Latest news with #scrumhalf
The Guardian
4 days ago
- Sport
- The Guardian
Tomos Williams injury leaves Farrell's Lions facing race to fill scrum-half slot
The British & Irish Lions are weighing up their scrum-half options after an injury to Tomos Williams that threatens to sideline the Welshman at the busiest stage of the squad's Australian tour. The head coach, Andy Farrell, said a decision on calling up a replacement would be made on Sunday, with Scotland's Ben White among the leading contenders to replace Williams at No 9. Williams contributed two tries in a fine all-round performance as the Lions eased to a 54-7 victory over Western Force but tweaked his left hamstring while diving over the line for his second score. It leaves the Lions with only two fit scrum-halves, one of whom – Jamison Gibson-Park – has been managing a strained glute muscle. Farrell said Gibson-Park would be fit to face the Queensland Reds on Wednesday but the Lions will need some cover if Williams is ruled out even for a short period, with Alex Mitchell as the only available option in the position. White has just arrived in New Zealand, where Scotland are due to kick off their summer tour against the Maori All Blacks next Saturday, and could easily hop on a plane to Brisbane if required. For the moment, Farrell is still waiting to learn the severity of the injury to Williams, the Premiership's player of the season with Gloucester. 'There was plenty of cramp last week, let's hope it is one of those,' said Farrell. 'He was playing well and I am sure there is a bit of concern there, but you can only deal with the here and now so fingers crossed.' Farrell, however, is adamant that there is no danger of Gibson-Park sitting out the Reds game. 'Jamison is fit and ready to go and has been training fully for the best part of a week. We are happy with that but we will only know [about Williams] in the morning. 'I don't what the timings are of that, with the flights, but you have to let these things settle down and give it a little bit of space. There is always something that is going to happen you are not quite sure about, that is the nature of the tour. We need to make the right call for the group.' Sir James Wates CBE has been appointed chair of the Rugby Football Union board. He takes over the role from Sir Bill Beaumont, who was named chair on an interim basis in December last year following the resignation of Tom Ilube. Wates is currently a board director of the Wates Group, a privately-owned construction, development and property service company in the UK and served as chairman between 2013 and 2023. PA Media Of their opening game in Australia, Farrell declared himself moderately satisfied with the result in the wake of the Lions' defeat by Argentina in Dublin last week. 'I am happy with the scoreline and how we got to that point because it wasn't always going our way. We fixed things up and played some good rugby and scored some nice tries.' Sign up to The Breakdown The latest rugby union news and analysis, plus all the week's action reviewed after newsletter promotion He was pleased, too, with the performances of Mack Hansen and the youthful Henry Pollock, despite the latter being sent to the sin-bin just before half-time. 'He got a yellow card because of repeated infringements, which was fair enough, but you saw his point of difference, that is for sure. He is learning all the time and there is plenty to work on to make sure we are the team we want to be. He is part of that.' Pollock also received a positive review from the Lions' captain for the day, Dan Sheehan. 'I thought he was brilliant today,' the Ireland hooker said. 'He does his own thing, he plays his own way which is probably different to a lot of the forwards. I enjoy that kind of rugby: off the cuff, see what's in front of you and make it happen. With his skillset and speed he can certainly make it happen. 'It is just about trying to make sure he is doing the right thing for the team all the time. All these big games are massive for him, massive for all of us. He will just get better and better from here.'
Yahoo
4 days ago
- Sport
- Yahoo
Lions hold off on SOS despite latest scrumhalf injury
British and Irish Lions coach Andy Farrell has downplayed the need to send out a scrumhalf SOS despite Tomos Williams suffering a hamstring injury during Saturday's 54-7 win over the Western Force. Williams injured his left hamstring while acrobatically diving over for his second try of the night in the eight-tries-to-one romp over the Force. The 30-year-old was clearly in pain as he limped from the field in the 47th minute, putting the rest of his tour in doubt. Thanks for a great game, @westernforce 🤝#Lions2025 — British & Irish Lions (@lionsofficial) June 28, 2025 Fellow scrumhalf Jamison Gibson-Park was unavailable for the match due to a recent glute injury, but it's hopeful he will be fit to tackle the Queensland Reds on Wednesday night. If there is any doubt on Gibson-Park, it would leave Alex Mitchell as the last No.9 standing at present. Scrumhalf Ben White is currently with the Scotland international side in New Zealand for a match against the Maori All Blacks, and could be called upon if needed. But Farrell played down the need to call in reinforcements just yet, expressing confidence in Gibson-Park's fitness, and saying he wants to wait longer to see the severity of Williams' injury. "Jamison's fit and ready to go, and has been training fully now for the best part of the week, so we're happy with that," Farrell said. "But you don't know until you know (about Williams' injury). "We have to let these things settle down and see what the outcome is, giving it a little bit of space. "We need to talk about that and assess that and make the right call for the group. We have our fingers crossed." One of the brightest points out of Saturday's game for the Lions was the performance of No.8 Henry Pollock, who looked every bit the future superstar he's being touted to become. Pollock's bullocking runs proved troublesome for the Force, and the 20-year-old showcased his creativity with a chip-and-chase that led to a second-half try to lock Joe McCarthy. "I thought he was brilliant," stand-in Lions captain Dan Sheehan said. "He does his own thing. He has his own way of playing. He's probably different to a lot of the forwards. "I enjoy that kind of rugby, off the cuff, see what's in front of you, and make it happen. "And with his sort of skill set and speed, he can, he can certainly make it happen." The Lions will head to Brisbane on Sunday ahead of Wednesday night's clash with the Queensland Reds at Suncorp Stadium. Farrell was happy with his team's performance against the Force, with the five-try blitz in the second half particularly impressive. But he is also well aware there are plenty of areas to improve. The Lions were dominated in the possession and territory stakes in the first half, and their more fancied scrum could only break even against the Force. The tourists also struggled with their kick-off receives, and lost Pollock on the stroke of half-time to a yellow card due to an accumulation of team infringements. "Our discipline for one," Farrell said when asked about areas to improve on. "You mentioned kick-offs there, so it's a good warning for us, isn't it? "I thought we got a bit lateral at times, not engaging enough, and tried to be too tidy attack-wise at times."
