Latest news with #JohnEales
Canberra Times
20-07-2025
- Sport
- Canberra Times
Wallabies' task to surf Sea of Red to relevancy
But unlikely captain Harry Wilson, who until last year spent seasons in the Test wilderness after surging to a debut as a 20-year-old rookie, wants to take the chance to join John Eales as a Lion tamer.
Irish Times
18-07-2025
- Sport
- Irish Times
Matt Williams: Charmless Lions have put on a masterclass in how not to win friends since landing in Australia
Long ago, draped in the wattle blossom gold of their national tree, the Wallabies reigned supreme. Back then, they were Australia's team. Australia's two giant professional oval-ball codes, Australian Football League (AFL) and the National Rugby League (NRL), have a combined total of 35 professional men's teams. While these mega sports dominate the local media landscape, both codes have a huge weakness. Their international footprints are close to non-existent. One of rugby's greatest strengths is its global nature, with multiple international matches every season. This fact makes the AFL and NRL green with envy. In 1986, when the Wallabies trounced New Zealand in the third test at Eden Park in Auckland and brought the Bledisloe Cup home, the Australian sporting public were overjoyed. Nothing unites Australians like beating New Zealand. READ MORE Slow Lions build-up finally culminates in Test week Listen | 37:54 The AFL and NRL supporters may not have liked rugby, but they loved to see an Australian team, their golden Wallabies, victorious. When the William Webb Ellis Trophy joined the Bledisloe Cup in the trophy cabinet after the 1991 Rugby World Cup (RWC), the love affair between the Australian people and the Wallabies was consummated. For the next decade, as the trophies piled up, so did the love fest. The 1999 World Cup was joined by the Tom Richards Trophy when Australia defeated the Lions in 2001. Australia captain John Eales lifts the Tom Richards Cup after the series victory against the Lions in 2001. Photograph: Scott Barbour/Allsport Prime ministers, movie stars, media moguls and boxing legends all sat in the stands wearing Wallaby scarves, praying the TV cameras would flash their image out to the millions of adoring Australian sports lovers watching at home. The moment Jonny Wilkinson's boot launched the winning drop goal in the dying moments of the 2003 RWC Final, the relationship between the Wallabies and the Australian people began to wane. As each trophy departed Australian shores, the Wallabies' fall from grace accelerated. The AFL and NRL rejoiced in the demise. However, not even the considerable political power of the AFL and NRL can stop the 12-year cycle of the Lions juggernaut. [ View from Down Under: The Lions are very welcome guests, but they could do their hosts more harm than good Opens in new window ] A leading economist this week estimated that the Lions will inject the equivalent of €230 million into the Australian economy. Remember that the foundational purpose of today's Lions organisation is to make money for the home unions. When compared to South Africa and New Zealand, the Lions' tours of Australia are the most lucrative by a considerable margin. With huge stadiums packed for every match and the Australian dollar stronger than the Kiwi dollar and South African rand, Australia is a financial bonanza for the Lions. Cash is king and the money tells me that the Lions are not going to dump Australia for Argentina anytime soon. The favourable finances do not hide the hard reality that these three tests across the next fortnight are perhaps the most important in modern Australian rugby history. This is because the first test in Brisbane offers the Wallabies – and the entire sport of rugby union on this island continent – a path to redemption and the saving of the soul of the game in Australia. The Lions test team has several players, including Hugo Keenan and Tadhg Furlong, who are a long way out of form. Tadhg Beirne is a second rower playing blindside flanker, while Sione Tuipulotu and Huw Jones are the second-best pairing of centres in the Lions. Every Lion is a quality player, but this is not an overwhelmingly brilliant XV. Tadhg Beirne during Lions training in Australia. Photograph: Dan Sheridan/Inpho It might not be clear to Lions supporters in Ireland, but here in Australia, these Lions have not been great ambassadors for the game. Winning the hearts and minds of the Australian rugby public has not appeared on the Lions' to-do list. With over 90 individuals in their touring party, they are like an enclosed order of sporting monks. Happy within their cloistered confines, shunning the outside world. On the nightly news in Australia, there are almost no Lions faces or interviews. Compared to the Wallabies – who are out in the community, visiting children's hospitals and working the local media to promote the game – Australians' access to Lions players has been less than minimal. That is a highly regrettable situation