British and Irish Lions hammer Western Force but Tomos Williams suffers injury
The British and Irish Lions claimed their first victory on Australian soil by overwhelming Western Force 54-7, but a possible injury crisis is brewing at scrum-half after Tomos Williams was forced off.
Williams was among the Lions' star performers at Optus Stadium but his match was over when he injured his left hamstring during the act of finishing his second try in the 47th minute.
Advertisement
The Wales half-back limped from the pitch to leave the Lions sweating on his fitness given Jamison Gibson-Park has yet to play on tour because of a glute problem, potentially leaving Alex Mitchell as the only available option in the position.
It was the biggest disappointment of a mixed evening for Andy Farrell's men, who bounced back from their 28-24 defeat by Argentina with an eight-try demolition of the weakest of Australia's Super Rugby franchises while exposing areas of concern.
The lack of cohesion in defence continued and the scrum took a step backwards after excelling against the Pumas as part of a shaky overall set-piece performance, but their passes stuck in attack and they created some classy tries.
Henry Pollock, Joe McCarthy and James Lowe all advanced their claims to Test selection against the Wallabies, while fly-half Finn Russell produced an inventive first outing on tour.
Advertisement
Russell's fingerprints were over Dan Sheehan's fourth-minute try with his pinpoint kick to Lowe making the score possible, but the Force hit back with their first attack of the match when Nic White wriggled over.
All the early pressure was coming from the hosts but they were turned over three times when in commanding positions, one of them occurring when man-of-the-match McCarthy pinched line-out ball.
The Force were showing plenty of endeavour but the Lions' extra class was evident in the 16th minute when Pollock combined with Josh van der Flier, raced clear and then passed out of the tackle for Williams to score.
😍😍🦁🦁
https://t.co/U4xu8tvwoV
— Saracens Rugby Club (@Saracens)
June 28, 2025
And their accuracy was on display again in the 36th minute when Russell ran a quickly taken free-kick with Pollock and Elliot Daly in support and when he was stopped just short of the line, Daly was able to touch down.
Advertisement
Pollock provocatively celebrated the try close to Force openside Nick Champion de Crespigny, igniting a flashpoint that drew in a large number of players.
The England back row was then sin-binned, although his yellow card was the result of Ben O'Keeffe running out of patience with the number of Lions infringements.
🦁 A second score for Tomos 🔥
https://t.co/xBGKhg9Q36
— Welsh Rugby Union 🏴 (@WelshRugbyUnion)
June 28, 2025
Pollock had yet to rejoin play when the Lions struck again early in the second half with wings Mack Hansen and Lowe involved in a counter attack that ended with Williams diving over in the corner for his fateful finish.
Just 10 minutes after the interval and the Force defence was already tiring, allowing the tourists to force an easy open with Hansen supplying Garry Ringrose with the scoring pass.
Advertisement
Back on the field, Pollock pounced on a loose ball to launch a counter that ended with McCarthy crossing and the gaps continued to appear with Marcus Smith, on for Russell at fly-half, sending Daly over before Alex Mitchell landed the final blow.
