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The Star
6 days ago
- Sport
- The Star
Rugby-All-conquering England women embracing their 'aura'
Rugby Union - 2025 Women's Rugby World Cup - England Squad Announcement - Allianz Stadium, Twickenham, London, Britain - July 24, 2025 The newly announced England players pose for a team group photo Action Images via Reuters/Andrew Boyers LONDON (Reuters) -England women's coach John Mitchell says his team will be driven by their own, internal standards rather than outside expectations as they enter their home Rugby World Cup on a remarkable run of form that has made them odds-on favourites. Since 2019 England have won an incredible 55 of their 56 games, but the one defeat still burns as it came in the last World Cup in 2022 when New Zealand snatched a late lineout, and with it victory, on home soil. Since then the Red Roses have had several wins over the Black Ferns, as well as routinely brushing aside all-comers in Europe, but anything but victory in the September 27 final at Twickenham will render their latest 25-game winning streak another footnote of frustration. Mitchell, the vastly-experienced New Zealander who took over in 2023, insists, however, that "external noise" will have no impact on the squad he named on Thursday. "In my time with the Red Roses we have set a standard and it's a standard they look to remain consistent with, something that they're attracted to," he told reporters at Twickenham. "We are looking at the ability to be successful with opportunity and stay away from the risk of failure and talking about those sorts of things. We're a different team from 2022 and now we've got an opportunity to earn the right and finish something that we started." Mitchell said the experience and positional cover in the squad is deeper than ever before, which is likely to be vital with the usual collection of injuries, concussions and suspensions a modern World Cup tends to throw up. "I think that depth is going to allow us to deal with the challenges but I think the stuff that drives us the most is our competition within," he said. "Some people tend to frame "pressure" as a negative word whereas I see this as an opportunity to be successful. "Some of the wins we've had in this cycle have been really tough as well, so there's enough belief and there's been enough feedback of where our game needs to improve. "Our focus is only on our first match against the U.S. and the girls are living those values. There's a nice look in their eyes at the moment as well." Zoe Aldcroft, appointed as captain this year, is desperate to put the ghosts of 2022 behind her having gone off injured 27 minutes into the final and has also embraced England's dominant position in the sport. "We have built this expectation around us and I think that's a massive privilege that we've worked hard to hold that aura around us," she said. "As we go into the tournament, we've got such a strong bubble that we kind of want to keep it in with us. "We know in our circle that we're doing our absolute best to try to push and as long as we've got each other's backs in that circle, I think that's going to be the most important thing." Another player ready to unleash herself in the tournament is back rower Abi Burton, a double Olympian in Sevens but whose career appeared over when she spent more than 10 weeks in hospital with an auto-immune disease in 2022, including 28 days in a coma, having initially been sectioned after being wrongly diagnosed as psychotic. "I knew in my heart that I would get here at some point, though I didn't know how long it would take me to be able to break in, especially after my illness," said Burton, who made her England XVs debut in this year's Six Nations and goes into the World Cup with two caps to her name. "Mum and dad are super proud but they don't base their pride on how I do at rugby. They're more proud that I finished university after my illness. They're just happy that I'm alive and I'm functioning well and I can live on my own." (Reporting by Mitch Phillips, editing by Pritha Sarkar)
The Star
23-07-2025
- Sport
- The Star
Rugby-Schmidt, Farrell mull options with Lions series on the line
FILE PHOTO: Rugby Union - Autumn Internationals - England v Australia - Allianz Stadium Twickenham, London, Britain - November 9, 2024 Australia head coach Joe Schmidt before the match Action Images via Reuters/Andrew Boyers/File Photo MELBOURNE (Reuters) -Joe Schmidt will unveil his team for the second test against the British & Irish Lions in Melbourne on Thursday, a lineup that could go a long way to defining his time as coach of Australia. Australia must find a response to the physical dominance the tourists exerted in the opening hour of the first test defeat in Brisbane or risk becoming the first Wallabies team to fail to take a Lions series to a decider. Rob Valetini, Australia's best test player of the last two years, has recovered from a calf injury and will take his place in the back row at the expense of rookie Nick Champion de Crespigny. Lock Will Skelton has also recovered from a similar injury and while his inclusion would certainly beef up the pack, his limitations at the lineout might require a tweak of the back row to add another jumper. Schmidt has had no shortage of helpful suggestions from media pundits this week with most concurring that the hard-running Angus Bell should be promoted