that the Lions management needs to change. To write off a stronger Wallaby outfit at home is another example of the arrogance that is infecting rugby in Ireland and the UK There has also been some simply idiotic stuff. Immediately prior to the Lions' game against the Waratahs, Sydney suffered under a horrendous four-day storm that produced hurricane levels of torrential rain. It is well documented that the drainage of the relatively new Sydney Football Stadium has failed during heavy rain events. After the match, the Lions publicly complained that the pitch had been watered as a tactic to hinder their attack. In other words, the Lions ignored the huge rainfall and the documented drainage problems at the Stadium and accused the Waratahs of cheating. It was embarrassing to witness, ignorant in context and a lesson in how not to win friends and influence people. Here, we should remember that Australian and Irish teams have one very similar trait. They are at their most dangerous when they have been insulted and written off. From day one, the Lions entourage have neatly ticked both boxes. The absence of Will Skelton is a blow for the Wallabies. Photograph: Billy Stickland/Inpho The Lions are red-hot favourites, but there is a path that Joe Schmidt can chart for his Wallabies to navigate an unlikely series opening win. The Wallabies are also below their best with no Rob Valetini or Will Skelton. Added to that, the slightness and inexperience of Tom Lynagh at outhalf is of grave concern. But it does not mean the Lions are assured of victory. If the Australians follow the gutsy example of the understrength Waratahs and Brumbies, who sprinted forward and tackled with such an intensity that they pressured their opponents into errors, then the Wallabies have a chance because defence wins big matches. The north has conveniently forgotten that only a few weeks ago an understrength Argentina, who were also written off before the match, defeated the Lions. Logically, it follows that to write off a stronger Wallaby outfit at home is another example of the arrogance that is infecting rugby in Ireland and the UK. The Lions are overwhelming favourites. They must shoulder the pressure of expectation like no other Lions team has done in living memory. All of that despite not having proved they are worthy of such expectation. The Lions faithful cannot conceive of a way they can be defeated. All of which is music to Australian ears. As the Pumas proved in Dublin, under the combination of massively unrealistic expectations, deep physicality, scoreboard pressure and their own underestimation of their opponent, the Lions cracked. If the Wallabies can turn Brisbane into a physical bash-fest and match the Lions' setplay, this will allow the Australian back row to dominate the tackle zone. If all of that occurs, then the gold team has a slim chance. Of course, it is a big ask for Joe Schmidt's team. For the future of rugby in Australia, I hope today's Wallabies can be inspired by those who wore that famous jersey before them and seize this golden opportunity to become Australia's team once more.
Sydney Morning Herald
17-07-2025
- Sport
- Sydney Morning Herald
Wallabies punt on rookies for Lions after injury chaos strikes
Injuries have decimated the Wallabies on the eve of the British and Irish Test series and prompted coach Joe Schmidt to take multiple gambles for the opening clash in Brisbane, including handing a debut to flanker Nick Champion de Crespigny and a starting debut to five-eighth Tom Lynagh. After key forwards Rob Valetini, Will Skelton and Langi Gleeson were all ruled out with injury, Schmidt has named 28-year-old De Crespigny in the no.6 jersey for a high-pressured first Test at Suncorp Stadium. The Western Force flanker has been a journeyman, and returned from four years in France late last year to try and fulfil his dream of playing for the Wallabies. His chance has come but via a substantial loss for the Wallabies, with two-time John Eales medal winner Valetini unable to overcome a calf injury picked up in camp three weeks ago. Gleeson was his replacement in the Wallabies' side who narrowly beat Fiji in Newcastle, but the in-form Waratah then picked up a hamstring strain during training. Skelton was also left out after failing to overcome a calf injury, further removing some heft against a Lions pack that is likely to be stocked with big men, when named on Thursday afternoon. Tom Hooper and Carlo Tizzano were named on the bench as middle-row cover, but there was no spot for struggling star prop Taniela Tupou, with veteran Tom Robertson preferred as the tighthead reserve. Robertson, 30, hasn't played for the Wallabies since the end of 2022, after suffering an ACL injury ahead of the 2023 Rugby World Cup. James Slipper has been preferred to start at loosehead prop ahead of Angus Bell, and will become just the second Australian - and third player overall - to have played the Lions in two Test series since the 12-year cycle began.
