Latest news with #LionsSeries
Washington Post
11 hours ago
- Sport
- Washington Post
Wallabies' second-half surge gives Schmidt confidence they can level the series against the Lions
BRISBANE, Australia — Joe Schmidt saw enough spirit in a second-half comeback by his young Wallabies lineup to feel confident they can level the series next week despite losing the first test to the British and Irish Lions. 'This time last year we would have melted,' Schmidt said after the 27-19 loss on Saturday, 'but I love the way this team is developing.'
Telegraph
5 days ago
- Sport
- Telegraph
Lions referees need time to gel like players, but they have not been given it
Dallaglio, Back and Hill. Nonu and Smith. Gregan and Larkham. These are some of the most memorable combinations of the professional era. Together, they helped to turn great teams into world-beaters. And it is no coincidence that the teams who have dominated the world stage have been built around consistent partnerships. It makes total sense. Players need to be clear on their game plan, they need to be able to predict what their team-mates may do in certain situations and they need to understand each other's strengths and weaknesses. Such combinations, however, take time to grow. They require an assortment of shared experiences and they need to have felt and learnt through adversity. Referees are no different. They need to have an agreed philosophy on how a match should be officiated. They need to agree when a TMO should, and perhaps more importantly, when a TMO should not, get involved. It requires the team of officials to know each other inside out, so when they are under the microscope of the rugby world and performing in front of thousands, they don't have to second-guess each other when under pressure – they just know. And there is no more pressure for a rugby referee than during a Lions series as the past two have shown. During the 2021 series against South Africa, Springboks coach Rassie Erasmus posted a 62-minute rant online about what he perceived to be refereeing inconsistencies. That rant not only led to him being banned for two months from all rugby activities, but it also led to Nic Berry, the referee, stating 'that regardless of the outcome and any sanctions imposed, my reputation as a referee and person will forever be tarnished.' Late in the third Lions Test in Auckland in 2017, Romain Poite awarded a penalty to the All Blacks when replacement hooker Ken Owens caught the ball in an offside position from the restart. The French official then reviewed it with his Australian TMO, George Ayoub, and changed his decision to a scrum. At the time, Steve Hansen refused to condemn the decision in public, but has said since then that the 'thing that annoyed me most about that incident, and still does to this day, is that we haven't had an apology from World Rugby.' I was, and still am, a huge advocate of match officials working regularly together, to ensure nothing is left to chance. It is why when I walked onto the field for the World Cup final with two English referees on the sideline and an English TMO in the stand, I knew we had prepared for every eventuality. We had been there and done that. From European Cup finals to Test series in New Zealand, we had worked together in some of the most pressurised matches the game has to offer. One of the wildest atmospheres I ever refereed in was in the Velodrome in Marseille in 2022 when France played the world champions, South Africa. This was number one versus two in the world, and had been talked up as a dress rehearsal for the World Cup final less than a year later. When it was announced I would be refereeing the match, I was obviously delighted, but couldn't believe that I had been paired with an Irish TMO that I had never worked with before. And to cap it off, Tom Foley, the English TMO, who I had worked with for years and who I had built a wonderful rapport with, was in Scotland working as a TMO for an Irish referee. It didn't make sense, and it definitely didn't set us up with the best chance of success. Following this year's European Champions Cup final, one journalist suggested the TMO almost completely took over the match and 'was on top of every slight spill'. And that, in a nutshell, is why match officials need to know each other inside out, so they can all be comfortable with not having a perfect game. Their perfect game will mean more whistle, more scrums and less rugby. A TMO needs to be clear that their role is not to analyse every possible knock-on, or every potential forward pass, but just to get the big calls right. Unless match officials work together regularly, how do they know what is a big decision for one and what is a TMO taking over the match for another? And there lies my concern. Before the first Test, Andy Farrell will be making decisions around the best combinations. But the four match officials have not all been in Australia honing their team. Ben O'Keeffe and Richard Kelly were officiating Fiji v Scotland in Suva last weekend while Andrea Piardi and Nika Amashukeli – who will referee Tests two and three respectively – refereed the match between the Lions and the Invitational Australia and New Zealand side. O'Keeffe, Piardi and Amashukeli are excellent referees, but they all have a slightly different style and a slightly different way in which they interact with the TMO. They will work hard in the week leading up to the first Test in Brisbane, but they won't be purring like the Nonu-Smith partnership. It's also interesting that, unlike in 2017 and 2021, rather than using a single TMO, World Rugby has decided to appoint three different individuals. Kelly, will be followed by the Frenchman, Eric Gauzins and then Marius Jonker from South Africa will take over in the box for the third and final Test, meaning that the consistency fans want, and expect, may not be there. I was at my best when I had people around me who knew me inside out, knew our game plan and knew when or when not to get involved in the game. That took years of discussions, hundreds of hours in reviewing meetings. The officials will already be working hard to ensure they are aligned and connected come kick-off for the first Test on July 19. But I fear they may not have enough time together to cover all of the possible scenarios that a Lions series could throw up and perform to their best.
