Owen Doyle: For the good of the Lions tour, referees need to stop ignoring the rules of rugby
Ronan O'Gara
and Will Greenwood are right, and the match officials are wrong, it doesn't say much for the latter.
My view is that of course it was a foul blow to the head of
Mack Hansen
. Waratahs' Fergus Lee-Warner was the guilty party just moments before teammate Darby Lancaster touched down in the corner. Referee Paul Williams and all of his supporting cast reviewed the incident. Their deliberations concluded that it was not dangerous play. The try stood when, clearly, it shouldn't have.
It was a poor
Lions
performance in Sydney. Well, okay, maybe a bit better than that, but not by much. When
Tadhg Beirne
– strangely out of sorts – dropped a pass in the last minute, it mirrored what had gone on all day. I am referring to all the handling errors. Add that to being skinned at the breakdown and the 'quietly resolved'
Joe Schmidt
might just be thinking that this is a winnable series. Lions coach
Andy Farrell
spoke afterwards of the need to get out of the blocks faster and he is so right.
Most of all, the performance was lacking intensity, lacking the ferocious physicality which must accompany them into the Test arena. It has to change or Schmidt could well have his day in the sun. The exception was the scrum, where the Lions pummelled the home team. Penalty after penalty was won, with their three tries originating from lineout mauls which followed. But, heck, is that what these Lions are about? Why not show belief, ambition and release the backs? With Sione Tuipulotu and Huw Jones in fine fettle, it bordered on the criminal.
READ MORE
Ireland impress as the Lions struggle
Listen |
26:21
The Tests will be refereed by Ben O'Keeffe, Andrea Piardi and Nika Amashukeli. It is important to know whether or not they'll referee the same way as the New Zealand men have done so far. The game 'down south' (and to a lesser degree up here) sees referees ignoring blatant side entries and sealing off the ball at the tackle-breakdown. To some extent, the Lions joined in, so real clarity is needed here from World Rugby. Frenchman Pierre Brousset will handle
the Brumbies match
and both teams will want him to produce his A-game, which he certainly didn't in Australia v Fiji.
French referee Pierre Brousset during the Champions Cup semi-final between Leinster and Northampton in May. Photograph: Laszlo Geczo/Inpho
Against both Queensland and the Waratahs, scrum problems returned. There is a serious inconsistency in whether the referee penalises collapses immediately or resets it; plays on with no advantage, or plays on with advantage. Scrum penalty decisions, often questionable, have far too much influence on results.
The lineout shenanigans,
outlined here last week
, continued. The very first throw of the match was as crooked as the proverbial dog's hind leg and was right in front of Williams. But he allowed play to continue until his TMO tipped him off.
Throw-ins directly to the front man were one apiece, neither noticed by any official. Each team had a try correctly ruled out following TMO intervention. On both occasions a lifter inserted himself in front of the catcher as the maul formed – blatant obstruction. It's harder to pick up by the referee at ground level than you might think, but with a little awareness it is very doable.
However, it's difficult not to be suspicious that some refs are leaving these decisions, including the throw-ins, to the TMO. So much is going to, or coming from the TMO, that their input is now becoming too close to dominating proceedings.
Owen Farrell
and that wonderful Lions player of yore, the never-to-be-forgotten Belvederian Tony O'Reilly, have something in common. Both were 33 years of age when they received late call-ups to perform at the high end of the game. O'Reilly's amazing try-scoring exploits still stand as a Lions record: six tries in 10 tests, 38 in all tour matches.
Owen Farrell of the British and Irish Lions looks on during last Saturday's match against Waratahs in Sydney. Photograph:He was playing for London Irish when recalled to the Ireland team in 1970, against England at Twickenham, after a seven-year break. Unsurprisingly, it didn't work out. O'Reilly's chauffeur then returned him to his day job of leading the Heinz corporation, with some soft insults ringing in his years. 'Beans means has-beens', and 'you really landed in the soup this time' were as nasty as things got in those days.
Farrell stood down from Test rugby after the 2023 Rugby World Cup, departing for Paris to play for Racing 92, on a tip-top financial deal. It was an unfortunate failure, due both to injury and a dip in form. Then, in early May this year, he suffered a concussion against Lyon in the Challenge Cup semi-final. He has not played since. It's impossible to think of any other player with a similar profile who has ever earned a call-up, anywhere. Andy Farrell assures us that his son is fighting fit, but can he really be Lions match-level fit?
However this works out, the optics aren't particularly good, but that's not going to bother either Farrell. Publicly, all the Lions players will undoubtedly row in behind the decision of their coach. But privately? A guess suggests that some noses will be out of joint.
Maybe he will come on and kick the series-winning points, but that's hardly the issue. It's a strange, completely unexpected rabbit that the coach has pulled out of his hat. If it works out in line with O'Reilly's performance, then Farrell junior can expect the slings and arrows of vile, detestable social media. Very different from amusing tinned-food reprimands. It would be a sorry way to finish a stellar international career. We can but wait and see, and hope.
