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Perth Now
a day ago
- Sport
- Perth Now
Wallaby goes from long-shot 'Leo' to Lions series hero
Australia have been given a painful reminder of how a Test match can turn in a moment and, while the British and Irish Lions were celebrating in Melbourne, the Wallabies had their own time in the sun in Sydney 24 years ago. In the third and deciding Test, debutant Justin Harrison famously stole a lineout at the death from Lions skipper Martin Johnson to seal the Wallabies' first and only series win over the highly-touted tourists. Harrison has featured at a World Cup, club rugby in England, and played and coached in France but it's the single moment in his career the lanky lock is always asked about. "All these years later, it's still the thing I get asked the most about," Harrison told AAP. "The game happens how it happens and then I get a chance to, at the last minute, to do something meaningful for my country. "Now when I talk about it I'm comfortable with the fact that it's not about self promotion, it's just about realising a great moment in time that lots of different people find different reasons to remember it fondly." And yet it almost never happened. A year earlier, Harrison was told to give up the game after suffering nerve damage in his shoulder. But he recovered to help the Brumbies win the 2001 Super Rugby title and earn selection in the Australia A team that upset the Lions in a tour match before the first Test. Harrison was called into the Wallabies training squad, forming part of the "Leos" - the players who were in the squad to help the prepare the Test team - with skipper John Eales and fellow World Cup winner David Giffin ahead of him in second-row selection. "I knew I was there to hold bags and, you know, steal as much kit as I could get my hands on," he said. "We were tasked with watching and studying British Lions team performances in their provincial matches and running similar moves and trying to mirror some of the stuff they were doing, so we were called the Leos. "We didn't pretend to be a particular Lion - Leo was pushing the limit for me. "I wasn't that comfortable with being told that I had to pretend to be a British and Irish Lion as a player so I certainly wasn't going to inherit one of their names." With the series at one apiece after the Wallabies were trounced in Brisbane but swung momentum with a win in Melbourne, Harrison thought his big break had come when coach Rod Macqueen came to his Sydney hotel room with "something important" to discuss. "He starts to talk to me about how team management had had a discussion - 'You've been a really popular member of the team, you've been working really hard, and in Australia A and the Brumbies, you played well'," Harrison recounts. "Macqueen continued, 'So management are unanimous, on Saturday night we want you to run the water for the team.' "I'm thinking, 'Oh my God, this is terrible', the first time I'm going take the field with the Wallabies, it's as a bloody water boy." But Harrison's disappointment turned to confusion and then finally elation after Giffin appeared at his door as he was seeing his coach out. "Giff says, 'I just wanted to be the first to congratulate you, you're going to start on Saturday night and play against the British and Irish Lions'. "And I said mate, that is a shit joke, cause Rod McQueen has just told me I'm water boy, so you're too late. "And 'Giff' goes, 'I've just been with the doctor and management, and I've been ruled out because I've torn my hamstring and they've been ringing Rod McQueen's room to tell him that I'm out and you're in'." The third Test was a war of attrition but the Wallabies edged ahead in the 76th minute with a Matt Burke penalty goal setting up a 29-23 lead. Rather than set to defend the maul on their tryline, Harrison told his teammates he was going to contest the lineout and, despite his inexperience, they backed his call. "Martin Johnson, biggest bloke on the field, captain of the very successful England side, they're going to go to him, the rock," Harrison said. "There was a huge amount of energy around him coming in ... and I remember saying, I'm going to have a go at this so I was confident that I'd made my decision. "Their hooker Keith Wood under-threw and Johnson was probably a bit surprised that there's a hand in front of his to catch this ball and then it sort of ricocheted off my hand down to my knee and then back to my chest, and then I land on the ground. "There's 58 opportunities to knock that ball on and have a scrum and then lose the Test series and I get left as some sort of road kill on the side and I never play for Australia again, but it works out the other way. "That was it, really basic stuff, not trying to invent a new skill, not trying to do something that was going to be a poster moment ... and now it's something that gets talked about a bit."
The Independent
2 days ago
- Sport
- The Independent
Lions injury update ahead of third Test
Garry Ringrose is ruled out of the third British and Irish Lions Test against Australia due to persistent concussion symptoms. He sustained a head injury against the Brumbies and was withdrawn from the second Test after reporting lingering impacts during training. Ringrose's absence means he will miss the opportunity to earn a Test cap on this tour, a significant blow for the player. Assistant coach Andrew Goodman confirmed Ringrose's disappointment but highlighted his continued leadership and team support. The Lions could see the return of Joe McCarthy, Mack Hansen, and Sione Tuipulotu, who trained fully, as they aim for a 3-0 series whitewash.
