8 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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8 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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8 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

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8 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

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8 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

10 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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10 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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12 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

14 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

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31 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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32 h. ago Are collagen shots and supplements really the secret to youthful skin?

Treatments to boost the protein are all the rage, but the evidence is uncertain and any results could be short-livedFrom high-end aesthetics clinics to the middle aisle of Lidl, collagen is having a moment. Whether it’s in the form of fruity shots or powdered supplements, this structural protein is being touted as the secret to youthful skin and glossy hair.Celebrities are also singing the praises of a collagen-boosting procedure called NeoGen, with the actor Leslie Ash claiming earlier this week that it had “taken 10 years off her”. Continue reading...

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35 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

35 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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54 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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58 h. 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...

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58 h. 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...

Events

58 h. ago ‘Make it happen when it matters’ – Andy Farrell urges Lions to embrace pressure

Powerful Lions side named to face Australia in first TestTom Curry starts in back row, no Welsh player in 23Andy Farrell has urged his British & Irish Lions players to embrace the pressure of their billing as heavy favourites to beat Australia in the series opener on Saturday.The Lions will go into Saturday’s match as odds-on favourites after Farrell named a powerful side featuring Tom Curry at openside flanker and Sione Tuipulotu at inside-centre to face a Wallabies team missing Will Skelton, Rob Valetini and Taniela Tupou. Continue reading...

Events

59 h. ago We want to embrace being favourites – Lions boss Andy Farrell on Australia test

The Wallabies are currently ranked eighth in the world.

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59 h. ago Andy Farrell insists Lions will not take weakened Wallabies lightly in first Test

The Lions are favoured for first Test victory in Brisbane but their head coach insists there will be no complacency from his side

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61 h. ago Fans say the same thing about Andy Farrell's 'criminal' Lions selection

The decision means there won't be a single Welshman in the Lions squad for the opening Test with the Wallabies this weekend

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