Tadhg Beirne shows why he is Andy Farrell's prize poacher
As the Test match limped towards a conclusion, the Welshman admitted: 'It just feels a little bit flat, doesn't it? It doesn't feel like the end of a first Test at Suncorp at the beginning of a huge series.'
It was left to others to scramble for reasons why the series might hold our attention for the next fortnight. Will Skelton and Rob Valetini may be ready for Melbourne. The Wallabies are wounded. They will be better next week. And so on.
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The Guardian
an hour ago
- The Guardian
Sydney player Riak Andrew faces AFL suspension over homophobic slur
Sydney defender Riak Andrew is facing a lengthy suspension after being cited for using a homophobic slur while representing the AFL club's reserves team. First-year player Andrew, the younger brother of Gold Coast star Mac Andrew, used the slur during the Swans' VFL clash with North Melbourne on Saturday. The AFL Integrity Unit is investigating the matter. In a statement, Sydney said a remorseful Andrew understands the language he used is unacceptable and takes full responsibility for his actions. Swans chief executive Tom Harley said the club are extremely disappointed in the 20-year-old's actions. 'This behaviour does not reflect the values of our club, and we take this matter very seriously,' Harley said. 'While it is disappointing, we recognise that Riak is at the beginning of his career and we will use this as an opportunity to provide support and education, to ensure Riak understands the impact of his words.' Andrew's slur comes as Sydney prepare to hold their annual celebration of LGBTIQA+ communities, when they host Essendon at the SCG on 2 August. 'In a fortnight we will be playing in the Pride Game, a match that is incredibly important to our club,' Harley said. 'We are committed to creating a safe, respectful, and inclusive environment.' Andrew was taken with pick No 55 in last year's draft and is yet to make his AFL debut. Earlier this month, West Coast midfielder Jack Graham was found guilty of conduct unbecoming and suspended for four matches for using a homophobic slur during his side's loss to GWS Giants. Another three AFL players were suspended for using homophobic slurs last season. Gold Coast defender Wil Powell (five matches) and Port Adelaide forward Jeremy Finlayson (three) served bans over incidents in AFL matches. St Kilda's Lance Collard served a six-match penalty for 'unprompted and highly offensive' slurs towards two Williamstown players in a VFL game.
Reuters
2 hours ago
- Reuters
Report: European captain Luke Donald agrees to Ryder Cup rules change
July 21 - The 2025 Ryder Cup is getting off to a congenial start. According to a report by Telegraph Sport on Monday, Team Europe captain Luke Donald has agreed to extricate his counterpart Keegan Bradley from a potentially sticky situation. It was assumed that when Bradley was named Team USA captain, he would serve in the traditional manner. However, the 39-year-old has all but assured himself a spot inside the ropes -- complete with clubs and caddie -- given his brilliant play in 2025. However, the Ryder Cup rules state that only the captain is permitted to provide advice to players during the competition. Should Bradley be competing in a session, he would not be able to communicate with the squad. But Donald agreed to change the rule to allow one of the American vice-captains to assume Bradley's advisory duties. "Keegan can only change the overarching contract with Luke and Ryder Cup Europe's approval," a source told Telegraph Sport. "The contract between the teams includes things like how many vice-captains a team can have, etc. That is used year on year and captains rarely change that. But Keegan went to Luke with this clause and Luke generously agreed." The USA vice-captains are Jim Furyk, Kevin Kisner, Webb Simpson, Brandt Snedeker and Gary Woodland. Furyk, the team captain in the 2018 European win in Paris, could be equipped to assume the role. Bradley was the 2011 PGA Champion, then won only twice on the PGA Tour over the next 10-plus years. But he captured the BMW Championship during the 2024 FedEx Cup playoffs, then won his second Travelers Championship title in three years one month ago. He stands 10th in the U.S. Ryder Cup standings (the top six automatically qualify), but his World ranking has risen to No. 7. With other prominent American players like Patrick Cantlay and Jordan Speith slumping and the selections coming in four weeks, Bradley seems preparing to put himself on the team. The last playing captain for Team USA in a Ryder Cup was Arnold Palmer in 1963. The 2026 Ryder Cup takes place at Bethpage Black Course in Farmingdale, N.Y. from Sept. 26-28. Team Europe is attempting to become the first away side to win (or retain) the cup in 13 years. They rallied for a 14.5-13.5 win at Medinah (Ill.) in 2012. --Field Level Media
Scotsman
3 hours ago
- Scotsman
Scotland Pacific tour debrief: four things we learned including coaching rejig and endangered species
Sign up to our Rugby Union newsletter – Regular news stories and round-ups from around Scotland direct to your inbox Sign up Thank you for signing up! Did you know with a Digital Subscription to The Scotsman, you can get unlimited access to the website including our premium content, as well as benefiting from fewer ads, loyalty rewards and much more. Learn More Sorry, there seem to be some issues. Please try again later. Submitting... Gregor Townsend picked a squad he described as 'almost as strong as possible' for Scotland's summer fixtures and came away with two wins and a defeat from the Pacific tour. The 29-26 victory over the Māori All Blacks in the opening match in Whangārei was a notable success and their first over opponents they had twice lost to previously. However, it was a non-cap game and did not count towards World Rugby's rankings. Advertisement Hide Ad Advertisement Hide Ad Captains Theo McFarland of Samoa and Rory Darge of Scotland exchange gifts following the Test match