Telegraph
6 days ago
- Sport
- Telegraph
Sione Tuipulotu on Joseph Suaalii's ‘enemy list' after autumn bust-up
Around 30 minutes into Australia's defeat against Scotland last November, the Wallabies golden boy Joseph Suaalii lined up centre Sione Tuipulotu for a massive tackle only to injure himself in the process. Tuipulotu made sure to give him a send-off as he left the pitch only for Suaalii to deliver a pointed warning, 'I'll see you next time'. That next time could well be on Saturday in the first Test of the Lions series at the Suncorp Stadium. Suaalii says the prospect of playing in this Lions series was the 'biggest carrot' in his high-profile switch from rugby league where his propensity for acts of retribution was well established. The State of Origin series is Australia's equivalent of the Super Bowl and FA Cup, pitting players who grew up in Queensland against New South Wales in a three-match series. Technically, the sport played is rugby league but it is tribal ultra-violence. The bar for being sent off is so high that Mondo Duplantis would struggle to clear it. In game one of the 2024 series, Suaalii managed that feat inside eight minutes of his debut, nearly decapitating Queensland's Reece Walsh. In short, you do not want to be on Suaalii's enemies list, which is where Tuipulotu finds himself. Even if he was not willing to divulge the pleasantries they exchanged 'Yep, yep, yeah we did,' Suaalii said. 'You know once you do things on the footie field, you keep them on the footie field. I am ready to go and ready to play. I don't have too much to say about that. 'At the end of the day, it is a game of footie. Whatever is said on the field, stays on the field. Who knows what team they are going to pick but whoever they pick we are ready to go.' @maulornothingshow"What the HELL was that"‼️💥😂 Sione Tuipulotu talks us through that MONSTER hit from Joseph Suaalii at Murrayfield 🏟️ 🏴@scotlandteam vs @wallabies 🇦🇺 Go check the full episode with @scotlandteam Captain out now! 🔗 in bio… #sionetuipulotu #scotland #rugby #autumnnationsseries #wallabies ♬ Hip-Hop (Instrumental) - dead prez What Suaalii does not articulate with words, he said clearly with his eyes, causing second row Will Skelton, who was sitting next to him, to start chuckling. 'Ah, that's what you want isn't it?' Skelton said. 'Our 12s going against their 12s, 13s against 13s. No matter what, it's going to be a physical battle and we're up for the challenge.' Even Tuipulotu seems to be aware that he may have ill-advisedly poked a bear in the 21-year-old. 'I don't want to put any targets on my back,' Tuipulotu told the Kick ons and Kick offs podcast. 'I know Eoin Toolan, who is the analyst at the Wallabies, and he used to be our analyst at Melbourne. He's told me to stop talking on these podcasts about Joey, cause he says he's raring to go. I don't want to put any targets on my back from big Joey.' Still Suaalii says that he is a changed man since picking up the sixth and quickest red card in State of Origin history. 'It is just about being neutral – not being too high or too low and not playing the game before playing it,' Suaalii said. 'I think that was my biggest lesson from that game. Just keep neutral. 'Just having that balance between having my own time, spending time with the boys, training hard and finding time for myself to relax and get away from it. That's being neutral. You're never going to be just straight neutral, you're always going to be a bit like this [up and down hand gesture], but I have my processes that I do in the week, which keeps me around neutral.' Part of Suaalii's attempt to remain neutral extends to his idiosyncratic warm-up routine which Telegraph Sport witnessed before Australia's 21-18 victory against Fiji in Newcastle. For at least ten minutes, Suaalii stood barefoot under the posts with a pair of headphones in his ears. Then he began a juggling act with three tennis balls before his friends and family came down from the stands to hug him. 'I am a pretty weird person, I think a lot of people know that,' Suaalii said. 'I like to take in the crowd, where I am right now. I do like to connect with the ground and just be where I am right now with my feet. I don't want to look too far ahead or look too far back. It's all about being as present as I can. That's how I want to play the game of footie. I just try to practise that as much as I can off the field so once I'm on the field I am in the now and the present. 'That [the juggling] is just hand-eye, just getting my stuff going with my peripheral vision and getting all those little details that you get on the footie field because you're going to a lot of different pictures on the footie field. It is all part of my process leading in the game.' Playing in the first Test will be the biggest occasion of Suaalii's career since the Origin game. Growing up in Penrith, a working-class suburb of Sydney, Suaalii remembers watching the 2013 series with his siblings and cousins – and that was a prime reason for him moving to union last year. 'I was nine,' Suaalii said. 'I remember watching it. In my house, all the young kids sit on the floor and I just remember being real close to the TV, watching it. It's something so special as a kid that sparks you to do something great in your life, so to be a part of this squad, it's amazing. 'That was probably the biggest carrot for myself. I've always dreamed I wanted to be a part of something so special that happens every 12 years, so that was probably the biggest thing coming across – to play for the Waratahs and play for the Wallabies. Just to be a part of the squad is something so special for myself, my family and everyone that's gotten me to this point.'