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Irish Times
32 minutes ago
- Irish Times
Gerry Thornley: Wily old fox Joe Schmidt likely to have plenty up his sleeve for Lions Tests
Okay, let's be honest, that was not a weekend that set the pulses racing at the prospect of the upcoming Test series between the British & Irish Lions and Australia . Andy Farrell's side, having been beaten by Argentina, laboured to a win over the Waratahs on Saturday and a day later Joe Schmidt's Wallabies played second fiddle to the Fijians before scraping home. No doubt there will be an even greater temptation out there to dismiss this expedition Down Under as being decidedly non-vintage and likely to conclude with a devalued Test series. Maybe that will indeed prove to be the case. But let's not be too hasty. All of the jousting over the last three weeks and the rest of this week remain part of the phoney war. True, at face value, this year's tour appears to lack some of the epic feel and stardust of previous Lions sorties to the southern hemisphere. As if almost preordained, in five of the Lions' last seven tours they visited the then world champions. The exceptions were in 2003, when England were the world champions and bulk suppliers for the flawed 2005 tour to New Zealand, and also the last tour to Australia in 2013, a couple of years after the Wallabies had finished third in the World Cup when losing their semi-final away to eventual champions New Zealand. READ MORE By contrast, two years ago Australia suffered the ignominy of a first ever World Cup pool exit after losing 22-15 to Fiji and 40-6 to Wales, which seems even more incredible given the latter's defeat to Japan last Saturday was their 18th in a row since France 2023. Watching the Wallabies struggle to withstand Fiji's strong push for another famous win in Newcastle on Sunday provided echoes of that nadir under Eddie Jones two years ago. But no less than Argentina in the Aviva Stadium, it should also have served to remind us that this is one of the best Fijian sides ever. Los Pumas, much improved under Felipe Contepomi since Michael Cheika guided them somewhat misleadingly to the semi-finals in France, and the Flying Fijians are seriously good sides for whom these games were free shots, whereas the Lions and Australia have had the distraction of this upcoming series and will be all the better for these preparatory games. Argentina are a seriously good team, and the British and Irish Lions may have benefitted from meeting them even if the defeat was painful. Photograph: Dan Sheridan/Inpho It's true that for all the improvements under Schmidt the Wallabies only won one of their six matches in last year's Rugby Championship, while three of their five wins were against Wales and one was at the expense of Georgia. Yet there was no denying the merit of their 42-37 win over England in Twickenham, nor should we forget how Schmidt's well-prepared team went a long way toward negating Ireland with their targeting of the breakdown and organisation of their defence in losing 22-19 at the Aviva last November. True to type under Schmidt, the Wallabies have become vastly more efficient at the breakdown, are better organised defensively and have become a much more settled if vastly changed side since the short-lived but destructive Jones reign. Only four of the matchday 23 in that 40-6 loss to Wales less than two years ago were involved against Fiji. While the game drifted away from them against Fiji and they were forced to cling on before finding a way to win, there was still continuing evidence of the improvement under Schmidt in that first half especially. The set pieces were strong, while some of the offloading, link play and handling were very slick. But for two marginal calls by referee Pierre Brousset they could well have led 28-0 and after the break they effectively had a third try ruled out, correctly, for a forward pass by fullback Tom Wright. While rightly miffed by Brousset's call of a crooked throw, Schmidt attributed those two forward passes to skill execution. No less than some of the loose kicking, and not putting the ball off the field after the 40-minute mark before conceding the first Fijian try, those errors can be rectified. Indeed, akin to the Lions losing to Los Pumas, last Sunday's scare in Newcastle will probably serve as a helpful wake-up call for the Wallabies. For what it undoubtedly proved was that they badly needed that game. Expect Joseph-Aukuso Suaalii to be more prominent for Australia against the British and Irish Lions than he was against Fiji. Photograph:As well as benefitting that chance to dust off cobwebs and survive a severe jolt, the Wallabies will most likely welcome back Rob Valetini, an ever-present in the Wallabies' 13 Tests under Schmidt last year, Will Skelton and Jake Gordon, the starting scrumhalf in nine of those 13 matches. Valetini and Skelton will add some ball-carrying ballast to the Wallabies mix and while the running threat of Tate McDermott is particularly effective when sprung from the bench as a game loosens up, Gordon has set the tempo of the team under Schmidt. And on the wily old fox, there's every chance that, no less than the Lions, the Wallabies weren't of a mind to completely show their hand. This era of forensic video analysis of opponents is compounded by Schmidt having so much familiarity with Farrell, Johnny Sexton and Simon Easterby, and vice versa. For example, Noah Lolesio hardly utilised the peerless aerial skills of Joseph-Aukuso Suaalii, whereas in Brisbane next Saturday week one imagines the latter will be the primary chaser of every restart. There was always a 'Schmidt Factor' when he plotted Leinster or Ireland wins in his hugely influential decade based in Dublin, particularly when he had a good deal of time to prepare. Think back to the historic win over the All Blacks in Chicago in November 2016, a fixture for which he could devise a strategy over the preceding months. Furthermore, his imprint was, of course, all over New Zealand's World Cup quarter-final win over Ireland in the Stade de France. Schmidt has had eight months to plot and plan for this series against the Lions. Ominously, he seemed relatively relaxed and sanguine after Sunday's game. A warm-up match in front of 28,000 in rugby league territory in Newcastle is one thing. A first Test in front of a near 60,000 capacity in Brisbane's Lang Park for a series that comes to Australia once every 12 years is another. It will be different gravy.
