Latest news with #MaxJorgensen
The Australian
11 hours ago
- Entertainment
- The Australian
Video: Max Jorgensen, Will Skelton and Nic White inside the Wallabies camp
This is the side of the Wallabies you've never seen. Funny, quick-witted and happily sharing laughs - quite often at each others' expense — less than 48 hours before probably the biggest Test clash of their entire careers. Three players — Max Jorgensen, Will Skelton and Nic White — sat down for some fun with Code Sports on Thursday, just moments after the second Test squad was named for the must-win clash at the MCG tonight against the British & Irish Lions. Winger Jorgensen — punctual and polite — with his kit ready to change into arrived first, followed by Skelton, who was wearing only socks on his feet, while half White bounced in like a Labrador with his moustache ready for its close up. During an afternoon generally reserved for sponsor commitments, the trio gave a glimpse into their off-field chemistry talking about their jetsetting lifestyle as Wallabies as part of the title partnership for the Qatar Airways British & Irish Lions tour to Australia 2025. Skelton's deadpan response to the first thing he does when boarding a plane, 'Turn left', had his mates in stitches. He then happily named prop Taniela Tupou as the biggest snorer on the plane. Jorgensen, 20, was mocked by White for still letting his mum pack his bags and for his luxury shopping habits during stopovers with mate Joseph Suaalii. They also let slip there's an unwritten law that the more junior players give up their exit-row seats for teammates with the most Test caps, while there may or may not be a player who claps when their plane lands at a destination. The Wallabies will be hoping there's 90,000 fans applauding their victory at the MCG on Saturday night.
The Guardian
2 days ago
- Sport
- The Guardian
Australia 26-29 British & Irish Lions: second Test player ratings
Tom Wright A performance of swaggering confidence featuring a try, dynamic running to set up attacks and a punishing 50:22. Set the tone for his side from the back. 8 Max Jorgensen Always busy on the right wing, harried Lowe all game and his intelligent kicking kept the territorial pressure on. 7 Joseph-Aukuso Suaalii A mixed bag. Devastating is full motion in lead up to the Wright try, but often left rudderless in defence and was a little too casual in possession that allowed Curry to smash him in second half. 6 Len Ikitau Put in a huge number of carries once again, and his defensive work was quality, including a try-saving covering tackle on Kinghorn. 8 Harry Potter Contributed little before limping off after 19 minutes. 5 Tom Lynagh A missed important touch-finder late in the game was the only real blemish on another performance of great promise. Good from the tee and out of hand with the boot, ran the attack with relaxed and creative approach. The youngster is here to stay at this level. 7 Jake Gordon If an individual performance could represent the turnaround from the first Test it was this one. Unrecognisable from the lumbering effort of last week; a tryscoring, confident display. 8 James Slipper Rolled back the years in the loose with his defensive effort to prevent a Conan try before scoring one of his own. Less of a good day in the scrum. 6 David Porecki The fulcrum of a transformed Wallabies lineout that went from airborne joke a week ago to consistent quality in Melbourne. Gave his side a brilliant platform that they regularly exploited. 7 Allan Alaalatoa Pretty comprehensively dismantled by Porter at scrum time and was hooked at half-time as a result. 5 Nick Frost Along with Porecki was the central figure in the brilliant Australia lineout. Put himself about at ruck time as well with important clearouts and other dog work. 7 Will Skelton Carried hard and softened the Lions defence from the first exchanges until he left the field breathing from his eyeballs early in the second half. A huge impact and demonstration of what the Aussies missed. 8 Rob Valetini Ran with the ball more times than any other player in the opening 40 before he departed proceedings at half-time. Like Skelton, a real point of difference physically. A shame he wasn't ready to play the full 80. 8 Fraser McReight Visible with a couple of carries in broken play where he looked nimble, but anonymous in his core back-row role at the breakdown. 6 Harry Wilson The captain is an absolute trier, whether that's asking the ref to check a late clearout in the lead-up to a try, or carrying the ball up repeatedly. On the day, he wasn't hugely successful at either. 