Latest news with #AustralianRugby
Telegraph
07-07-2025
- Sport
- Telegraph
Andy Farrell's treatment of Marcus Smith on Lions tour is odd
We now have some idea of the level of the Australian team that will face the British and Irish Lions in the looming first Test. It is a team ranked eighth in the world that has just narrowly, and unconvincingly, beaten Fiji, who are ranked ninth. Although they will improve from that run out, nobody can honestly pretend that they are near the Springboks or All Blacks. As such, the only acceptable return for the Lions is at least a series win. You might claim that this is easy to say from the sidelines, but it is equally easy to hype the contest, ignoring the realistic prism. Three of the countries that make up this Lions' squad are ranked higher than their hosts and the aggregate of their talents should prevail. The Lions are no longer a bunch of amateurs who get together with just a manager and a coach and try to meld themselves into an effective unit. They are a highly professional outfit, that have significant funding, and a coaching and management team that is equally well resourced and experienced. What makes it difficult to judge the likely outcome of the Test series is that, to a large extent, the warm-up games represent a phoney war, in which neither opponent wants to declare their hand. Andy Farrell, the Lions' head coach, is trying to juggle the need to give every player a chance and giving his preferred selections the opportunity to test their unit skills in real time, as opposed to on the training field. That said, making this judgment has not been helped by the lack of logic in the decisions concerning two players – Marcus Smith and Owen Farrell. Some say that Marcus Smith was fortunate to be picked from the outset, but it is odd that he has not been given a chance to start a game in his best position at fly-half. He can play at 15, but it is clearly not his strongest deployment. It could be that he is being lined up for a role from the bench as cover for both positions. This would allow Andy Farrell to choose a 6-2 split because the other back will have to be a scrum-half. If this is not so, it is hard to see why he was selected from the start. This speculation is muddied by the much-discussed call-up of Owen Farrell. I do not subscribe to the claims of nepotism made by some; both Farrells are too professional for that. It also the right of any manager to pick the players they want because it is their head on the block when this all plays out. I reiterate a point I made weeks ago – why Owen Farrell was not picked in the squad from the outset, if it was his father's intention to select him at all? His selection could have been justified on the grounds of his experience and track record for the Lions but that was always the case. Nothing has happened since then that makes that case stronger. Had this been done originally, we would not now be waiting for him to have game time and to see whether he has recaptured his form at a level at which he has not played for some time. Farrell Snr is reported to have said that the call-up was because of a need for experience and that Owen Farrell will be looked at as competing for the 10 and 12 positions. If this is the case, as has been pointed out by several other former Lions' greats, it is impossible to link his selection to the injury and withdrawal of the unlucky Elliot Daly. An earlier selection would have enabled the Lions to have tested a Plan B option of a more structured game; something at which Owen Farrell excels. If anything, the greatest need for cover is at full-back, because the Scottish centres, Huw Jones and Sione Tuipulotu, are looking a likely pairing and Tommy Freeman can also cover at centre and his form at the moment is unquestionable, whatever position he might play. If you do want to look for an area where logic can more readily be applied, you should look at the back row, where Andy Farrell has to decide whether to go with two similar flankers like Jac Morgan and Josh van der Flier or pick a more traditional blindside flanker with more bulk. That choice will influence the type of No 8 he wants – a flier like Ben Earl or Henry Pollock or a more powerful ball carrier, like Jack Conan. Still, all this has given my old mate David Campese the chance to annoy everybody and tell us that 'it's not like it was in my day'. So, it is not all bad.
Daily Mail
03-07-2025
- Entertainment
- Daily Mail
EXCLUSIVE He dated an Olympic golden girl and a Miss Universe Australia. Now Quade Cooper's romantic life has taken an unexpected turn - as he mounts a code-hopping career move that's stunned the rugby world
When he was the biggest star in Australian rugby, Quade Cooper dated Olympic pool queen Stephanie Rice and former Miss Universe Australia Laura Dundovic. But now the footy player has been spotted stepping out with a new companion who has found fame in a very different way.
Irish Times
25-06-2025
- Sport
- Irish Times
Will the Lions tour save Australian rugby?
Imagine Irish rugby had to compete with a professional GAA and a thriving League of Ireland for talent. Would the country still be so successful? That is the picture facing Australia at the moment and then some, given the popularity of Rugby League, AFL, cricket, soccer, basketball and countless other codes down under. Yet just over 20 years ago, Australian rugby defied this sporting competition to produce a side good enough to win the 1999 World Cup, beat the Lions in 2001 and narrowly miss out on back-to-back global crowns in 2003. What has changed? Jonathan Drennan is a Belfast-born journalist working for the Sydney Morning Herald. He joins host Nathan Johns to explain Australian rugby's recent demise. Will this Lions tour, combined with hosting duties at the 2027 World Cup, give the sport the injection of eyeballs it needs, or will it bankrupt a once great rugby nation? READ MORE We'd love to find out what you think of The Counter Ruck podcast and to understand a little more about our listeners. Please take our survey and you'll be entered into a prize draw to win a €100 One4All gift card: Produced by John Casey.
Times
17-05-2025
- Sport
- Times
It's folly to shield players from non-Test matches — for Lions and hosts
One day, the British & Irish Lions will give themselves the best chance of winning the Test series. They will gain some recompense for saving rugby in the host countries from bankruptcy, which they always do. It is shameful that, yet again, they have not done so and that so many games on tour could be devalued. Last time the Lions went to Australia, in 2013, Australian rugby was broke. They freely admitted the Lions would be bailing them out — with the TV rights, large crowds, the sea of red supporters that follow them and the boost in national interest in the sport. The benefits extend. During the forthcoming tour, the arrogance of the NRL in Australia will be in abeyance, because the rugby
USA Today
30-04-2025
- Sport
- USA Today
The Raiders have added massive former Australian Rugby player
The Raiders have added massive former Australian Rugby player As the Raiders continue to look far and wide for hidden gems for their squad, the latest is Samoan Australian Rugby player Laki Tasi. The Raiders are adding the 6-6, 348-pounder as a defensive lineman The 21-year-old played for the Ashgrove GPS Rugby Club of the Queensland Premier Rugby Union before joining the NFL's International Player Pathway program, making this his first time on an NFL team. Tasi instantly becomes the largest player on the Raiders roster and immediately becomes one of the largest human beings in the NFL. He would be a massive presence on the inside of the Raiders defensive line. As a part of the International Player Pathway (IPP) program, the Raiders are granted a roster exemption for him. The team also had defensive end David Agoha on the roster as part of the IPP program.
