
Garry Ringrose is a doubt for Lions first Test against Australia due to head knock
has emerged as a doubt for the British & Irish
Lions
' first Test against Australia next Saturday in Brisbane due to a possible head knock he appeared to suffer in the last six minutes of the tourists' win over the Brumbies last Wednesday in Canberra.
The 30-year-old, 67-times capped Irish outside centre has been having a strong tour, scoring his third try in three games against the Brumbies, and looked well set to make his first start in a Lions Test match next Saturday against the Wallabies.
However, Ringrose missed training last Friday, having seemingly knocked back in one attempted tackle before then making another, and did attend the post-match mixed zone with the media.
If it has transpired that Ringrose has suffered a head injury, then due to the concussion he suffered in Ireland's 32-18 win over Scotland at Murrayfield in the Six Nations last February, he would be stood down for 12 days, thus ruling him out of the First Test.
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If that came to pass, it might also have repercussions for the Lions' choice at inside centre as well, meaning they could opt for an all-Scottish 10-12-13 axis of Finn Russell, Sione Tuipulotu and Huw Jones.
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Irish Times
7 hours ago
- Irish Times
‘Getting off the jacks was an issue': Hugo Keenan back up and running after suffering virus
AU/NZ Invitational XV 0 British and Irish Lions 48 Finally. Six games in. But better late than never. Yes, Hugo Keenan made a delayed debut in the famous red jersey last Saturday week against the Waratahs but that was more in severely weakened body, it transpires, than in spirit. Seven days on, Keenan was back to his sprightly best and buzzing afterwards. His tour is up and running. Keenan had been ruled out of Leinster's URC title-winning run-in and the Lions' opening two games against Argentina and the Force in Perth with a calf injury. Then, no sooner was he fit, than he was laid low by a severe stomach bug, arising from his sick bed to have an off-colour debut against the Waratahs before being called ashore after 50 minutes. 'It wasn't exactly what you planned on when getting on tour. I was sick for about 12 days. Getting off the jacks [toilet] was an issue,' he revealed, laughing at his attempt to make the revelation as polite as possible. 'Yeah, I lost about five or six kilos.' Keenan contracted the bug during the squad's first week in Perth, and after being picked to start the Reds game he had to withdraw on the morning of that match. READ MORE 'There was a little bit of a virus going around camp but for whatever reason it hit me on a different level. I was isolating for a good bit and most lads recovered pretty quick from it but I've never had something like that,' Keenan revealed in the aftermath of the Lions' 48-0 win over an AU/NZ Invitational XV in the Adelaide Oval. 'God, it was pretty horrible. Every day you think you're going to be waking up the next day better. You think it's going to be a 24-hour/48-hour thing. It was just frustrating the length of time that it kept on going, but we got a few tests done and I only found out what bug I had a day or two ago. It's been going on that long. 'But that's hopefully in the past now. Even over the last 48 hours, I've made big, big improvements. The tour will hopefully kick on for me here and I can start enjoying it a bit more. It was a great start tonight.' Keenan looks back on that difficult first fortnight as 'part of touring life' and 'manning up' as much as he could. Even then, he admitted: 'I felt terrible in that Waratahs game. But sometimes you just have to front up and do what's needed. It was a challenge but sometimes these things happen and you just have to get on with it.' Maybe it was the revelation of his acute sickness, but up close Keenan still did seem a little gaunt when speaking to journalists at the Adelaide Oval mixed zone on Saturday evening. Hugo Keenan of British & Irish Lions is tackled by Ngani Laumape of the AUNZ XV. Photograph: Cameron Spencer/Getty 'I'm still a few kilos down, still probably not filling out that jersey like I was, but it'll be fine, I'll get there. I'm working with Closey [Graeme Close] our nutritionist here, he's been unbelievable. Making me 'high-cal' shakes and trying to get as much fluids into me and getting the weight back on.' That he used the word 'start' is revealing in itself. One can rarely recall Keenan seeming so happy and relatively animated as he was following the statement win over an admittedly porous and disconnected composite side. Keenan was as sharp as a tack from the off in the Adelaide Oval, his quick throw to Ben White enabling Huw Jones to set up Duhan van der Merwe for the first of his hat-trick and his zippy right-to-left assist for the latter's third was a beauty. A fast start, Keenan stressed, was especially important against a composite selection of such talented players. 