Places still up for grabs as Lions hone in on the Test series against the Wallabies
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Irish Daily Mirror
3 hours ago
- Irish Daily Mirror
Mack Hansen enjoys family reunion as he returns to hometown with Lions
Mack Hansen reunited with friends and family in Australia ahead of today's clash between the British and Irish Lions and the Brumbies. Ireland International Hansen was born in Australia to an Irish mother and Australian father. He joined Connacht in 2021 after having a spell with the Brumbies, and made his Ireland debut a year later. Since then, Hansen has gone on to become a key member of Andy Farrell's Ireland team, so it came as little surprise when it was announced that Hansen would be selected for the Lions to tour Australia. While the team have been hard at work down under, Hansen has been using his little spare time to catch up with friends and family. Ahead of today's game, Hansen was able to pay a visit home to Canberra to say hello to his Mother, Father and Brother. He also was able to reconnect with his dog Dukey, of whom he has recently gotten a new tattoo. On the field, Hansen was sprung from the bench in the second half as the Lions limped to a 36-24 win over the Brumbies. Hansen will be hoping to keep impressing Andy Farrell as he looks to force his way into the test team that will face Australia on July 19th.
Irish Times
4 hours ago
- Irish Times
Gerry Thornley: As Lions phoney war nears an end, Irish players push hard to dominate first Test line-up
If Andy Farrell and the British & Irish Lions squad were a tad concerned about another patchy performance in beating the Brumbies 36-24 , they certainly weren't inclined to show it. Not long after the players' adapted version of Rockin' All Over The World had reverberated from the away dressing room in the Gio Stadium, the Lions head coach cut a relatively sanguine figure about the state of his team just 10 days' out from the first Test. Tadhg Furlong of the Lions powers through a tackle against Brumbies in Canberra, Australia. Photograph:'It is good, we get a good blend of different stuff every single week that gets thrown at us,' said Farrell after their fourth win out of four on Australian soil, even if this shadow Test side ought really to have won more convincingly. 'It is good preparation for what is going to be a fantastic Test in 10 days' time. I thought our game control was pretty good which allowed us to keep the pressure on at the right end of the field, so that is a step forward.' Watching on from behind a glass screen somewhere in the ground alongside Laurie Fisher, Farrell's counterpart Joe Schmidt was positively beaming when the camera picked him out, perhaps in response to something his assistant had said. READ MORE For the fourth game running, the Australian opposition made the breakdown an issue for the Lions and despite scoring three nice tries and playing some eye-catching rugby, this has disrupted the flow of the tourists' game. At times, it seems as if not enough players are committing to the breakdown, but either way Schmidt's Wallabies will be even more inclined to flood that area after witnessing the Lions four matches to date. Ireland impress as the Lions struggle Listen | 26:21 Farrell effectively admitted this is a concern for him. 'As far as the breakdown is concerned, we knew that was going to be the case,' he said. 'Historically Australia have always gone hard at the breakdown and if anyone analyses the way we have been playing, that is what you would do. 'The pressure at the breakdown is no surprise to us. Sometimes it is a mess, we have got to make sure we keep asking for clarity as far as that is concerned . . . but first things first, we need to look after our own ruck.' Farrell perhaps took some comfort too, along with frustration, in the knowledge that the Lions really should have won more emphatically. The Lions' Jack Conan is tackled by Liam Bowron of the Brumbies. Photograph: Dan Sheridan/Inpho 'Overall, bigger picture stuff, I thought we dominated the game. If you got the game and fast forwarded through it you would see that. On the back of that we scored some lovely balanced tries, but the other side of the story is we certainly left three out there and maybe more. That kept the Brumbies in the game and they were good enough to be able to capitalise on some of our errors and disciplined to score some points themselves. Plenty to do obviously.' The possibility of an all-Irish front-row is not out of the question Perhaps Farrell has also had enough of this phoney war. Asked if he thought these somewhat low-key warm-up games - and this was another relatively flat atmosphere - might be an ominous portent, Farrell maintained: 'No, not at all. You wait. You wait until everyone comes to terms and see what builds up in regards to the first Test etc . . . It's going to be fantastic.' One ventures too that Farrell had a fairly good idea as to the composition of his team for that match, and even more so now. That said, there remain conundrums, not least fullback, a jersey which continues to have some bad luck attached to it. [ Kangaroo leaves Ronan O'Gara speechless as never-ending Lions tour trundles on Opens in new window ] Blair Kinghorn went off in the 25th minute with a knee injury, but needless to say Farrell couldn't shed much light on the extent of this problem ahead of an early Thursday morning flight to Adelaide. But the door must be ajar now for Hugo Keenan in the expectation that he starts on Saturday against the AUNZ Invitational XV in Adelaide. It still looks like a close call between Tommy Freeman and Mack Hansen, who will have caught Farrell's eye with his cameo on his old stomping ground, covering across his wing to save a try and being centrally involved in the final attack. On the premise that it's one national pairing or the other, the Bundee Aki-Garry Ringrose combination looks to be in pole position over the Scottish duo after this showing, and while Farrell would like to have seen Jamison Gibson-Park and Finn Russell play more than twice together, the third time will surely be on Saturday week. The possibility of an all-Irish front-row is not out of the question given it still looks a close call between Andrew Porter and Ellis Genge, while Maro Itoje and Joe McCarthy also appear set to play together for just a third time in the first Test. That said, Ollie Chessum's strong performance and the option of Tadhg Beirne means that is not nailed on, although the latter is perhaps weary after a very heavy season. Jack Conan led both the Lions' carrying and tackle counts with 17 and 14. He looks set to continue his hold on the Lions Test '8' jersey. But despite setting up one try, in the light of Tom Curry twice coughing up possession when forcing passes, Josh van der Flier still appears to be the better fit in Farrell's team at '7'. Possible Lions Test team : Keenan; Freeman, Ringrose, Aki, Lowe; Russell, Gibson-Park; Genge, Sheehan, Furlong; Itoje (capt), McCarthy; Chessum, Van der Flier, Conan. Replacements: Kelleher, Genge, Stuart, Beirne, Pollock, Mitchell, M Smith, Hansen.
Extra.ie
4 hours ago
- Extra.ie
Kinghorn injury a huge chance for Hugo Keenan to snatch a Lions test start
It's never nice to see someone get injured, but as they say when one door closes another one opens and that door could be opening for Hugo Keenan. Keenan hasn't lit up the world so far on this tour. Only featuring in the first half against the Waratahs after coming into the tour with an injury and missing out on the Queensland Reds game with illness. The battle for the 15 jersey hasn't been the most pulsating of battles with all three initial contenders of Hugo Keenan, Blair Kinghorn and Daly have all dealt with injury issues, with Daly probably performing the best out of all three but his arm fracture ended his tour early. Hugo Keenan. Pic:Kinghorn was many people's favourite to get the start in the first test and it's easy to see why. The Scot joined the tour late after starring in Toulouse's Top 14 triumph over Bordeaux-Bègles and being one of the best athletes the Lions have to offer. More than capable of playing off the wing and at 10 as well as fullback, Kinghorn offered a versatility that's always needed on a Lions tour. However just as it looked like everything was going the Scot's way, Wednesday's game against the Brumbies left himself and Lions fans in despair. Blair Kinghorn forced off with injury against the Brumbies. Pic:It was just over 20 minutes into the clash at Canberra when Kinghorn was forced off with a knee injury. Kinghorn, who sported heavy taping on both knees looked distraught as he went off the field and not filling fans with too much hope that he will return on the tour. However if this injury at least rules Kinghorn out for the first test it gives Hugo Keenan a huge opportunity to be the starting 15. He'll likely play on Saturday against a combined Australia/New Zealand XV as he still needs to wipe off the cobwebs that were evident in his first Lions outing last Saturday. The Lions tour is as equally a test of attrition as it is a testing of the best Britain and Ireland have to offer. Staying fit while playing matches every three or four days is no mean feat. Keenan has been phenomenal over the years and earning the honour of wearing a Lions jersey will only confirm what a player he's been.
