Latest news with #WesternForce
BBC News
an hour ago
- Sport
- BBC News
Build-up as British and Irish Lions face Western Force in Perth
Update: Date: 10:14 BST Title: Sheehan leads from the front Content: Western Force v British and Irish Lions (11:00 BST) Stand-in Lions captain Dan Sheehan has challenged his Lions team-mates to match the passion of their hosts Western Force. "I'm sure the Force will be 150% of what they usually are," said the 26-year-old Ireland hooker," said Sheehan. "They will be flying into it and that bit of extra hunger can produce some powerful things. "They would have been eyeing this game up since they probably first stepped into that Western Force change room. It'll mean an awful lot to them. "But I don't want them to think that they're going to be hungrier than us. We have to demonstrate back our own mindset." Read more here. Update: Date: 10:11 BST Title: Line-ups Content: Western Force v British and Irish Lions (11:00 BST) Western Force: Donaldson, Grealy, Proctor, Stewart, Pietsch, Harford, White (capt); T Robertson, Paenga-Amosa, Hoskins, Carter, Swain, Harris, Champion de-Crespigny, Ekuasi. Replacements: Dolly, Pearce, Tauakipulu, Faifua, Prinsep, H Robertson, Burey, Kuenzie. British and Irish Lions: Daly, Hansen, Ringrose, Tuipulotu, Lowe, Russell, Williams; Schoeman, Sheehan, Furlong, Cummings, McCarthy, Beirne, Van der Flier, Pollock. Replacements: Kelleher, Porter, Stuart, Chessum, Conan, Mitchell, Jones, M Smith. Update: Date: 10:08 BST Title: Team news Content: Western Force v British and Irish Lions (11:00 BST) With Lions captain Maro Itoje being rested, stand-in skipper Dan Sheehan leads the tourists on Saturday. The Ireland hooker is one of five players in the starting line-up who will make their Lions debut in Perth, his Leinster team-mates Garry Ringrose, James Lowe, Joe McCarthy and Josh van der Flier being the others. Four more Lions are set to make their debut off the bench - lock Ollie Chessum, centre Huw Jones, and props Andrew Porter and Will Stuart. Northampton tyro Henry Pollock will make his first start at number eight having come off the bench in the defeat by Argentina in Dublin last Friday. Update: Date: 10:04 BST Title: One down, nine to go... Content: Western Force v British and Irish Lions (11:00 BST) The Lions have already played a match this summer, albeit on home soil in Dublin. Andy Farrell's side lost their opening game of a campaign for the first time since 1971 with defeat by Argentina. How will they respond in their first game on Australian soil today? Update: Date: 10:00 BST Title: This is your Everest, boys Content: Western Force v British and Irish Lions (11:00 BST) The British and Irish Lions have a long and vibrant history. The story of the Lions began over a century ago in 1888 when they first toured Australia and New Zealand. Thirty-eight tours and 137 years later, the best of England, Scotland, Ireland and Wales return Down Under to write the next chapter of Lions folklore. In tribute to Scotland and Lions legend Jim Telfer, the climb to the top of Everest for the Class of 2025 starts now...
The Sun
2 hours ago
- Sport
- The Sun
Western Force vs British & Irish Lions live stream: How to watch for FREE
THE British and Irish Lions arrive in Australia for their first clash Down Under! Andy Farrell's side begin their tour of Australia against Western Force. 3 3 3 The Lions were handed a humbling defeat at the hands of Argentina in Dublin, with many of Farrell's squad unavailable for selection. A close encounter in Dublin was a sign of the individual talent in the side, but also a sign of a lack of cohesion between the players so far. Players such as Finn Russell and James Lowe will be returning from Premiership and URC final duty for their first games of the tour. SunSport can reveal how to watch the British and Irish Lions for FREE. How to watch British & Irish Lions for FREE The British and Irish Lions take on Western Force at 11am BST on Saturday, June 28. The game will be available for FREE on the BBC iPlayer with Welsh commentary. The clash will be shown with English commentary live on Sky Sports. Alternatively, follow along with SunSport's comprehensive blog of the action. Lions vs Western Force team news Andy Farrell made 13 changes to his side that lost to Argentina, with only Sione Tuipulotu and Tadhg Beirne included, but both are playing in different positions. 20-year-old Henry Pollock is given a first start, with Dan Sheehan coming into to captain the side from hooker.
The Guardian
2 hours ago
- Sport
- The Guardian
Western Force v British & Irish Lions: rugby union
Update: Date: 2025-06-28T09:00:21.000Z Title: Preamble Content: There's much mystique about the British & Irish Lions; chiefly born of the legendary victorious tours of the early 1970s and the 1997 outing to South Africa with it's associated documentary. This has led many to assume and expect that the Lions is about winning, but for years the tours were more about taking the notion of home country and nostalgia out to the colonies as a celebration of the putative factors that united us. Losing overall usually came in tandem with this. Handy then, that this year's tour has managed to uphold tradition and heritage by losing nice and early so all the 'invincibles' chat can be shushed. However, the loss v Argentina was not technically part of the actual tour, so maybe not. Either way, this is the first game on Aussie soil and Andy Farrell and his men will be raring to have a W on the board before they cross the country to Queensland later in the week. In the way is a Western Force side with some test experience smattered across them, not least in experienced scrum half Nic White. A quirky stat among the caps is replacement Australian hooker Nic Dolly, with his only test appearance being single game in 2021… for England. This should be a nice and comfortable opener down under for the tourists, but let's see shall we?
