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The Guardian
3 days ago
- Sport
- The Guardian
How do you bounce back from defeat in a first Lions Test? In 2009, our response was brutal
It is worth comparing and contrasting two separate events over the past week to really get a sense of the challenge that faces the Wallabies on Saturday. Shortly before half-time in the first Test in Brisbane, Tom Curry tackled Tom Lynagh in the air. None of Australia's players went after him. The Lions No 7 had just cut Lynagh – a young fly-half making his first Test start – in half and the Wallabies left him alone. Three days later Darcy Graham is on the receiving end of a high shot in the first few minutes. Owen Farrell piles straight in, sending a crystal clear message: 'We're not standing for it.' It's part of the reason anyone who has played with him cannot speak highly enough of him. Put simply, the Wallabies need to get in the Lions' faces if they are going to level the series. They were too passive in Brisbane and they need to set that right at the Melbourne Cricket Ground. I see similarities between where the Wallabies are now and where the Lions were in 2009. We didn't show up in the first Test in Durban and we got monstered in the scrum. I remember John Smit scored a try after five minutes in what was South Africa's first entry into our 22. I'll never forget the debrief we had on a Monday. The defence coach, Shaun Edwards, played us the clips of that try, it was carry after carry and every Springbok got over the gainline before Smit ran through two defenders. Edwards told us it was one of the worst opening defensive sets he had ever seen in international rugby. So we had to show up in the second Test, which has gone down in history for its brutality. We had Simon Shaw come into the team, an enormous second-row who was named man of the match despite featuring for the losing side. The Wallabies will be hoping Will Skelton can have a similar impact. When you're 1-0 down you are hyper-focused because the series comes down to the 80 minutes on Saturday. You want to keep the gameplan simple but there are things you can demand and expect. Emotionally you have to be in the right place, physically in the right place and work rate has to be through the roof. You've got to fight for everything, you've got to be desperate, but desperation can't lead to ill-discipline or trying too hard and where you end up doing other people's jobs. Because we know what the fallout will be if they don't get it right. Australia were poor last week but when the Lions are doing their preparation they will be preparing for the best version of the Wallabies. You don't prepare for last week's version because if you do you'll find yourself with egg on your face. I fully expect that Australia will show up this weekend and I've spent a bit of time this week hoping that they will. That's alien to me in the context of a Lions tour, I don't ever remember feeling or hoping that the Kiwis or South Africans will turn up. Why has it taken this sort of poverty of performance to invigorate this Wallabies side for a series that happens once every 12 years? Do you have to play so poorly to realise that you have to show up? Sometimes sport can be really simple when you are out of options and the Wallabies are at that stage, they have to show up. They have to be so much better. Yes, there were some green shoots but I didn't feel that the result last week was ever in question. To concede as early as they did, it was soft, and the hope must be they don't concede soft tries again, I really hope we get a competitive match. And I'm confident we will. Rob Valetini will bring significant physicality, so will Skelton. With what's on the line you hope it's just a lot better. This is the first time as a fan with the Lions that I've wanted to see major improvements but it's a demonstration of where the Wallabies are. They are the sixth best team in the world and almost by default, because other teams around them have lost. We're not in rugby union territory in Melbourne, I was at the AFL the other night and there were 65,000 there for a club match. The MCG should be sold out for a Lions game that happens once every 12 years and it's not. Sign up to The Breakdown The latest rugby union news and analysis, plus all the week's action reviewed after newsletter promotion But while I have a sense of sympathy, the Lions won't. They'll be thrilled to be in the position they are but they'll be frustrated with themselves because they didn't play to their levels in the second half. They need to show more of a ruthless edge because it's going to be massively physical, energetic, emotional – they've got to weather that storm and then get into gear and stay in gear. If they do that I'm confident they can wrap up the series.