to start at loosehead prop instead of 36-year-old James Slipper. Dave Porecki should be available after sustaining a concussion against Fiji two weeks ago and his lineout throwing would help shore up an area of the game where the Wallabies struggled in the first test. Behind the scrum, Tom Lynagh showed enough in his first test start to get another shot, although many would like him to do so in tandem with his Queensland Reds teammate Tate McDermott, who had a fine game off the bench in Brisbane. There have also been calls to shift Joseph Suaalii from centre into the back three after he struggled to make an impact in Brisbane until it was too late. That would also allow Len Ikitau to move to his more favoured outside centre spot with Hunter Paisami, another Queenland Red, slotting into the midfield outside Lynagh. Lions coach Andy Farrell's job is a little easier after the early dominance the tourists showed in Brisbane, although he looks likely to be forced to make a change to his second row. Irish lock Joe McCarthy limped off with a foot injury early in the second half at Lang Park and has not trained this week, leaving the door open for Ollie Chessum to move up from the bench. The head knock suffered by Marcus Smith against the First Nations & Pasikifa XV on Tuesday could open up a spot on the bench for Farrell's playmaker son Owen, who was called up as an injury replacement for his fourth Lions tour. (Reporting by Nick Mulvenney in Sydney, editing by Peter Rutherford)
The Star
12-07-2025
- Sport
- The Star
Soccer-Wales coach says all pressure on England ahead of rivals' Euro 2025 clash
FILE PHOTO: Soccer Football - Women's Nations League - League A - Wales v Italy - Stadium, Swansea, Wales, Britain - June 3, 2025 Wales manager Rhian Wilkinson looks on Action Images via Reuters/Andrew Boyers/File Photo ST. GALLEN, Switzerland (Reuters) -Wales coach Rhian Wilkinson said her team would love nothing more than to spoil England's party when the neighbours and rival nations meet in their final Euro 2025 Group D match on Sunday. Defending champions England already have one foot in the quarter-finals, with a victory ensuring they advance to the knockout round. A draw would also put them through provided France beat the Netherlands. But Wales, who have lost both matches so far at their European championship debut, certainly are not going to make it easy for them. "It would be detrimental to look past us," said the Canadian coach Wilkinson at a press conference. "The pressure's all on them. We know there's still a chance for us, we're aware of it. And when there's a chance, there's always an exciting element that we get to go towards and not be frightened of because what do we have to fear? It's just an exciting opportunity. "We're going to push them to the very end. We're in a very close group - England will be forced to play a strong line-up. We get to show up and spoil the party and that's a wonderful job to have." Wales' chances of advancing are slim - they need to beat England by at least four goals and for France to beat the Dutch. But they would happily play spoiler. "As a Welsh woman, do you want to knock England out? Of course you do," said midfielder Angharad James. "It's in our blood, our DNA and the rivalry has always been and always will be there. It's a rivalry match and it's one that everyone wants to play in. "But the pressure is all on England. They have to come out, they have to perform. They're expected to win this game within our group. We believe that we can upset a very top team, and we're ready for the fight tomorrow. "We'll give it our absolute all for our country and to make them prouder." Wales were drawn into arguably the toughest group of the tournament, with three teams in the top 11 of FIFA's world rankings. But they have been roared on by huge and noisy cheering sections - the Red Wall - at both games, and were rewarded in Wednesday's 4-1 loss to France when 38-year-old Jess Fishlock scored the team's first goal at a major tournament. (Reporting by Lori Ewing in Oberentfelden, Switzerland; Editing by Andrew Cawthorne)
The Star
07-07-2025
- Automotive
- The Star
F1 drivers get trophies made of Lego at British GP
Trophies that are made out of Lego were given out to the winners of the recent Formula One British Grand Prix. — Photos: Reuters/Andrew Boyers The top three finishers in Sunday's British Formula One Grand Prix were rewarded for their efforts with trophies made of Lego toy bricks, a novelty appreciated by some more than others. The trophies are part of a multi-year partnership between Lego and Formula One that has already put drivers in a fleet of 10 brick-built cars for a pre-race parade at the Miami Grand Prix, a moment that went viral. "How does it feel after 15 years of F1 to get a podium (trophy) that's made out of Lego that you can just pull apart?," McLaren's runner-up Oscar Piastri asked Sauber's Nico Hulkenberg, on the podium for the first time after 239 starts. "It's just made out of Lego that you can pull apart and probably buy next week," explained the Australian teasingly. "I love Lego. It's good. My daughter can play with it too. You've always got to see the bright side," replied the German. "But, you know, a bit of silver or gold would have been nice too, but I won't complain." Trophies that are made out of Lego were given out to the winners of the recent Formula One British Grand