'We knew we had that performance in us. I think we've shown glimpses of it, but to put a team like that to nil with their quality is a real step forward.' Starting the first Test next Saturday against the Wallabies would be a just reward for Keenan's body of work over the last four years. 'It's always a target you have when you're named in that squad to be a Test player. It's the pinnacle of a British and Irish player. We'll see what happens, fingers crossed, but whoever's selected to play number 15, we'll be getting behind him and we'll see what happens. Four big games to come.' To further lift Keenan's spirits, his parents, Avril and Paul, aka 'PK', and girlfriend Emma arrived in Adelaide last Friday night and are here for the rest of the tour. 'I met them briefly for 10 minutes earlier today, and my brother [Andrew] is living in Sydney, so I met him for the first time in a year last week. That was really cool. 'I literally hadn't seen him until the side of the pitch [after the Waratahs game] and I think the cameras caught it at the time, so there's a little clip on TV of me giving him a hug as well, which was sent around the family WhatsApp groups. I'd be really close to him, so it was pretty special to see that.' Duhan van der Merwe of the British & Irish Lions scores his third and the Lions sixth try during the tour match. Photograph: David Rogers/Getty Asked what his brother is doing in Sydney, Keenan smiled and said: 'He's living the life, that's what he's doing.' There seemed almost to be a hint of envy in Keenan's voice. 'He's got a great crew of mates and his girlfriend over here and he's 27, enjoying himself, that sort of Sydney lifestyle of getting up early, enjoying the sun, getting down to the beaches. It's brilliant to catch up with him and then to have family over as well. 'I think there's a good few of the Irish over. I think there was 20 of them at a lunch before this game, so the crew's starting to build and you can even see it in the atmosphere of the stadium, a lot more fans, a lot more people in red and a lot more of a nearly neutral atmosphere. 'The Waratahs game was firmly an away game, so hopefully we'll start turning that tide red.' SCORING SEQUENCE – 7 mins: Van der Merwe try, 0-5; 10: White try, F Smith con, 0-12; 21: Van der Merwe try, 0-17; (half-time 0-17) ; 43: Tuipulotu try, F Smith con, 0-24; 61: Cummings try, M Smith con, 0-31; 64: Van der Merwe try, 0-36; 69: Kelleher try, 0-41; 76 mins Pollock try, M Smith con, 0-48. AUNZ INVITATIONAL XV: Shaun Stevenson; AJ Lam, Ngani Laumape, David Havili, Marika Koroiete; Tane Edmed, Folau Fakatava; Aidan Ross, Brandon Paenga-Amosa, Jeffery Toomaga-Allen; Angus Blyth, Lukhan Salakaia-Loto; Shannon Frizell, Pete Samu, Hoskins Sotutu. Replacements: Kurt Eklund for Paenga-Amosa, Greg Dyer for Toomaga-Allen (both h-t); Jock Campbell for Koroiete (45 mins); Harry McLaughin-Phillips for Lam (47); Josh Fusitu'a for Ross (50); Matt Philip for Blyth, Kalani Thomas for Fakatava (both 56); Joe Brial for Sotutu (62). Sinbinned: Fusitu'a (80 mins). BRITISH AND IRISH LIONS: Hugo Keenan (Ireland); Mack Hansen (Ireland), Huw Jones (Scotland), Sione Tuipulotu (Scotland), Duhan van Der Merwe (Scotland); Fin Smith (England), Ben White (Scotland); Pierre Schoeman (Scotland), Luke Cowan-Dickie (England), Will Stuart (England); James Ryan (Ireland), Tadhg Beirne (Ireland, capt), Henry Pollock (England), Jac Morgan (Wales), Ben Earl (England). Replacements: Rónan Kelleher (Ireland) for Cowan-Dickie (37 mins); Finlay Bealham (Ireland) for Stuart, Marcus Smith (England) for F Smith, Owen Farrell (England) for Jones (all 50); Scott Cummings (Scotland) for Beirne (59); Josh van der Flier (Ireland) for Earl (63); Alex Mitchell (England) for Keenan (75). Not used: Andrew Porter (Ireland). Referee: Andrea Piardi (FIR).


