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Irish Daily Mirror
a day ago
- Sport
- Irish Daily Mirror
Time and TV channel for the Lions v Australia first test today
It's time for the serious action for the British and Irish Lions as they take on Australia in the first of three tests. Andy Farrell's squad have won all five games in the build-up to the opener against Joe Schmidt's side following their 48-0 victory over an AUNZ Invitational XV in Adelaide last weekend. It's the first time the sides have met since 2013 with three test matches in store. The Lions will be hoping they can pick up another series win against an Australia side starting to get some form back. After a disappointing 2024 Rugby Championship they bounced backed with impressive autumn victories over England and Wales before ending their European campaign with defeats by Scotland and Ireland. It's all set up for an intriguing first meeting between the teams. Here is how you can watch the game: Where is the game on? Australia v British & Irish Lions will take place on Saturday 19th July, at the Suncorp Stadium in Brisbane. What time is kick-off? The match kicks off at 11am Irish time on Saturday You can watch the game live on Sky Sports Main Event and Action from 10am. Is there a live stream? Sky Sports customers can live stream the game via the Sky Go app on a variety of devices. Now TV are streaming the game. Betting odds Australia 4/1 British and Irish Lions 1/6 Draw 22/1 Referee Referee: Ben O'Keeffe(New Zealand) Team News British and Irish Lions: Keenan; Freeman, Jones, Tuipulotu, Lowe; Russell, Gibson-Park; Genge, Sheehan, Furlong; Itoje (c), McCarthy; Beirne, Curry, Conan Replacements: Kelleher, Porter, Stuart, Chessum, Earl, Mitchell, M Smith, Aki Australia: Wright; Jorgensen, Suaalii, Ikitau, Potter; Lynagh, Gordon; Alaalatoa, Faessler, Slipper; Frost, Williams; Champion de Crespigny, McReight, Wilson (c) Replacements: Pollard, Bell, Robertson, Hooper, Tizzano, McDermott, Donaldson, Kellaway
TimesLIVE
08-07-2025
- Sport
- TimesLIVE
Le Roux gets Bok 100 against Italy as Erasmus names three uncapped players
Willie le Roux will become the eighth Springbok centurion in Saturday's second Test against Italy at Nelson Mandela Bay Stadium in Gqeberha in a new-look team that will be led by Salmaan Moerat and includes three uncapped players on the bench. The players in Springbok coach Rassie Erasmus' team in line to make their Test debuts are prop Asenathi Ntlabakanye, who featured in their 54-7 victory against the Barbarians two weekends ago; utility forward Cobus Wiese, the brother of No 8 Jasper; and utility back Ethan Hooker. The three have all been in fantastic form for their respective franchises this year. With Siya Kolisi being managed as he recovers from a niggle, Moerat will lead the team, which feature seven players from the side that defeated Italy 42-24 in Pretoria on Saturday. Moerat last captained the Boks in their 2024 Rugby Championship match against the Pumas in Argentina. The five starting players who will face the Azzurri for the second week in a row are Le Roux, Wilco Louw, Malcolm Marx, Marco van Staden, Jasper Wiese. Ox Nché and Jan-Hendrik Wessels will make an impact off the replacements bench. Erasmus named an exciting new backline with Edwill van der Merwe and Eastern Cape local Makazole Mapimpi linking up with Le Roux in the back three. André Esterhuizen will partner Canan Moodie in the midfield and Manie Libbok joins forces with Grant Williams at halfback. Up front, Jasper Wiese and Van Staden form a loose trio combination with Pieter-Steph du Toit, while Ruan Nortje and Moerat will command the engine room and Thomas du Toit will pack down with Louw and Marx in the front row. Erasmus named five forwards and three backs on the bench, with Wessels joining fellow front-rowers Nché and Ntlabakanye, along with the versatile Cobus Wiese and Evan Roos. Cobus Reinach, Sacha Feinberg-Mngomezulu and Hooker will provide backline cover. Du Toit, Nortje, Williams, Mapimpi and Roos make returns from injuries that ruled them out of action at some stage since last season. Commenting on Le Roux earning his 100th Test cap, Erasmus said: 'Willie has been a stalwart for us in the last few years after making his debut against Italy in Durban in 2013 and he's a fantastic playmaker, so we are thrilled to see him achieve this incredible feat. 