Prix. — Photos: Reuters/Andrew Boyers Sunday's race marked 75 years of the championship at the Silverstone circuit where it started in 1950 and the winner's gold-adorned Lego trophy, modelled on the real RAC golden trophy, is made of 2,717 bricks. It weighs more than 2 kg and is more than 59 cm high and, contrary to Piastri's assertion, cannot be bought as a kit. The second and third-placed trophies were white with red and blue detailing respectively, while the constructors' was dark blue and gold. "We wanted to create something very special because it's the 75th anniversary," Lego's chief product and marketing officer Julia Goldin said. The blocks are stuck together with glue, and took seven builders 210 hours to create in Denmark. The trophies are part of a multi-year partnership between Lego and Formula One that has seen the company produce replicas of the cars. — Photo: The Lego Group New audiences Formula One is reaching out to a new demographic, and particularly a younger audience, with considerable success and has found partners in previously untapped areas. That includes deals with Mattel's Hot Wheels toy cars, a 2026 collaboration with Disney's Mickey & Friends and Lego announced last year. Emily Prazer, Formula One's chief commercial officer, rejected any suggestion of the sport "dumbing down" and said the strategy was to make brands more accessible and reach out to those who may never go to a race. "Lego puts us in nearly every shopping mall in the world," she said. "Disney helps us appeal to the next generation of fans. Hot Wheels and Mattel allow for kids to actually play with the cars at home." Lego has produced sets based on real F1 cars that cater to both adults and children as well. — Photo: The Lego Group Goldin said Lego also appealed to more and more adults and had products that were intriguing to people with all kinds of interests. "The same is happening with F1 and there is a real benefit of how the sport is able to engage different people with different interests and different elements of the sport," she said. "We are not just trying to turn the sport into a toy but actually trying to help the fans to experience the best." – Reuters
The Star
06-07-2025
- Automotive
- The Star
Motor racing-F1 drivers given trophies made of LEGO at British GP
Formula One F1 - British Grand Prix - Silverstone Circuit, Silverstone, Britain - July 6, 2025 General view of trophies that are made out of lego on display on the podium REUTERS/Andrew Boyers SILVERSTONE, England (Reuters) -The top three finishers in Sunday's British Formula One Grand Prix were rewarded for their efforts with trophies made of LEGO toy bricks, a novelty appreciated by some more than others. The trophies are part of a multi-year partnership between LEGO and Formula One that has already put drivers in a fleet of 10 brick-built cars for a pre-race parade at the Miami Grand Prix, a moment that went viral. "How does it feel after 15 years of F1 to get a podium (trophy) that's made out of LEGO that you can just pull apart?," McLaren's runner-up Oscar Piastri asked Sauber's Nico Hulkenberg, on the podium for the first time after 239 starts. "It's just made out of LEGO that you can pull apart and probably buy next week," explained the Australian teasingly. "I love LEGO. It's good. My daughter can play with it too. You've always got to see the bright side," replied the German. "But, you know, a bit of silver or gold would have been nice too, but I won't complain." Sunday's race marked 75 years of the championship at the Silverstone circuit where it started in 1950 and the winner's gold-adorned LEGO trophy, modelled on the real RAC golden trophy, is made of 2,717 bricks. It weighs more than 2 kg and is more than 59 cm high and, contrary to Piastri's assertion, cannot be bought as a kit. The second and third-placed trophies were white with red and blue detailing respectively, while the constructors' was dark blue and gold. "We wanted to create something very special because it's the 75th anniversary," LEGO's chief product and marketing officer Julia Goldin said. The blocks are stuck together with glue, and took seven builders 210 hours to create in Denmark. NEW AUDIENCES Formula One is reaching out to a new demographic, and particularly a younger audience, with considerable success and has found partners in previously untapped areas. That includes deals with Mattel's Hot Wheels toy cars, a 2026 collaboration with Disney's Mickey & Friends and LEGO announced last year. Emily Prazer, Formula One's chief commercial officer, rejected any suggestion of the sport "dumbing down" and said the strategy was to make brands more accessible and reach out to those who may never go to a race. "LEGO puts us in nearly every shopping mall in the world," she said. "Disney helps us appeal to the next generation of fans. Hot Wheels and Mattel allow for kids to actually play with the cars at home." Goldin said LEGO also appealed to more and more adults and had products that were intriguing to people with all kinds of interests. "The same is happening with F1 and there is a real benefit of how the sport is able to engage different people with different interests and different elements of the sport," she said. "We are not just trying to turn the sport into a toy but actually trying to help the fans to experience the best." (Reporting by Alan Baldwin, editing by Ed Osmond and Clare Fallon)
