Wrexham's Hollywood owners absent as they start tour Down Under with victory
The Welsh side will be playing three games during the tour, but co-owners Ryan Reynolds and Rob McElhenney did not travel with the team.
After recent pre-season tours to the United States, Wrexham have travelled Down Under to spread the club's global footprint which has been enhanced by the popular Welcome to Wrexham fly-on-the-wall TV documentary.
Midfielder Tom O'Connor opened the scoring for Wrexham in the 42nd minute, with Ryan Hardie and George Evans adding goals in the second half.
Scottish striker Hardie, signed from Plymouth Argyle for the Red Dragons' long-awaited return to English football's second tier, was in place to poke home from close range after being introduced as a substitute at halftime.
Evans ended the scoring when his long-range shot squeezed under Victory substitute goalkeeper Daniel Graskoski.
The Wrexham squad are using the visit to prepare for a first season in 43 years in the Championship (the second tier), having just secured a third straight promotion.
The major reason for making the 16,000-kilometre (10,000-mile) trip to Australia is McElhenney, who recently changed his name to Rob Mac.
He previously said that Australia is the third-biggest audience for the Welcome to Wrexham series after the United States and Britain.
'We're not here on a holiday,' Wrexham captain James McClean, who played 103 times for Ireland, said after the team arrived.
'It's great to come and see new things, new experiences but we're here to work, we're here to prepare for the new season. It's going to be the toughest challenge yet, by far.'
Wrexham plays again next Tuesday against Sydney FC in Sydney and on 19 July against the Wellington Phoenix in the New Zealand capital.
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Telegraph
19 minutes ago
- Telegraph
Bullish Henry Pollock taunts Australia: The Lions can win 3-0
Henry Pollock has said the British and Irish Lions are targeting a series whitewash over Australia as head coach Andy Farrell begins the process of weighing up Test selection. The Lions have never managed to pull off a clean sweep in a Test series in the post-War era, although they have twice emerged unbeaten in 1971 and 1974. Despite losing to 28-24 to Argentina in Dublin, the Lions have made no secret of their desire to etch their names into the history books. 'There's a big thing that we've been speaking about, about being one of the best Lions teams ever,' back-rower Ben Earl said last week. England flanker Pollock, who rounded off the tries in a 48-0 win against an AUNZ Invitational team in the Lions' final warm-up game on Saturday, went a step further stating they want to come away with a 3-0 series triumph. 'Yeah, 100 per cent,' Pollock said. 'We want to come here and be the best Lions team ever. We've been talking about that loads and yeah, 3-0 is definitely on the table, hopefully. 'I guess we're all just trying to work towards the same thing. So whether you're playing or you're not playing, we're all just trying to strive to be the best team we can be and get that 3-0 win. So if that's playing or not playing, then I'll adjust and be the best team-mate I can be.' The Lions travelled from Adelaide to Brisbane on Sunday as Farrell and his coaching staff reviewed the footage of the eight-try win against an underwhelming AUNZ team. Having already called up Jamie George late on Saturday night following hooker Luke Cowan-Dickie's concussion, Farrell sent for further front-row reinforcements in the form of tighthead prop Tom Clarkson. That brings the total Leinster contingent in the squad to 14, level with the number of England players, although Clarkson is expected to provide cover for the midweek match against a First Nations and Pasifika XV in Melbourne between the first and second Tests on July 22. 'Everyone's hungry – everyone wants that Test spot' The back row combination looks like being one of the most fiercely contested areas of selection with Pollock, Earl, Jac Morgan, Tom Curry and Josh van der Flier all seemingly competing for one space at openside. Coming into this tour as the youngest player with barely half an hour of Test rugby experience, Pollock is relishing the level of competition. 'I think everyone's hungry,' Pollock said. 'That's why it's such an amazing environment to be part of. Everyone wants that Test spot and whether you get it or not, you've just got to react positively to that and be the best team that you can be. We're looking forward to the next couple of days and that week as well to get the full training weekend and we're ripping to Saturday. 'There's world-class players here and if you're not learning, then you're in the wrong place. You try and learn as much as you can each day. I can vouch for all the boys that were loving it. The back row has been really good as well. I'm learning from Josh [van der Flier, Jac [Morgan], Ben [Earl]. They've been amazing. As I said, as a group, we're really close and we're just all striving for the same thing and it's a special environment.' The Lions will train on Monday and have their main performance session on Wednesday before Farrell unveils his team on Thursday to face the Wallabies at the Suncorp Stadium in the first Test on Saturday. The players now face a nervous wait before the team is announced internally with even a Farrell favourite such as Tadhg Beirne, who has twice captained the side, given no special treatment. 'It would be great if you just announced it in the morning,' Beirne said. 'But this is all part of it isn't it, you just have to get on with it. It's a little bit out of our control at this point, everyone's put their best foot forward and it's up to Andy and the coaching staff now to select what they believe is the best 23 to do a job. Everyone's going to be anxious and want to be in that 23 but if you're not it's about how you react to that then, it's about preparing those 23 because we're all here to put one goal in mind. If you're not in that 23 it's just as important to prepare the team as best you can so they're ready to go come the Test game.' George: I would swim to Australia if I had to
