‘Selfless' Garry Ringrose praised after concussion withdrawal
On the bench Owen Farrell is poised to make his first international appearance since helping England finish third at the 2023 World Cup and he is joined by Jac Morgan, the only Welshman in the touring party.
The starting XV is made up of nine players from Ireland – seven of whom represent Leinster – four Englishmen and two from Scotland.
The Ireland and Leinster contingent would have increased by one had Ringrose not told head coach Andy Farrell shortly before he was due to officially announce the team that his concussion symptoms had returned.
An injury that initially surfaced after July 9's win over the ACT Brumbies forced him to sit out the first Test but having made a successful comeback against the First Nations and Pasifika XV on Tuesday, he was poised to replace Huw Jones at outside centre.
Instead, he will be watching from the stands with Jones continuing in midfield for the Lions' shot at completing a series victory at Melbourne Cricket Ground.
'Garry was actually selected and unfortunately after training he's had to pull out,' Andy Farrell said.
'It's head-related again. It was literally as I was walking off the field. He came to me and once that's mentioned, that's that.
'With these type of things players are getting very good at telling the truth of how they feel, so it was a no-brainer to make the change straight away.
'It's very easy to keep it to yourself and lie and not be honest and open. It was very big of him and the right thing to do, 100 per cent. For the team as well, not just for Garry.'
Ready for Saturday night at the G! 🦁#Lions2025
— British & Irish Lions (@lionsofficial) July 24, 2025
Lions captain Maro Itoje echoed the view of his head coach.
'I'm gutted for him that he's in this position but it also shows the measure of the man to be so selfless,' Itoje said.
'All we ask of all of us is to be selfless and put the team first. When push comes to shove, you see who really does it. Garry is a man who really did it.'
Had Ringrose been fit, he would have formed an all-Ireland partnership with Aki at the expense of Sione Tuipulotu and Jones, the Scotland combination who impressed in the series opener at Suncorp Stadium.
Tuipulotu is struggling with a tight hamstring but the indications are that he would have been dropped even without the injury.
Joe McCarthy has failed to recover from his foot problem so Chessum slots into the second row, while loosehead prop Porter is preferred ahead of Ellis Genge in the front row.
James Lowe is lucky to retain his place on the left wing after a poor display in the first Test, but with Blair Kinghorn present on the bench after overcoming a knee problem Andy Farrell has a high-quality alternative ready.
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BBC News
18 minutes ago
- BBC News
'We're not underdogs' - England seek redemption against Spain
England will be seeking redemption in Sunday's Euro 2025 final when they take on Spain in a repeat of the World Cup final two years Wiegman's side are in their third successive major final after winning Euro 2022 before Spain beat them to become world champions in is the first time Spain's women - who were knocked out in the quarter-finals in 2022 by England - have reached a European Championship captain Leah Williamson says they are aware of "what it means to the nation" and they will do everything they can to bring home the Lionesses are hoping to become the first team in the history of English football to win a major trophy on foreign soil when they line up in the final in Basel, Switzerland at 17:00 BST."The opportunity [on Sunday] and what's on offer is the best thing in football," said Williamson. "We wanted to be here until the end and have a chance to win the trophy. We don't carry the weight of it - but we're aware of it because it means the same to us. "We recognise the opportunity and we'll do everything we can to do it." Redemption for World Cup final defeat? Williamson was not part of England's defeat by Spain in the World Cup final because of an anterior cruciate ligament said it was an "awful" experience to watch the final and not being able to help."I know how tired you are when you get to that stage, and how much a tournament takes out of you - and to be completely useless, that probably bothered me the most," she added."But that feels like a really long time ago, which is probably a benefit to the whole squad. "Anybody would give anything to be a part of their team when they're going through moments like that. It was tough."It will be just the second time the same teams have met in back-to-back Women's World Cup or European Championship finals, after Germany faced Sweden in 2001 and have faced each other three times previously at the Euros, with England winning the last two meetings in 2017 and two nations also met in this year's Women's Nations League - England won 1-0 at Wembley in February before Spain beat them 2-1 in Barcelona in June."We've played