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
The Guardian
an hour ago
- The Guardian
Josh Hazlewood blitz sends Australia to victory inside three days in West Indies
It was an extraordinary final session to end the first Test in Barbados in the long shadows of the third evening. After two days of wobbles, a portion of Australia's batting got its act together, with the lower-middle-order trio of Travis Head, Beau Webster, and Alex Carey making half centuries to lift Australia's second innings to 310. That left West Indies needing 301 to win the first Test in Barbados, always unlikely on a Kensington Oval pitch that already had balls keeping low. Josh Hazlewood made sure of it with a withering burst of 4-4 in 16 balls, later upping that to 5-23, as West Indies crashed humiliatingly to 141 all out, losing by 159 runs. Hazlewood has been the subject of some public attention of late, given his injury absences and how well Scott Boland has performed during each one. But the first-choice option has 288 Test wickets, took 35 of them at 13 last calendar year, and has nine at 18 in the two matches he has managed in 2025. His career against West Indies is worth 43 at 15, and over two tours to this part of the world he has 19 wickets at nine. His match-defining spell was built around his ability to keep putting the ball on exactly the right spot. After an unusually expensive first three overs went for 18, Hazlewood had a brief break and returned for the 11th. West Indies were going brightly at 47-1. Former captain Kraigg Brathwaite had flicked a catch from Mitchell Starc to square leg, but John Campbell and Keacy Carty were scoring freely. Facing a line around the wicket, the left-handed Campbell gave up a gift, a kneeling lap shot that lobbed to Carey behind the stumps. The very next ball, Hazlewood's suffocating line got an inside edge on to pad from Brandon King, lobbing to slip, a golden duck to complete a grim debut for the man who dropped three catches in the first innings. The hat-trick didn't follow, captain Roston Chase able to leave just outside off, but Hazlewood got him next over, more seam movement and another inside edge to short leg. Then even more jag an over later, and a touch of low bounce, as he knocked Carty's stumps awry. He had four wickets for 23, West Indies were 65-6, and the match was all but done. Pat Cummins followed Hazlewood's spell with another lawnmower delivery into Shai Hope's stumps, but hope had already gone. Alzarri Joseph got a promotion after his late tonk in the first innings, but ran himself out with a slow response to a call from Justin Greaves, Marnus Labuschagne as a sub fielder hitting the stumps direct. Hazlewood returned from a brief break for his fifth thanks to Jomel Warrican, who survived an lbw thanks to umpire's call then nicked the next, making it 86-8 as extra time began. It was a subsidence, but one in the expected direction after Australia's score. In a match dominated by pace, Head and Webster were able to use it to their advantage, scoring almost entirely square of the wicket on the off side, left-hander and right-hander alternating cover drives and back-foot punches to opposite sides of the ground. West Indies frustration mounted as the partnership reached 102, and it took a devilish moment from the pitch to cut off Head for 61, lbw to a ball that almost went underground to hit his pad from around the wicket. That was the first of seven overs from Shamar Joseph either side of lunch, with the other end of his spell getting Webster nicking down the leg-side on review for 63. Carey immediately hit the nitro, smacking Jayden Seales straight for four and six before pulling another four in the same over. A second six followed from Greaves, as the Australian keeper raised 50 in 40 balls. With Cummins having skied a catch, Joseph returned to bowl Starc off the inside edge. Fatigue was telling, with a rash of no-balls including a wide beamer, as the tail smacked a few runs. His next break lasted all of four overs, until Chase got Carey out smartly with a wide slow off break lashed to long off. With Joseph on four wickets as he had been in the first innings, he had one last chance to take five, and as at the Gabba 18 months ago, he finished an Australian innings by castling Hazlewood, this time off a flailed bottom edge. The bowler sank to his knees, pounding the pitch with one hand. In three Tests against Australia he has 22 wickets at 16. Sign up to The Spin Subscribe to our cricket newsletter for our writers' thoughts on the biggest stories and a review of the week's action after newsletter promotion Still, with their outmatched batting, West Indies had given away far more than they had a credible chance to chase. Not that Shamar Joseph would have expected to follow his five-for by having to go out and bat before the end of the day, with the umpires extending beyond the extra half hour because the required overs hadn't been bowled. He let out some frustration, lashing 44 from 22 balls, and while aiming for a half-century in one blow, edged Nathan Lyon to slip. That left three balls in the day, and Lyon only needed one. In gathering Friday dusk, it was an hour and 13 minutes after the scheduled close when Seales was caught by Sam Konstas at bat-pad – a chastening end for West Indies, and a dramatic turnaround for Australia. West Indies authorities were desperate for this match to reach the weekend to get some crowds into the party stand. Instead, everyone will hit the beach.
