Latest news with #DarcySwain
West Australian
23-06-2025
- Sport
- West Australian
Western Force lock Darcy Swain thankful for teammates and coaches in helping him earn Wallabies recall
When Western Force lock Darcy Swain says 'credit to the boys' he is not simply throwing out a cliche for the sake of it. He genuinely means it. Two and a half years after his last Wallabies match, the second rower is on the precipice of a return from the Test wilderness after an excellent first season for the Force. Swain will be one of five Force players who will potentially get more than one crack at the British and Irish Lions, starting this Saturday in the tourists opening match of their nine-game itinerary against the Force at Optus Stadium. The second-rower formed one of Super Rugby's most formidable lock combinations with Force skipper Jeremy Williams, with Swain leading all comers with 86 line-out wins this season and the duo combining for 15 set-piece steals. And Swain credited the environment fostered by the Force coaches and players which had helped him enjoy such a strong debut season out west. 'It' a young, really motivated group here. Guys like Carlo (Tizzano) and Jez (Williams), I see the work they put in and it motivates me a little bit more to be that little bit more professional and learn a few things off them,' he said. 'The minutes as well, playing a lot of minutes, and having to put more time into my body and more time in the computer, those little things really helped me. 'The work of 'SAS' (forwards coach Tom Donnelly) and the sort of collaboration he's done this year with the boys, Lopeti Faifua and Josh Thompson, these young fellas too. 'We all come into the meeting room at the start of the week, we sit down and we talk line-outs, attack, defence. We just nut it out, there's questions, we're sort of arguing with each other, it's really productive and I've loved being a part of that.' Swain, along with fellow Wallabies call-ups Nic White, Dylan Pietsch, Nick Champion de Crespigny and Tom Robertson, will get a first look at the Lions on Saturday for the Force, and the 17-capped Wallaby was thrilled to stay in Perth a little bit longer. 'I would have been pretty disappointed if they took me away, because I really wanted to play for the Force against against the Lions,' he said. 'If I do get that opportunity, it's one that I'm not going to want to look back on and regret a few things. 'I just want to try and make sure really empty the pot this week, get my preparation right, and Saturday will look after itself, but I want to invest in the week.' Swain sought feedback from Wallabies coach Joe Schmidt and assistants Geoff Parling and Laurie Fisher as he plotted his Test comeback, having not pulled on the gold jersey since 2022. 'There was a lot of stuff around my physicality and the breakdown and my carry, a lot around my body height and leg drive and the fundamentals of a tight five player,' he said. One of his last games for the Wallabies came at Optus Stadium against England, and ended in a red card for a headbutt on Jonny Hill — but Swain said he had grown a lot since that unhappy memory, and his support network had played their role in his return to the national team. 'I'm very grateful for my partner, my son, my family, close friends who have put a lot of faith in me and supported me through life,' he said. 'I've had a lot of people corner over the last two years and they've helped me stay motivated. I always believed in myself, that I could get back here, and now it's just trying to get back into the 23 and just keep working on myself. 'I've always felt like I like I was going to get back here, it was just a matter of time.'
Sydney Morning Herald
26-05-2025
- Sport
- Sydney Morning Herald
The trouble with Taniela Tupou
Taniela Tupou's yellow card against the Force for a bizarre slide tackle is a big issue for the Wallabies. Joe Schmidt must be wondering if he can genuinely trust Tupou against the British and Irish Lions, because any such act will cost them a Test. That incident will put the Lions wind-up merchants on notice, and it doesn't take a massive stretch of the imagination to envisage players such as Ellis Genge trying to get under Tupou's skin. The shame in all of this is that Tupou appears to be a very likely player that everyone is willing to come through this rough period, but that combustibility is a big red flag ahead of a series that will be intense in every phase of play. Club World Championship will outshine Nations Cup Christmas came early for Super Rugby over the weekend with confirmation from Europe that the club world championship will finally and miraculously come into effect in 2028. Although the details are yet to be unveiled in detail, the outline of the 16-team comp is extraordinarily generous towards Super Rugby, with the top six teams at least set to be included to face that year's Champions Cup quarter finalists. It means the URC winners, or England Premiership winners, could miss out if they have a bad Champions Cup campaign, yet the door would be open for the Super Rugby outfit that finishes sixth. As a concept, this competition is far more appealing than the Nations Cup concept, and the Herald predicts that supporter interest will be through the roof, with the first edition of the quadrennial tournament to be held in Europe. This is a big moment for the game, and a brilliant deal for Super Rugby. Wallabies form team of the week Angus Bell (Waratahs) Richie Asiata (Reds) Tom Robertson (Force) Fergus Lee-Warner (Waratahs) Darcy Swain (Force) Joe Brial (Reds) Carlo Tizzano (Force) Harry Wilson (Reds) Tate McDermott (Reds) - Player of the round Jack Bowen (Waratahs) Darby Lancaster (Waratahs) Hamish Stewart (Force) Dre Pakeho (Reds) Filipo Daugunu (Reds) Jock Campbell (Reds) Tahs show grit but they can't be a yo-yo