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James Horwill has a theory that the Sea of Red, certainly by the third Test, gets a bit salty.

“The Lions fans aren’t the best at blending in,” says Horwill, who skippered the Wallabies on the Lions’ last visit in 2013.

“Some of them I don’t think bought anything else apart from a Lions jersey last time.

“They’re probably packing light, saving on the airfare – not paying for checked luggage for a three-week vacation. “

The arrival of the Lions and their supporters, along with 2027 and 2029 Rugby World Cups and the 2032 Olympic Sevens, has been pegged as a ‘golden runway’ of events to get union on the up Down Under.

To really achieve lift-off though Australia needs winning Wallabies.

“The expectation of our national team is that they win and win regularly,” Horwill explained.

The bookies are less confident – the Lions are heavy favourites. But Horwill sees areas where they can be exposed.

“Depending on how [Wallaby head coach] Joe Schmidt goes with selection, I think we might have size in the back five [second and back rows],” he says.

In contrast, the Lions have plenty of back-row options, but their squad prioritises mobility, speed and athleticism over heavy-duty gain-line ball carriers.

Schmidt, meanwhile, has called up 6ft 8in lock Will Skelton, whose 22-stone frame comes at defences at a surprising pace.

Horwill likes the balance the hosts have struck.

“In Rob Valetini and Harry Wilson we have two genuine world-class eights,” he said.

“I think Fraser McReight will be the starting number seven and he is a difference maker for us.

“He’s an out-and-out fetcher but also is that link between the forwards and the backs.

“On the northern hemisphere tour last year, the only game McReight didn’t play was the defeat against Scotland and Australia just didn’t have the same flow, understanding or functionality.

Jake Gordon or Nic White may start at scrum-half, but Horwill says Tate McDermott could be a star turn as the tourists tire in the final quarter.

“Tate has had an excellent Super Rugby season. He is probably the best nine in the country, but his ability to attack teams with his feet might come into play as a replacement,” says Horwill.

“You could play a gameplan to tire out the Lions and then bring on Tate in the last 20 to 30 minutes to attack those fringes and pick off the defenders around the ruck, which he does so well. “

The last time the Lions toured Australia, Israel Folau, playing his first game of international rugby, scored two tries in Australia’s narrow first-Test defeat.

“Izzy was the most naturally freaky sort of athlete that I’ve ever played with,” says Horwill.

“Wherever we put him around the field, someone would have to mark his aerial threat – sometimes double mark him – and that would then create opportunities for others.

“Izzy just made everything look so easy, he moved and jumped so effortlessly for a big guy and Joseph’s got a lot of that about him. “

Joseph-Aukuso Suaalii – Australia’s 6ft 5in big-money import from rugby league – was inspired by Folau as a boy, and the 21-year-old has shown similar aerial ability.

With the Lions looking unconvincing in the battle for the skies against Argentina and struggling to regain kick-offs against Western Force, he will be chasing and leaping hard.

“Wherever Joseph is you are going to see defenders bunching around that area – maybe there’s an opportunity to kick elsewhere and get a bit of ascendancy,” says Horwill.

For all the interest in England flanker Henry Pollock’s supersonic ascent to the upper reaches, Australia have their own bolters.

Corey Toole was part of the Australian sevens team that finished fourth in the Olympics in Paris a year ago, but 11 tries in the Brumbies’ 16-game run to the Super Rugby Pacific semi-finals have given him a shot of stepping on to the biggest stage in the XV-man game.

And Max Jorgensen, the 20-year-old son of former Wallaby Peter Jorgensen, is back from an ankle injury in time to contend on the wing as well.

“The one thing you have got in Australia’s back three is genuine pace,” says Horwill.

“Corey Toole has got real gas and he has certainly bulked up a lot over the past year. He barged over Damian McKenzie to score against the Chiefs in that Super Rugby semi-final – if he does get an opportunity he is really exciting.

“Jorgensen is the sort of prodigious talent we’ve been building around.

This will be the first series since 2013 that Horwill has watched from the southern hemisphere after he followed a stint at Harlequins with a degree at Cambridge University.

“I just probably didn’t appreciate how big it was – the enormity and the importance of it to the fans, and the importance of selection to the players,” said Horwill.

“Football’s number one, it’s everywhere, but for this period, the Lions is on the front and back pages.

