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Continue reading...Captain Harry Wilson backs Wallabies to surprise British & Irish Lions in first Test
Australia’s No 8 says team will try to ‘win every moment’ on Saturday
Nick Champion de Crespigny and Tom Lynagh come into injury-depleted squad
Australia captain Harry Wilson said the Wallabies were confident of beating the British & Irish Lions in the first Test at Lang Park on Saturday despite being heavy underdogs after losing several key players to injury.
The Wallabies have won only four of their last 11 Tests and on Saturday will be without regular fly-half Noah Lolesio and their best Test player of the last two years, loose forward Rob Valetini.
Continue reading...Joe Ofahengaue stars in Leigh’s statement victory over St Helens
St Helens 4-16 Leigh Leopards
Ofahengaue scores two tries as Leigh close on top two
Leigh Leopards further underlined their position as bona fide Super League title contenders with another statement victory, this time winning at fourth-placed St Helens to close the gap further on the competition’s top two.
A month ago, Leigh conceded 50 points at Leeds and with fixtures against the league leaders Hull KR, second-placed Wigan and the Saints on the horizon, it was not inconceivable to consider whether the Leopards could find themselves in a scramble just to make the play-offs in the final two months of the season.
Continue reading...Andy Farrell knows what it takes to play for the Lions against Australia
Long before he was a rugby union coach, Farrell captained Great Britain’s rugby league team against Australia
Andy Farrell knows more about playing for the Lions against Australia than anyone in his squad. He faced Australia 15 times for Great Britain’s rugby league team, winning just four of those matches. Farrell only played in Australia twice for the Lions, captaining the team in Brisbane in 1999 and Sydney in 2002. Both matches were a nightmare, his team humiliated by an aggregate score of 106-16.
Farrell’s introduction to the team was more enjoyable. He made the first of his 34 appearances for Great Britain at Headingley against New Zealand in 1993. He was only 18 years old and he scored on his debut. Let’s hope he savoured that moment. His third Great Britain international, in 1994, was an epic. Farrell started in the second row against Australia at Wembley in an arm-wrestle for the ages. This wasn’t a run-of-the-mill Australia side. This was one of the all-time greats.
Continue reading...Joseph-Aukuso Suaalii learns from Origin pain before renewing hostilities with Lions
Wallabies star plays down feud with Sione Tuipulotu
21-year-old was sent off in State of Origin debut for NSW Blues
Wallabies gun Joseph-Aukuso Suaalii has avoided throwing fuel on the fire ahead of a possible spicy rematch with British and Irish Lions centre Sione Tuipulotu in Saturday’s opening Test in Brisbane
The star league recruit and the Melbourne-raised Scotland captain had to be separated in a skirmish in their first meeting at Murrayfield last November.
Continue reading...After 644 winless days, Wales beat Japan to end 18-match losing streak
Wales win 31-12 for first Test win since 2023 World Cup
Fiji 29-14 Scotland; All Blacks 43-17 France; Portugal 7-106 Ireland
Wales held on to end their 18-match losing Test run with a hard-fought 31-22 victory over Japan in Kobe. Playing under the closed roof of the Noevir Stadium, Wales scored three first-half tries, with Josh Adams opening the scoring and Kieran Hardy going over twice after Lee Seung-sin’s penalty, but Japan struck on the stroke of half-time through Shuhei Takeuchi.
Although Dan Edwards’ penalty extended Wales’s lead, they slipped into trouble as two tries in quick succession from Warner Dearns and Dylan Riley brought Japan back into the game. However, Edwards crossed with five minutes remaining to seal a first Test win since beating Georgia at the 2023 World Cup.
Continue reading...Sports quiz of the week: Wimbledon, Euro 2025, PSG v Chelsea and the Open
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Continue reading...Origin’s series-defining moment offers an antidote to rugby league’s performative masculinity | Jonathan Howcroft
While men’s sport can often be a proxy for authentic human connection, Cameron Munster and Billy Slater show there is another way
Hug your friends. Let them cry on your shoulder. Tell them everything’s going to be OK.
Do it in public. Do it with confidence. Do it knowing it might inspire someone else in need of an ally.
Continue reading...State of Origin 2025 Game 3: Qld Maroons beat NSW Blues 24-12 – as it happened
Queensland claim series win with near-flawless display in Sydney
Tom Dearden wins Wally Lewis medal for two-try performance
Now it’s Billy Slater’s turn in front of the mic.
