2 h. ago British Lions win first tour game on Australian soil but potential injury crisis brews

WESTERN FORCE 7-54 BRITISH & IRISH LIONS: Tomos Williams suffered a hamstring injury at Optus Stadium to leave coach Andy Farrell sweating on his scrum-half options

Events

2 h. ago Lions vs Western Force LIVE: 2025 tour result, latest updates and reaction after first tour win

Andy Farrell’s side face their first test Down Under after Argentina defeat

Society

3 h. ago Ian McLauchlan dressing room tribute ahead of Lions' tour opener in Australia

Scotland prop remembered in Australia

Politics

4 h. ago Lions vs Western Force LIVE: 2025 tour match stream, latest score and updates

Andy Farrell’s side face their first test Down Under after Argentina defeat

Society

5 h. ago Lions vs Western Force LIVE: 2025 tour match stream, latest score and rugby updates

Andy Farrell’s side face their first test Down Under after Argentina defeat

Sport

6 h. ago Lions captain Dan Sheehan's sports star girlfriend and his family's rugby careers

Dan Sheehan has been named British and Irish Lions captain for their opening Tour game in Australia this weekend - and he will be supported by his girlfriend, Katherine Egan

Sport

7 h. ago Western Force vs Lions LIVE: 2025 tour match stream, latest score and rugby updates

Andy Farrell’s side face their first test Down Under after Argentina defeat

Sport

7 h. ago Lions v Western Force referee Ben O'Keeffe faced scary toilet incident after game

Ben O'Keeffe will be the man in the middle as the British Lions get their tour under way Down Under

Politics

9 h. ago Nigel Owens: My true feelings on the bunker system and why rugby needs to get serious

Former international referee Nigel Owens gives his views on the upcoming Lions tour and the recent officiating controversies

Politics

24 h. ago Gareth Thomas backs Blair Kinghorn to shine on late link up with British and Irish Lions Tour

Scotland full-back Blair Kinghorn, who will run out at the Stade de France on Saturday night for the Top 14 final for club side Toulouse against European champions Bordeaux.

Society

26 h. ago Mack Hansen draws on personal experience to warn Lions of Western Force upset

Hansen starts on the wing for the Lions in their first tour game Down Under and has harked back to a game from 2013 when discussing the banana skin

Events

30 h. ago British and Irish Lions urged to ‘create moments’ ahead of Australia tour opener

Western Force await in Perth on Saturday.

Politics

45 h. ago Farrell backs Pollock to prove ‘point of difference’ for Lions in striking selection

Squad’s youngest member starts against Western ForceDan Sheehan to captain Lions on SaturdayThere is a distinctly emerald tinge to the British & Irish Lions teamsheet for this weekend’s opening tour fixture in Australia. More than half the starting XV, three of the bench reserves, the newly minted captain, Dan Sheehan, and the head coach, Andy Farrell, reside in Ireland but perhaps the latter’s most striking selection is the squad’s uncut English diamond at No 8.Henry Pollock is only 20 but the young back-rower has been handed the glittering prize of a lifetime against Western Force on Saturday. Go well and Farrell may well include him in his Test match plans next month. Should the Northampton forward endure a problematic night, conversely, it may precipitate an abrupt managerial U-turn. Continue reading...

Politics

55 h. ago Debutant Dan Sheehan will lead Lions in first tour fixture against Western Force

Irish hooker joins eight other first-timers in matchday 23Jamison Gibson-Park and James Ryan left out with injuriesEight Ireland players have been selected in the British & Irish Lions starting XV to face Western Force in the first fixture of the squad’s Australia tour on Saturday. The Leinster hooker Dan Sheehan will lead out the team on his Lions debut with eight more first-time Lions featuring in the matchday 23 and 20-year-old Henry Pollock handed a start at number eight.Sheehan will be among those making his Lions debut alongside his club-mates Garry Ringrose, James Lowe, Joe McCarthy and Josh van der Flier. The bench contains another four newcomers in the shape of England’s Ollie Chessum and Will Stuart, Scotland’s Huw Jones and Ireland’s Andrew Porter. Continue reading...