“I was living In Putney in London and for that first Test against New Zealand in 2017, I walked along the street at 8am and every pub in Putney was red. “

Horwill will be playing host to his own Lions tourist this year. Wales centre Jamie Roberts, who scored the final try as the Lions ran away with the third deciding Test 12 years ago, was at Quins with Horwill.

“It’s funny how the world works,” says Horwill.

“That third Test is probably the only in my international career that I would like to have back for another run at it.

“Back then, in 2013, we probably never thought we’d be playing together, let alone become quite good friends.

“He was a great guy to have around at Quins and more importantly been a good mate since.

Forest Green Rovers have appointed former Wales midfielder Robbie Savage as their new manager, after Steve Cotterill was sacked last week.

Savage, who played for Leicester, Derby, Blackburn and Birmingham among others during his career, has been managing non-league side Macclesfield FC since 2024.

Cotterill’s departure from the National League club was confirmed on Thursday, after the side missed out on promotion through the play-offs last season.

“I feel I have an opportunity to develop a squad to create an attacking brand of football – an aggressive form of football to try and get Forest Green back into the EFL,” Savage said in a club statement.

Forest Green finished third in the National League last season but were beaten by seventh-placed Southend in the play-offs on penalties, to miss out on a place in the Wembley final.

Savage links up with former Wales team-mate Mark Bowen at the Bolt New Lawn, who was appointed Forest Green’s director of football last month. They have not disclosed the length of his contract.

His son, Charlie Savage, also had a spell on loan at Forest Green during the second half of the 2023-24 campaign, scoring one goal in 15 games.

The appointment is the 50-year-old’s first in management in the top five tiers of English football.

However, last season he won promotion to the National League North with Macclesfield – where he has had an association since 2020 – during his first campaign in charge, with the club clinching the Northern Premier League Premier Division title with six games to spare.

Savage said at the time it would take “an awful lot” for him to leave for another club.

Savage won the first of his 39 caps for Wales in 1995 after beginning his playing career at Manchester United, although he failed to break into the first team at Old Trafford.

He went on to play more than 600 games across the EFL and Premier League in a 17-year career, which began at Crewe, before he signed for Leicester in 1997, where he played more than 200 games and won the League Cup.

He played for Birmingham before joining Blackburn in a deal worth £3m in 2005 and ended his career at Derby in 2011.

Aged 45, Savage made a brief one-game comeback for non-league outfit Stockport Town in 2019 but has predominantly been working as a media pundit.

England forward Tammy Abraham is set to join Besiktas from Roma.

The Turkish club are in talks to sign Abraham, and have posted a video on social media of the 27-year-old on his way to complete the move.

“Hello Black Eagles, I’m coming for you. See you at the airport today,” said Abraham in the post.

Abraham spent last season on loan at AC Milan – scoring 10 goals as they finished eighth in Serie A – but they did not turn his move into a permanent switch.

“Double digits for goals and full effort every minute! Thanks, Tammy,” said Milan when announcing his departure.

Abraham, who has three goals in 11 England outings, started his career at Chelsea and had spells on loan at Bristol City, Swansea and Aston Villa before joining Roma for £34m in 2021.

Real Madrid legend Sergio Ramos playing in the knockout stages of a Fifa Club World Cup might not feel that noteworthy – except it is for Mexican club Monterrey.

It surprised many when the 39-year-old, considered one of football’s greatest centre-backs, rocked up at Monterrey in February.

With five goals – all headers and penalties – and a red card in his first 12 games for the club, he is already replaying all his greatest hits.

And the captain has led them to the last 16 of the Club World Cup, where they play Borussia Dortmund in Atlanta at 02:00 BST on Wednesday.

“I’d like to end my football career on a victorious note,” he told Fifa in the build-up to the tournament.

“That opportunity to easily contribute and play in these kinds of competitions is what made my competitive spirit kick in and convinced me to join the club.”

Players do not come much more decorated than Ramos. His spell at Real Madrid, where he made 671 appearances, resulting in four Champions Leagues and five La Liga titles. Plus four Fifa Club World Cups.

He was a key cog in one of international football’s most dominant teams as he won Euro 2008, the 2010 World Cup and Euro 2012 during his 180-cap Spain career.

But by February 2025 he had not played competitive football for almost nine months, having ended his second spell at Sevilla at the end of 2024-25.

