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Since 1950, the British and Irish Lions have been performing their traditional kit, which includes red jerseys, white shorts, and blue socks with a green turnover at the top.

England, Ireland, Scotland, and Wales, the Lions, are the four rugby nations that make up the Lions, and they were chosen for their common colors.

Prior to 1950, the Lions had worn kits of various designs, all of which had red, white, and blue on them.

Blue and red horizontal stripes were present on a white shirt, white shorts, and blue socks in the first Lions kit from 1888.

The blue jersey design caused a lot of controversy during the 1930 tour of New Zealand. First, it led to a kit conflict between the All Blacks, who were forced to find a solution and were forced to wear white for the first time in history.

Meanwhile, Irish lock George Beamish questioned the socks’ lack of green, which resulted in the addition of a green turnover. The blue jersey remained in place until 1938’s final tour before World War Two in South Africa.

The Lions made a return to New Zealand in 1950, and the blue jersey was switched to red to prevent the same kit tussle that caused the conflict in 1930.

With the exception of minor branding changes, the red jersey has continued to exist and remained unchanged.

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Lee Carsley has had little time to reflect on his whirlwind two years.

The eve of his second European Under-21 Championship final, as England look to defend their title against Germany in Bratislava on Saturday, is unlikely to be the time either.

Carsley’s six-game spell in charge of the senior side last year thrust him into the spotlight, one which he was not used to, and a return to the Under-21s has done little to keep him under the radar after guiding them to the brink of another trophy.

Two years ago it was new territory as England won the Under-21 Euros for the first time in 39 years but, such has been the nature of his journey, Carsley says he is yet to take in his achievements.

“I was actually thinking about this the other day and how fast things have moved,” he said.

“I definitely need a bit of reflection time but it’s been so exciting. I wouldn’t have changed it. It was such a privilege to do.”

Carsley says he learned a lot from coaching the senior team.

“You always wonder whether you’re capable of managing at that level, coaching at that level and that’s fine,” the 51-year-old said.

A second European Under-21 title would match Dave Sexton’s achievements of 1982 and 1984 but Carsley had already justified the Football Association’s faith by delivering the trophy two years ago.

There was a strong sense he could replace Sir Gareth Southgate as senior manager, especially after two opening wins against Ireland and Finland at the start of his interim spell last summer.

He won five and lost one – a defeat to Greece which clearly still rankles – with Thomas Tuchel appointed last October, leaving Carsley to take charge of his final two games – Nations League victories against Greece and Ireland.

Carsley ultimately signed a new two-year deal with the Under-21s this month, one which will take him through to Euro 2027 in Albania and Serbia. A title defence would strengthen his case to be the man to succeed Tuchel.

The German is due to be in Bratislava for Saturday’s game and is dashing from the Club World Cup in America to watch the Young Lions and Carsley try to keep their composure against a Germany side they lost to last week.

Yet Carsley remained one of the coolest men in a sweltering stadium during Wednesday’s semi-final win against the Netherlands – despite his choice of a long-sleeve hooded top.

He spent spells of the second half crouching, he was far from passive but there was no loss of temper, angst or nerves visible.

He privately joked about keeping his temperament under wraps after the game, conceding he had felt the pressure, although stated publicly it was important to not let it show.

“If you watch us training I’m probably not as calm but it’s very difficult to coach on a matchday. We have to trust the players they can adopt the gameplan we’ve spoken about,” he said.

Carsley has grown into the role. When he first succeeded Aidy Boothroyd in 2021 being a front facing member of the England set-up did not necessarily come naturally, even in small meetings with a limited number of reporters at St George’s Park.

A couple of slips during his time with the seniors – he was criticised for not singing the national anthem despite explaining it was something he did not do while playing for Ireland – and the surprising admission he would “hopefully” return to the Under-21s before Tuchel’s appointment was announced, created more headlines than he intended.

Since then, though, he has relaxed, with side jokes about journalists’ clothes in the hot Slovakian sun or nods in news conferences about topics he knew would come up from certain writers.

His other senior management experience came from caretaker spells at Coventry, Brentford and Birmingham but he is at ease in Slovakia and it shows.

He has respect from his peers too with Germany boss Antonio di Salvo, a former Bayern Munich forward, recognising the job Carsley has done.

“I talk to Lee every so often, we are good colleagues and have seen each other at a number of Uefa meetings,” he said.

