Archive July 3, 2025

British and Irish Lions vs. New South Wales Waratahs

Date: Saturday, July 5th, 2019 Kick-off: 11:00 BST

Hugo Keenan will start at full-back for the Lions, while Blair Kinghorn will make his Lions debut, making 14 changes from the one that defeated the Queensland Reds in Brisbane. Kinghorn, a natural 15-year-old, was chosen on the left wing after his season-winning debut with Toulouse.

The Lions will play backs and forwards on the bench for the first time on tour.

After Tomos Williams was forced out last weekend, Scotland’s scrum-half, Ben White, will make his Lions debut in Sydney. White replaces it.

For the first time on tour, Huw Jones joins his Scotland midfield partner Sione Tuipulotu alongside him, the only player returning from Brisbane.

Fin Smith and Alex Mitchell replace Finn Russell and Jamison Gibson-Park as Northampton halfbacks. Henry Pollock, a different saint, is back in the lineup for blind-side flanker.

The majority of Farrell’s press conference for the team announcement was dominated by questions about his son in downtown Sydney. When the coach was eventually inquired about the upcoming game between the Waratahs and his new captain, Beirne, he replied, “I’m delighted for Tadhg.”

“The squad that was chosen (to play the Waratahs) is an exciting one,” said Owen, “even though the sad news about Elliot and the news about Owen coming is the big one.” Tadhg serves as captain at the top of that list. He feels both proud and proud. When I told him, he was taken aback, which is exactly what you want.

The Lions packed up and left for Sydney, where Farrell’s call-up announcement began to surface. Farrell, a fly-half-cum-insider, took the place of the deeply unlucky Daly, a wing-cum-full-back-cum-outsider.

Given that he isn’t exactly a like-for-like switch, his father and his fellow coaches make a very contented call. If this tour was gliding along without edge or controversy, it would have ended on Thursday night, Sydney-time.

When Farrell was questioned about the negative way his son’s promotion went, Farrell replied, “Look, I hope people can get past that.” “That nonsense has been around for a while. That was a long time ago. All we need to do is move and accept both the Lions’ goals and the ones that lie ahead.

It was a plain cry. In rugbyland, it appeared that the news wasn’t all that positive. Farrell, 33, recently left Racing and made a comeback to Saracens following a disappointing time in France. Since being concussed in a match against Lyon on May 4, he hasn’t played rugby. He didn’t play since he only had 18 minutes that day.

Farrell, who was unquestionably a great player in his day, hasn’t played Test rugby since the incredible 615 days that he spent playing for England against Argentina at the World Cup in October 2023. He claimed at the time that he was deciding to leave the test field to concentrate on his and his family’s mental well-being.

Keenan, Hansen, Jones, Tuipulotu, Kinghorn, Smith, Mitchell, Schoeman, Cowan-Dickie, Bealham, Beirne, Ryan, Pollock, Van der Flier, Earl, Keenan, Hansen, Jones, Tuipulotu,

You are aware that making a decision like this involves only the periphery, not the rugby decision. For 48 hours and a lot of discussion, it turns into a major story.

I’ve gone through that process, but I would rather not believe we made calls to try to avoid criticism or gain public support.

Andy Farrell, the head coach of the British and Irish Lions, may agree with his son’s decision to call up Owen.

Instead, they date back 12 years. A man in the same position, in the same city, but facing a different set of circumstances in a different time.

The series finale between the Wallabies and the Lions was Brian O’Driscoll, who was Warren Gatland defending. In O’Driscoll’s place, he placed Jamie Roberts and Jonathan Davies, the midfielders he knew and trusted from his day job in Wales.

Lions calls are frequently contentious. For everyone to accept these actions, the quantity and quality of those who are ignored are too great.

However, the debate over Owen Farrell’s call-up is heated up like O’Driscoll’s.

Despite Owen’s on-screen pedigree, Andy Farrell’s harshest critics will assert that blood ties have a role in the film’s success.

Close are Andy and Owen. Owen was born at the age of 16 to Andy. Owen would play soccer on the sidelines while his father watched Wigan as a child. Owen made his first Saracens appearance off the bench against Western Force as a teenager, taking the place of his father.