6 Replacements Billy Pollard (for Porecki, 56) 6, Angus Bell (for Slipper, 40) 6, Tom Robertson (for Alaalatoa 40) 6, Jeremy Williams (for Skelton, 47) 6, Langi Gleeson (for Valetini, 40) 7, Carlo Tizzano (for McReight, 60) 6, Tate McDermott (for Potter, 19) a strong showing in an unfamiliar wing position from early doors 7, Ben Donaldson n/a Hugo Keenan A difficult tour so far was banished from memory as he scored the series-clinching try at the end of a game where his quality re-emerged. His clever slap back into play to deny Lynagh a 50:22 early in the second half was a key momentum breaker. 8 Tommy Freeman More fluffed catches in a fitful game including a yellow card. His great season now appears a month too long. 5 Huw Jones Was in the groove despite the effect the late recall must have had. Gave away the penalty that led to the first Australia try, but made up for it with a strong finish to score one of his own. 7 Bundee Aki A couple of strong carries, one of which led to the Beirne try on the hour. Beyond that a middling outing. Caught out in defence by Suaalii for the Wright try. 6 James Lowe Struggled for an hour under the high ball and in the harrying presence of Jorgensen. Showed some typical aplomb in his offload to Beirne for his score and was replaced immediately after. 6 Finn Russell Showed little of his brilliance from the first Test. Some muffed passes and average return from the tee, but his willingness to spurn the drop goal and keep playing led to the winning score. 6 Jamison Gibson-Park Not a vintage performance, but then the Lions needed a cool head to maximise opportunities he came into his own, most notably with his dictation of play leading to the Curry try that sparked the comeback. 7 Andrew Porter Stymied Alaalatoa in the scrum, but less effective away from the set piece. Caught out on the Gordon try. 6 Dan Sheehan Put in a huge amount of work with the ball in hand, scored his swan-dive try handily. His usual quality self. 7 Tadhg Furlong Solid enough in the scrum and worked incredibly hard around the park with and without the ball. 7 Maro Itoje It's often said that as captain he's more of a leader by example and it showed in this tightest of matches. Worked tirelessly, fought at every breakdown, was never not at it. 8 Ollie Chessum The loss of Joe McCarthy was big and the Leicester lock was never going to be a like for like, but his brand of bog-standard, international second-row play in the tight served his team well. 6 Tadhg Beirne Off the pace and outmuscled for much of the first hour, but had enough nous and energy to score try out wide and frustrate the Wallabies for 80 minutes. 7 Tom Curry Just behind Keenan's try on the list of what won the match is the England flanker's recovery tackle on Suaalii in the second half to dislodge the ball and prevent a gigantic overlap being exploited. Nifty finish for his own try as well. 8 Jack Conan Rocked backwards by part-time winger McDermott at one point, and lost the ball over the line in first half when a try beckoned. Just shy of the pace of the game too often. 6 Replacements Rónan Kelleher (for Sheehan, 64) 6, Ellis Genge (for Porter, 54) 8, Will Stuart (for Furlong, 64) 7, James Ryan (for Chessum, 54) 6, Jac Morgan (for Curry, 54) 6, Alex Mitchell n/a, Owen Farrell (for Jones, 60) 5, Blair Kinghorn (for Lowe, 60) 7
News.com.au
3 days ago
- Entertainment
- News.com.au
Video: Max Jorgensen, Will Skelton and Nic White inside the Wallabies camp
This is the side of the Wallabies you've never seen. Funny, quick-witted and happily sharing laughs - quite often at each others' expense — less than 48 hours before probably the biggest Test clash of their entire careers. Three players — Max Jorgensen, Will Skelton and Nic White — sat down for some fun with Code Sports on Thursday, just moments after the second Test squad was named for the must-win clash at the MCG tonight against the British & Irish Lions. Winger Jorgensen — punctual and polite — with his kit ready to change into arrived first, followed by Skelton, who was wearing only socks on his feet, while half White bounced in like a Labrador with his moustache ready for its close up. During an afternoon generally reserved for sponsor commitments, the trio gave a glimpse into their off-field chemistry talking about their jetsetting lifestyle as Wallabies as part of the title partnership for the Qatar Airways British & Irish Lions tour to Australia 2025. Skelton's deadpan response to the first thing he does when boarding a plane, 'Turn left', had his mates in stitches. He then happily named prop Taniela Tupou as the biggest snorer on the plane. Jorgensen, 20, was mocked by White for still letting his mum pack his bags and for his luxury shopping habits during stopovers with mate Joseph Suaalii. They also let slip there's an unwritten law that the more junior players give up their exit-row seats for teammates with the most Test caps, while there may or may not be a player who claps when their plane lands at a destination. The Wallabies will be hoping there's 90,000 fans applauding their victory at the MCG on Saturday night.