Irish Independent
2 days ago
- Sport
- Irish Independent
‘Devastating for him' – Garry Ringrose will leave Australia without having played a Test for the Lions
breaking | Mack Hansen and Joe McCarthy are back fit for last game in Sydney Rúaidhrí O'Connor in Sydney Garry Ringrose has been ruled out of Saturday's final Lions Test against Australia. The Ireland centre is following the return to play protocols after experiencing concussion symptoms in training last Thursday. He missed the first Test with the injury he suffered against the Brumbies and was named in the second Test team before withdrawing.
Sydney Morning Herald
7 days ago
- Sport
- Sydney Morning Herald
No MCG fairytale for homegrown Lion as visitors brace for ‘talisman' Skelton
Andy Farrell revealed he had selected Garry Ringrose to start at outside centre but the Ireland centre had selflessly withdrawn from the Test debut after admitting following training on Thursday he was still experiencing symptoms from a concussion suffered against the Brumbies. Ringrose missed the first Test but played 70 minutes against the First Nations and Pasifika side on Tuesday, and had had no further knocks in the game or at training. 'But 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,' Farrell said. Huw Jones was recalled to the No.13 jersey. When asked to comment on the selflessness of Ringrose's admission, Farrell said: 'I thought exactly the same the minute that he mentioned it because it's tough to do that. '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.' The Lions are bracing for a dramatic upgrade in physicality from the Wallabies at the MCG, after Joe Schmidt rubber-stamped the returns of Will Skelton and Rob Valetini, and with Langi Gleeson added to a bench with a split of six forwards and only two backs. 'It is what it says on the tin – it's obvious what they're going to bring and why they're selected,' Farrell said. 'I suppose they're delighted with [the returns of Valetini and Skelton], and the 6-2 bench just backs that up a little bit, doesn't it? So it's not unexpected.' Lions captain Maro Itoje played with Skelton at Saracens, and has played against him often after the Australian moved to La Rochell in France. 'I played a few good years with Will. Played against him a few times as well. He's a fantastic player. He's a talisman for La Rochelle and any side he plays in, he adds a sense of dynamism, size and power to the team. I'm delighted for him that he's able to play.' Loading The Lions can secure the series with victory at the MCG, and the 2025 squad are aiming to become the first Lions touring group to win back-to-back series in the same country, after winning in 2013. The turnout of MCG members will play a role, but attendance forecasts for the second Test at the MCG are tracking towards 90,000, which could see the game break two records for Lions' fixtures. The biggest Wallabies-Lions crowd is 84,188, set in Sydney in the third Test in 2001, and the biggest Lions crowd ever is 90,000, set in Johannesburg in 1955. 'When you spend time in Melbourne and speak to the locals, they hold the MCG in a really special regard,' Itoje said. 'If it reaches full capacity, it'll definitely be the biggest stadium I've played in. It's something we're looking to relish.'
The Age
7 days ago
- Sport
- The Age
No MCG fairytale for homegrown Lion as visitors brace for ‘talisman' Skelton
Andy Farrell revealed he had selected Garry Ringrose to start at outside centre but the Ireland centre had selflessly withdrawn from the Test debut after admitting following training on Thursday he was still experiencing symptoms from a concussion suffered against the Brumbies. Ringrose missed the first Test but played 70 minutes against the First Nations and Pasifika side on Tuesday, and had had no further knocks in the game or at training. 'But 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,' Farrell said. Huw Jones was recalled to the No.13 jersey. When asked to comment on the selflessness of Ringrose's admission, Farrell said: 'I thought exactly the same the minute that he mentioned it because it's tough to do that. '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.' The Lions are bracing for a dramatic upgrade in physicality from the Wallabies at the MCG, after Joe Schmidt rubber-stamped the returns of Will Skelton and Rob Valetini, and with Langi Gleeson added to a bench with a split of six forwards and only two backs. 'It is what it says on the tin – it's obvious what they're going to bring and why they're selected,' Farrell said. 'I suppose they're delighted with [the returns of Valetini and Skelton], and the 6-2 bench just backs that up a little bit, doesn't it? So it's not unexpected.' Lions captain Maro Itoje played with Skelton at Saracens, and has played against him often after the Australian moved to La Rochell in France. 'I played a few good years with Will. Played against him a few times as well. He's a fantastic player. He's a talisman for La Rochelle and any side he plays in, he adds a sense of dynamism, size and power to the team. I'm delighted for him that he's able to play.' Loading The Lions can secure the series with victory at the MCG, and the 2025 squad are aiming to become the first Lions touring group to win back-to-back series in the same country, after winning in 2013. The turnout of MCG members will play a role, but attendance forecasts for the second Test at the MCG are tracking towards 90,000, which could see the game break two records for Lions' fixtures. The biggest Wallabies-Lions crowd is 84,188, set in Sydney in the third Test in 2001, and the biggest Lions crowd ever is 90,000, set in Johannesburg in 1955. 'When you spend time in Melbourne and speak to the locals, they hold the MCG in a really special regard,' Itoje said. 'If it reaches full capacity, it'll definitely be the biggest stadium I've played in. It's something we're looking to relish.'