each other a lot over the last couple of years. You always have learnings. They will have learned from us," said Wiegman. "Sunday is a new situation so hopefully we can exploit some of the weaknesses they have too. I just know that going into a final is already very, very special." Are England the underdogs? Spain have won each of their last 10 matches in all competitions, scoring 38 goals. They last enjoyed a longer winning run between March 2020 and November 2021, when they won 16 games world champions are the highest-ranked side in the competition and have not lost a game at Euro are ranked fifth in the world and lost their opening group game against needed a penalty shootout to overcome Sweden in the quarter-finals and scored a last-minute goal in extra time to beat Italy in the Williamson - who hopes to captain an England side to back-to-back European titles for the first time in their history - says there is no underdog, despite Spain being many people's pre-tournament favourites."We play a game against the world champions who continue to prove themselves over and over in the way they play," said Williamson. "They are fantastic footballing team and they are the best at what they do and we're very much aware of that. We think we're pretty good in areas as well. "We need to be at our best to beat Spain. I think they need to be at their best to beat us too. There is a lot of respect between the two teams. "I would be hesitant to say there's an underdog in this scenario. It's not an easy job. We will prepare ourselves as best we can for that challenge." Can undefeated Spain create history? Spain arrived in Switzerland as the pre-tournament favourites, with Opta predicting they had a 25% chance of winning the title."We don't like the idea of being favourites. We know what it takes to be here, what we suffered, we have to be focused," Spain captain Irene Paredes La Roja underlined their credentials as favourites further by storming past Portugal, Belgium and Italy by an aggregate score of saw off a spirited Switzerland side in the quarter-finals before moving past Germany thanks to an extra-time winner as they beat the eight-time European champions for the first time in their history."During the whole tournament we have been writing history," said Spain boss Montse Tome."Getting to semis and the final for the first time, beating Germany for the first time. We have been accomplishing objectives and that's the reason we're here."Spain could become the first European nation to lift the World Cup and the Euros at back-to-back tournaments since Germany won five in a row between 2001 and 2009."We are a team who don't see this game as a pressure but as an opportunity to continue writing history, do something big and to let people enjoy," Paredes only is it a chance for Spain to continue writing history, but winning would allow the players to celebrate properly - without the cloud of controversy that followed their World Cup win hanging over the group. Who are the key players to watch? Lauren James was a doubt this week after coming off at half-time in England's semi-final win against Italy with an ankle she was in full training on Saturday and Wiegman said all 23 players "came through" the Chelsea forward has scored two goals at the tournament and was a standout performer in the group winger Chloe Kelly has a goal and an assist in five substitute appearances, while teenager Michelle Agyemang has netted two goals when coming off the bench on three occasions. After being discharged from hospital just days before the Euros started after suffering from viral meningitis, Aitana Bonmati had to be patient to make her mark. But the Barcelona midfielder turned up when it mattered, scoring an extra-time winner against Germany to send Spain to their first Euro Barca midfielder Alexia Putellas, meanwhile, has been in top form since the beginning - scoring three goals and assisting another four, while she has also created more chances (18) than any other from Spain's pair of two-time Ballon d'Or winners, striker Esther Gonzalez is the tournament's top scorer with four goals in five games. What individual awards are up for grabs? Gonzalez is also hoping to win the Golden Boot as the tournament's top-scorer, with her biggest challenger her team-mate Putellas just a goal England player has netted more than two goals in the will also be competition for the Golden Ball, with several Spain players impressing including Putellas - while England's Lucy Bronze and Hannah Hampton have been standout Golden Glove for the most clean sheets is tied between Spain goalkeeper Cata Coll and Sweden's Jennifer have kept three clean sheets as a team but Adriana Nanclares started the 5-0 win over Portugal in the group stages so Coll will need to keep out England if she is to win the award England's Agyemang is one of the favourites to win the young player of the tournament award, with Spain's Vicky Lopez, Switzerland's Iman Beney and Norway's Signe Gaupset her main competition.
