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Yahoo
29-06-2025
- Sport
- Yahoo
Kinghorn itching to join Lions squad after 'sweet' Top 14 triumph
Blair Kinghorn (C) celebrates the Top 14 title with Jack Willis (R) and Thibaud Flament (L) (MARTIN BUREAU) Toulouse's Scottish winger Blair Kinghorn said it had been "weird" seeing the British and Irish Lions tour start without him as he helped his club to a record-extending 24th French Top 14 title on Saturday. The 28-year-old played the full 100 minutes, including the draining extra-time, as the giants of French rugby held off Bordeaux-Begles 39-33 in dramatic fashion to claim a third straight French crown. Advertisement Kinghorn, who can also play at full-back and fly-half, flies to Australia with the Lions two games into a 10-match schedule for his first experience of the historic touring team. He is only set to be available for the Lions when they face the Waratahs in Sydney next Saturday after a gruelling club campaign. "I've been so focused on Toulouse stuff that I've not really thought about it too much," Kinghorn told reporters sipping a bottle of beer and wearing just a pair of club coloured red and black swimming briefs. "It feels a bit weird, to be honest. "It's only like the last couple of days when I've had to pack and everything, it's like, all right, I'm heading out there now," the 63-time capped star added. Advertisement Success at a buoyant Stade de France capped off a frustrating season for serial-winners Toulouse. Despite topping the Top 14 table after the regular season and scoring a record number of points they lost their Champions Cup crown when they were knocked out in the semi-finals by eventual winners Bordeaux-Begles. "That one feels sweet after probably not the best season we've had, even though the stats and all that back it up that we've had a great season," he said. "It doesn't matter, the stats, if you don't win something, it's not a successful season. "I'm over the moon, it's amazing," he added. Advertisement - 'Bounce back' - Kinghorn is the only member of the Lions squad playing his club rugby in France. Team-mate and English back-rower Jack Willis missed out on selection despite an impressive season for Toulouse. Since leaving Wasps for France in 2022 Willis has been unable to add to his 15 England caps as he plays his rugby abroad. "I think he's been playing unbelievable rugby," Kinghorn said. "But he was a realist. "He knows that there's a lot of competition in that back row and he's not playing international rugby. "But I'm sure if there's an injury he can potentially get called out because he's in great form at the moment," he added. Advertisement The Lions have started their tour with mixed results. They lost to Argentina in Dublin last week before hammering the Western Force, their first game on Australian soil, 54-7 hours before Kinghorn lifted the 133-year-old Bouclier Shield (Bouclier de Brennus). "It's always tough coming together," Kinghorn said. "Everyone expects you to be like a great team from the get-go, but you don't have those connections. "So it's good to see that they bounced back and got a great win," the former Edinburgh full-back added. Kinghorn arrives in Australia on Monday after a flight from Paris, a luxury three of his compatriots would only dream of. Advertisement His fellow former Edinburgh Academicals players in the three Maclean brothers, Lachlan, Ewan and Jamie, are rowing 9,000 miles (14,480km) across the Pacific Ocean to Australia to raise money for clean water projects. "It's nuts what they're doing," Kinghorn said. "They're sleeping 90 minutes getting up and rowing. "It's carnage. "They're hopefully going to try and make it for one of the games. "But obviously with mother nature you never really know what's going to happen," he added. iwd/pi
The Guardian
23-02-2025
- Sport
- The Guardian
Italy v France: Six Nations updates