The Age
17-07-2025
- Sport
- The Age
Wallabies punt on rookies for Lions after injury chaos strikes
Injuries have decimated the Wallabies on the eve of the British and Irish Test series and prompted coach Joe Schmidt to take multiple gambles for the opening clash in Brisbane, including handing a debut to flanker Nick Champion de Crespigny and a starting debut to five-eighth Tom Lynagh. After key forwards Rob Valetini, Will Skelton and Langi Gleeson were all ruled out with injury, Schmidt has named 28-year-old De Crespigny in the no.6 jersey for a high-pressured first Test at Suncorp Stadium. The Western Force flanker has been a journeyman, and returned from four years in France late last year to try and fulfil his dream of playing for the Wallabies. His chance has come but via a substantial loss for the Wallabies, with two-time John Eales medal winner Valetini unable to overcome a calf injury picked up in camp three weeks ago. Gleeson was his replacement in the Wallabies' side who narrowly beat Fiji in Newcastle, but the in-form Waratah then picked up a hamstring strain during training. Skelton was also left out after failing to overcome a calf injury, further removing some heft against a Lions pack that is likely to be stocked with big men, when named on Thursday afternoon. Tom Hooper and Carlo Tizzano were named on the bench as middle-row cover, but there was no spot for struggling star prop Taniela Tupou, with veteran Tom Robertson preferred as the tighthead reserve. Robertson, 30, hasn't played for the Wallabies since the end of 2022, after suffering an ACL injury ahead of the 2023 Rugby World Cup. James Slipper has been preferred to start at loosehead prop ahead of Angus Bell, and will become just the second Australian - and third player overall - to have played the Lions in two Test series since the 12-year cycle began.
Perth Now
16-07-2025
- Sport
- Perth Now
'Spikes the hairs': Eales' words ring in Wilson's ears
A January address from John Eales and Geoff Parling has bounced around in Harry Wilson's head all year. The incumbent Wallabies captain was ready to run through walls for Australia back then. Former Test skipper Eales, who delayed retirement to add a 2001 British & Irish Lions series victory, and Parling, a 2013 Lions tourist now on Joe Schmidt's coaching staff, had the squad's full attention. "We know how big it is, but until you hear those sort of people talking about it," Wilson recalled to AAP ahead of Saturday's series opener in Brisbane. "John Eales, probably the greatest ever Wallaby … the way he spoke about it. "Someone who'd already won two World Cups, captained, and to still feel like he wanted to tick something off like that. "You take a deep breath ... it spikes the hairs on your neck." But the Queensland Reds back-rower had to bottle that buzz, aware that his dream could be dashed by injury or, having been in and out of the team since his 2020 debut, non-selection. "I don't like looking too far ahead, because the moment you do start looking, something bad could happen," the No.8 said. Parling hasn't retraced the steps he took in January with the group, insistent that there hasn't been nostalgic moments this week. "I shared some things back in January, but I'm very wary it's not about me," he said. "These big games, it's still the same game ... but the circus around it is bigger, the moments in every game matter a little bit more." Wilson has proved to be a man for the moment, scoring the match-winner against Fiji in the Wallabies' only lead-in Test. In 2013, Australia lost the corresponding Lions fixture 23-21, levelled up in Melbourne with a one-point win and were trounced in the Sydney decider. Twelve years earlier, Eales' champion side were caught out at the Gabba in Brisbane before rallying to claim the series. Regarded as long shots to upset the red-hot Lions, Wilson will channel that 2013 squad's mentality. "They just believed in themselves and what they'd done before and what they wanted to stick to," he said. "That if it doesn't work the first time, it doesn't mean it won't the second if you do it better, so back yourself."