Irish Times
11 hours ago
- Irish Times
Owen Doyle: For the good of the Lions tour, referees need to stop ignoring the rules of rugby
When Ronan O'Gara and Will Greenwood are right, and the match officials are wrong, it doesn't say much for the latter. My view is that of course it was a foul blow to the head of Mack Hansen . Waratahs' Fergus Lee-Warner was the guilty party just moments before teammate Darby Lancaster touched down in the corner. Referee Paul Williams and all of his supporting cast reviewed the incident. Their deliberations concluded that it was not dangerous play. The try stood when, clearly, it shouldn't have. It was a poor Lions performance in Sydney. Well, okay, maybe a bit better than that, but not by much. When Tadhg Beirne – strangely out of sorts – dropped a pass in the last minute, it mirrored what had gone on all day. I am referring to all the handling errors. Add that to being skinned at the breakdown and the 'quietly resolved' Joe Schmidt might just be thinking that this is a winnable series. Lions coach Andy Farrell spoke afterwards of the need to get out of the blocks faster and he is so right. Most of all, the performance was lacking intensity, lacking the ferocious physicality which must accompany them into the Test arena. It has to change or Schmidt could well have his day in the sun. The exception was the scrum, where the Lions pummelled the home team. Penalty after penalty was won, with their three tries originating from lineout mauls which followed. But, heck, is that what these Lions are about? Why not show belief, ambition and release the backs? With Sione Tuipulotu and Huw Jones in fine fettle, it bordered on the criminal. READ MORE Ireland impress as the Lions struggle Listen | 26:21 The Tests will be refereed by Ben O'Keeffe, Andrea Piardi and Nika Amashukeli. It is important to know whether or not they'll referee the same way as the New Zealand men have done so far. The game 'down south' (and to a lesser degree up here) sees referees ignoring blatant side entries and sealing off the ball at the tackle-breakdown. To some extent, the Lions joined in, so real clarity is needed here from World Rugby. Frenchman Pierre Brousset will handle the Brumbies match and both teams will want him to produce his A-game, which he certainly didn't in Australia v Fiji. French referee Pierre Brousset during the Champions Cup semi-final between Leinster and Northampton in May. Photograph: Laszlo Geczo/Inpho Against both Queensland and the Waratahs, scrum problems returned. There is a serious inconsistency in whether the referee penalises collapses immediately or resets it; plays on with no advantage, or plays on with advantage. Scrum penalty decisions, often questionable, have far too much influence on results. The lineout shenanigans, outlined here last week , continued. The very first throw of the match was as crooked as the proverbial dog's hind leg and was right in front of Williams. But he allowed play to continue until his TMO tipped him off. Throw-ins directly to the front man were one apiece, neither noticed by any official. Each team had a try correctly ruled out following TMO intervention. On both occasions a lifter inserted himself in front of the catcher as the maul formed – blatant obstruction. It's harder to pick up by the referee at ground level than you might think, but with a little awareness it is very doable. However, it's difficult not to be suspicious that some refs are leaving these decisions, including the throw-ins, to the TMO. So much is going to, or coming from the TMO, that their input is now becoming too close to dominating proceedings. Owen Farrell and that wonderful Lions player of yore, the never-to-be-forgotten Belvederian Tony O'Reilly, have something in common. Both were 33 years of age when they received late call-ups to perform at the high end of the game. O'Reilly's amazing try-scoring exploits still stand as a Lions record: six tries in 10 tests, 38 in all tour matches. Owen Farrell of the British and Irish Lions looks on during last Saturday's match against Waratahs in Sydney. Photograph:He was playing for London Irish when recalled to the Ireland team in 1970, against England at Twickenham, after a seven-year break. Unsurprisingly, it didn't work out. O'Reilly's chauffeur then returned him to his day job of leading the Heinz corporation, with some soft insults ringing in his years. 'Beans means has-beens', and 'you really landed in the soup this time' were as nasty as things got in those days. Farrell stood down from Test rugby after the 2023 Rugby World Cup, departing for Paris to play for Racing 92, on a tip-top financial deal. It was an unfortunate failure, due both to injury and a dip in form. Then, in early May this year, he suffered a concussion against Lyon in the Challenge Cup semi-final. He has not played since. It's impossible to think of any other player with a similar profile who has ever earned a call-up, anywhere. Andy Farrell assures us that his son is fighting fit, but can he really be Lions match-level fit? However this works out, the optics aren't particularly good, but that's not going to bother either Farrell. Publicly, all the Lions players will undoubtedly row in behind the decision of their coach. But privately? A guess suggests that some noses will be out of joint. Maybe he will come on and kick the series-winning points, but that's hardly the issue. It's a strange, completely unexpected rabbit that the coach has pulled out of his hat. If it works out in line with O'Reilly's performance, then Farrell junior can expect the slings and arrows of vile, detestable social media. Very different from amusing tinned-food reprimands. It would be a sorry way to finish a stellar international career. We can but wait and see, and hope.
