Demon's outlook unclear after clash with Blue
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ABC News
4 minutes ago
- ABC News
Should the Wallabies have been given a penalty or did the Lions score a fair try?
The Wallabies were less than one minute away from a famous victory against the British and Irish Lions, but a Hugo Keenan try broke Australian hearts and secured a Test series win for the tourists. But the Wallabies were adamant the try should not have been awarded, and the hearts of every player, coach, and the 90,307 fans at the Melbourne Cricket Ground briefly stopped as the television match official (TMO) checked a replay for foul play. As Lions fans rejoiced when the referee declared the try was fair, the Wallabies were left gutted and believing victory had been unjustly stolen from them. This is how the second Test between the Wallabies and Lions ended, and this is why it was so controversial. Needing a win to keep the Test series alive, the Wallabies led at the MCG from the fifth minute, all the way to the 80th minute. At one point in the first half, the Wallabies held a lead of 18 points, before the Lions began their comeback. Leading by two points with less than 60 seconds on the clock, the Lions were attacking the Wallabies' goal line. That's when the ball went wide to fullback Hugo Keenan, who charged over the line for the match-winning try, despite the best efforts of Wallaby centre Joseph-Aukuso Suaalii. But the Wallabies protested to the referee that there was foul play in the build-up, which the officials checked. With the fate of the Test on the line, the officials needed to decide if a Wallabies player had been the victim of foul play. The controversial moment came in the ruck prior to Keenan's try. Lions player James Ryan ran with the ball and was tackled 5 metres from the Wallabies' goal line. Australian player Carlo Tizzano is the first player at the scene and tries to get his hands on the ball. He is low to the ground, and gets his hands on the ball. If Tizzano can steal the ball, or if Ryan illegally holds onto it on the ground, the Wallabies will win the game. Lions player Jac Morgan sprints in to clear Tizzano out of the ruck and retain possession. Morgan lowers his body, hits Tizzano with his shoulder while wrapping his arms, and clears the Australian away from the ball. Tizzano reels out of the ruck, clutching the back of his head. The Lions retained the ball, and it was then passed out wide to Keenan, who scored. Wallabies captain Harry Wilson pleaded with the referee to have a look at the replay for foul play. The Wallabies argued that Moran's shoulder, in the act of cleaning out, made contact with the back of Tizzano's head. Wilson, and the Wallabies, argued there was foul play and they should be awarded a penalty, and the Lions' try should be disallowed. These are the two crucial rules: So, did the replays show Jac Morgan falling foul of either rule? The replays showed Morgan driving backwards, wrapping his arms and not rolling, pulling or twisting. Law 9.20 (d): Not Guilty. But, his initial contact was around the upper back, and lower neck. If the officials deemed Morgan had hit Tizzano around the shoulder blades, then that would be below the line of the shoulder. After around 90 seconds of looking at replays, Italian referee Andrea Piardi decided there was no foul play. Here is what he said into his microphone, which bellowed around the MCG, and through the televisions, computers and tablets around the world. "Both of the players arrived at the same time. "The player [Jac Morgan] is wrapping [his arms]. We don't see any foul play." Piardi is correct that Morgan was wrapping his arms. However, to say both players arrived at the same time would not be correct. Tizzano had his hands on the ball before Morgan made the breakdown. If Piardi was arguing they both lowered themselves into the contest at the same time, that would be wrong. Crucially, Piardi made no mention of where he thought Morgan had made contact on Tizzano. If he believes the contact was on the upper back, then the clean-out is legal. But if the officials believe the point of contact is on the neck, then players joining simultaneously would not excuse Morgan. Opinions on the referee's decision were split across enemy lines. Former England captain Martin Johnson thought the refs made the correct decision: Australia's most capped captain Michael Hooper believes the Wallabies should have been given the penalty: Former Wallaby Morgan Turinui was furious while commentating for Channel Nine: Lions player Owen Farrell, who was on the field, believed his team scored a fair try: Wallabies coach Joe Schmidt was crestfallen and thought his men were hard done by:
News.com.au
28 minutes ago
- News.com.au
Mark ‘Frosty' Winterbottom urges students to join PM's Spelling Bee
