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Times
4 days ago
- Sport
- Times
Australia v British & Irish Lions live: score, commentary, updates
Will Kelleher, in Melbourne There we go, Joe Schmidt is asked on Sky Sports about how he's driving the week, and he says: 'Speaking of driving we're about 15 minutes late to the ground unfortunately because you couldn't drive very far in the traffic that's out there, which is indicative of the crowd that's gathering. It's a massive crowd, a huge venue and a massive night.' Gotta get that police escort, mate? Great Barrier Island sits in the South Pacific Ocean, a 4½-hour ferry ride out from Auckland, New Zealand. In summer there are daily crossings, cut down to three a week in winter. Named by Captain Cook, the volcanic island 62 miles away from the country's biggest city, out in the Hauraki Gulf, now hosts a touch more than 1,000 people, up a few hundred in the past decade, most of whom live off the national grid. It has only one informal rugby club — the Bushpigs — who play one proper match per year. With not enough players to form age-grade sides, if you are a kid of any shape or size, you get chucked into the mixer. This is where Jamison Gibson-Park's story begins. The end, for now, will have the Barrier-born Irishman in a British & Irish Lions team at scrum half for the second Test against Australia at the Melbourne Cricket Ground in front of nearly 90,000 fans. It will be a little more high profile than the start of his journey. • Read more Will Kelleher, in Melbourne It is filling up here, and we have the now-customary sight of one end being completely filled with red. The travel companies have put their supporter groups behind one goal for these Tests, and for this game the Aussies seem to have responded by placing gold hats on the seats at the other end. We have finally had the rain that we were expecting — although it is more of a light mizzling than a downpour. More from Michael Fish, next… Stuart Barnes England's first innings. Came out hard and fast with the openers rattling up a meaty opening partnership at around five runs per over. Thereafter eased off and took control. Lions did part one but made a mess of part two in Brisbane. Expecting more from both these teams today. Thank the Lord for Jac Morgan's selection. Or thank Lord Farrell, at least. Morgan's selection can give you faith. Legions of British & Irish Lions fans will be relieved and delighted that Morgan has been promoted to the bench for the second Test against Australia in Melbourne on Saturday. And, yes, a majority of them may be Welsh, but what is crucial here is to remember the position held by Andy Farrell, the head coach: that he won't allow his selection process to be swayed by national interests or any desire to keep all four nations represented. Rightly so, of course. Yet Morgan's selection for the second Test is important for reasons far more weighty than any kind of PR. It is only a bench spot, but it is representative of far more. It proves that it has still been possible to play your way into the team. • Read more from Owen Slot Alex Lowe, in Melbourne Tim Horan, the great Wallaby centre, is not soft-soaping things tonight. 'I reckon this is the most important rugby Test match for the Wallabies since the 2015 World Cup final. So much at stake for our game. 90,000 at the MCG. Australian rugby is in grave danger. They cannot compete when it comes to signing the best schoolboys and that battle will only get harder with the NRL due to expand by three teams. The Wallaby Schoolboys No8 has signed for Toulouse. One of the newspapers over here ran a composite XV of Aussie 'footie' players. Six Wallabies made it — Max Jorgenson, Joseph-Aukuso Suaalii and Rob Valetini — plus the front row 'because it is such a specialist position'.They are lucky to get six because the XV did not include league stars Cameron Munster, Angus Chrichton or Latrell Mitchell. Stephen Jones, in Melbourne Wallaby hopes for a revival today centre around the great Will Skelton. The lock is one of the greatest in his position I have ever seen live. I would rank him very close to Martin Johnson and Simon Shaw, also to Eben Etzebeth, and Patricio Albacete. He may not get the trip but 50 minutes of him could do wonders Will Kelleher, in Melbourne The Australian bus was 20 minutes late to the ground, but they have arrived, and then lost the toss. As someone who sat dead still for 15 minutes earlier today trying to get to St Kilda in a taxi, I feel the Wallabies' pain. Joe Schmidt has a real thing about late buses. In 2017 Schmidt's Ireland were late into Murrayfield — behind pipers and all — and then lost 27-22, and he blamed their late arrival. Australia really needed everything to go perfectly for them. So not a