BreakingNews.ie
24 minutes ago
- BreakingNews.ie
Sunday sport: Meath to take on Donegal in second SFC semi-final
GAA Meath and Ulster champions Donegal will fight it out for a place in the All-Ireland Senior Football final this afternoon. Jim McGuinness' Donegal haven't been to the decider in 11 years, while the Royals are aiming to get to the final for the first time since 2001. Advertisement Both teams are unchanged from their wins in the quarter-finals, with Donegal boosted by the return of defender Caolan McGonagle to their bench. Meath boss Robbie Brennan has made one positional change for the game, with Matthew Costello moving to full-forward and Keith Curtis to the half-forward line. Kerry await the winners in the All-Ireland final, and there's a 4pm throw-in time at Croke Park. There are also a pair of semi-finals in the All-Ireland Intermediate Ladies Football Championship. Advertisement Monaghan and Laois meet at Pearse Park, and Carrick-on-Shannon is the venue for the clash of Tyrone and Leinster champions Westmeath. Both last-four ties get underway at 2pm. Tennis Carlos Alcaraz could become just the fifth man in history to be crowned Wimbledon champion three years running this afternoon. He's taking on world number one Jannik Sinner on Centre Court - a month after beating him 3-2 in a French Open epic to win the title at Roland Garros. Advertisement Sinner is hoping to win his first title at Wimbledon, having won all his previous Grand Slams on hard courts. Golf Rory McIlroy is in pole position to win golf's Scottish Open, sharing the lead going into the final round. The world number two will resume on 11-under par for the tournament, along with American Chris Gotterup, at the Renaissance Club. US Senior Open champion Padraig Harrington is one-over-par into the final day, as he fine-tunes his preparations for The Open. Leona Maguire is nine-under-par after 11 holes of her final round at the Evian Championship in France - and three shots off the lead. Soccer Chelsea manager Enzo Maresca says he has "maximum respect" for Paris Saint-Germain - but his team is ready to beat them to become world champions. The sides meet in the Club World Cup final at MetLife Stadium in New Jersey tonight.
The Independent
26 minutes ago
- The Independent
Lions have set sights on whitewashing Wallabies
Henry Pollock has revealed the British and Irish Lions have set their sights on whitewashing the Wallabies as they target an unbeaten tour of Australia. The Lions enter the first Test bolstered by an eight-try demolition of an AUNZ Invitational XV, with Andy Farrell scheduled to name his team for the Brisbane opener on Thursday. Farrell's tourists are strong favourites to win the series and Pollock, who is competing for a place on the bench at Suncorp Stadium, insisted they were aiming for greatness. 'We want to come here and be the best Lions team ever. We've been talking about that loads and 3-0 is definitely on the table,' Pollock said. 'Whether you're playing or not playing in the Tests, we're all just trying to strive to be the best team we can and get that 3-0 win. If that's playing or not playing, then I'll adjust and be the best team-mate I can be.' Pollock – at 20-years-old, the youngest player in the squad – has been rooming with a veteran of four Lions expeditions in Owen Farrell, who made his first appearance of the tour off the bench against AUNZ. The England back row was just eight when Farrell's odyssey with the elite of British and Irish rugby began in Australia 12 years ago and he has been mining the veteran playmaker for advice. 'It was good to get chatting to him, learning from him. He's an amazing player and an amazing person as well,' Pollock said. 'We've had a few conversations. He's got kids, so we talk about his kids, but I'm sitting there going 'I'm still 20'! 'He's been great and I'm learning so much from him. He's so experienced in this game and in this kind of environment. 'It's still quite cool but at the same time, in this environment, we're all striving for the same thing. 'We want to come here and dominate as a team and he's been amazing since he's come in. He's been on top of everything. 'To be able to bring him off the bench and have his experience and his words has been amazing. You can definitely see what he brings on the pitch.' The Lions have come through a bruising schedule of four matches in 11 days and while they remain unbeaten since arriving in Australia, the injury count is growing with Tomos Williams and Elliot Daly forced home, Garry Ringrose and Luke Cowan-Dickie ruled out of the first Test and Blair Kinghorn a major doubt for the opener. Now the schedule settles down to whole weeks spent in the Test host cities Brisbane, Melbourne and Sydney, enabling the squad to train properly for the first time in a fortnight. 'You have to be mentally strong as well as physically strong. Your body is the reason you get picked and you have to stay fit,' said Pollock, who withdrew from the side that faced the New South Wales Waratahs because of a calf injury. 'With these short turnarounds, you learn a lot about what you can do and what you can't do in terms of gym, running and extras and making sure that on the pitch you're 100 per cent where you want to be. 'You're just trying to get as fit as you can for these games. With the short turnaround, it's just always trying to be available for the coaches and saying 'I'm fit, I'm fit'. It's something different and I've loved the experience.'
