Former Ulster ace on why night he became an ‘accidental tourist' with the Lions is a career highlight
It was, after all, one of those moments when the then Ulster and Ireland prop found himself being in precisely the right place at the right time to become part — albeit briefly — of the Lions tour to his native Australia.
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The Independent
26 minutes ago
- The Independent
Andy Farrell not ruling out leading the Lions for New Zealand tour
Andy Farrell has left the door open to leading the next British and Irish Lions tour after presiding over a 2-1 series victory against Australia. The Lions' dream of finishing their tour Down Under with a 100 per cent record ended with a 22-12 defeat in the final Test at a rain lashed Accor Stadium, but they return home having achieved the main objective. A first series triumph since 2013 puts Farrell in pole position to take charge of the next expedition to New Zealand and the Ireland boss admits his passion for the Lions has only grown over the last two months. 'Everyone knows what I think about this concept and I suppose that says it all,' he said. 'I love everything that the Lions is about and I've thoroughly, thoroughly enjoyed the last eight weeks. 'There are always ups and there are always downs, but the inner circle is a special place to be. 'Read into that what you want but I suppose four years, there's a long time between drinks isn't there?' An extraordinary third Test that produced three failed HIAs and saw James Ryan knocked out was paused for 37 minutes early in the second-half after the players left the field because of lightening strikes in the area. Australia then used up the full 10 minutes available to warm-up for the resumption of play, while the Lions only took five minutes. TV footage from the Lions' changing room during the break showed Finn Russell and Tom Curry using their phones. 'We agreed on 10 minutes for the warm-up and through the advice from our experts in that field we only made the call to come out five minutes before so that we would be ready to go,' Farrell said. 'I hope I'm not in a game like that again, actually. Rigor mortis was setting in at one stage there for the lads! I suppose that is what you come to expect with a schedule like the Lions schedule. We have seen it all now haven't we! 'We were trying to work out what the rules were and what was going to happen. At one stage it looked like it was going be 45 minutes then it was pulled back to 30 minutes. 'There were updates constantly coming in but the lads stayed relaxed enough, had five minutes of a warm-up and got the show back on the road. 'What came off the back of that is Australia hit the ground running and thoroughly deserved their win.' Australia boss Joe Schmidt revealed his side had prepared for the incoming bad weather. 'We had been warned that there might be a bit of lightning, so we had a plan and with that plan we made sure that guys kept moving,' Schmidt said. 'We'd four balls in the changing room so guys could throw them around, so that guys could stay connected. 'We had a couple of bikes and different guys were rotating on and off the bikes. The rest of the time, it was just trying to get us organised for the restart.'
The Herald Scotland
26 minutes ago
- The Herald Scotland
Charles Leclerc edges out McLarens to claim pole position in Hungary
Leclerc saw off Piastri by just 0.026 seconds with Norris only 0.015 sec behind the Australian. George Russell finished fourth for Mercedes. McLaren had dominated all weekend at the Hungaroring with Norris fastest in both sessions on Friday, and Piastri – who leads his team-mate by 16 points in the world championship – quickest in the concluding running prior to qualifying. But Leclerc pulled a mighty lap out of the bag to secure both his and Ferrari's first pole of the season. The Monegasque said: 'Today, I don't understand anything in Formula One. Honestly, the whole qualifying was extremely difficult. When I say extremely difficult, it's not exaggerating. 'It was difficult for us to get to Q2, it was difficult for us to get to Q3. In Q3, the conditions changed a little bit. Everything became a lot trickier, and I knew I just had to do a clean lap to target third. 'At the end of the day, it's pole position. I definitely did not expect that. Honestly, I have no words. It's probably one of the best pole positions I've ever had. It's the most unexpected, for sure.' In the other scarlet car, Hamilton has a record eight wins and nine pole positions in Hungary. However, a week after he qualified only 16th at Spa-Francorchamps, he suffered another setback when he was knocked out of Q2. Hamilton has now been outqualified by Leclerc at 10 of the 14 rounds so far. 'Every time, every time,' said the British driver after he was informed of his early exit. Hamilton emerged from his cockpit and walked towards the Ferrari motorhome holding his gloves in front of his visor to obstruct the full glare of the waiting TV cameras. Hamilton's lowly grid slot looks set to extend his run without a podium finish to 14 races. Until this season he had never gone more than 10 races into a campaign without finishing in the top three. Hamilton's replacement at Mercedes, the teenager Kimi Antonelli, has only scored once in his last seven appearances and he too failed to make it out of Q2, qualifying 15th. Qualifying was a struggle for Ferrari's Lewis Hamilton (Bradley Collyer/PA) Aston Martin have been woefully out of sorts this year and are eighth in the constructors' standings. Both Fernando Alonso and Lance Stroll failed to make it out of Q1 at the previous round. However, Alonso – who turned 44 earlier this week – and Stroll progressed to the final phase on Saturday, and will start fifth and sixth respectively. Four-time world champion Max Verstappen qualified eighth for Red Bull. Alex Albon has enjoyed a strong season – he finished sixth last weekend – but he will line up from the back of the pack here after qualifying 20th and last. Yuki Tsunoda was also eliminated in Q1 for the fifth time this season, leaving him 16th on the grid.
Daily Mail
26 minutes ago
- Daily Mail
The Lions will have beers flowing but champagne on hold after failing to whitewash Australia in the third Test with a 22-12 defeat - it is a mini sweetener for the Wallabies but neither team will feel satisfied with the series outcome, writes NIK SIMON
By the time the sun returns and the players are relaxing on Bondi Beach on Monday afternoon, the Lions will look back on this tour with a feeling of pride. By then, the lightning storms will have passed. History will remember the class of 2025 as series winners but there will forever be a nagging feeling that they did not finish the job. It was a good outcome, two Tests to one, but not one that will propel them into the pantheon of greatness.