great start. Owen Slot, in Melbourne This is the reason the Wallabies will win. At least according to an Aussie I had a coffee with this morning. He explained that because the MCG is an oval, the touchlines aren't hemmed in by the sightlines that the Lions kickers will be accustomed to: the crowd and the advertising hoardings. The Wallabies, meanwhile, will have played in these ovals more often. It's a decent point and it will definitely take some adjusting to, though I'd imagine the Lions kickers will have been practicing with this in mind. I can't believe that my new Aussie chum is the only one to have thought about it, Anyway, I've just found my seat in the media tribune and the news is that one touchline does have an advertising hoarding all the way down the side of the pitch. So that's half the disadvantage removed immediately. I'm not sure if that's still enough. I'll go and find my Aussie friend… Whenever you talk about Will Skelton, you have to start with the bare facts. Height: 6ft 8in. Weight: anywhere between 135-150kg (21-23st). Shoe size: 19 (he gets his boots custom made in Japan, and they look like white tugboats). The British & Irish Lions forwards coach John Fogarty called him a 'menace', and 'destructive', his opposite lock Ollie Chessum — 6ft 7in himself — said he was 'a huge human being' while Maro Itoje, the captain and a former team-mate of Skelton's from Saracens called him a 'talisman' thanks to his 'dynamism, size and power'. Meanwhile the other Australian players joked about how the nutritionists sighed when he came back into camp, as the food bill took a battering. Skelton, 33, is a giant in a big man's game. Then you have to mention the medals. Skelton has been part of four Champions Cup-winning teams — two Saracens, two La Rochelle — and has one Super Rugby and two Premiership titles in his large back-pockets. This is why Joe Schmidt — who is not quite a card-carrying Skelton fan — has picked Big Will for the big one at the Melbourne Cricket Ground on Saturday, the second Test of the Lions series. This pedigree that Skelton brings is alien to many of the other Wallabies. • Read more Will Kelleher, in Melbourne I've been telling anyone and everyone all week that the last time I watched sport here was when England bowled out Australia for 98 on Boxing Day 2010, and then piled on 500 and retained the Ashes. On Boxing Day there were 91,000 in, but more like 40,000 by tea when the writing was on the wall, and Andrew Strauss and Alastair Cook were settled. Do we get another shellacking tonight? Despite all reports of rain, thunder, lightning, storms and all, it is dry as a bone tonight in Melbourne. So all that stuff about a heavy night suiting Will Skelton may not come to fruition. The ground is slowly filling up. I'm fascinated to see how many we get in — it won't be the full 100,024 capacity, but anything over 84,188 makes it the record crowd for an Australia v Lions match, beating the attendance for the third Test in 2001. At the moment there are more seagulls than people up in the gods by our awesome press-bench seats. They're floating about looking for chips. Maybe we need a few of those shooting flames to clear them off! Just imagine how hard that confession must have been. Garry Ringrose's family have flown to Melbourne in anticipation of watching him on the grandest stage. The second Lions Test against Australia at the MCG, with an opportunity to win the series in front of 90,000 people, would be the biggest game of his career. Revealing the concussion symptoms would be likely to end his tour and he will be 34 by the next one. This may well have been his one chance to emulate Brian O'Driscoll and wear the Test No13 jersey. Ringrose spoke up anyway. In prioritising his own welfare, he also put the team first. Farrell said his first thought was that Ringrose had been 'unbelievably selfless' in coming forward. '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,' Farrell said. • Read more from Alex Lowe Stephen Jones, in Melbourne Hello from the massive Melbourne Cricket Ground and our coverage will be coming to you from on high. Aircraft are circling lower than the media seats. There is a body of opinion in the city that an Aussie win will set up a fantastic last Test in Sydney next week. The hell with that. The Lions have messed up so many series over the decades, their followers should want a definitive performance and win this week, and a luxurious lap of honour next week. Let's see. The stirring midweek performance came in Melbourne on Tuesday from the First Nations & Pasifika (FNP) XV, whose pride and passion made this the best game of the tour. The result was in the balance to the final play. 