It’s going to take our best that’s for sure. I think both teams have been working towards a better performance, so I’m expecting something pretty special from the opposition and hopefully we can deliver as well.
It’s a courageous and brave effort isn’t it? And we all admire him for that. It goes to show you how much this footy team, this state means to him, and this game means to him. So I know his dad would be pretty proud of him.
I think our preparation has been first class. I can’t fault it. Boys are pretty dialled in. Obviously they know what’s at stake tonight and I reckon we’ll give our best performance of the three game series.
The plan with Payne [Haas] was always to get ready for tonight, rather than getting ready for a training session on a on a Monday or a Tuesday. So look, he’s ready to go. And Brian [To’o] probably surprised us with what he did on the on the Monday night. So no no concerns at all.
Continue reading...Australia 21-18 Fiji: international rugby union Test – as it happened
Wallabies survive scare from surging Fiji at McDonald Jones Stadium in Newcastle
Out stride the two teams, side by side, accompanied by mascots. The visitors are wearing white jerseys and black shorts, the hosts are wearing their First Nations jersey, which is predominately gold, with green accents to match the green shorts.
Angus Fontaine puts it all into context for the Wallabies.
Adventurous attack. Bone-rattling defence. Mistakes punished and opportunities seized. Get in the enemy’s faces and bring the crowd into the contest from the get-go. A ragtag NSW Waratahs gave Joe Schmidt’s Wallabies a bold blueprint for how to dismantle the British & Irish Lions in the first Test on 19 July.
Continue reading...Queensland captain Cameron Munster plans to play in State of Origin decider after father’s death
Munster given time to grieve with his family after death of his father
But he still plans to lead Maroons in Origin III to honour his dad
The death of Cameron Munster’s father Steven has come as devastating news just days out from the State of Origin series decider.
The Queensland captain, in a brave decision to honour his dad, plans to still lead the Maroons on Wednesday night after taking time away to grieve with his family.
Continue reading...All Blacks hold off depleted France in thriller and Wales slump again in Japan
Wales capitulate to their 18th successive Test defeat
Scotland beat Māori All Blacks; Georgia 5-34 Ireland
Will Jordan scored a try in each half and Beauden Barrett kicked to perfection as New Zealand overcame three cancelled tries to claim a nervous 31-27 win over France in the series-opener in Dunedin.
Fielding only three players from the Six Nations title-deciding win over Scotland, the depleted France side gave Scott Robertson’s team a huge scare in an entertaining match at a sold-out Forsyth-Barr stadium. However, a late Barrett penalty proved enough for the All Blacks to hold on, ending a three-match losing streak against Les Bleus.
Continue reading...Sports quiz of the week: Wimbledon, Euro 2025, Club World Cup and Lions
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Continue reading...David Porecki returns to Wallabies team to face Fiji after 643-day international absence
Hooker to partner James Slipper and Allan Alaalatoa in front row
Joseph-Aukuso Suaalii returns after recovering from broken jaw
The Wallabies have opted for experience in their front row to face Fiji this weekend, with former captain David Porecki called back into the team, 643 days since he last pulled on a gold jersey.
Porecki, 32, was named on Friday in the starting XV for Sunday’s Test in Newcastle, alongside all-time cap record holder James Slipper and 80-Test tighthead Allan Alaalatoa, in a forward pack missing big guns Will Skelton and Rob Valetini, who both have calf injuries.
Continue reading...Would more foreign players enhance Super League or impede youngsters?
Super League clubs are expected to increase the foreign quota from seven to 10 players next season. Should they?
Saturday night’s cracker between Castleford and Wigan at Wheldon Road was typical of Super League’s multicultural nature. The bulk of the away team’s points were scored by Australians; a Samoa international from Christchurch was the home side’s main creator; and a player born in Sydney with Maltese heritage was among the game’s outstanding performers. Castleford, with five overseas players, were narrowly beaten 26-20 by Wigan, who had four imports in their side.
Given that both teams are allowed seven overseas players, it seems strange that Super League clubs may vote next month to increase next season’s quota from seven players not trained in the European Federation to 10. Some clubs are already offering contracts based on the assumption that things will change.
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