There is a welcome return for Tadhg Furlong, who has played just nine times this season because of various injuries and has not featured for Leinster since their defeat by Northampton in the Investec Champions Cup semi-finals last month. The tight-head will start on the bench, with his Ireland colleague Finlay Bealham to wear the...
Marcus Smith wanders over for a chat, mainly about how mutual acquaintance Danny Care is adjusting to life as a civilian. And with the players finished in the open-air gym, coach Johnny Sexton and head of performance David Nucifora nip in for a quick workout. Meanwhile, Genge speaks to us after a precise sauna session...
Scotland prop Zander Fagerson has been ruled out of the British and Irish Lions’ tour to Australia with a calf injury. His club, Glasgow Warriors, confirmed the news on X, adding: “We’re all behind you, Z – we know you’ll come back even stronger.” Fagerson, 29, last featured for Glasgow in early April and was...
The majority of England’s central midfield picks itself. The question is who is going to be the third player to join Bellingham and Rice if Tuchel continues to play with the 4-2-3-1 formation he used in his first two games? Liverpool’s Curtis Jones started in a deeper role in the first game against Albania before...
Andorra’s national stadium is unavailable after the recent Games of the Small States of Europe. Instead, England’s World Cup qualifier against Andorra on Saturday, 7 June will take place at the RCDE Stadium in Barcelona, Spain. Uefa – football’s European governing body – said no stadiums in Andorra were available. The Andorran Football Federation has...
India batter Karun Nair pushed his case for a Test recall against England by scoring 186 not out for India A on day one of the first unofficial Test against England Lions. The 33-year-old famously scored 303 not out against England in Chennai in 2016, only to be dropped three Tests later after six matches....
batting,Jaiswal,Jaiswalnot out not out batting, 22 37 30 3 1 54 59.46 Easwaran,Easwaranleg before wicket, bowled Hull lbw b Hull Easwaran,Easwaran leg before wicket, bowled Hull lbw b Hull 8 17 15 2 0 24 47.06 batting,Nair,Nairnot out not out batting, 6 20 17 1 0 28 30.00 Extras,Extras no balls 1, wides 0, byes...
Seamer Josh Hull, 20, who played one Test against Sri Lanka last summer, also makes the group, as does all-rounder Dan Mousley, who made his limited-overs debuts against the West Indies in the autumn. However, fast bowler Jofra Archer has not been selected after injuring his thumb at the Indian Premier League. “This series is...
Four Saints players were named in Farrell’s squad with Tommy Freeman, Alex Mitchell and Fin Smith all joining Pollock, who watched the announcement with a number of his team-mates. “I walked out of the room and tried to phone my mum, who didn’t pick up which was class,” he joked. “I then called mum and...
One of the most keenly discussed positional dilemmas before the announcement was fly-half, with Scotland 10 Finn Russell and England duo Fin Smith and Marcus Smith eventually being picked ahead of Ireland’s first-choice stand-off Sam Prendergast, England veteran George Ford and Racing 92’s three-time tourist Owen Farrell. Head coach Andy Farrell said Marcus Smith’s ability...
At club level, Leinster provide 12 players – nearly a quarter of the squad – and it could have been more. Fly-half Sam Prendergast was strongly fancied to go on the tour, but Finn Russell, Fin Smith and Marcus Smith were preferred at 10. Ryan Baird, Jamie Osborne and Robbie Henshaw were also outsiders for...
Marcus Smith is in at 10 and as cover at 15, with Blair Kinghorn likely to miss the first two or three games because of his commitments with French club Toulouse. Elliot Daly is another who can deputise as 15. Scotland would have been hoping to get Tom Jordan picked in that utility role but...
Watch as British & Irish Lions head coach Andy Farrell names Saracens forward Maro Itoje as captain for the 2025 tour of Australia. Read full article at source...
Backs Bundee Aki (Connacht Rugby/Ireland) Elliot Daly (Saracens/England) Tommy Freeman (Northampton Saints/England) Jamison Gibson-Park (Leinster Rugby/Ireland) Mack Hansen (Connacht Rugby/Ireland) Huw Jones (Glasgow Warriors/Scotland) Hugo Keenan (Leinster Rugby/Ireland) Blair Kinghorn (Toulouse/Scotland) James Lowe (Leinster Rugby/Ireland) Alex Mitchell (Northampton Saints/England) Garry Ringrose (Leinster Rugby/Ireland) Finn Russell (Bath Rugby/Scotland) Fin Smith (Northampton Saints/England) Marcus Smith (Harlequins/ England)...
Maro Itoje is set to be confirmed on Thursday as the British and Irish Lions captain for the tour of Australia. The 30-year-old will become the first Englishman since Martin Johnson in 2001 to be named Lions captain, and will lead a party of around 40 players. Itoje, who will tour with the Lions for...