'Only seven players in Springbok history have played 100 Tests before him, and to reach this milestone is testament to the player and team man Willie is. 'Having come a long way with him during his career, I have no doubt he'll put the team before his own achievements this weekend and as a team we would certainly like to make it a special and memorable occasion for him.' Erasmus said 'from the outset that we would rotate the team as we have a large and very talented squad, and all but three of the players have played Test rugby before'. 'What makes this squad particularly exciting is that many of them have done the job for us before on the biggest stage, while Edwill has been knocking hard on the door since making his debut last season. Other players such as Asenathi, Cobus and Ethan have made a fantastic impression on us both at their franchises and at training and they certainly deserve this opportunity.' The Wiese brothers will become the 37th set of brothers to play for the Springboks. The last pair were Jaden and Jordan Hendrikse. The match kicks off at 5.10pm. Springbok XV: 15 Willie le Roux (Bulls) — 99 caps, 75 pts (15t) 14 Edwill van der Merwe (Sharks) — 1 cap, 5 pts (1t) 13 Canan Moodie (Bulls) — 12 caps, 25 pts (5t) 12 André Esterhuizen (Sharks) — 19 caps, 0 pts 11 Makazole Mapimpi (Sharks) — 46 caps, 160 points (32t) 10 Manie Libbok (Stormers) — 19 caps, 98 pts (1t, 30c, 11p) 9 Grant Williams (Sharks) — 17 caps, 20 pts (4t) 8 Jasper Wiese (Urayasu D-Rocks) — 35 caps, 10 pts (2t) 7 Pieter-Steph du Toit (Toyota Verblitz) — 86 caps, 60 pts (8t) 6 Marco van Staden (Bulls) — 26 caps, 20 pts (4t) 5 Ruan Nortje (Bulls) — 6 caps, 0 pts 4 Salmaan Moerat (captain, Stormers) — 10 caps, 0 pts 3 Wilco Louw (Bulls) — 17 caps, 0 pts 2 Malcolm Marx (Kubota Spears) — 77 caps, 110 pts (22t) 1 Thomas du Toit (Bath) — 23 caps, 5 pts (1t) Replacements: 16 Jan-Hendrik Wessels (Bulls) — 4 caps, 5 pts (1t) 17 Ox Nche (Sharks) — 40 caps, 0 pts 18 Asenathi Ntlabakanye (Lions) — uncapped 19 Cobus Wiese (Bulls) — uncapped 20 Evan Roos (Stormers) — 7 caps, 0 pts 21 Cobus Reinach (Stormers) — 39 caps, 70 pts (14t) 22 Sacha Feinberg-Mngomezulu (Stormers) — 8 caps, 52 points (14c, 8p) 23 Ethan Hooker (Sharks) — uncapped
BBC News
30-01-2025
- Sport
- BBC News
Australia 'back on the tracks' for Lions series
Australian rugby is "back on the tracks" before the visit of the British and Irish Lions in the summer, says Wallaby captain Harry sport down under has endured a turbulent period on and off the field, but Australia ended last year with an encouraging European tour, including a famous win over he prepares for the start of the Super Rugby season with Queensland Reds, number eight Wilson says the feel-good factor is returning."There is a lot of confidence back in the game and I think the rugby public back home can see we are heading in the right direction," he told BBC Sport."After 2023 when rugby in Australia wasn't in the best space, I feel as if last year we got it back on the tracks and heading in the right direction."Wilson is in the UK on a pre-season tour with the Reds, with games against Bristol on Friday and Ulster next says everyone involved in the Australian set-up will be keeping a close eye on the Six Nations given the proximity of the Lions tour."I can't wait to watch it - I love watching my rugby," he added. "Knowing that we could be facing the best players from it in six months is definitely something we will all keep an eye on. It is an awesome competition to watch, too."After a dismal 2024 Rugby Championship which brought a solitary win from six matches, Joe Schimdt's side pulled off a famous heist against England at Allianz Stadium in November, a result which has given the group confidence."That was obviously massive for us," he added. "We had a tough Rugby Championship, but felt we actually played some pretty good footy in most of those games. In rugby you need an 80-minute performance, but we didn't do that at all."That England game was really special for us. It definitely gave us that belief."We have such an opportunity this year in Super Rugby and in the Wallaby jersey to keep improving, and with the Lions tour just around the corner it is only going to make people want to play even better in Super Rugby and put themselves in the position to play [against the Lions]."