Carsley does not pretend to be someone he is not either. He is genuine and honest, with excellent man management skills, traits similar to Southgate who he worked so closely with, having joined his staff for Euro 2024.

He brings the balls out for the warm-ups, not a usual responsibility for the head coach, but a small statement of his ways.

Noticeably, the players often use his nickname ‘Cars’ when talking about the head coach. Not ‘the manager’ or the ‘gaffer’ in a sign of his close relationship with them, which has allowed them to develop and shine in the knockout stages in Slovakia.

“He’s created a group but it’s not just Lee. It’s the whole whole staff group – it runs from the physios to the assistants, starts with Lee, runs all the way down,” said defender Charlie Cresswell.

“It feeds off to us players. We’ve got such a good group in there, the togetherness that we have as a squad it’s inspirational.”

Captain James McAtee has spoken about Carsley’s “belief and trust” while Bournemouth midfielder Alex Scott, who scored in the group stage defeat to Germany agreed.

Scott gives credit to Carsley’s methods as a man and manager to perfectly encapsulate his personality.

“It’s something that started with Gareth and what he brought into the England set-up, and Lee has done the same thing. The relationship we have as a team and the things we do off the pitch ultimately come together on it.

“Cars is massive for the group and makes everyone feel welcome and wanted as players. To have that relationship with your coach on and off the pitch is so important if we want to be successful.

“Winning the tournament two years ago and taking the seniors for those games, Cars has shown how good a man and coach he is.”

It will still matter regardless of the outcome in Slovakia but winning would create Carsley’s legacy and the former Coventry and Everton midfielder is eyeing a dynasty.

“Our record at this tournament, it’s fair to say, isn’t great. From not qualifying for the tournament or getting knocked out in the group stages,” he said.

“Obviously Dave Sexton started off great and you’d like to see a period of domination but we didn’t do that.

Wimbledon 2025

Venue: All England Club, June 30 – 13 .

When the Grand Slam begins on Monday, Carlos Alcaraz will begin his bid for a third successive title.

Can anyone stop him, then?

Novak Djokovic, the Spanish world number two, lost to him in the previous two men’s finals on Centre Court at SW19.

The 22-year-old could become only the fifth player to win three Wimbledon men’s singles titles in a row, joining Pete Sampras, Roger Federer, and Djokovic.

Alcaraz won the Queen’s title after a spectacular victory over Jannik Sinner in the French Open final.

Wimbledon 2025

Venue: All England Club, June 30 – 13 .

Eight different women’s singles champions have won at the last eight Wimbledon events, with Barbora Krejcikova the only surprise winner a year ago.

Aryna Sabalenka, the reigning champion after reaching the previous three Grand Slam finals, is the favorite this year.

Sabalenka hasn’t played at Wimbledon since 2023 and has only won one of those three majors.

The Belarusian, who has big legs and big footstrokes, should be suitable for SW19’s grass courts.

England will approach this summer’s home World Cup with “no regrets” says Red Roses head coach John Mitchell.

England’s women have been in their Rugby World Cup training camp since the start of June as they aim to win the trophy for the first time in 11 years on home soil.

Having faced two tournament final defeats at the hands of New Zealand in 2017 and 2022, Mitchell is not shying away from the challenge ahead.

“How do we get done what we haven’t had for a long time?” the 61-year-old said. “We mustn’t have been doing something right.

“I guess that’s the powerful opportunity while this tournament is under our watch, it’s an opportunity to have no regrets.”

So far, England’s pre-season has seen the players put into teams to compete in “strong women” challenges, but New Zealander Mitchell has also introduced an “NBA draft system”.

The group is currently made up of 42 players that Mitchell will have to reduce to 32 for the World Cup with him choosing 18 forwards and 14 backs.

The limitations on numbers mean that Mitchell is looking for “versatility” in his players with Exeter wing Claudia McDonald once again being looked to cover scrum-half like she did in 2022.

Gloucester wing Mia Venner is also being looked at in three positions, adding both nine and full-back to her repertoire which she has covered at club level.

The last Red Roses camp before the Rugby World Cup squad is named will be in Treviso, Italy in July.

It is the first foreign camp England’s women have been taken on, but despite the excitement the head coach is promising it will be one the toughest and hottest they have experienced.

“The heat will in itself create its own duress” said Mitchell, with temperatures in the region averaging around 30C in the summer.