The Guardian
3 days ago
- Sport
- The Guardian
How do you bounce back from defeat in a first Lions Test? In 2009, our response was brutal
It is worth comparing and contrasting two separate events over the past week to really get a sense of the challenge that faces the Wallabies on Saturday. Shortly before half-time in the first Test in Brisbane, Tom Curry tackled Tom Lynagh in the air. None of Australia's players went after him. The Lions No 7 had just cut Lynagh – a young fly-half making his first Test start – in half and the Wallabies left him alone. Three days later Darcy Graham is on the receiving end of a high shot in the first few minutes. Owen Farrell piles straight in, sending a crystal clear message: 'We're not standing for it.' It's part of the reason anyone who has played with him cannot speak highly enough of him. Put simply, the Wallabies need to get in the Lions' faces if they are going to level the series. They were too passive in Brisbane and they need to set that right at the Melbourne Cricket Ground. I see similarities between where the Wallabies are now and where the Lions were in 2009. We didn't show up in the first Test in Durban and we got monstered in the scrum. I remember John Smit scored a try after five minutes in what was South Africa's first entry into our 22. I'll never forget the debrief we had on a Monday. The defence coach, Shaun Edwards, played us the clips of that try, it was carry after carry and every Springbok got over the gainline before Smit ran through two defenders. Edwards told us it was one of the worst opening defensive sets he had ever seen in international rugby. So we had to show up in the second Test, which has gone down in history for its brutality. We had Simon Shaw come into the team, an enormous second-row who was named man of the match despite featuring for the losing side. The Wallabies will be hoping Will Skelton can have a similar impact. When you're 1-0 down you are hyper-focused because the series comes down to the 80 minutes on Saturday. You want to keep the gameplan simple but there are things you can demand and expect. Emotionally you have to be in the right place, physically in the right place and work rate has to be through the roof. You've got to fight for everything, you've got to be desperate, but desperation can't lead to ill-discipline or trying too hard and where you end up doing other people's jobs. Because we know what the fallout will be if they don't get it right. Australia were poor last week but when the Lions are doing their preparation they will be preparing for the best version of the Wallabies. You don't prepare for last week's version because if you do you'll find yourself with egg on your face. I fully expect that Australia will show up this weekend and I've spent a bit of time this week hoping that they will. That's alien to me in the context of a Lions tour, I don't ever remember feeling or hoping that the Kiwis or South Africans will turn up. Why has it taken this sort of poverty of performance to invigorate this Wallabies side for a series that happens once every 12 years? Do you have to play so poorly to realise that you have to show up? Sometimes sport can be really simple when you are out of options and the Wallabies are at that stage, they have to show up. They have to be so much better. Yes, there were some green shoots but I didn't feel that the result last week was ever in question. To concede as early as they did, it was soft, and the hope must be they don't concede soft tries again, I really hope we get a competitive match. And I'm confident we will. Rob Valetini will bring significant physicality, so will Skelton. With what's on the line you hope it's just a lot better. This is the first time as a fan with the Lions that I've wanted to see major improvements but it's a demonstration of where the Wallabies are. They are the sixth best team in the world and almost by default, because other teams around them have lost. We're not in rugby union territory in Melbourne, I was at the AFL the other night and there were 65,000 there for a club match. The MCG should be sold out for a Lions game that happens once every 12 years and it's not. Sign up to The Breakdown The latest rugby union news and analysis, plus all the week's action reviewed after newsletter promotion But while I have a sense of sympathy, the Lions won't. They'll be thrilled to be in the position they are but they'll be frustrated with themselves because they didn't play to their levels in the second half. They need to show more of a ruthless edge because it's going to be massively physical, energetic, emotional – they've got to weather than storm and then get into gear and stay in gear. If they do that I'm confident they can wrap up the series.
The Guardian
16-07-2025
- Sport
- The Guardian
Andy Farrell knows what it takes to play for the Lions against Australia
