warren gatland Archives - SportsNewsIreland

Bundee Aki Set For Lions Test Debut As Squad Announced

JoeNa Connacht — Tue, 03 Aug 2021 12:05:30 +0000

The British and Irish Lions squad for the third and final test against South Africa has been announced with six changes to the side that lost 27-9.

Connacht centre Bundee Aki is handed a Lions test debut at inside centre with Henshaw occupying the number 13 shirt.

Munster scrum-half is dropped to the bench as Scotland’s Ali Price comes back into the team.

Wyn Jones returns to the starting XV after recovering from injury and makes his test debut for the side.

His Wales teammate Ken Owens also joins him in the side at hooker, coming in for England’s Luke Cowan-Dickie.

Liam Williams steps in for full-back Stuart Hogg and is joined in the back three by Wales winger Josh Adams, who earns his Lions test debut in place of Anthony Watson, and Duhan Van Der Merwe.

Dan Biggar stays at fly-half and will play alongside the aforementioned Ali Price.

The back five of the pack is unchanged with Jack Conan, Tom Curry, Courtney Lawes, Alun Wyn Jones and Maro Itoje all keeping their spots in the side.

Jones will earn his 12th consecutive test start for the British and Irish Lions and the player moves up to joint-third on the all-time appearances list, joining Irishman Mike Gibson and Welsh prop Graham Price.

Tadhg Furlong will make his sixth successive test start for the Lions at tighthead to round out the front row.

Adam Beard, Finn Russell and Sam Simmonds will feature in the matchday 23 for a Lions test for the first time.

Owen Farrell is out of a Lions test 23 for the first time since 2013 and Tadhg Beirne also misses out on a spot in the squad.

British and Irish Lions Squad v South Africa – Third Test

L Williams (Wales); J Adams (Wales), R Henshaw (Ireland), B Aki (Ireland), D van der Merwe (Scotland); D Biggar (Wales), A Price (Scotland); W Jones (Wales), K Owens (Wales), T Furlong (Ireland); M Itoje (England), A W Jones – captain (Wales); C Lawes (England), T Curry (England), J Conan (Ireland).

Replacements: L Cowan-Dickie (England), M Vunipola (England), K Sinckler (England) – subject to the outcome of his disciplinary hearing, A Beard (Wales), S Simmonds (England), C Murray (Ireland), F Russell (Scotland), E Daly (England).

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Lions Announce Team For Second Test v Boks

JoeNa Connacht — Tue, 27 Jul 2021 09:38:13 +0000

The British and Irish Lions have announced the side that is set to face South Africa in the second test in Cape Town this Saturday.

Three changes have been made to the side that beat the Springboks 22-17 in the first test of the series last Saturday.

Conor Murray comes into the side at scrum-half in place of Scotland’s Ali Price.

Chris Harris takes the number 13 shirt this weekend ahead of Saracens and England player Elliot Daly.

Mako Vunipola starts at loosehead prop after an appearance off the bench at the weekend.

Alun Wyn Jones will captain the side once again after completing 80 minutes just 28 days after he dislocated his shoulder against Japan.

Man of the Match Maro Itoje remains on the side along with England teammate Courtney Lawes, who also made a big impression with his work rate.

Ball-carrying machine Jack Conan will look to add to his twelve from the first test with a second consecutive start at number eight.

Tadhg Beirne is the only Irishman available off the bench.

The second test against South Africa will be shown live on Sky Sports with the match kicking off at 5 pm.

British and Irish Lions: Stuart Hogg (Exeter Chiefs, Scotland); Anthony Watson (Bath Rugby, England), Chris Harris (Gloucester Rugby, Scotland), Robbie Henshaw (Leinster Rugby, Ireland), Duhan van der Merwe; Dan Biggar (Northampton Saints, Wales), Conor Murray (Munster Rugby, Ireland); Mako Vunipola (Saracens, England), Luke Cowan-Dickie (Exeter Chiefs, England), Tadhg Furlong (Leinster Rugby, Ireland); Maro Itoje (Saracens, England), Alun Wyn Jones – captain (Ospreys, Wales); Courtney Lawes (Northampton Saints, England), Tom Curry (Sale Sharks, England), Jack Conan (Leinster Rugby, Ireland) #839

Replacements: Ken Owens (Scarlets, Wales), Rory Sutherland (Worcester Warriors, Scotland), Kyle Sinckler (Bristol Bears, England), Tadhg Beirne (Munster Rugby, Ireland), Taulupe Faletau (Bath Rugby, Wales), Ali Price (Glasgow Warriors, Scotland), Owen Farrell (Saracens, England), Elliot Daly (Saracens, England)

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WATCH: Lions 1st Test v South Africa 2009

JoeNa Connacht — Fri, 23 Jul 2021 12:48:30 +0000

The British and Lions will play South Africa for the first time in 12 years on Saturday evening after completing their warm-up tests.

The team selected by Warren Gatland and his selectors scream set-piece play, which is a big strength of Rassie Erasmus’ South Africa side.