And so came the call from Monterrey, who are also known by their nickname of Rayados.

They are five-time champions of Mexico – and five-time Concacaf Champions League winners – including in 2021, which meant they would compete in this summer’s Club World Cup.

Ramos accepted the offer, a one-year deal to become Monterrey’s top earner.

Rayados president Jose Antonio Noriega spoke to the Athletic in February about how they persuaded Ramos to join.

“It’s a package deal. There is no single aspect, Sergio is not convinced by just one thing,” said Noriega, a former midfielder for Monterrey and Mexico.

“We are a team that fights for titles and that attracts Sergio. But surely that wouldn’t be enough.

“It’s a serious team with a good reputation and the city is nice. It’s an accumulation of things that Sergio found fulfilling. Also the fact that each year there are five championships and one of them this year is the Club World Cup, which is special.”

He added: “We knew there was a market for Sergio. We heard about the interest from San Diego FC, from some clubs in Brazil and some in Saudi Arabia.

“Let me tell you a metaphor – it’s like when you want to fall in love with a girl. The only way to make a girl fall in love is to be yourself. We were like that with Ramos.

Ramos took the 93 shirt number for a fairly unique reason.

That was the minute of his header to force extra time in the 2013 Champions League final between Real Madrid and Atletico Madrid – which his side went on to win to complete ‘La Decima’, their long-awaited 10th European title.

He went straight in as Rayados captain and has already ticked off all the things that defined him during his career.

In 12 games he has scored five goals – which takes his career goal tally to 145. Three headers and two penalties.

One of those goals was against Inter Milan in this tournament.

He has also managed a red card for kicking an opponent.

“It was obvious I couldn’t leave this league without a red card,” he wrote on social media with a winking emoji.

He has also been impressed by Monterrey’s fans.

“The passion of the fans has really blown me away,” he told Fifa.

“I had only ever visited the country on holiday, so I had a different perspective.

Monterrey are not considered one of Mexico’s very biggest clubs – with nine clubs having won more titles.

But their average attendance in the Mexican league was higher than anyone else last season, 44,145.

Their owners are rich – Femsa is a multinational company based in Monterrey who are famous for their part in the drinks industry.

Before signing Ramos, fellow Spaniards Sergio Canales – who won 11 caps and played for Real Madrid – and Oliver Torres were already at the club.

Ramos, Torres, Jesus Corona and Lucas Ocampos have all played for Sevilla.

Not long before the tournament though, the focus was on the manager.

In April, midfielder Canales badly cut his leg after kicking a glass door following an argument with Martin Demichelis.

The following month Demichelis, the former Manchester City and Argentina defender, was sacked after losing in the Liga MX quarter-finals.

And in his place came Catalan Domenec Torrent, who was assistant manager to Pep Guardiola at Barcelona B, their first team, Bayern Munich and Manchester City before leaving in 2018 to become a manager.

These have been Torrent’s first three games in charge of Rayados, draws with Inter Milan and River Plate and a 4-0 win over Urawa Reds.

In that Inter game they made headlines for an unusual split wall for a free-kick – where they had two walls and a gap in between in front of the goalkeeper.

Anything else? Oh yes, Monterrey and Scottish side Dundee announced a link-up in November.

Boycotts, protests and even a hunger strike. These are not events normally associated with the aftermath of winning a World Cup.

But for Spain, triumph was overshadowed by controversy.

What should have been a moment of celebration – the team’s historic triumph at the 2023 Women’s World Cup – turned into something else entirely.

Instead of celebrating their first major trophy, the squad found themselves at the centre of a sexism scandal.

Just as Spain were getting ready to lift the World Cup trophy, Luis Rubiales – the country’s football federation president – kissed striker Jenni Hermoso on the lips.

It was a kiss that Rubiales said was consensual, but Hermoso said was not.

What followed was a storm of criticism, widespread protests and a court case that found Rubiales guilty of sexual assault. Rubiales’ mother, in defence of her son, went on hunger strike.

Hermoso said the incident had “stained one of the happiest days” of her life.

In the immediate aftermath, 81 players – including all 23 World Cup winners – said they would not play for Spain again while Rubiales was in charge.

“They were incredibly brave, but the truth is they were terrified,” said Amanda Gutierrez, president of Futpro, the union that helped the players in their fight against the RFEF, Spain’s football association.