BreakingNews.ie
an hour ago
- BreakingNews.ie
British and Irish Lions face anxious wait over fitness of Tomos Williams
The British and Irish Lions face an anxious wait over the fitness of Tomos Williams after the Wales scrum-half limped off in their 54-7 rout of Western Force. Williams sustained an injury to his left hamstring during the act of scoring the second of his two tries early in the second half at Optus Stadium, ending another impressive performance for the Lions that was propelling him into Test contention. Advertisement While the extent of the damage is not yet known, it creates pressure on the tourists' half-back stocks with Jamison Gibson-Park yet to make his first appearance on tour due to a glute problem. Gibson-Park is expected to make his comeback against the Reds in Brisbane on Wednesday but with Williams struggling and Alex Mitchell facing the prospect of playing in a third consecutive game, head coach Andy Farrell may be forced to call up a reinforcement. 'Tomos has come off holding his hamstring. There was plenty of cramp last week, let's hope it is one of those,' Farrell said. 'Jamison is fit and ready to go and has been training fully for the best part of a week so we're happy with that but you don't know until you know and we will only know in the morning. Advertisement 'You have to let these things settle down and see what the outcome is and give it a little bit of space. 'Tomos was playing well and I'm sure there is a bit of concern there, but you can only deal with the here and now so fingers crossed.' Ben White is currently on tour in New Zealand with Scotland and would be an obvious solution should Williams be ruled out for any length of time. When asked about White, Farrell said: 'We need to talk about that and make the right call for the group.' Advertisement Joe McCarthy was named man of the match but the eight-try demolition in the first outing on Australian soil also saw eye-catching displays from Mack Hansen, James Lowe, Elliot Daly, Finn Russell and Henry Pollock. All sides of Pollock were on show as the Lions' youngest tourist at 20-years-old used his athleticism and awareness to set up Williams' first try and almost scored one himself, while also providing the spark for a confrontation between the sides and being sent to the sin-bin for a ruck infringement. 'Henry got a yellow card because of repeated infringements – which was fair enough – but you also saw his point of difference, that's for sure,' Farrell said. Dan Sheehan, right, was impressed by team-mate Henry Pollock, left (Trevor Collens/AP) Pollock received strong praise from Dan Sheehan, the Ireland hooker who was captaining the Lions on his debut for the tourists, but there was also a reminder that the team comes first. Advertisement 'Henry was brilliant. He does his own thing and plays his own way, which is different to a lot of the forwards,' Sheehan said. 'I enjoy that kind of rugby – off the cuff, see what's in front of you and make it happen. With his skillset and speed he can certainly make it happen. 'It's just about trying to make sure he's doing the right thing for the team all the time.'
The Guardian
3 hours ago
- The Guardian
Glory and Fury to Devils and Dolphins: Australian team names come full circle
The naming trends for Australian professional sports teams have come full circle, as fans and officials overlook vibe-driven monikers like Glory and the plurally-challenged Power or Storm to return to animals that bite, some 30 years after one of the great sports marketing revolutions took hold. The three most recent expansion announcements in the NRL and AFL have revived classic animal mascots, through the Perth Bears, Tasmania Devils and Dolphins from Redcliffe. The Tasmania JackJumpers spearheaded this return to more conservative, fauna-driven naming conventions for their entry to the NBL in 2019, even if the creature selected left mainlanders scratching their heads. Paul Kind, chief executive of marketing agency Total Sport & Entertainment and a former NRL executive, says that announcement signalled a shift in Australian sport. 'My immediate reaction was, 'oh my god, what have they just done, how have they gone from a blank sheet of paper and come up with JackJumpers?',' he says. 'But I now give them a huge amount of credit for it. It's got to feel like something local fans are proud to associate with, and the fact that it was uniquely Tasmanian connected with their community in a way that anyone who wasn't from Tasmania could possibly imagine.' The JackJumpers' on and off-court success – selling out more than 50 home games in a row and winning the NBL title in 2024 – was closely observed by those working on the state's AFL expansion bid. 'When the name of the JackJumpers was announced, there was a lot of pushback about that,' says Kath McCann, executive director of the club now known as the Tasmania Devils. 