50 m. ago Lions add Gregor Brown to squad with Joe McCarthy an injury doubt for second Test

Ireland lock withdrawn with foot problem in first TestOwen Farrell likely to start against First Nations & Pasifika XVThe Ireland lock Joe McCarthy is a doubt for the British & Irish Lions’ second Test against the Wallabies due to a foot injury. Andy Farrell has called up Scotland’s Gregor Brown to bolster his second-row ranks as a result, taking an already bloated squad to 45 players.McCarthy was taken off after 43 minutes of the Lions’ 27-19 victory over Australia in Brisbane on Saturday and Farrell confirmed his early withdrawal was down to injury. “It’s plantar fasciitis,” said Farrell. “It was niggling away at him there. We got him off. Hopefully we got him off in time.” Continue reading...

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63 m. ago Andy Farrell calls up Scotland lock to British and Irish Lions squad as injury concern emerges before second Test

Joe McCarthy has emerged as an injury doubt before the Lions’ second Test against Australia

Events

2 h. ago Lawrence Dallaglio twists knife into Wallabies as Jac Morgan theory emerges

The three-time British & Irish Lions tourist has had his say after Andy Farrell's side claimed victory in the first Test in Brisbane

Politics

3 h. ago Lions one win from ending wait – 5 things we learned from first Test

The British and Irish Lions beat Australia 27-19 in Brisbane as they eye a first series win since 2013.

Politics

5 h. ago Lions one win from ending wait – what we learned from the first Test

The British and Irish Lions beat Australia 27-19 in Brisbane on the first step to a first series win since 2013.

Politics

20 h. ago Andy Farrell says Lions in ‘a fantastic place’ to clinch Test series with a week to spare

Tourists will be harder to beat in Melbourne, says coachFarrell: ‘We’re delighted – but we can be better again’Andy Farrell believes the Lions can push on and clinch the series with a week to spare after their first Test win over Australia in Brisbane. It is the head coach’s view that the pressure is now firmly on the Wallabies and that his team also have plenty of improvement still in them.While the Lions lost some momentum in the second half of their 27-19 victory at Suncorp Stadium, they were 24-5 ahead after 41 minutes and Farrell says they will be even harder to beat in Melbourne next Saturday. “There is so much more in us,” said Farrell, suggesting the Lions were now in “a fantastic place” in terms of the series. Continue reading...

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21 h. ago Ronan O'Gara claims Andy Farrell 'secretly fuming' as he makes big statement

The Lions seemed to take their foot off the gas in the first Test in Brisbane

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21 h. ago Andy Farrell sings praises of 'absolutely immense' Lions duo as team selection is justified in Australia win

The British and Irish Lions are 1-0 up in the three-Test series against Australia

Politics

21 h. ago Andy Farrell considers Lions Test team changes amid concern and stars returning

The Lions coach insists it is not a foregone conclusion the matchday 23 will be the same for next week's second Test

Politics

21 h. ago Andy Farrell hails ‘big game players’ Tom Curry and Tadhg Beirne after flankers star in first Test win

The flankers delivered statement performances after winning a competitive fight for back row places

Sport

23 h. ago Lions vs Australia LIVE: First Test result, match stream and latest updates

Andy Farrell’s tourists record win over injury-hit Wallabies in series opener at Brisbane’s Suncorp Stadium

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23 h. ago Lions lay down series marker and ease to victory over Australia in first Test

First Test: Australia 19-27 British & Irish LionsOne-sided opener only came alive in the second halfWinning the first Test does not guarantee a series victory but Australia are already hanging on by their fingernails. On the evidence of this contest it is going to take something remarkable to stop the Lions from finishing the job in Melbourne next Saturday and, with thousands of travelling fans cheering them on, Andy Farrell’s side have firm control of their own destiny.There were moments in the first half when the Lions were so dominant it felt akin to watching a juggernaut thundering through the outback, scattering everything in sight like skittles. They were unable to sustain it but the visitors’ dominance in the opening 50 minutes was such that the winning margin should have been wider. From Finn Russell’s insouciant brilliance to Tom Curry’s relentless tackling, the Lions were a cut above in the areas that mattered most. Continue reading...