Irish Examiner
13 hours ago
- Irish Examiner
Brumbies clash puts Lions Test contenders under selection microscope
Time and matches are running out for the 38 players in Andy Farrell's British & Irish Lions squad to prove to their boss they have what it takes to make the team to face Australia in 11 days. The 15 selected on Monday on arrival in the nation's capital to face the Brumbies on Wednesday night must be considered the favourites to start that first of three Tests against the Wallabies given this match's proximity to the series opener and the stern test the hosts possess as the leading Super Rugby franchise on these shores. This Saturday's meeting with the Australian/New Zealand invitation XV in Adelaide will provide a final opportunity to break through into the Test matchday 23 seven days later but the onus is on Wednesday night's squad to remove any doubt from Farrell's mind that they belong in the Test team. That means turning 50-50 decisions into more favourable odds and the Lions head coach knows exactly what he is looking for. 'You want to see them stay in every single moment of the game,' Farrell explained, 'and I know that sounds harsh and almost impossible to do but they understand 100% now, and have done for a week or so, what is expected of them to be the best team-mate that they can possibly be. 'So, that's what we're judging them on, the expectation of that and what it takes to be the best version of themselves but also what it takes to be part of this team and they understand that because ultimately that's what is going to make us successful or not.' There is a sense that some players named on Monday to face the Brumbies have already had their names inked in for the Brisbane opener, not least captain Maro Itoje who partners Joe McCarthy, one of eight Irishmen in this putative Test team, in the second row. The front row of Ellis Genge and Irish duo Dan Sheehan and Tadhg Furlong have emerged as the most settled and yet dynamic and aggressive trio while the half-back pairing of Jamison Gibson-Park and Finn Russell has seemed nailed on to start against Joe Schmidt's side at Suncorp Stadium since they started together for the first time just a fortnight ago in the same venue against the Queensland Reds. There appears to be still some convincing to do for this Lions back row of Ollie Chessum, Tom Curry, and Jack Conan as Farrell continues his quest for the right balance for attacking the breakdown while also ensuring the lineout clicks with an extra jumper at the set-piece while in midfield the Lions will air their fifth different partnership in as many matches when the all-Irish pairing of Bundee Aki and Garry Ringrose gets the chance to outdo the displays and clear synchronicity put on by Scotland duo Sione Tuipulotu and Huw Jones last time out against the Waratahs. Farrell wants a headache by the time he gets to Brisbane, that much is clear, but even better would be for his starting XV to emerge with shining clarity over these next two games. 'Guys will know all along… selection, there's a feel. It's not just 100 per cent, 'he's the best player and he has to'… it's combinations and it's how he makes the team tick and the team feel etc, there's a lot of different stuff that has to come together in regards to what makes a team play well. 'At the same time if you're talking about the individuals then if there's a 50-50 that has to be made, we'll make it. It might come down to something that they don't agree with but I always think that selection, if you make it a 60-40 or a 70-30 in your favour then that says it all really.' BRUMBIES: A Muirhead; B O'Donnell, O Sapsford, D Feliuai, C Toole; D Meredith, R Lonergan – captain; L Ieli, L Lonergan, R van Nek; L Shaw, C Neville; T Hooper, R Scott, T Taii Tualima. Replacements: L Bowron, C Orr, F Fotuaika, L Hooper, L Reimer, H Goddard, J Debreczini, H Creighton. BRITISH & IRISH LIONS: B Kinghorn; T Freeman, G Ringrose, B Aki, J Lowe; F Russell, J Gibson-Park; E Genge, D Sheehan, T Furlong; M Itoje – captain, J McCarthy; O Chessum, T Curry, J Conan. Replacements: R Kelleher, A Porter, W Stuart, J van der Flier, H Pollock, A Mitchell, M Smith, M Hansen.