'We've given ourselves a bit of a fright,' Andy Farrell, the Lions head coach, said after the game. The error-strewn Lions held out to win but they had been rattled by the FNP XV, who played with greater fire and physicality than Australia had mustered in the first Test. The Wallabies watching on from a corporate box at Marvel Stadium should have felt sheepish at the comparative lack of bite and brimstone they brought to the game in Brisbane. 'You need to take it to them head on,' FNP XV captain Kurtley Beale said. 'Playing rugby, you need physicality to lay the platform for your backs to play off. Hopefully we have inspired the Wallabies. • Read more Matt Cotton, in Melbourne We've been in the pub since 3.30pm local today. That's largely because it was the latest booking we could get in a bar anywhere near the east of the stadium. The power of the Lions again. We went to watch the AFL at the MCG on Thursday (no idea what was happening, and hopefully Alex Mitchell, sat several rows behind me, had a better understanding) and managed to snag the only free table (a tiny two-seater) at 4pm at Corner Hotel because, you guessed it, Lions fans were everywhere again. It's generating a wonderful atmosphere, though, and hopefully it can make Melbourne fall in love with Union again. It's a travesty that this great sporting city (which has the MCG, AAMI Park, and the Australian Open arenas such as Rod Laver, just to name a few, within a toddler's stone throw of one another) does not have an elite rugby union team after the Melbourne Rebels went bust. They love their sport here but they call everything 'footie'. AFL? Footie. Rugby league? Footie. Rugby union? Footie. Football? Soccer… Please enable cookies and other technologies to view this content. You can update your cookies preferences any time using privacy manager. Matt Cotton, in Melbourne This is my first Lions tour. I've been wanting to do this for years. All it took was my best friend (and basically only mate who likes rugby) moving his life to Melbourne and me marrying a woman addicted to going on holiday to make it happen. Easy really. I knew about the 'sea of red' beforehand. But even so, my mind has been blown by the amount of Lions merch and red about. I've been in Melbourne a week and it's genuinely about one in three people wearing Lions gear when you're out and about. We watched the first Test in a bar in St Kilda (which, to be fair, is like inverse Clapham in terms given the amount of Irish, English and Scots that live there) and, in the room we watched in, my other mate, a born and bred Aussie, was the only Wallaby fan in the area. It's beautiful. Which has me wondering: how badly do these fans smell? Do they have all the merch? Are they washing the same bit of kit every day? Either way, that stench is of rugger heritage, and I can't get enough of it. Joe Schmidt has prepared the Wallabies for a physical assault on the British & Irish Lions by picking Will Skelton and Rob Valetini, and opting for a 6-2 bench for Saturday's second Test. Schmidt criticised the Australians last weekend for being too 'submissive' when they lost the first Test at Suncorp Stadium 27-19, so has picked a beefed-up pack for the do-or-die game at the Melbourne Cricket Ground. Skelton, the 22st, 6ft 8in lock, starts in the second row with the 6ft 4in, 17st 11lb back-row forward Valetini returning from injury too. Both had calf issues last week but trained fully before the first Test in Brisbane, although neither were selected. 'We don't want to be nice, and we don't want to be submissive. We don't have the intention this week of being submissive,' Schmidt, the Wallabies head coach, said. Andy Farrell's plan to field an all-Ireland midfield for the second British & Irish Lions Test against Australia was scuppered at the last moment when Garry Ringrose declared concussion symptoms at the end of training on Thursday. The head coach's starting team for the second Test in Melbourne includes nine Irishmen, with Ellis Genge dropping to a bench that includes Owen Farrell and the Welshman Jac Morgan. But it is the 11th-hour absence of Ringrose that forced the head coach into a rethink. Ringrose missed the first Test because he was going through concussion protocols, but he came through 65 minutes of Tuesday's game against a First Nations & Pasifika XV without any ill effects. But Ringrose informed Farrell and the team doctor that he had developed symptoms just minutes before the team was named. Hello and welcome to our coverage of the second Test between Australia and the British & Irish Lions in Melbourne. After victory in the first Test in Brisbane last weekend, Andy Farrell's side will be hoping to seal a series win at the MCG today, while the Wallabies will want to force a decider next week. Our writers will be bringing you commentary and analysis throughout the game.