Daily Mail
4 days ago
- Sport
- Daily Mail
British and Irish Lions hit by injury blow in warm-up win as Andy Farrell considers flying in replacement
The Lions are on red alert to fly-out a new scrum-half after Tomos Williams suffered a hamstring injury in the victory over the Western Force. Williams scored twice at the Optus Stadium and must now await medical reports before Andy Farrell decides whether to bring in a replacement. Scotland scum-half Ben White would be the most likely candidate, given he is currently on tour in New Zealand and could join the squad in Brisbane on Sunday night. 'Tomos has come off holding his hamstring,' said Farrell. 'We will only know in the morning. I don't what the timings are but you have to let these things settle down and give it a little bit of space. 'We need to talk about that and assess that and make the right call for the group. He was playing well and I am sure there is a bit of concern there but you can only deal with the here and now so fingers crossed.' Farrell revealed that fellow scrum-half Jamison Gibson-Park is fit to return for Wednesday's match against the Queensland Reds, easing the pressure on his No 9 reserves. Williams' injury marred a high-scoring victory in Perth, where the Lions' contingent of Kiwi, Australian and South African players were mocked by the stadium announcer. Western Force skipper Nic White felt the Lions were refereed on reputation, meaning decisions went in favour of the tourists. 'There was probably a bit of perception that we wouldn't be able to live with them, so we didn't get any reward,' said White. 'That should change after tonight, definitely.' Western Force coach Simon Cron revealed he is happy to share information with other Australian provinces as they plot to bring down the touring side. 'The other franchises will take a few learnings from tonight,' said Cron. You always get a bit more out of the second game. 'In Australia, one of the big things that been changing is that everyone works for the greater good. I think everybody will in turn look at each other's games and ask the odd question. We're really open to talking to all of them, for the country.'
The Guardian
4 days ago
- Sport
- The Guardian
Tomos Williams injury leaves Farrell's Lions facing race to fill scrum-half slot
The British & Irish Lions are weighing up their scrum-half options following an injury to Tomos Williams that threatens to sideline the Welshman at the busiest stage of the squad's Australian tour. The head coach, Andy Farrell, said a decision on calling up a replacement would be made on Sunday with Scotland's Ben White among the leading contenders to replace Williams at nine. Williams contributed two tries in a fine all-round performance as the Lions eased to a 54-7 victory over Western Force but tweaked his left hamstring while diving over the line for his second score. It leaves the Lions with only two fit scrum-halves, one of whom – Jamison Gibson-Park – has been managing a strained glute muscle. Farrell says Gibson-Park will be fit to face the Reds on Wednesday but the Lions will need some cover if Williams is ruled out even for a short period, with Alex Mitchell as the only available option in the position. White has just arrived in New Zealand where Scotland are due to kick off their summer tour against the Maori All Blacks next Saturday and could easily hop on a plane to Brisbane if required. For the moment, though, Farrell is still waiting to learn the severity of the injury to Williams, the Premiership's player of the season. 'There was plenty of cramp last week, let's hope it is one of those,' said Farrell. 'He was playing well and I am sure there is a bit of concern there, but you can only deal with the here and now so fingers crossed.' Farrell, however, is adamant that there is no danger of Gibson-Park sitting out the Reds game. 'Jamison is fit and ready to go and has been training fully for the best part of a week. We are happy with that but we will only know [about Williams] in the morning. 'I don't what the timings are of that, with the flights, but you have to let these things settle down and give it a little bit of space. There is always something that is going to happen you are not quite sure about, that is the nature of the tour. We need to make the right call for the group.' Of their opening game in Australia, Farrell declared himself moderately satisfied with the result in the wake of the Lions' defeat to Argentina in Dublin last week. 'I am happy with the scoreline and how we got to that point because it wasn't always going our way. We fixed things up and played some good rugby and scored some nice tries.' Sign up to The Breakdown The latest rugby union news and analysis, plus all the week's action reviewed after newsletter promotion He was pleased, too, with the performances of Mack Hansen and the youthful Henry Pollock, despite the latter's sin-binning. 'He got a yellow card because of repeated infringements which was fair enough but you saw his point of difference, that is for sure. He is learning all the time and there is plenty to work on to make sure we are the team we want to be. He is part of that.' Pollock also received a positive post-game review from the Lions captain, Dan Sheehan. 'I thought he was brilliant today. He does his own thing, he plays his own way which is probably different to a lot of the forwards. I enjoy that kind of rugby: off the cuff, see what's in front of you and make it happen. With his skillset and speed he can certainly make it happen. It is just about trying to make sure he is doing the right thing for the team all the time. All these big games are massive for him, massive for all of us. He will just get better and better from here.'