It is an aspect of the game that has been woven into the DNA of South African throughout time, with the first test in 2009 being a great example of that.

One thing the 2021 Lions will not want to do is reveal their trick plays too early like Ian McGeechan’s 2009 team did after seven minutes in Durban.

Their (fantastic) move was stopped on the try-line by Jean De Villiers and that moment set the tone for the first half – frustration.

Tendai ‘The Beast’ Mtawarira dominated the Lions and was a living, breathing nightmare for Lions tighthead Phil Vickery.

Their lineout was filled with easy targets to win the ball, including Victor Matfield.

Stephen Jones, although brilliant on the ball when the Lions fought back, missed some early penalties, which would have won them the game had they gone over.

Francois Steyn, who is in the 2021 Springbok squad, and former Ulster star Ruan Pienaar shone with their territorial kicking, constantly applying pressure to the Lions’ starting fullback Lee Byrne.

When Rob Kearney entered the fray, things got better for the 2009 Lions but they were down 26-7 after 50 minutes.

The touring side’s best moments in the game came from their centre partnership, Jamie Roberts and Brian O’Driscoll.

Parallels can be drawn to the upcoming Lions centre partnership of Henshaw and Daly and the 2009 duo.

Roberts, much like Henshaw, is a world-class crash-ball option that can use his power to burst through defensive lines.

Daly is a facilitator, an extra wide man – not on the level of Brian O’Driscoll, but is anyone?

Brian O’Driscoll’s mazy runs and Roberts’ steamrolling carries brought life into a deflated Lions side in the first test in 2009.

Tom Croft benefitted from O’Driscoll’s mazy runs and scrum-half distributor Mike Phillips also got over the line thanks to a space the Lions were able to open up with their physicality in the final 30 minutes.

The Springboks’ physicality proved to be too much to handle for most of the first test but the lack of a bomb squad let McGeechan’s men back into it.

However, their trick plays, namely O’Driscoll using a dummy runner to open up space for himself and an inventive lineout involving Jamie Heaslip did not go to plan.

Ugo Monye was unable to convert a second time late into the game, having been the final person in the first trick play.

Gatland will have to wait for the right time to play his cards right in this tour if he is to avoid the mistakes that were made in 2009.

The 2009 Lions could have won the series without those mistakes against the 2007 World Champions.

A repeat of the same scenarios will only spell disaster.

British and Irish Lions: 15 Lee Byrne (Ospreys/Wales), 14 Tommy Bowe (Ospreys/Ireland), 13 Brian O’Driscoll (Leinster/Ireland), 12 Jamie Roberts (Cardiff Blues/Wales), 11 Ugo Monye (Harlequins/England), 10 Stephen Jones (Scarlets/Wales), 9 Mike Phillips (Ospreys/Wales), 8 Jamie Heaslip (Leinster/Ireland), 7 David Wallace (Munster/Ireland), 6 Tom Croft (Leicester Tigers/England), 5 Paul O’Connell (Munster/Ireland – captain), 4 Alun-Wyn Jones (Ospreys/Wales), 3 Phil Vickery (London Wasps/England), 2 Lee Mears (Bath/England), 1 Gethin Jenkins (Cardiff Blues/Wales).

Replacements: 16 Matthew Rees (Scarlets/Wales), 17 Adam Jones (Ospreys/Wales), 18 Donncha O’Callaghan (Munster/Ireland), 19 Martyn Williams (Cardiff Blues/Wales), 20 Harry Ellis (Leicester Tigers/England), 21 Ronan O’Gara (Munster/Ireland), 22 Rob Kearney (Leinster/Ireland).

South Africa: 15 Frans Steyn, 14 JP Pietersen, 13 Adi Jacobs, 12 Jean de Villiers, 11 Bryan Habana, 10 Ruan Pienaar, 9 Fourie du Preez, 8 Pierre Spies, 7 Juan Smith, 6 Heinrich Brüssow, 5 Victor Matfield, 4 Bakkies Botha, 3 John Smit (c), 2 Bismarck du Plessis, 1 Tendai Mtawarira.

Replacements: 16 Gurthrö Steenkamp, 17 Deon Carstens, 18 Andries Bekker, 19 Danie Rossouw, 20 Ricky Januarie, 21 Jaque Fourie, 22 Morné Steyn.

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South Africa Cleared To Train After COVID Scare

JoeNa Connacht — Mon, 28 Jun 2021 15:50:37 +0000

The South African national rugby team have been cleared to train after three of their 46-man squad tested positive for COVID-19 yesterday.

Their match against Georgia on Friday is still scheduled to go ahead despite yesterday’s setback.

The Springboks have reported that fly-half Herschel Jantjies, one of the three who tested positive yesterday, has “subsequently been cleared and can return to training.”

South Africa is currently suffering from a third wave of COVID-19, led by the Delta variant and the country has entered Level 4 restrictions for 14 days in an attempt to combat it.