“I think our tournament might be hot, so I think we’ll benefit from that. It will probably be our most uncomfortable training camp of all of them because it will be hot and you’ll get bothered.”

After England lost the last Rugby World Cup final after an early red card for wing Lydia Thompson, the coaches are keen to ensure no stone will be left unturned to prepare the side for all eventualities.

“The amount that we’ve layered on our game will put them under a lot of questions through scenarios,” said Mitchell. “The unfairness that comes in the games through the cards, those sorts of things. The play-to-rest ratios will be probably a little bit lower as well. We can create a really quite niggly camp if you like.

“We want to be ready for any form of unfairness and it will come at some point. Look at the way cards and HIA’s (Head Injury Assessments) have advanced the game in that area.

“We’ve definitely got to do it because it’s going to come in the tournament. I’d rather be ready for every eventuality and even then, we probably won’t be ready for every eventuality.

As England prepare, so do their rivals and Mitchell is putting plans in place for warm-up games with Spain and France, followed by their opening pool games with USA and Samoa.

After a scare against France in their final Six Nations match in May when Les Bleus came back to within a point by the final whistle, Mitchell says they have learned from it.

“The French match has been a big influence on how we learn and evolve our game,” he said. “We look at that separately from the other matches, because they’re able to threaten us in different ways.”

He pinpoints the change in defence coach in the last campaign with Sarah Hunter being off on maternity leave and Nathan Catt taking on her duties as contributing to them losing “a little bit of our system” and since her return “we’re obviously definitely refreshing that and bringing that back”.

However, any talk deeper into the tournament is quickly shut-down.

He will not be drawn on commenting on either Canada or world champions New Zealand.

Bridgetown, day three of the fifth test

Australia 180 (Head 59, Seales 5-60) &amp, 310 (Carey 65, Joseph 5-87)

West Indies 190 (Hope 48, Starc 3-65) &amp, 141 (Joseph 44, Hazlewood 5-43)

With 159 runs in hand, Australia took the series lead with a 1-0 win.

As Australia won the first Test in Barbados by 159 runs against West Indies, Josh Hazlewood claimed five wickets.

On day three of the third game, Australia showed their ruthlessness by closing the match with two days to spare, losing all ten of West Indies’ ten second-innings wickets in the evening session.

The hosts’ attack, which had already surpassed the early defeat of Kraigg Brathwaite, had a promising start, leading to a 47-1 victory for John Campbell and Keacy Carty.

Hazlewood’s run through the West Indies top order, which he sported during a remarkably controlled spell that resulted in four wickets falling for just nine runs, was the start of Australia’s momentum.

Even though Justin Greaves (38 not out) and Shamar Joseph (44 not out) provided some late entertainment, it was always going to be an uphill battle for West Indies from 56 to 5.

After a 30-minute delay, Nathan Lyon scored two wickets in the final over of the day to seal the victory over Hazlewood, Jomel Warrican, and Hazlewood defeated him to take 5-43.

After Alex Carey’s powerful 65, Australia had already posted a battling 310 in their second innings.

After the second day of play, West Indies coach Daren Sammy and match referee Javagal Srinath met to discuss concerns over some of the decisions made by TV umpire Adrian Holdstock.

Sammy claimed after the third game that he was furious at some of the South African’s use of the technology’s dismissals.

Sammy might have a few minor complaints in West Indies’ second innings, though.

Instead, the odd daft shot and smart bowling from an Australian attack that was long in the tooth proved West Indies’ fault.

Before Carty and Campbell stabilized the ship, Mitchell Starc made his first move to remove Kraigg Brathwaite.

When Carey was left with a straightforward catch after failing to make an attempted lap scoop against Hazlewood, the latter caused the West Indies to lose.

Brandon King was immediately dismissed by Hazlewood for a first-ball duck when Cameron Green claimed the catch at gully after he inside edged on his pad.

Roston Chase’s West Indies skipper gave him another inside edge before Sam Konstas’ grateful hands popped up in Sam Konstas’ arms during a short-leg.

Carty’s was completely knocked back by Hazlewood, who then returned to find Warrican caught at slip.

West Indies’ final over of the day was performed by Lyon, who did not disappoint with a four-seven-ball, Test-best 44 from 22 balls that Joseph had set the stage for.

We initially believed things could happen, but not that quickly, Hazlewood said, after West Indies won the second new ball today.