Andy Farrell knows more about playing for the Lions against Australia than anyone in his squad. He faced Australia 15 times for Great Britain's rugby league team, winning just four of those matches. Farrell only played in Australia twice for the Lions, captaining the team in Brisbane in 1999 and Sydney in 2002. Both matches were a nightmare, his team humiliated by an aggregate score of 106-16. Farrell's introduction to the team was more enjoyable. He made the first of his 34 appearances for Great Britain at Headingley against New Zealand in 1993. He was only 18 years old and he scored on his debut. Let's hope he savoured that moment. His third Great Britain international, in 1994, was an epic. Farrell started in the second row against Australia at Wembley in an arm-wrestle for the ages. This wasn't a run-of-the-mill Australia side. This was one of the all-time greats. The backline consisted of Brett Mullins at full-back, Andrew Ettingshausen and Wendell Sailor on the wings, with Mal Meninga and Steve Renouf inside them. The half-back partnership was Laurie Daley and Alfie Langer, with Ian Roberts in the pack, Brad Fittler at loose forward, and Ricky Stuart off the bench. There were current and future immortals in green and gold that day. Midway through the first half, the Great Britain captain Shaun Edwards was sent off. Novice coach Ellery Hanley sacrificed Farrell, substituting him to bring on Bobbie Goulding in Edwards' place. Great Britain won the match 8-4. It was a masterstroke and a lesson in brutal decision-making for Farrell. Surely if Great Britain could beat Australia with a side including mere mortals such as Alan Hunte, Karl Harrison and Allan Bateman, a glorious career of Ashes triumphs and lifting World Cups lay ahead for the young Farell? Nope. Australia would stop him winning every single international tournament in his career: Ashes, World Cup and Tri-Nations. As well as Australia, New Zealand and England, Farrell played for the Lions in France, Fiji and Papua New Guinea. He was a loose forward for 16 Tests, in the second row for 15, and even spent the 1997 Ashes series at stand-off alongside Goulding. He was given the captaincy for the 1996 tour and never relinquished it. That trip saw Farrell officially crowned a Lion. For decades, players in both codes had to represent the British Isles in Test matches in the southern hemisphere to be given Lion status. Home matches, or trips to France, did not count, nor did World Cups. Farrell's first tour in the southern hemisphere, in 1996, was a woeful one for Great Britain. The team started the tour by scraping through a warm-up match against Papua New Guinea, winning 32-30; they finished it by losing all three of their tests in New Zealand. Despite the poor results, Farrell showed real leadership and was made captain by coach Phil Larder. 'As the tour developed, it was obvious he was the leader of the lads,' reflected Larder. 'Andy wasn't who I had identified to be captain but he was the one they all looked up to and he was playing exceptionally well. He became my captain. Faz came through as a natural leader, not only on the pitch but outside as well. Everybody in the squad looked up to him. The thing about Andy is he's got presence. If he walks into a room, he seems to attract people to him. Players latch on to that.' A poor run of results in the late 1990s – that chastening trip to New Zealand in 1996, defeats to Australia in the Ashes in 1997 and another series loss to the Kiwis in 1998 – did little for the Lions brand. The Australian Rugby League Commission realised New Zealand were now their closest rivals and decided to host a Tri-Nations tournament in 1999 rather than an Ashes tour. The tournament did not go well for the visitors. Farrell must have assumed his Lions experience had hit rock bottom when the team were torn to shreds by Darren Lockyer, Brett Kimmorley, Matthews Gidley, Johns, Fittler, Sailor and co, hammered 42-6 by Australia at Lang Park. Just 12,511 fans turned up to watch what they had assumed would be a mismatch. They were right. It was another miserable tour, blighted by cliques: groups of players from Leeds, Wigan and St Helens who had spent all season trying to smash each other just could not kiss and make up. Coach Andy Goodway looked on helplessly, his career irreparably damaged by the experience. Farrell will not repeat that mistake with his Lions this year. It got worse. Farrell was also a walking punchbag in July 2002 when Great Britain accepted an invitation to face Australia in Sydney for a one-off test in the middle of the season. The Kangaroos, hardened to a flint by Origin, smashed Farrell and his men to pieces. Lote Tuqiri, Lockyer, Willie Mason and Johns had a field day as the Kangaroos romped to a record 64-10 triumph. It was a never-repeated folly, the type that teaches never-forgotten lessons. What looked like the blackest day in British rugby league history was in fact a blip, albeit one that pounded several nails in the league Lions coffin. After that horror show in Sydney, Farrell led the Lions on a heroic run. They lost just five of their next 10 tests against the Kangaroos and Kiwis, remaining competitive in every game. The Lions won three Tests on the bounce to reach the 2004 Tri-Nations final against Australia at Elland Road on a high. Few saw the 44-4 humbling coming. Throw in England's capitulation at the hands of New Zealand in the semi-final of a home World Cup in 2000 and this was one humiliation too far for a proud man. Lions failure must have precipitated his move to union in 2005. Whereas his friend Jason Robinson became the 14th and probably last dual-code Lion, Farrell switched to union too late to make their tour in 2005 and he was approaching retirement when the squad set off again in 2009. He added eight England caps in union to his nine in league, but it is a disappointment that such a talismanic giant of turn-of-the-century rugby league should have such a frustrating international record. After his debut win, Farrell played in nine series or tournaments for Great Britain (plus two World Cups for England) and failed to win a single one. Of the test series against the Kangaroos and Kiwis, he lost six and drew the other. Yet Farrell was hugely respected and admired by Australian league players, coaches and pundits. It's not that he had no success on Australian shores. One of the highlights of his playing career came in Brisbane in 1994, when more than 54,000 fans saw his Wigan team beat the all-conquering Broncos 20-14 to win the World Club title. Three