To contain the massive surge in infections, South Africa will be moving to Alert Level 4 for a period of 14 days. Additional restrictions will be in place from tomorrow, 28th June 2021.#StaySafe #CoronaVirusSA #Ramaphosa #Level4 #14Days pic.twitter.com/2XPY21cBgq

— Presidency | South Africa (@PresidencyZA) June 27, 2021

Under the Level 4 lockdown, all gatherings indoors and outdoors are prohibited and a curfew from 9 pm to 4 am has been put in place.

The lockdown will be in place until July 11 in the country.

However, the South African government announced this morning that all professional sports will go ahead but attendance for the Lions tests looks unlikely.

In a statement by SA Rugby, the quick return to training after the positive tests yesterday is down to “the strict precautionary measures taken by the team and the effective isolation protocols since the squad assembled.”

The Boks will announce their team to play Georgia on Tuesday.

Meanwhile, the British and Irish Lions have landed in Johannesburg, South Africa ahead of the tour after all players called up were finally together following the end of domestic seasons across Europe.

The side beat Japan 28-10 at Murrayfield on Saturday in the first of their warm-up tests.

The province of Gauteng has been the region in South Africa hit hardest by the latest surge in cases.

Gauteng encompasses Johannesburg and Pretoria, meaning that the Lions flew into the epicentre of the outbreak.

Warren Gatland’s side will play five of their eight games on the tour in the region, including this Saturday’s fixture with South African club and soon-to-be United Rugby Championship members The Lions.

The three-match series between the reigning world champions and the British and Irish Lions starts on July 24.

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Lions Team to play Japan – Start time 3pm Saturday – Live on Channel 4

JoeNa Connacht — Wed, 23 Jun 2021 09:45:59 +0000

The British and Irish Lions matchday 23 for their first warm-up test against Japan this Saturday has been announced.

The two teams will face each other at Murrayfield Stadium in Edinburgh with kick-off at 3:00 pm.

Six Irish players are included in the starting XV – Iain Henderson, Tadhg Beirne, Jack Conan, Conor Murray, Bundee Aki and Robbie Henshaw. You can use your Coral Promo Code and back The Lions at 2/1 to win the tour in South Africa.

It is the highest amount of players in the XV from any of the four national teams of Ireland, England, Wales and Scotland.

Leinster prop Tadhg Furlong is on the bench, bringing the total of Irish players in the 23 to seven.

Tour Captain Alun Wyn Jones= takes the armband for the side’s first warm-up test.

Rory Sutherland and Zander Fagerson give a Scottish feel to the front row while the back row includes Beirne and Conan alongside Hamish Watson.

Conor Murray and Dan Biggar are the starting inside-back pairing with Irish centres Aki and Henshaw beside them.

Duhan Van Der Merwe, Josh Adams and Liam Williams round off the XV.

Furlong, Jamie George, Owen Farrell and Anthony Watson are among those on the bench.

The game will be available to watch on Channel 4 in Ireland and the UK with coverage starting at 2:15 pm.

British and Irish Lions 1888 Cup Squad

Backs

15. Liam Williams (Wales/Scarlets)

14. Josh Adams (Wales/Cardiff Blues)

13. Robbie Henshaw (Ireland/Leinster)

12. Bundee Aki (Ireland/Connacht)

11. Duhan Van Der Merwe (Scotland/Edinburgh)

10. Dan Biggar (Wales/Northampton Saints)

9. Conor Murray (Ireland/Munster)

Forwards

Rory Sutherland (Scotland/Edinburgh)
Ken Owens (Wales/Scarlets)
Zander Fagerson (Scotland/Glasgow Warriors)
Iain Henderson (Ireland/Ulster)
Alun Wyn Jones (Wales/Ospreys)
Tadhg Beirne (Ireland/Munster)
Hamish Watson (Scotland/Edinburgh)
Jack Conan (Ireland/Leinster)

Bench

16. Jamie George (England/Saracens)

17. Wyn Jones (Wales/Scarlets)

18. Tadhg Furlong (Ireland/Leinster)

19. Courtney Lawes (England/Northampton Saints)

20. Taulupe Faletau (Wales/Bath)

21. Ali Price (Scotland/Glasgow Warriors)

22. Owen Farrell (England/Saracens)

23. Anthony Watson (England/Bath)

Match Review

Chris Farrell opened Ireland’s account with a try after Yu Tamura’s early penalty. Japan responded when Michael Leitch touched down after the visitors mauled over for a try.

Stuart McCloskey then gave Ireland a 12-10 lead after Joey Carbery started an attack with a clever chip, but Japan continued to attack in waves and Timothy Lafaele got over after a free-flowing move.

Finlay Bealham responded for Ireland just before half-time with a try and they took a 19-17 lead into the break.

Siosaia Fifita was next to touch down after the break as Japan came out all guns blazing. It was tit-for-tat as Josh van der Flier then got an Ireland try to put Farrell’s men 26-24 ahead.

Jacob Stockdale was next to notch a try for Ireland but Japan rallied with a late try from Naoto Saito. A Joey Carbery penalty opened up an eight-point lead and Ireland held on for the win.

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