Sydney Morning Herald
20-07-2025
- Sport
- Sydney Morning Herald
Un-Australian, tepid and toothless. Wallabies slammed over first Test performance
The sound in Brisbane was not of rage or rancour, merely one of bleak, sullen resignation. On a galling evening for the Wallabies, this stadium, traditionally such a cauldron for the hosts, felt more like a mausoleum, with home fans' despair at their team's inadequacies so all-engulfing that the hype man had to plead with them to 'make some noise'. After a 12-year wait for their players to collide with the British and Irish Lions once more, they had dared to expect some snarl and defiance befitting the occasion. But instead they witnessed a glaring mismatch, with the lack of cohesion on the pitch so painful that rare incursions into the tourists' 22 were greeted with bitterly ironic cheers. All told, the shift in atmosphere had taken just 42 minutes, with Dan Sheehan punishing an errant Australian line-out to put the Lions out of sight. At kick-off the scene on Caxton Street, on the approach to Suncorp Stadium, had been magnificent, with the seething convergence of red shirts an encapsulation of everything a Lions Test should be. The series opener would soon curdle, though, into a grisly reckoning for Australia, whose status as the sixth-best team in the world looked flattering in the face of the Lions' bombardment and eventual 27-19 win. While their deficiencies had been well-documented, surely they would channel some snarl, some quintessential Queensland defiance, in a city that demanded it? In all honesty, the fight materialised far too late. Australia were tepid, toothless, their only highlight coming courtesy of an inspired individual flourish from Max Jorgensen, stripping the ball from Hugo Keenan for a try against the run of play. Even Joseph-Aukuso Suaalii, whose prodigious athleticism had been heralded as a game-changing factor, was anonymous for long periods. Save for an improbable late riposte, they were inferior in all departments, so traumatised by early brilliance from the Lions' all-Scottish midfield of Finn Russell, Sione Tuipolutu and Huw Jones that they could not conjure any decisive response. Their salvaging of some respectability in the scoreline, with a late try limiting the Lions' margin of victory to eight points, painted a misleading picture of this Test, in which there was not so much a gulf in class as a chasm. For all that captain Harry Wilson had been galvanised by a pep talk from one of his predecessors, the World Cup-winning John Eales, Australia were a pale imitation of the great Wallabies sides. Where Eales is celebrated as the mastermind of that memorable series triumph in 2001, Joe Schmidt's side will require a miracle to achieve anything comparable. For large swathes of this game their performance was, quite simply, un-Australian, bereft of ferocity or any apparent belief they could win. It was not just their lack of ingenuity or tendency to kick far too often in an abject first half, but their actions at the end, when they booted the ball out of play as if congratulating themselves on a bonus-point loss. How odd, too, to see them mingling happily with the Lions at the final whistle, simply relieved that they had not suffered a humiliation. So much for the notion of a defeat, any defeat, eating away at the true Australian's soul.
The Age
20-07-2025
- Sport
- The Age
Un-Australian, tepid and toothless. Wallabies slammed over first Test performance
The sound in Brisbane was not of rage or rancour, merely one of bleak, sullen resignation. On a galling evening for the Wallabies, this stadium, traditionally such a cauldron for the hosts, felt more like a mausoleum, with home fans' despair at their team's inadequacies so all-engulfing that the hype man had to plead with them to 'make some noise'. After a 12-year wait for their players to collide with the British and Irish Lions once more, they had dared to expect some snarl and defiance befitting the occasion. But instead they witnessed a glaring mismatch, with the lack of cohesion on the pitch so painful that rare incursions into the tourists' 22 were greeted with bitterly ironic cheers. All told, the shift in atmosphere had taken just 42 minutes, with Dan Sheehan punishing an errant Australian line-out to put the Lions out of sight. At kick-off the scene on Caxton Street, on the approach to Suncorp Stadium, had been magnificent, with the seething convergence of red shirts an encapsulation of everything a Lions Test should be. The series opener would soon curdle, though, into a grisly reckoning for Australia, whose status as the sixth-best team in the world looked flattering in the face of the Lions' bombardment and eventual 27-19 win. While their deficiencies had been well-documented, surely they would channel some snarl, some quintessential Queensland defiance, in a city that demanded it? In all honesty, the fight materialised far too late. Australia were tepid, toothless, their only highlight coming courtesy of an inspired individual flourish from Max Jorgensen, stripping the ball from Hugo Keenan for a try against the run of play. Even Joseph-Aukuso Suaalii, whose prodigious athleticism had been heralded as a game-changing factor, was anonymous for long periods. Save for an improbable late riposte, they were inferior in all departments, so traumatised by early brilliance from the Lions' all-Scottish midfield of Finn Russell, Sione Tuipolutu and Huw Jones that they could not conjure any decisive response. Their salvaging of some respectability in the scoreline, with a late try limiting the Lions' margin of victory to eight points, painted a misleading picture of this Test, in which there was not so much a gulf in class as a chasm. For all that captain Harry Wilson had been galvanised by a pep talk from one of his predecessors, the World Cup-winning John Eales, Australia were a pale imitation of the great Wallabies sides. Where Eales is celebrated as the mastermind of that memorable series triumph in 2001, Joe Schmidt's side will require a miracle to achieve anything comparable. For large swathes of this game their performance was, quite simply, un-Australian, bereft of ferocity or any apparent belief they could win. It was not just their lack of ingenuity or tendency to kick far too often in an abject first half, but their actions at the end, when they booted the ball out of play as if congratulating themselves on a bonus-point loss. How odd, too, to see them mingling happily with the Lions at the final whistle, simply relieved that they had not suffered a humiliation. So much for the notion of a defeat, any defeat, eating away at the true Australian's soul.