“Their careers were on the line.”

So have things actually changed?

“The players were heard, there’s no doubt about that,” Spanish football journalist Guillem Balague said.

Gutierrez explained that – under pressure from the players and the Spanish government – the RFEF promised to improve the players’ working conditions and provide equal access to the same resources the men’s side had.

“Let’s just say there’s still a lot of work to do,” said Gutierrez, who added that the changes have been happening “gradually”.

Spanish football journalist Alex Ibaceta added: “The players put up with a lot of stuff, but they’ve set a limit and if it goes below that, they won’t tolerate it.

“We’ve seen it before, these players are willing to give up the national team shirt to sign up for what they believe in.”

While the promised changes might be slow, Gutierrez believes the players should be proud of themselves for achieving structural changes for the generations to come.

Jorge Vilda may have delivered World Cup glory to Spain, but he will be remembered in a negative light by some for his role in their triumphant run.

The head coach, who was booed by some fans after the final, had survived a player revolt before the tournament and was viewed as one of Rubiales’ closest allies.

By his side on the touchline was Montse Tome, his assistant coach who became his successor a few weeks after the final whistle blew in Australia.

The decision to appoint the former Spain midfielder was not a popular one.

Tome, who had never previously been a head coach, was seen as a continuation of the previous regime, while many thought the world champions deserved a world-class coach.

“The thing is, before the World Cup when she was Vilda’s assistant, players liked her,” Spanish journalist Maria Tikas said. “She was the person in the staff that they could talk to, and she was close to the players.

“But after the World Cup, she changed and they didn’t like her because if you remember when Rubiales said ‘I’m not going to step aside’, Montse Tome was applauding.”

Slowly but surely, tensions have reduced for Tome but it was been a rollercoaster start to the 43-year-old’s tenure.

While she was at the helm as Spain won the inaugural Women’s Nations League in February 2024, their fourth-place finish five months later at the Paris Olympics was deemed a failure.

“In terms of experience, Luis de la Fuente didn’t have much experience at senior level, and it worked well,” Balague said.

When Tome named her 23-player squad, which included 11 World-Cup winning players, there was one notable absence. Jenni Hermoso.

The 35-year-old had featured in all six qualifiers, but was left out of the final four squads in the lead-up to the tournament in Switzerland.

Had she been punished for speaking out? Or was it purely a performance-based decision from Tome?

“If Montse had a personal vendetta against those that spoke out, you wouldn’t have Irene Paredes or Alexia Putellas in the team. And obviously, they’re there,” Balague said.

“You cannot carry legends just for being legends.”

While Hermoso is absent, Patri Guijarro and Claudia Pina have returned to the squad after making themselves unavailable for Spain’s successful World Cup run.

The pair were part of ‘Las 15’ – a group of 15 players that withdrew from the squad in September 2022 after raising concerns over their emotional state and health, and directing complaints towards Vilda.

Most players made themselves available again for the 2023 World Cup, although only three were called up for the tournament, but Guijarro and Pina remained steadfast.

“They lost out on probably one of the most important tournaments in Spain, both on and off the pitch, and that as a player is crushing because you’re missing it by standing up for something that’s out of your control and shouldn’t be happening,” Ibaceta said.

The Barcelona pair ended their exile last year, with changes promised by the RFEF and the attitude of their team-mates aiding their return.

“If Patri and Pina came back, it’s because the federation made changes to everything,” Ibaceta added.

Spain were given an 8% chance of winning the World Cup in 2023.

Not only had they struggled in previous major tournaments, they arrived in New Zealand with a divided squad amid a backdrop of unrest.

“I still don’t know how they won the World Cup, because of this,” said Tikas. “It felt impossible, and not because of football, because of this.”

But against the odds, the team put aside their aside their differences and swept away the opposition to get their hands on the most coveted trophy in women’s football.

“I make comparisons with England when they won the Euros and everything changed for good,” Tikas added.

“When they woke up in Spain there should have been a boom, to increase the interest, increase the marketing and increase everything. And it was not like that, because of all the politics.”

Things seem different this time around as Tome’s side head to Switzerland with Opta giving them a 25% chance of victory.

“Now they are really like a group, a team, a family,” Tikas explained.

Ibaceta added: “Now things are more or less settled and the players can get on with their football. That has a big impact mentally on players. They can actually focus on winning the Euros.