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25 h. ago Lions vs Australia LIVE: First Test match stream, latest score and updates

Andy Farrell’s tourists battle injury-hit Wallabies in series opener at Brisbane’s Suncorp Stadium

Sport

27 h. ago Lions vs Australia LIVE: Latest score and updates from First Test

Andy Farrell’s tourists battle injury-hit Wallabies in series opener at Brisbane’s Suncorp Stadium

Politics

44 h. ago My message to the Lions: own the experience and convert it into your fuel | Ugo Monye

The tourists are favourites against Australia, who need everything to go their way if they are to compete in this seriesThere is nothing that can compare to running out for a British & Irish Lions Test for the first time. I was speaking to Andy Farrell this week and I was getting goosebumps just thinking about it. Running out on to the field, the noise, the energy, the stakes – it’s completely different from anything those players will have experienced before. It’s a new chemical stimulus and in conversation with Farrell I was immediately transported back to Durban and 2009.For all the sports psychology, visualisation and every bit of preparation you can do, it’s still different. It changed the way I warmed up. I made sure I got out on to the field early just to be able to absorb it. You are not a spectator when the whistle goes, you’re not looking around thinking: “This is cool”. That’s for the fans, so I would go out early to feel it, to sense it and just get used to it. Conti...

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47 h. ago Gwyn Jones: Andy Farrell should have been more honest over Jac Morgan omission

The Lions face the Wallabies in the first Test and S4C pundit Gwyn Jones believes the hosts will rise to the occasion

Events

48 h. ago Johnny Sexton backs ‘flash’ Finn Russell to produce his best on first Lions start

Assistant coach says No 10 has matured as a player‘He’s won a few trophies and carried that form here’The British & Irish Lions assistant coach Johnny Sexton has insisted that Finn Russell is still “flash” but believes the Scotland playmaker has the temperament to shine on his first Test start for the tourists against Australia on Saturday.Sexton described Russell as a “media darling” and as “flashy” before he was named as one of Andy Farrell’s assistant coaches, making for a potentially awkward reunion with Russell upon his appointment. Continue reading...

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67 h. ago Ellis Genge primed to summon spirit of 2022 as he runs into Australia again

Loosehead prop helped save Eddie Jones’s job in Brisbane three years ago and can make a similar impact for the LionsYou can chart Ellis Genge’s Test career by his tours of Australia. In 2016 he and Kyle Sinckler were Eddie Jones’s “rough diamonds”, picked to get a taste of an international tour but nowhere near Test selection. Six years on and in England’s second Test against the Wallabies in Brisbane, Genge kickstarted a victory that saved Jones’s job with a thunderous carry into Michael Hooper. Three years later, back in the same city, Genge makes his British & Irish Lions Test bow against Australia.After naming Genge in Saturday’s side, the head coach, Andy Farrell, encouraged the 30-year-old loosehead prop to take a moment to reflect on how far he has come. It does not come easily to Genge but his growing influence on the international sides he represents is obvious. He confesses that nine years ago he and Sinckler “tried to get out of the way as much as we could” and “were ...

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2 d. ago Lions still on red alert despite gaping holes in Australia’s team

Andy Farrell may look at ease but he knows his team need to be in physical and mental control for the first TestSometimes the best place to gauge the mindset of a head coach before a big game is not the training pitch or the press conference room but the pub across the road. Which is where Andy Farrell and his wife Colleen were enjoying a relaxing post-team selection drink by an open window when a few of us happened to wander past en route back from dinner.There may be a huge contest looming but, the closer it draws, the more at ease Farrell is beginning to look. While the competitor in him loves the approaching whiff of cordite he is not a man who believes in sitting and fretting in his room before major contests. He likes to be out and about, getting a sense of the local mood and helping to fill the quiet before the storm. Continue reading...

Events

2 d. ago Lions still on red alert despite gaping holes in Australia’s team sheet | Robert Kitson

Andy Farrell may look at ease but he knows his team need to be in physical and mental control for the first TestSometimes the best place to gauge the mindset of a head coach before a big game is not the training pitch or the press conference room but the pub across the road. Which is where Andy Farrell and his wife, Colleen, were enjoying a relaxing post-team selection drink by an open window when a few of us happened to wander past en route back from dinner.There may be a huge contest looming but, the closer it draws, the more at ease Farrell is beginning to look. While the competitor in him loves the approaching whiff of cordite he is not a man who believes in sitting and fretting in his room before major contests. He likes to be out and about, getting a sense of the local mood and helping to fill the quiet before the storm. Continue reading...

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