Irish Daily Mirror
11 hours ago
- Irish Daily Mirror
Ronan O'Gara chooses his Lions XV - and there is no room for Sheehan and Furlong
Ronan O'Gara has chosen nine Irish players in his starting XV for the British and Irish Lions' opening test against Australia. The Lions are gearing up for their opening test next weekend when they will take on the Aussies in Brisbane. And La Rochelle head coach O'Gara has weighed in with his squad for the first Test, with perhaps the most surprising element the absence of Irish pair Tadhg Furlong and Dan Sheehan from the front row. "I suppose the first thing is, where's Tadhg Furlong and where's Dan Sheehan?" O'Gara said on Sky Sports. "For me, they're the two best in the world in their position so I'd like to finish the game with them just to have that security to know that a Test game is usually won in the last eight to 12 minutes, because a team is rarely two scores ahead. "In that regard, I went with that logic. "It can be picked apart, obviously, but I just think for me, I prefer to finish with the strongest 15 as opposed to starting with it. But maybe Sheehan and Furlong can go 80 minutes, there are tiny margins. "Andrew Porter is an exceptional loosehead, I think that's an area of massive strength. I've gone with familiarity in the back-row [Ireland trio Beirne, Van der Flier, Conan], because I think the bench impact of Ben Earl and Henry Pollock just adds an awful lot to it, with probably the benefit of them covering as centres as well. I like what they do as hybrids." O'Gara has opted for the centre pairing of Bundee Aki and Scotland's Huw Jones, while Hugo Keenan gets the nod at full-back. And he believes Owen Farrell deserves a place on the bench as a utility back. He said: "In the backs, it's pretty straightforward. There's obviously a big debate in terms of who do you play at 12 if you're going with Huw Jones at 13, as Garry Ringrose is ruled out through injury," he said. "Do you go Sione Tuipulotu? Do you go Bundee Aki? You could go either way. "Do you back yourself and just go: 'Go boy, go play. Show what you're good at.' I think Aki's the best in the world at winning gain-line. He gives front foot ball. "He makes the front-five get on the ball in the second phase with winning a gain-line. The game is so much easier when you win collisions." O'Gara's British and Irish Lions: 15 Hugo Keenan, 14 Tommy Freeman, 13 Huw Jones, 12 Bundee Aki, 11 James Lowe, 10 Finn Russell, 9 Jamison Gibson-Park; 1 Ellis Genge, 2 Ronan Kelleher, 3 Will Stuart, 4 Maro Itoje (c), 5 Joe McCarthy, 6 Tadhg Beirne, 7 Josh van der Flier, 8 Jack Conan. Replacements: 16 Dan Sheehan, 17 Andrew Porter, 18 Tadhg Furlong, 19 James Ryan, 20 Ben Earl, 21 Henry Pollock, 22 Alex Mitchell, 23 Owen Farrell.


Irish Times
17 hours ago
- Irish Times
Ireland's Thomas Clarkson called up to Lions squad
The British & Irish Lions enjoyed some down time on Saturday night in Adelaide before delving into their analysis of Saturday's 48-0 win over an Invitational XV and the composition of their side for next Saturday's before and during their flight to Brisbane. On arrival, Jamie Osborne linked up with the squad while it was also announced that in addition to calling up Jamie George in light of the head injury Luke Cowan-Dickie suffered last Saturday, Thomas Clarkson was being called up as cover, so taking Ireland's representation in the playing squad to 18, of whom 14 are Leinster players. The Lions statement said that Clarkson has been called up as cover for the Test series, implying that Tadhg Furlong and Will Stuart will not be risked in the final midweek match on the Tuesday of the Second Test against a First Nations & Pasifika XV in Melbourne. The team for the First Test will be formalised early in the week before being announced on Thursday, as Andy Farrell and his squad happily embrace a full week in one city without midweek matches after recording five wins in five different cities in 14 days. READ MORE Speaking after Saturday's win in the Adelaide Oval, Farrell said: 'We'll watch the match, the coaches deserve a bit of downtime this evening. We travel about midday, most of the work will get done in the morning, on the flight, etc. 'When we get to Brisbane we'll have a coaches meeting like we always do and discuss how the week is going to unfold and no doubt selection will be a big part of that.' 'I am very pleased to finish off what has been a tough enough block for all sorts of reasons, to get to this point now where we face the Test series. I am really proud of everyone, not just the players but the staff etc for getting us all to this point so it is nice to get a good performance, then roll into a Test series in a nice shape as a squad in regards to where our game is at and our mentality and how much we have got to improve.'