The Guardian
08-07-2025
- Sport
- The Guardian
Australia fly-half Noah Lolesio ruled out of Lions Test series after neck surgery
Australia have suffered a significant setback following confirmation that their first-choice fly-half Noah Lolesio will miss the entire Lions series through injury. Lolesio has undergone surgery on his neck and Wallaby coach Joe Schmidt will now have to select a different playmaker and goalkicker for next week's first Test in Brisbane. The two main candidates are Ben Donaldson and Tom Lynagh but Lolesio has started 12 of the last 14 Wallaby Tests under Schmidt and his absence will be keenly felt. Other possible alternatives include the veterans James O'Connor and Bernard Foley, both of whom are 35 and have been plying their trade in New Zealand and Japan respectively. It is far from ideal for Schmidt, with Lynagh having also had fitness issues lately. The Wallabies's chances of winning the best-of-three series will be sharply reduced if they are hit by injuries in key positions and, ideally, they need a fly-half capable of outplaying the Lions' talented number 10 Finn Russell. It is also rotten luck for Lolesio, who was taken from the field on a medical cart during Sunday's win over Fiji in Newcastle but was later discharged from hospital. Rugby Australia initially advised that Lolesio had been 'cleared of significant damage' but now say he was readmitted for surgery on Tuesday following further medical assessment. The 25-year-old Lolesio, who has won 30 caps for his country, has had a rough time recently. He suffered a similar issue for the Brumbies against the Western Force in May and has had to leave the field injured in three of his last five games. On this occasion he was hit hard in a legal tackle by Fiji's Elia Canakaivata and was treated for several minutes before being carried off. The ARU now say he will be out of the game 'for the foreseeable future' but added that he is expected to make a full recovery and play again. 'Firstly, we were relieved that Noah was up and moving well when he returned to the team hotel after his initial hospital visit in Newcastle on Sunday,' said Schmidt. 'Further to that, it's an added relief for everyone, especially his family, that successful surgery now has him on the road to recovery.' Donaldson, who featured at full-back for the Western Force against the Lions, will now be favourite to wear the No 10 jersey in Brisbane on Saturday week. Further options may include Tane Edmed or Harry McLaughlin-Phillips, both of whom have been named in the Australia & New Zealand Invitational XV squad to face the Lions in Adelaide on Saturday.
Yahoo
07-07-2025
- Sport
- Yahoo
Australian media reaction to Fiji performance
Australia had the opportunity on Sunday to ignite interest in the Lions series had they played well and beaten Fiji handsomely. That didn't happen and there is now fear that the pre-Tour predictions of a Lions 3-0 series sweep could come to fruition. Advertisement That's despite the Lions ropey win over the Waratahs. The Australian newspaper ran a damning editorial with the headline, 'They beat Fiji, but the Wallabies are on track for a train wreck.' The article goes on the say, 'Australian rugby is spiralling out of control towards another trainwreck that the code may struggle to recover from. Already heavy underdogs to overcome the combined forces of England, Ireland, Scotland and Wales, Australia's lucky 21-18 win over Fiji at Newcastle on Sunday was an embarrassment that has now guaranteed the Lions will start at shorter odds to win the three-match series.' Advertisement The daily newspaper did offer one caveat. 'The only hope is if the Aussies are foxing and trying to pull off rugby's version of the rope-a-dope when Muhammad Ali let George Foreman pummel him until he exhausted himself. 'If only that was the case because the brutal reality is that with less than two weeks before the first Test in Brisbane on July 19, the Wallabies appear clueless and are running out of time to mount a serious challenge to the Lions.' Rugby Union already plays second fiddle to rugby league in this part of the world and to other sports like Aussie Rules. This once in twelve years series is hugely important to Rugby Australia from a financial point of view and for keeping the sport in the shop window and at the forefront of Aussie sports fans minds. For all these reasons the Australian side need to show up and challenge the Lions. The Aussie media has their doubts.