Andy’s words about his son have become sparse and scarce as Owen’s career has progressed.

After World Rugby attempted to reinstate a red card that would have prevented Owen from participating in some of England’s Rugby World Cup campaigns, he let his guard down in 2023.

There will undoubtedly be enough rumination about Owen’s Lions call-up to fill a significant number of seats.

It is obvious who is to blame. Owen lacks top-level rugby, fitness, and form.

His most recent game was two months ago, when Lyon forced him to withdraw from Racing 92. His last Test match appearance was for England’s preparation for the 2023 World Cup.

His most recent club season was halted by an injury that prevented him from playing place kicks and playing with a groin.

After feigning relegation, Racing placed 10th overall.

Why has Andy disrupted the Lions’ Test preparations with the furore that will accompany Owen’s call-up alongside the likes of Tom Scotland’s Jordan and Wales’ Blair Murray, both geographically closer, fitter, and less controversial?

Perhaps because Farrell believes that disruption is necessary for the tourists.

Owen’s chances of appearing in the Test 23 are unquestionably slim even with the exception of one more curveball call.

Fin Smith is more likely to serve as the Scot, but Finn Russell appears to be in good standing. Both are more appropriate for Farrell’s tentative more expansive style.

Bundee Aki and Sione Tuipulotu provide a ball-carrying threat that Farrell, 33, doesn’t, especially inside center. Farrell’s inclusion would also turn their tactics on its head.

With Blair Kinghorn and Hugo Keenan still untested, fly-half looks more useful than Marcus Smith’s ability to cover full-back on the bench.

Farrell does, however, inject intensity right away as the Wallabies head toward the door.

Alun Wyn Jones asked the great and the good huddled around him at half-time about the 21-year-old rookie on their final trip to Australia and why he was the one who screamed the loudest and asked the most questions on the field.

That tour included Johnny Sexton. and impressed by it as well.

Before being chosen for Farrell’s Lions coaching staff, he told the Times newspaper in October that he would still have Farrell as his Test 10 for the 2025 tour.

He described him as one of the best team members I’ve ever had.

He is “one of the best players I’ve ever played with.” When things get difficult, who do you want to join? Animals that match the test.

He’s not always a good teammate, which is frustrating. However, winning is not always simple.

And perhaps Farrell Sr. feels that the situation there was too relaxed.

Slow starts and lost collisions with the Western Force and Queensland Reds suggest a side that is still far from ruthless edge, while his verdict on the loss to Argentina was “unacceptable.”

The game will definitely get crankier if Owen Farrell is dropped into the pool.

In his press conference on Thursday, Andy reaffirmed Owen’s contention for a Test spot.

Everyone should be competing, he said, “If he didn’t have a chance, then what’s the point? “

In his second breath, he concentrated on the intangibles that might have had the biggest impact on the series’ fate.

Along with that, Andy noted, “You need the support you need for the group, the way you make the room feel,” as well.

The rest of the 37 players’ ripples are difficult to predict.

Will Russell experience any creative tension at 10 when he could reasonably have anticipated being outside of Sexton and Farrell’s shadow on this tour?

Will Maro Itoje’s leadership be impacted by his long-time captain, both for the club and for the nation?

Will Owen, who has resigned from Test rugby following the scrutiny and resentment of the 2023 Rugby World Cup, enjoy the Aussie humor that will undoubtedly be his friend?

Wimbledon 2025

Venue: All England Club, June 30 – 13 .

With the second round defeat of Italy’s Flavio Cobolli in straight sets, British wildcard Jack Pinnington Jones saw his Wimbledon chances come to an end.

There was plenty of interest from home fans for his match against Cobolli on court 18 after producing an impressive display to defeat world number 27 Tomas Martin Etcheverry in his first round match.

However, Pinnington Jones’ Wimbledon debut saw him lose 6-1 7-6 (8-6) 6-2 in a run to the third round of a dream.

The 22-year-old showed the same battling skills that earned him the first round win in a much closer second set despite being outclassed in the first set because he was unable to get close to Cobolli’s serve.

Before the match ended in a tie-break, both players broke each other’s serve once, and Pinnington Jones had a 3-0 lead before Cobolli fought back to snatch it before pulling it back for a 2-0 lead.