RNZ News
03-07-2025
- General
- RNZ News
Boats barred from mooring at Little Barrier Island after caulerpa discovery
Caulerpa covers rocks in Okipu Bay, on Great Barrier Island. Photo: Luka Forman All anchoring around Auckland's Little Barrier Island in the Hauraki Gulf has been stopped immediately after an invasive seaweed was discovered. Caulerpa has spread across northern New Zealand since it was first discovered four years ago. Biosecurity New Zealand's director of pest management John Walsh said the discovery of patches of the weed on the north and east coasts of the island was disappointing. The ban, known as a Controlled Area Notice or CAN, is to stop its spread further. He said the weed could be inadvertently moved when small pieces were caught on anchors, anchor chains, and fishing/dive equipment. Ngāti Manuhiri is placing a rāhui over the area. Meanwhile, Local Democracy Reporting reported the government was throwing more than $6 million at developing world-first industrial-scale technology to fight caulerpa as it was confirmed in the Bay of Islands for the first time earlier this year. It was found at six sites, Northland Regional Council confirmed in March. Sign up for Ngā Pitopito Kōrero , a daily newsletter curated by our editors and delivered straight to your inbox every weekday.
RNZ News
14-05-2025
- Science
- RNZ News
Our Changing World: Burrowing into the mystery of Great Barrier Island's black petrels
An adult black petrel cruises over the waters of the Hauraki Gulf. Photo: Dan Burgin / WMIL Follow Our Changing World on Apple , Spotify , iHeartRadio or wherever you listen to your podcasts. Tracking what one of New Zealand's most vulnerable seabird species gets up to on the other side of the Pacific may help answer the question of why so many fledglings never return, a veteran researcher says. Juvenile black petrels (tāiko/tākoketai) hatched on Great Barrier Island - one of two remaining colonies - have just fledged from their burrows to undertake their maiden migration to the Galapagos Islands and the coast of Ecuador. Wildlife Management International managing director Biz Bell says this breeding season appeared to have gone smoothly, with most petrel parents managing to successfully raise their single chick. "A lot of really good condition chicks this year, which is really pleasing, lots of really fat chicks," Biz says. "Our breeding success is about 72 percent, on average, and it looks like this year is going to be an on-average year, which is really exciting." Tākoketai are classified as nationally vulnerable, and their already small numbers are gradually declining . There are about 15,000 black petrels left in the world, and all of them nest on either Aotea Great Barrier Island or neighbouring Hauturu-o-Toi Little Barrier Island, in burrows they dig into the ground. Bell and her team have been surveying the petrels for 29 years. The survey, which is funded fifty-fifty by the Department of Conservation and a fisheries levy, includes three fortnight-long trips to the colony every year, with the aim of checking every one of the nearly 500 study burrows at least once each visit. Wildlife Management International managing director Biz Bell. Photo: RNZ / Kate Newton Since the survey began in the mid-1990s, about 5500 chicks have been banded but fewer than 500 have ever been found again. "Is that because we can't search this entire, massive island and they're somewhere else?" Biz says. Predation on land is largely under control, so the main threats to petrels are at sea, she says. "Are they dying on migration? Are they dying in fishing boats? Are they dying from pollution events, climate change? It's one of our biggest gaps of knowledge." The petrels are at particular risk from getting hooked by long-line vessels, because of their scavenging habits and diving proficiency. Biz says the team knows a lot about the petrels' habits on this side of the Pacific but she hopes that next season, they might be able to start a closer collaboration with researchers in Ecuador. Ecuadorian ecologist Giovanny Suarez Espin was due to join the survey's final trip to the colony in April but was unable to get a visa in time. He will now join the Aotea survey for the 2025-26 season instead, Biz says. "He's a research scientist, he does a lot of work at sea there and he's monitoring black petrels there because it's also a special species for them." WWF-New Zealand chief executive Kayla Kingdon-Bebb, left, and board member Kerry Prendergast check