between the sides at Eden Park in Auckland. | Getty Images Scotland then travelled to Fiji for the game Townsend had identified as the toughest of the tour. It turned out that way, with the Scots soundly beaten 29-14 in Suva. They returned to New Zealand for the final fixture and enjoyed a convincing 41-12 win over Samoa at Eden Park. Here's what we learned from the three-game tour. Coaching rejig on the cards The tour brought the curtain down on Steve Tandy's involvement with Scotland after almost six years as Townsend's right-hand man. Tandy will take over as Wales' new head coach on September 1 and leaves big shoes to fill. Appointed as Scotland defence coach in December 2019 to replace the Australia-bound Matt Taylor, Tandy's work with the national side has been rightly lauded and he was seconded to the Lions with Townsend on the 2021 tour to South Africa. Scottish Rugby chief Alex Williamson hopes to have a replacement in for the autumn internationals which begin on November 1 against USA at Murrayfield and continue with the visits of New Zealand, Argentina and Tonga. Tandy has turned defence into one of Scotland's key strengths and Williamson and Townsend will cast the net wide in their search for a successor. Townsend, meanwhile, was guarded about his own future at the conclusion of the tour. Advertisement Hide Ad Advertisement Hide Ad Steve Tandy, left, pictured with Scotland boss Gregor Townsend, is leaving Murrayfield to become head coach of Wales. | SNS Group / SRU His contract runs out in April next year and Williamson has indicated he would be keen for the head coach to extend his stay. Talks were planned in New Zealand and Townsend said he expects further discussions 'after the summer'. He has been in post for eight years and refused to say if he wanted to remain beyond the end of the 2026 Six Nations. Rankings setback Scotland went into the summer tour ranked seventh in the world, with Townsend looking to climb into the top six ahead of the draw for the 2027 Rugby World Cup which will take place in December this year. A win over Fiji would have helped but the defeat in Suva saw Scotland drop to eighth, below Argentina. Advertisement Hide Ad Advertisement Hide Ad Being in the top six ahead of the draw is important because it means you will be in the top pot of seeds and should, theoretically, be placed in an easier group at the revamped World Cup in Australia. The expanded tournament will see the 24 teams drawn into six pools of four, with the top two from each group plus the four best third-placed sides advancing to the round of 16. Fiji's Jiuta Wainiqolo scored a fine try against Scotland in the win in Suva. | AFP via Getty Images As things stand, Scotland would be in the second band of seeds and would have one of rugby's big guns in their groups but they have the four autumn games to try to improve their ranking, including, most crucially, the match against Argentina on November 16. Building squad depth With Finn Russell, Sione Tuipulotu, Huw Jones, Duhan van der Merwe, Blair Kinghorn, Pierre Schoeman and Scott Cummings in Australia with the Lions and Zander Fagerson sidelined by a calf injury this was a tour to test Scotland's strength in depth. More players crossed the Tasman Sea as the tour progressed, with Ben White and Darcy Graham leaving the Scotland camp to link up with the Lions as injuries took their toll. Ewan Ashman, Rory Sutherland and Gregor Brown have now also been summoned by Andy Farrell, swelling the number of Scots in his squad to 12. The absences were most keenly felt in the backline. Russell and White have been Scotland's first-choice halfback pairing for some time and this tour was an opportunity for Fergus Burke and Jamie Dobie to step up. Burke, the New Zealand-born Saracens stand-off, came off the bench in the non-cap Māori game then started against both Fiji and Samoa, impressing with his defensive work in particular against hugely physical opponents. He kicked well in the Fiji game but less so against the Samoans and had to go off after an hour with a head injury. Advertisement Hide Ad Advertisement Hide Ad Dobie was first capped in 2021 but this tour afforded the Glasgow Warriors player the first opportunity to start for Scotland in his preferred position of scrum-half. He was particularly impressive in the first half against Samoa before switching to the wing after the break. With George Horne also excelling in the Māori match, Scotland are blessed when it comes to talent in the nine jersey. Rory Hutchinson was another who took his chance on tour. The Northampton Saints centre has been lightly used by Scotland over the years but was creative and effective in the wins over the Maori and Samoa alongside Stafford McDowall. Hutchinson probably benefited from not being involved in the Fiji game where Cam Redpath struggled to make an impression. In the pack, Andy Onyeama-Christie and Cameron Henderson made welcome returns from injury while Matt Fagerson probably needs more minutes to get up to speed after a long lay-off. Fin Richardson won his first cap but strength in depth in the prop roles remains a concern. Tours an endangered species As things stand, the Nations Cup will begin next summer. The new Test-match league is designed to add more structure to international rugby and will be played every two years when there is no World Cup or Lions tour. Northern hemisphere teams will travel to play three matches in the southern hemisphere in the summer and then host three touring southern hemisphere sides in the autumn. Advertisement Hide Ad Advertisement Hide Ad The last weekend in November will be reserved for a finals series, where the top-ranked European side will face the best-placed team from the rest of the world to determine the Nations Cup winner. Five other cross-hemisphere matches will determine minor places. This more rigid format is likely to make tours such as the one Scotland have just completed more rare. Townsend espoused the off-field benefits of visiting Fiji in particular, citing school visits and other community initiatives.