Irish Independent
2 hours ago
- Sport
- Irish Independent
Western Force v The Lions: Andy Farrell's men get tour under way in Perth
Live | It's time for the first game of what promises to be a pulsating tour as Western Force welcome Andy Farrell's Lions to Perth. Kick-off at the Optus Stadium is 11am Irish time and you can follow all the action as it happens below. one minute ago Hello and welcome to live coverage of the Lions versus Western Force in Perth as the Lions look to get first victory The time for talking is over as the Lions face the Western Force at the Optus Stadium, as Andy Farrell's men are looking for a response to the defeat to Argentina in Dublin. Farrell has called on some big guns for this opener, with Dan Sheehan captaining the side in his debut, with 10 other Irish players joining Sheehan in the squad. The Force struggled in Super Rugby this season, but they will have six members of Joe Schmidt's Wallabies squad in Tom Robertson, Darcy Swain, Nick Champion de Crespigny, Nic White, Dylan Pietsch, and Ben Donaldson, but Kurtley Beale misses out. Can the Lions put down a marker for the tour or will the Force spring a surprise. Stay tuned for live coverage and read Rúaidhrí O'Connor's analysis and reaction on the Independent website and in print.
Irish Daily Mirror
2 hours ago
- Sport
- Irish Daily Mirror
Western Force v British Lions live updates from opening game of Australian tour
The British & Irish Lions' tour kicks off on Saturday, with the renowned side squaring off against Western Force in the opening match of their Australia tour. Andy Farrell's squad landed Down Under at the beginning of the week, jetting to the southern hemisphere after a 28-24 loss to Argentina in Dublin. The outcome wasn't the best preparation for the men in red, but they will have put that behind them now, focusing solely on today's game in Perth. Farrell has made 13 changes to the team defeated by the Pumas as Dan Sheehan captains the side in the absence of Maro Itoje. Today's match, which starts at 11am Irish time, will be broadcast live on Sky Sports Main Event, but you can also keep up with live updates in our blog below, via Wales Online. Here are the teams: Lions: E Daly; M Hansen, G Ringrose, S Tuipulotu, J Lowe; F Russell, T Williams; P Schoeman, D Sheehan (c), T Furlong, S Cummings, J McCarthy, T Beirne, J Van der Flier, H Pollock. Replacements: R Kelleher, A Porter, W Stuart, O Chessum, J Conan, A Mitchell, H Jones, M Smith. Western Force: T Robertson, B Paenga-Amosa, O Hoskins, S Carter, D Swain, W Harris, N Champion de Crespigny, V Ekuasi; N White (c), A Harford, D Pietsch, H Stewart, M Proctor, M Grealy, B Donaldson. Replacements: N Dolly, M Pearce, T Tauakipulu, L Faifua, R Prinsep, H Robertson, M Burey, B Kuenzle. Andy Farrell has made wholesale changes to the side which narrowly lost to Argentina in Dublin last Friday. A new Lions record has been set for the number of players in a matchday squad from one club with nine Leinster players on show. There's captain Dan Sheehan, centre Garry Ringrose, second-row Joe McCarthy, wing James Lowe, openside flanker Josh van der Flier and tighthead Tadhg Furlong in the starting XV while Andrew Porter, Ronan Kelleher and Jack Conan is on the bench. England star Henry Pollock start at No 8 but arguably the most exciting selection is at half-back with Welshman Tomos Williams partnering the mercurial Scotland fly-half Finn Russell. British and Irish Lions: Elliot Daly, Mack Hansen, Garry Ringrose, Huw Tuipulotu, James Lowe, Finn Russell, Tomos Williams; Pierre Schoeman, Dan Sheehan (capt), Tadhg Furlong, Scott Cummings, Joe McCarthy, Tadhg Beirne, Josh van der Flier, Henry Pollock. Replacements: Ronan Kelleher, Andrew Porter, Will Stuart, Ollie Chessum, Jack Conan, Alex Mitchell, Huw Jones, Marcus Smith Today's opponents, Western Force, are the weakest of the four Australian teams in Super Rugby Pacific. The force finished 9th out of 11 on the table with just four wins to their name but they were competitive in many of their games. But they won't be at full strength against the Lions with second-row Jeremy Williams, openside Carlo Tizzano and wing Harry Potter not getting released from the Wallabies squad while Kurtley Beale is injured. However, there will be a handful of Wallaby squad members on show in the shape of full-back Ben Donaldson, scrum-half Nick White, wing Dylan Piestsch, prop Tom Roberston and lock Nick Champion de Crespigny. In 2013 the Lions smashed the Western Force 69-17. Western Force: Donaldson, Grealy, Proctor, Stewart, Pietsch, Harford, White (capt); T Robertson, Paenga-Amosa, Hoskins, Carter, Swain, Harris, Champion de-Crespigny, Ekuasi Replacements: Dolly, Pearce, Tauakipulu, Faifua, Prinsep, H Robertson, Burey, Kuenzie Welcome! Join us for live updates of the British & Irish Lions' first warm-up clash in Australia against the Western Perth. The Lions will desperate to start the tour with a bang after last Friday's disappointing defeat to Argentina in Dublin. Kick-off is at 11am UK time.