Fast machines, lightning laps and chequered flags made for a pretty distracting daydream when Supercars legend Mark Winterbottom was a boy. As a young 'westie' at Crawford Public School in Sydney, Winterbottom 'just always wanted to race cars'. 'So how does English and spelling … relate to race cars?' he said. 'You could never tell yourself as a student that you needed to have good English skills to race cars.' But h-i-n-d-s-i-g-h-t is a beautiful thing, with the Bathurst 1000 winner eventually adding commentator, mentor and now writer to his driver CV. As the fifth annual Prime Minister's Spelling Bee school round enters its second week with over 24,000 students across years 3-8 already registered, Winterbottom said Kids News' free, online, classroom competition was 'a great little challenge and life's about challenging yourself', adding that spelling was 'so important … I never knew it was this important when I was at school'. Raising his three sons Oliver, 14, Austin, 12, and Elliot, 6, in Melbourne with wife Renee, Winterbottom is laser-focused on the boys' literacy skills. He loves watching them play basketball, building sportsmanship and camaraderie, but said the need for spelling and comprehension skills was everywhere, including the track, court and field. 'In (the boys') basketball … we'll get sheets of defence plays, attack plays, that they have to read, study, remember,' he said. An active child himself, Winterbottom said it wasn't until he 'got into the real world' that he realised how essential spelling, reading and writing skills were if he ever wanted to succeed. 'My first ever boss – at Tickford Racing when I raced for Ford – was a billionaire,' Winterbottom said. 'He owned Aston Martin road cars, he owned a Formula One team, he flew in on a helicopter. 'He was a very, very well-spoken person. I remember as a 23-year-old thinking, 'I have to pronounce every word correctly', because although he knows I can race cars … otherwise I would feel like I was inferior. 'So I learnt very early on that you had to pronounce your words (well). You had to think about what you were saying, make sure the words that you were using actually meant what you (wanted) to say. 'You realise you've got to represent some of the biggest global companies, speak well in front of the camera (and) present well to CEOs of companies. 'You've got to have a certain high level of understanding of English, be articulate and pronounce and be representative of all those brands. I realised how important it was.' With an iconic turn in Cars 2 as his namesake character 'Frosty', Winterbottom said 'you have to put in the effort at school'. 'That's what I'm telling the kids: don't rely on AI because on the spur of the moment, it's not there for you. 'When you get into commentary, you have to be very (careful) with your wording and how you pronounce things on live TV; there's no second take, what you say goes to air. 'I spent the 20 years while I was racing … trying to upskill. English was definitely one I wish I had spent a lot more time on. We push the kids very hard on English now and they're doing very well.' With HarperCollins publishing his co-written memoir, Frosty, next month, Winterbottom said the process brought him 'relief to just write stuff down'. 'Lots of people have very similar upbringings,' he said. 'Motorsport might not be what they're trying to achieve, but they might go, 'Well, he turned that into a positive, maybe I can do the same'.' A self-made Aussie success story from humble Doonside roots, for Winterbottom, the need for foundation literacy is elementary and universal. 'You always want to improve,' he said. 'You become a better person and then you try to pass that on to your kids. (If) each one learns from the other one and upskills a little bit more, that's how you build generations.' ABOUT THE BEE â—� The Prime Minister's Spelling Bee is a free, online competition for students in Years 3-8. â—� Students compete at their school in three levels: Green level for Years 3-4, Orange level for Years 5-6 and Red level for Years 7-8. â—� They get 30 randomly selected words from their competition level and have 25 seconds to type each answer. The students with the most correct words in the fastest time progress to finals. â—� Teachers can register their students until August 22, when the school round ends. â—� State and territory finals will be held September 1-5 and the national finals on September 10-11. â—� The national champion in each age group wins a trip to Canberra to meet the Prime Minister, an iPad, HarperCollins book pack and a $1000 voucher for their school.
Sydney Morning Herald
2 hours ago
- Sydney Morning Herald
A footy text put our friendship on the brink. She should know there are rules
It's a weekend, I've time on my hands and it strikes me that I haven't checked in with a few friends for a while. But before I text, I need to look up the footy fixture. I'll work through a mental checklist. Has their team played yet? Did they win? Did they get thrashed? Where are they on the ladder? Are they out of finals' contention? Does it fit with pre-season predictions? Whether they're Carlton supporters with the blues, Saints mates having a hellish season or Bomber besties nosediving, footy fandom comes with great highs and the lowest of lows. If they're hardcore card carrying, scarf waving, form-following fans their moods are delicately connected to the win/loss ratio of their teams. If there's a game coming up, I'll usually put off my text for another day. If their team has been thrashed, I will give it a miss. Don't poke the bear. If they've had a win I might text a congratulatory message. My sporting fix is AFL, but it could apply to any other code. The season starts with great promise, and before long teams and the hopes and dreams of their supporters are cruelled by injuries, long-awaited premiership windows vanish and suddenly September is looking free. Anyone for a weekend away? Others are on tenterhooks, madly calculating if their team can make the cut, and praying for unlikely upsets in hope that other teams will make way for them. A friend and I bristled after a Collingwood-barracking friend texted us to gloat as we stood, stunned and disappointed in the MCG stands after the siren, as Richmond's 2018 campaign for back-to-back premierships came to a sudden end.