Yahoo
4 days ago
- Sport
- Yahoo
John Mitchell reveals two Red Roses who could offer scrum-half cover at World Cup
Red Roses head coach John Mitchell has revealed that England are looking at wings Claudia MacDonald and Mia Venner as possible options as scrum half cover ahead of naming their squad for the Rugby World Cup on home soil later this year. Mitchell has begun the process of whittling down his wider squad to the 32 names permitted to be named in his group for the tournament, with England's selection set to be confirmed on 24 July. The veteran coach intends to take a split of 18 forwards and 14 backs to the World Cup, leaving positional versatility required in several areas of his squad. Advertisement Predecessor Simon Middleton took only two specialist scrum halves to the last World Cup in New Zealand, with veteran Natasha 'Mo' Hunt a surprise omission with MacDonald covering as the third nine despite operating largely on the wing during the tournament. Injury then struck first-choice scrum half Leanne Infante on the day of the final, leaving the relatively untested Lucy Packer to start at short notice with MacDonald playing half-an-hour off the bench. While the pair produced good performances, Middleton faced criticism for his selection gamble at the time and in retrospect, and Hunt has since returned to seize the starting shirt with Packer now her back-up. Scrum halves Ella Wyrwas and Flo Robinson are both part of the Red Roses training squad but Mitchell has confirmed that he is looking at the options that forgoing a third specialist nine might present. Advertisement 'I've already said that I'm planning on taking an 18-14 split,' Mitchell reiterated. 'That helps us prepare, especially in our units. And that just means that some girls will have versatile roles. Claudia MacDonald may provide scrum half cover (PA) 'It'll be hard on some players in the sense that some specialists might miss out as a result of the versatility that's needed in an 18-14 split. Claudia MacDonald is definitely being looked at as a scrum half option. Mia [Venner] also presents that as well. Mia also presents the versatility as a full-back. The outside backs, you've got to fit six girls into five, so that's going to be a challenging selection, but a good one.' Venner operated at scrum half earlier in her career and filled in impressively while Hunt was in the sin bin during Gloucester Hartpury's Premiership Women's Rugby final win earlier this year. MacDonald, meawhile, has battled back from a career-threatening neck injury to push for a starting place on the wing. Advertisement Throughout his tenure, Mitchell has made an effort to keep players fully informed of their place in the make-up of the squad and likely roles, something he intends to continue ahead of the World Cup. Hunt's omission came as a surprise ahead of the last tournament, with her exclusion reported in the press ahead of the announcement with a delay between Middleton telling his players and the squad being officially revealed. Natasha Hunt (left) is one of a quartet of Red Roses hoping to win a second World Cup (Getty) Mitchell is unconcerned about the prospect of a possible repeat of that scenario, with most players informed of his plans for them after a warm weather training camp in Treviso from 7 July to 12 July. 'I'm not really worried about anything leaking or when it is. I think that we've been pretty consistent. If you look at the group that's come in, the wider group that's part of the group, they know what's expected of them. Advertisement 'They also are aware of the intentions and the purpose of why they're doing things. Eventually, as we get down the track, everyone will know our pool plans as well. So we work on the people that are probably on the fringes first. That's very clear to them what's expected of them. They just need to be ready because if they get that phone call from me, it could be in a World Cup or a match, it could be in a World Cup quarter-final.' Centre Emily Scarratt is hoping to make a fifth World Cup, with flanker Marlie Packer also pushing for selection despite losing the captaincy at the start of this year. England take on Spain and France in two warm-up games ahead of the tournaments, which will both be capped internationals. A renewed list of Red Roses contracts is expected to be confirmed imminently ahead of the tournament.