Times
18 minutes ago
- Times
Much to our surprise, Lions' win was one of greatest Tests of all time
The official attendance here at the MCG was 90,307 and it was fitting that it should have been a record crowd. Yet actually it was a shame the other 9,717 seats were empty because you just want everyone in the world to get to experience a game like this. You never know when it's coming. You certainly wouldn't have known after the first Test the week before. You might reasonably have thought this was something of a humdrum Lions tour. But then, there we were in this magnificent iconic venue and suddenly, bang, there ignited one of the greatest matches of all. Maybe it was something to do with the MCG. Maybe it was the fury of the downtrodden Wallabies because they flew out of the blocks with a venom and passion that was magnificent. And maybe it took the Lions to play like pussy cats for the first half hour — because the thrill was the thrill of the chase. 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The Lions, here, just were desperately searching for the opportunity to assert some dominance and quality and yet they were simultaneously charging around, putting out Wallaby fires: Jack Conan: 24 tackles, Maro Itoje 20, Tom Curry 15 in just 55 minutes, the 15th of those being the one on Suaalii that stopped a fourth Australia try that would have made the deficit surely too much to chase. In that 1999 semi, France just flew past the All Blacks who couldn't believe what was happening. The Lions, here, had to scrap for every inch and, with the seconds ticking, were like a boxer still needing a final-round knock-out. Thus we had the knife-edge finish, the Lions somehow keeping their heads when the entire crowd were losing theirs, Finn Russell marshalling the team with an extraordinarily calm intelligence until finally the defence was dragged far enough one way for Hugo Keenan to find the smallest chink of light the other. Cue vast explosions of joy. 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But Itoje struggled to contain his grin because the press conference room was right next to the Lions' changing room from where his team-mates were blasting out their bespoke version of 'Rockin' All Over the World' with lyrics rewritten by Fin Smith and 'Biz Faz' and 'Captain Maro' references peppered through the choruses. Farrell and Itoje were followed into the press room by Joe Schmidt, the Wallabies coach, and his captain Harry Wilson and you had to feel for them because as they attempted to deal with the inquest and as Wilson attempted to choke back his tears, the riotous chorus next door moved through the Lions' playlist, from Sweet Caroline to Robbie Williams to The Pogues. The contrast, of course, was vast: two teams at polar opposite ends of the emotional spectrum but separated only by a controversial refereeing decision in the last seconds of the match. Yet this was a game where one team so badly needed the other. The Wallabies needed the Lions to trigger a performance which earned them the respect that they had been denied. The Lions needed that huge Wallabies performance to give their achievements the credibility that they have been seeking. No one can say now that this was not a proper victory earned by properly tested Lions. Together, then, they contrived to produce one of the greatest rugby contests, so special, you wish the whole world could have been here to share it.
South Wales Guardian
42 minutes ago
- South Wales Guardian
Leah Williamson hopes England show they are no ‘flash in the pan' in Euros final
The Lionesses forever transformed women's football in England when they lifted their first major trophy at their home European Championship in 2022, and now hope to become the nation's first senior football side to win one away from home. Williamson is adamant everyone in camp is 'connected to what it means', but insisted the Lionesses remain unburdened by the weight of the nation's hopes. One day to go! 😤 — Lionesses (@Lionesses) July 26, 2025 'The landscape keeps changing and we're trying to change with it,' said Williamson, when asked what she hoped their legacy would be after this tournament. 'I think that's a really hard thing to do and I think that proves the investment and the quality of the game in England is continuing to rise. 'You don't just want to be sort of a flash in the pan, like a memory and I think that when we spoke before 2022, we said it was the start of something. 'And I think we're still trying to play our role in that as well. So being here and being on this stage, we know how powerful that is and I hope that just continues to grow. 'The respect for the women's game, the respect for women and women's sport in general continues, and we can try our best to continue to elevate that.' Williamson disagreed with England being branded as underdogs to Spain, who beat them in the 2023 World Cup final – England's first – and have played a flawless campaign so far. The Lionesses, in contrast, suffered an opening defeat to France and required back-to-back late comebacks in the knockouts. Sarina Wiegman's side, who beat Italy on Tuesday night, are coming into the contest with an statistically-favourable extra day's rest and hope to have a full squad at their disposal after Lauren James trained on Saturday morning. Williamson admitted she would never take England's Wembley triumph three summers ago for granted. But, she said: 'I think the beautiful thing about 2022 was that I'm not sure if any of us will ever be part of anything like that again, in terms of the change, in terms of the story, the journey, everything, but being away from home is special in a different way. 'You go out, you represent your country somewhere else and I think the weight of that is important to consider, because it sometimes adds a little extra.' England, Williamson insisted, were staying measured, even under considerable pressure to make more history. 'I think we're very connected to what it means to the nation,' Williamson added. 'In that sense, we are connected as we can be, being away from home. Basel, here we come 👋 #WEURO2025 final time. ⏱ — Lionesses (@Lionesses) July 26, 2025 'I think the opportunity of tomorrow and what is on offer is the best thing in football. We came to the tournament, we wanted to be here, we wanted to be in it until the end and have a chance to fight for that trophy. 'You can't do that until you get in the final. I think we don't necessarily carry the weight of it, how much it means to people, but we're aware of it because it means the same to us. 'You have a squad of excited, focused players. We recognise the opportunity and we will do everything we can to take it.'