a black petrel chick. Photo: RNZ / Kate Newton Biz hopes the New Zealand team will also be able to travel to Ecuador in upcoming seasons to build a better picture of what is happening to the juvenile birds. Those young birds typically stay in South American waters, feeding off the Humboldt current, for several years before they return to the Great Barrier colony for the first time. "It's a long time in their waters [and] they're interacting with fishers all the time," Biz says. "Is there a specific risk that our chicks, in particular, are dealing with over in Ecuador? "What we'd really like to do is go over to Ecuador, get out on some of these vessels, catch some birds at sea, put some loggers on and get some tracks of how they behave in those waters, where they go ... and see what happens." Since last year, long-line fishers in New Zealand waters have had to use all three internationall-recommended practices to prevent seabird by-catch. That includes using weighted hooks to ensure the hooks sink quickly, installing tori lines (bird-scaring streamers) above boats, and only fishing at night, when birds are less likely to be feeding. However, those practices do not necessarily not extend to the rest of the birds' habitat, Biz says. "We're basically building relationships with researchers and fishermen over in Ecuador through both high-level government relationships but also personal relationships with fishers and with scientists to try to get that sort of mitigation happening over there as well." In Depth reporter Kate Newton visited Aotea-Great Barrier Island this summer to see how the survey team goes about its work. Photo: RNZ / Kate Newton The main survey on Aotea will keep going for as long as possible, she says. "Longevity studies are super-important and we find something new every year. We don't know enough about these birds yet even though we've studied them for nearly 30 years." The petrels are "absolutely magic". "I will come back as long as I possibly can." Listen to the episode to learn more about how Biz and her team go about monitoring the petrels, the threats the seabirds face, and what the survey has uncovered over nearly 30 years of research. Sign up to the Our Changing World monthly newsletter for episode backstories, science analysis and more. WWF-NZ paid for Kate Newton's flight to Great Barrier Island. The organisation had no oversight of this story or podcast.
RNZ News
11-05-2025
- Science
- RNZ News
The missing black petrels of Great Barrier Island
For nearly 30 years, researchers have been banding black petrel fledglings before they make their maiden migration to Ecuador. Only a handful of birds have ever come back. RNZ’s In Depth reporter Kate Newton travels to Aotea-Great Barrier Island to meet the birds, and the dedicated team trying to figure out the mystery of where they go. To embed this content on your own webpage, cut and paste the following: See terms of use.
RNZ News
09-05-2025
- Climate
- RNZ News
Severe thunderstorm warning issued for Auckland
A severe thunderstorm warning has been issued for Auckland City, Rodney, Gulf, and Albany. Photo: Supplied / MetService A severe thunderstorm warning has been issued for Auckland City, Rodney, Gulf, and Albany. A severe thunderstorm warning has been issued for Auckland City, Rodney, Gulf, and Albany. This line of severe thunderstorms is moving towards the east, and is to be accompanied by very heavy rain. Very heavy rain can cause surface and/or flash flooding about streams, gullies and urban areas, and make driving conditions extremely hazardous. A watch remains in place for wider Auckland, Great Barrier Island, Coromandel and Bay of Plenty. The MetService said Auckland was struck by short sharp heavy rainfall late on Friday afternoon. ⛈️ Severe Thunderstorm warning issued for Auckland City, Rodney, Gulf and Albany. Find the full details at A heavy rain watch is in place across Auckland and Great Barrier Island. Between about 5-6pm 15-25mm of rain has fallen in Auckland. There are reports of flooding in the suburb of Mt Roskill and some flights have been delayed. MetService says the rain should ease by about 7pm. A crash is blocking three of the four southbound lanes near the Onewa Road on-ramp on the Northern Motorway in Auckland. Another "multi-vehicle" crash westbound on the Upper Harbour Bridge has also been reported The NZ Transport Agency says to expect delays. It comes after a significant "short, sharp" downpour hit the city at rush hour. ... More to come