'It's become incredibly powerful, not just because of the attributes of the creature, but the philosophy of how they play and the success that they've experienced.' While the NRL's Bears and Dolphins were decisions by officials to resuscitate older brands, the growing appetite from fans for animals was highlighted by the statewide fan survey for the new AFL club run at the end of 2023. Across 6,000 open-ended questionnaires, 68% of fans proposed the Devils. Critters also dominated the next most-backed options: 9% put forward the Turbo Chooks, otherwise known as the Tasmanian native hen and the subject of a lighthearted campaign, and 6% suggested the Tigers despite the existence of Richmond in the competition already. McCann says there was a 'long tail' of suggestions, but the state's distinctive range of native fauna was the source of most – but not all – options. 'The orange-bellied parrot definitely found its way into the list, the handfish – quite a few fish actually, the Trouts were in there,' she says. 'The one that I thought was really interesting was the Auroras.' In the race for NRL expansion during 2021, the Dolphins beat bids from entities dubbed the Firehawks – a bird that spreads fires to help it hunt – and the Bombers to become the NRL's 17th team in 2023. The Hunters has been mooted as a possible name for the NRL's PNG franchise joining in 2028, though a nationwide poll will help make the final decision. 'It must be a name that at least 50%, 60% or 70% of the country supports,' PNG prime minister James Marape said last week. 'It must not just be a name, there must be a motif behind the name.' These discussions are a long way from a trend kickstarted by Perth Glory 30 years ago which opened up less precise, more abstract concepts as sporting nicknames. At the time an advertising executive called Jim Davies was responsible for the development of the new football club's brand. According to WA's Football Hall of Fame, he received over 800 suggestions which were whittled down to five: Flyers, Storm, Predators, Red Backs and Glory. The latter was chosen to differentiate an entity wanted to be known as 'contemporary'. Sign up to Australia Sport Get a daily roundup of the latest sports news, features and comment from our Australian sports desk after newsletter promotion Arguably, a more creative outlook to naming conventions began even earlier, when in 1992 Adelaide basketball officials proposed the Lightning, a term both singular and plural. Although it was a novel name in Australian sport, the Lightning was actually chosen for its connection to history. William Light was the colonial administrator who in 1836 had chosen the city's location, and the new WNBL side echoed the city's NBL team, the 36ers. 'We liked the connection and the history,' former Opal and Lightning legend Rachael Sporn says. 'Then obviously, with lightning, you think of energy and power, so we loved the name right from the start.' Not long afterwards, Melbourne Storm and Port Adelaide Power both appeared, debuting non-traditional, singular nouns in Australia's most popular sporting competitions. Port Adelaide – known as the Magpies in the SANFL – were forced to look at creative solutions given the presence of Collingwood in the AFL, while the Melbourne NRL franchise launched a competition for suggestions. Young fan Cameron Duncan was pronounced the winner. However, Duncan revealed on a Melbourne Storm online forum last year his entry was simply the first one picked out that matched the named already chosen by club officials. Duncan wasn't able to attend the promotion where he was to be awarded his prize because he was watching the preliminary final defeat of his beloved Footscray in the AFL, now – for geographic marketing reasons – known as the Western Bulldogs. WNBL club Townsville Fire and later Bendigo Spirit, A-League clubs Melbourne Victory, Brisbane Roar and North Queensland Fury, along with Super Rugby club Western Force, leaned into this fresh approach, which reached its zenith during the conception of the BBL. Cricket Australia was desperate to distance the new T20 competition from the sport's conservative roots, and adopted eight radical names, two of which were vaguely singular – Brisbane Heat and Sydney Thunder. Another two were weather-inspired – Hobart Hurricanes and Perth Scorchers. The Sydney Sixers echoed naming trends in basketball, but demanded some logical generosity in cricket. Kind, who was working at the NRL in this period, says those unorthodox names reflected a specific marketing requirement. 'The BBL teams had permission to be a bit off-the-cuff and a bit more 'out there', because they were trying to present cricket differently at the time, they were trying to tip cricket on its head,' he says. At around the same time, NRL expansion side Gold Coast was finding its feet in the NRL. Their name the Titans had been selected ahead of the Stingers and Pirates, part of a brief theme of mythical beings like the GWS Giants and SE Melbourne Phoenix. 'The Titans were never going to be the Dolphins,' Kind says. 'They could have easily resonated with the Gold Coast community, but it wasn't cool to be an animal back then.'