team The Waratahs deserve a heap of credit for winning a tough game against the Force in appalling conditions in Perth - especially their bench. A week after the players were called out by their own coach, the phase of play that led to Jack Bowen's game-levelling penalty typified the spirit - the initial punch by Langi Gleeson, then great carries and skills by Tom Lambert, Teddy Wilson and Ben Grant up the middle of the field. The Waratahs rode their luck at times but deserved the win against a Force team that has put a heavy workload on Jeremy Williams, Darcy Swain and Nick Champion de Crespigny and arguably ran out of battery during the past month. However, the Waratahs can't get stuck in the cycle of poor performance-public roasting by the coach-gritty comeback. That has a limited shelf life and Dan McKellar has a big job getting them up for the game against the Blues in Auckland on Saturday before addressing that issue during the off-season. How will the Lions play? Look at the Hurricanes The Reds couldn't quite match the Hurricanes' dynamism on Saturday, with an exciting game offering a real contrast in styles (losing most of the 50-50 calls didn't help the Queenslanders either). In many ways, the Hurricanes were your classic Kiwi team, plenty of ball movement and athletic loose forwards. But their coach, Clark Laidlaw, is a proud Scot who is tuned into the Six Nations and also a major admirer of the French style. He reflects the outlook of the modern European coach, too, and there is no doubt that the Lions will come here with major attacking intent. Like the Hurricanes, their backline will be serviced by a brilliant, ambitious No 9 and all eight of their pack will be genuine ball-carrying options. They're being set up to be expansive - why else would you choose Finn Russell, Fin Smith and Marcus Smith as your No 10 options?
The Age
26-05-2025
- Sport
- The Age
The trouble with Taniela Tupou
Taniela Tupou's yellow card against the Force for a bizarre slide tackle is a big issue for the Wallabies. Joe Schmidt must be wondering if he can genuinely trust Tupou against the British and Irish Lions, because any such act will cost them a Test. That incident will put the Lions wind-up merchants on notice, and it doesn't take a massive stretch of the imagination to envisage players such as Ellis Genge trying to get under Tupou's skin. The shame in all of this is that Tupou appears to be a very likely player that everyone is willing to come through this rough period, but that combustibility is a big red flag ahead of a series that will be intense in every phase of play. Club World Championship will outshine Nations Cup Christmas came early for Super Rugby over the weekend with confirmation from Europe that the club world championship will finally and miraculously come into effect in 2028. Although the details are yet to be unveiled in detail, the outline of the 16-team comp is extraordinarily generous towards Super Rugby, with the top six teams at least set to be included to face that year's Champions Cup quarter finalists. It means the URC winners, or England Premiership winners, could miss out if they have a bad Champions Cup campaign, yet the door would be open for the Super Rugby outfit that finishes sixth. As a concept, this competition is far more appealing than the Nations Cup concept, and the Herald predicts that supporter interest will be through the roof, with the first edition of the quadrennial tournament to be held in Europe. This is a big moment for the game, and a brilliant deal for Super Rugby. Wallabies form team of the week Angus Bell (Waratahs) Richie Asiata (Reds) Tom Robertson (Force) Fergus Lee-Warner (Waratahs) Darcy Swain (Force) Joe Brial (Reds) Carlo Tizzano (Force) Harry Wilson (Reds) Tate McDermott (Reds) - Player of the round Jack Bowen (Waratahs) Darby Lancaster (Waratahs) Hamish Stewart (Force) Dre Pakeho (Reds) Filipo Daugunu (Reds) Jock Campbell (Reds) Tahs show grit but they can't be a yo-yo team The Waratahs deserve a heap of credit for winning a tough game against the Force in appalling conditions in Perth - especially their bench. A week after the players were called out by their own coach, the phase of play that led to Jack Bowen's game-levelling penalty typified the spirit - the initial punch by Langi Gleeson, then great carries and skills by Tom Lambert, Teddy Wilson and Ben Grant up the middle of the field. The Waratahs rode their luck at times but deserved the win against a Force team that has put a heavy workload on Jeremy Williams, Darcy Swain and Nick Champion de Crespigny and arguably ran out of battery during the past month. However, the Waratahs can't get stuck in the cycle of poor performance-public roasting by the coach-gritty comeback. That has a limited shelf life and Dan McKellar has a big job getting them up for the game against the Blues in Auckland on Saturday before addressing that issue during the off-season. How will the Lions play? Look at the Hurricanes The Reds couldn't quite match the Hurricanes' dynamism on Saturday, with an exciting game offering a real contrast in styles (losing most of the 50-50 calls didn't help the Queenslanders either). In many ways, the Hurricanes were your classic Kiwi team, plenty of ball movement and athletic loose forwards. But their coach, Clark Laidlaw, is a proud Scot who is tuned into the Six Nations and also a major admirer of the French style. He reflects the outlook of the modern European coach, too, and there is no doubt that the Lions will come here with major attacking intent. Like the Hurricanes, their backline will be serviced by a brilliant, ambitious No 9 and all eight of their pack will be genuine ball-carrying options. They're being set up to be expansive - why else would you choose Finn Russell, Fin Smith and Marcus Smith as your No 10 options?