Show key events only Please turn on JavaScript to use this feature While we wait, here's a bunch of tasty writing from yesterday's Six Nations action: Rob Kitson reflects on Scotland's agony: Andy Bull sings the praises of England's 'iron-chinned boxers': Michael Aylwin enjoyed watching Scotland, but laments their inability to deliver on their promise: Gerard Meagher rates England's and Scotland's players: England 16-15 Scotland: Calcutta Cup Six Nations player ratings And Luke McLuaghlin heard from Wales' interim coach, Matt Sherratt, who managed to rouse a response from his beleaguered squad: Share The French are going for power over panache as Fabian Galthié has loaded his bench with seven forwards. There are four changes from the team that started in the defeat to England with Thibaud Flament making his first appearance of the tournament in the second row alongside Mackael Guillard who came off the bench in Twickenham two weeks ago. Fly-half Matthieu Jalibert and winger Damian Penaud have remarkably been axed from the match-day 23 altogether with Thomas Ramos slotting in at 10 and Leo Barre moving to 15. Theo Attissogbe starts on the right wing. There are more changes on the bench with Georges-Henri Colombe replacing Dorian Aldegheri as the replacement tighthead prop while lock Romain Taofifenua joins the party. Anthony Jelonch adds extra heft while Maxime Lucu is the sole back among the subs, edging out Nolann Le Garrec. France: 15 – Leo Barre; 14 – Theo Attissogbe, 13 – Pierre-Louis Barassi, 12 – Yoram Moefana, 11 – Louis Bielle-Biarrey; 10 – Thomas Ramos, 9 – Antoine Dupont (c); 1 – Jean-Baptiste Gros, 2 – Peato Mauvaka, 3 – Uini Atonio, 4 – Thibaud Flament, 5 – Mickael Guillard, 6 – Francois Cros, 7 – Paul Boudehent, 8 – Gregory Alldritt. Replacements: 16 – Julien Marchand, 17- Cyril Baille, 18- Dorian Aldegheri, 19- Romain Taofifenua, 20 - Alexandre Roumat, 21 - Oscar Jegou, 22 - Anthony Jelonch, 23 – Maxime Lucu Share Gonzalo Quesada has made two changes from the starting XV that comfortably beat Wales a fortnight ago. One is a forced change with the injured winger Monty Ioane making way for Simone Gesi, who started on the bench in Warren Gatland's last game in charge of Wales. There's also a change at hooker with Gianmarco Lucchesi moving to the bench and Giacomo Nicotera starting. The previously banned loosehead Mirco Spagnolo has returns to the match-day 23 with tighthead Giosuè Zilocchi and lock Riccardo Favretto among the substitutes in a 6-2 split. Otherwise it's a settled backline with perhaps the most potent midfield in the competition. It's a question of whether or not their tight five can win the arm wrestle up front. Italy: 15 – Tommasso Allan; 14 – Ange Capuozzo, 13 – Juan Ignacio Brex, 12 – Tommaso Menoncello, 11 – Simone Gesi; 10 – Paolo Garbisi, 9 – Martin Page-Relo; 1 – Danilo Fischetti, 2 – Gianmarco Lucchesi, 3 – Simone Ferrari, 4 - Niccolò Cannone, 5 – Federico Ruzza, 6 – Sebastian Negri, 7 – Michele Lamaro (c), 8 – Lorenzo Cannone. Replacements: 16 - Giacomo Nicotera, 17 – Mirco Spagnolo, 18 – Giosuè Zilocchi, 19 – Riccardo Favretto, 20 – Manuel Zuliani, 21 – Ross Vintcent, 22 – Alessandro Garbisi, 23 - Jacopo Trulla Share Daniel Gallan Is Fabian Galthié wasting a golden generation of French talent? It's a harsh question, but a fair one considering a team stacked with game changers, one supplemented by the best domestic league in the world, has only one Six Nations crown to show for all their dazzle. Now, with England beating Scotland, and Ireland keeping their grand slam ambitions alive, we're entering must-win territory for France. A loss today would see their slim hopes of a title evaporate. In years gone by this would be a gimme. From 9 February 2011 to 6 October 2023, France beat Italy 14 times in a row. But last year, a malfunctioning kicking tee denied the Azzurri a deserving victory in Lille. Instead the sides settled for a 13-13 draw but it was the Italians who left with enhanced reputations and the French wondering if their quarterfinal exit in a home World Cup in 2023 constituted a high water mark. Italy will fancy their chances against the one team they want to beat more than the rest. There's a bit of a little-brother-big-brother vibe to this rivalry and the fratellini have all the tools for an upset on home soil. Can they do it? We'll find out once things kick off in Rome at 3pm. Teams and more updates to come. Share
