to throw everything at it and have a good time, but it's a huge occasion. "We started really well, took it to them and it could have gone either way." Monahan had already made his Test debut a year earlier but, after those few seconds of magic, was thrust back into the squad during the Lions series. He was pulled away before the series ended though, to play for Australia at the Rugby Sevens World Cup in Russia. A shift to the Western Force followed and he added two more Tests, Monahan's last at fullback in a win against France in Paris in 2016. Morahan then moved to England with Bristol, a five-year stint that yielded 47 tries in 107 games before a pre-retirement cameo with Top 14 outfit Bayonne. He played his last professional game in 2023 and is now back on the Gold Coast working in mergers and acquisitions with no regrets. "You can always look back and wish things would be different, or you can look back and say, 'How good was that?'," Morahan, who also won Commonwealth Games silver in India, said. "I got to play a Test, for the Barbarians, got to play a sevens World Cup. "I played in England, in France. That's rare; not many can say they've done that." The prospect of playing more Tests for the Wallabies went off the table with his European move. The 'Giteau Law', as Australia's overseas-based selection policy is commonly referred to, has since loosened in a move Morahan thinks is long overdue. "I had extremely talented guys in front of me like Digby Ioane, Drew Mitchell, Wallabies greats," he said. "So I look back and think fondly that I even got to play one Test. "But they need to open up the Giteau Law more. "I became a far better player by going over to experience different ways of playing the game. "Everyone's scared of the floodgates opening and leaving (Super Rugby) if they open it up, but there's not enough foreign spots in teams around the world. "Players go, they want to come back. It's starting to happen more now, with guys on sabbatical and Rugby Australia should be strategic and send guys over to become better players." Morahan will join old teammates at a Reds reunion lunch on Wednesday and will be in the crowd when the Lions return for the first Test on July 19. Luke Morahan doesn't get sick of talking about that try. It's just that, 12 years on from his Suncorp Stadium stunner against the British & Irish Lions, it's not what resonates with the former Queensland Reds winger. "You get tagged in stuff on social media, so you see it and you get nostalgic emotions," Morahan told AAP ahead of the Lions' return to Brisbane on Wednesday against the Reds. "But I look back and start to see the players I ended up playing next to for six or seven years that I didn't know at the time. "It doesn't feel that long ago, but you realise your career lasted a bit longer than you anticipated." Sick in the lead-up, Morahan said he was just relieved to make it onto the park before producing an effort still regarded as one of rugby's great solo tries. On a long, weaving run, Morahan beat four defenders, regathered his own chip kick and finally dragged the fullback over the line to score. It was one of two Reds' five-pointers on a wet night and, while the Lions only managed one try, they had the boot of Owen Farrell to thank for a 22-12 win. "I remember the occasion more than the actual try itself," Morahan said. "The lead-up to the game that week, it has a real strange feeling ... a mix between a Test and a Barbarians game where you want to throw everything at it and have a good time, but it's a huge occasion. "We started really well, took it to them and it could have gone either way." Monahan had already made his Test debut a year earlier but, after those few seconds of magic, was thrust back into the squad during the Lions series. He was pulled away before the series ended though, to play for Australia at the Rugby Sevens World Cup in Russia. A shift to the Western Force followed and he added two more Tests, Monahan's last at fullback in a win against France in Paris in 2016. Morahan then moved to England with Bristol, a five-year stint that yielded 47 tries in 107 games before a pre-retirement cameo with Top 14 outfit Bayonne. He played his last professional game in 2023 and is now back on the Gold Coast working in mergers and acquisitions with no regrets. "You can always look back and wish things would be different, or you can look back and say, 'How good was that?'," Morahan, who also won Commonwealth Games silver in India, said. "I got to play a Test, for the Barbarians, got to play a sevens World Cup. "I played in England, in France. That's rare; not many can say they've done that." The prospect of playing more Tests for the Wallabies went off the table with his European move. The 'Giteau Law', as Australia's overseas-based selection policy is commonly referred to, has since loosened in a move Morahan thinks is long overdue. "I had extremely talented guys in front of me like Digby Ioane, Drew Mitchell, Wallabies greats," he said. "So I look back and think fondly that I even got to play one Test. "But they need to open up the Giteau Law more. "I became a far better player by going over to experience different ways of playing the game. "Everyone's scared of the floodgates opening and leaving (Super Rugby) if they open it up, but there's not enough foreign spots in teams around the world. "Players go, they want to come back. It's starting to happen more now, with guys on sabbatical and Rugby Australia should be strategic and send guys over to become better players." Morahan will join old teammates at a Reds reunion lunch on Wednesday and will be in the crowd when the Lions return for the first Test on July 19.