Politics

55 h. ago Sheehan will lead Lions with Pollock handed start at No8 against Western Force

Irish hooker joins eight other debutants in matchday 23Northampton’s Pollock to add back-row dynamismEight Ireland players have been selected in the British & Irish Lions starting XV to face Western Force in the first fixture of the squad’s Australia tour on Saturday. The Leinster hooker Dan Sheehan will lead out the team on his Lions debut with eight more first-time Lions featuring in the matchday 23 and 20-year-old Henry Pollock handed a start at number eight.Sheehan will be among those making his Lions debut alongside his club-mates Garry Ringrose, James Lowe, Joe McCarthy and Josh van der Flier. The bench contains another four newcomers in the shape of England’s Ollie Chessum and Will Stuart, Scotland’s Huw Jones and Ireland’s Andrew Porter. Continue reading...

Politics

61 h. ago Australia's moustachioed maverick NIC WHITE takes Mail Sport to the barbers and talks Peaky Blinders, the Lions tour and his love of Exeter

EXCLUSIVE INTERVIEW BY NIK SIMON IN PERTH, AUSTRALIA: White visits the Guru barber in the suburbs before every big game. This weekend's will be one of the biggest of the lot.

Events

3 d. ago Rugby star George North says 'Australia's epic' as he returns Down Under

George North has returned to Australia just in time for the 2025 British & Irish Lions Tour which starts this Friday.

Politics

3 d. ago Lions embrace ‘Fazball’ in attempt to seize the moment with expansive play

Lions remain committed to positive approach with ball in hand and attack coach does not want them to tighten upIn mid-November, cricket’s Ashes series will commence in the same Optus Stadium where the British & Irish Lions will kick off their tour of Australia on Saturday. There are some keen cricket fans within the Lions squad who stayed up late to watch England’s compelling final-day win at Headingley, but out on the training pitch the collective priority is not so much Bazball as its oval-shaped cousin, Fazball.Andy Farrell, the Lions head coach, has been at pains since his squad’s arrival here to make two things clear. The first is that preparation time is of the essence and should not be wasted by endlessly second-guessing what might lie ahead. The second is that the touring side can not afford to retreat into their tactical shells after their loss to Argentina in Dublin last Friday. Continue reading...

Politics

3 d. ago Spear and loathing: 20 years since tackle on Brian O’Driscoll that changed rugby

Mealamu and Umaga’s slam-dunking of the Lions captain was typical of the game’s wild west years but it proved a watershed – and the hurt still lingersBrian O’Driscoll is sick of talking about it. Tana Umaga says anyone still asking needs to put it behind them. But here we are, 20 years to the day since the tackle that ties them together – and people do still want to talk about it.That moment – in the first minute of the first Test of the Lions series against New Zealand – still pops up on TikTok and YouTube feeds, still sparks arguments on Reddit threads, still leads hour-long podcasts when players reminisce about how they saw it. And it still inspires articles like this one, long after the men involved have made up and moved on. Continue reading...

Politics

3 d. ago ‘Ellis Genge? You go from despising people to having coffee’: Dan Sheehan on Lions magic

Irish hooker on forging alliances with sworn enemies and the challenge of getting ‘four different nations connected’The best way to sum up the unique dynamic of a British & Irish Lions tour is to consult a player experiencing it for the first time. “It’s mad how fast you can go from despising people to hanging around to go for a coffee with them,” says Ireland’s straight-talking hooker Dan Sheehan, admitting he had not been expecting to bond instantly with his new English mate Ellis Genge. “He’s definitely someone that surprises you that he’s not a dickhead.”Welcome to the psychological maze that is the first week of a Lions tour on the other side of the world. Dealing with jet lag is the easy part. Even for top players like the 26-year-old Sheehan, a probable Test starter, the need to rub shoulders – often literally – with previously sworn enemies and forging unlikely alliances is a challenge in itself. “Genge would be a good one. He’s obviously a passionate, animated player fo...

Politics