years later the Broncos got their revenge on the same stage, hammering a more prosaic Wigan side 34-0, only a week after Farrell had kicked Wigan to victory over Canterbury Bulldogs at Belmore. Unlike the players he started his Lions career alongside – Jonathan Davies, Martin Offiah, Edwards, Garry Schofield, Hanley – Farrell was prevented from playing the off-season in the ARL and never took the plunge in the NRL. So Australian fans never saw him dominate games like he did back home in England. Even when things were not going well for his teams, Farrell stood out. I recall a game at Griffin Park in Brentford when London Broncos appeared to be playing against Farrell on his own, his Wigan teammates missing in action as the emergency prop put in a colossal performance. It would prove to be his last league appearance in London before he emerged around the North Circular at Saracens. By then, Farrell had taken Wigan to another Super League Grand Final but been thrashed at Old Trafford by Leeds. He was dying against rugby league's light. And a month later at Elland Road, those pesky Kangaroos snuffed it out. Follow No Helmets Required on Facebook
Wales Online
28-06-2025
- Sport
- Wales Online
Shaun Edwards says Dan Biggar saved his career as world rugby has few things to say to star
Shaun Edwards says Dan Biggar saved his career as world rugby has few things to say to star World rugby legends paid tribute to Dan Biggar after the Wales star officially retired this week Former Wales defence coach Shaun Edwards (Image: ) The great and the good of world rugby have paid tribute to Dan Biggar upon his retirement - with Shaun Edwards saying the Wales legend saved his career. Biggar brought the curtain down on his playing days this week, posting on social media confirming "full time" had been called and his boots hung up for the last time. The 35-year-old announced in April that this would be his final season in rugby, finishing his career with club side Toulon. Biggar won 112 caps for Wales in a 15-year international career, becoming his country's most-capped fly-half, while he also starred in the Lions shirt. He bagged three Six Nations titles and featured in three World Cups for this country. Taking to Instagram, the Gorseinon product shared a photo of himself looking out over the empty field at Toulon's Stade Mayol and wrote: "Full-time. Grateful for every moment and ready for what's next." Now, some of the biggest names in the game have come together to offer up their own video tributes to the former Osprey. Article continues below "The bigger the moment, the better he played," Edwards began in a tribute video. "The bigger the game, the better he played." Arguably the world's best player Antoine Dupont said: "Hello Dan. Just a few words to simply congratulate you on your career you had. "Everything you did for Wales, the Lions and the rest of your career that we know. Congratulations on being the talented player you are with an incredible kicking game but also a very brave player." Content cannot be displayed without consent Fellow fly-half legend Jonny Wilkinson added: "Hey Dan, just a little message to say a massive congratulations for what is, for me, a monumental career." Former Wales and Lions team-mate Sam Warburton said: "Biggs! What a shift mate, two Lions tour, Test match tens, centurion for Wales. Legend mate." Fellow Ospreys hero Justin Tipuric added: "I just want to say massive congratulations on an unbelievable career." Leigh Halfpenny, who played alongside Biggar during the halcyon days for Wales, harked back to their time at Gorseinon RFC together. He said: "I remember the impact you had when you first joined us at Gorseinon, I could see you were going to be a special player from a young age." Neil Jenkins, who Biggar developed a close working relationship with during their Wales days, added: "Just want to congratulate you on a fantastic career mate and you wish you all the best in your retirement and I'm sure I'll catch up with you soon." The most poignant message was left to Edwards to deliver, with the former Wales defence coach going as far as to say Biggar saved his career at Twickenham in 2015, when Wales knocked England out of their own World Cup, thanks to some clutch kicking from the fly-half. Edwards: "He is the person that you would want to kick the goal to save your career, as he did with my career in 2015, England vs Wales, World Cup match. Article continues below "Johnny Sexton of Ireland. Owen Farrell of England. Dan Biggar of Wales."
Times
14-06-2025
- Sport
- Times
British & Irish Lions: Our experts have their say on tour to Australia
With the British & Irish Lions kicking off their summer against Argentina on Friday, members of Times Sport's expert rugby team — Sam Warburton, Lawrence Dallaglio, Stephen Jones, Owen Slot and Mark Palmer — assembled in London to whet the appetite for the forthcoming tour to Australia. They debated all manner of topics, including the battle for the No10 jersey, the balance of the squad and the stars who could be elevated to world-class status. Before the discussion got under way, the Australia legend Matt Giteau appeared on screen to kick things off with a cheeky prediction… Owen Slot: Sam, what do you think of Matt Giteau's 3-0 to Australia prediction? Let's get stuck into that a little bit. Sam Warburton: It'll be tougher than people think. I predict a 2-1 Lions win. I remember what Shaun Edwards, the former Lions and Wales defence coach, said to me when I first went down to Australia — he said: 'Mate, it's different down there. It's quicker and it's warmer. It's more humid.' And I remember playing the first Test against Australia. I remember thinking, 'Flipping heck, he was right'.
