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Posted 10 days ago
AFTER SWAPPING the army for rugby, Grant has made steady progress through the ranks. Something of a late bloomer, he made his Test debut in Scotland’s win over Australia last summer, has become a regular for his country, helped Glasgow to the Pro12 semi-finals and comes into the squad to replace the injured Gethin Jenkins.
Posted 11 days ago
HIS RUGBY may be bohemian and his reputation grandiose, but Quade Cooper is not the arrogant mess many believe him to be. His flaw is that he needs the spotlight in order to perform. That can be as much help as it is a hindrance, but it guarantees entertainment from the fly-half. So when the Queensland Reds not only named a strong starting 15 to play against the Lions at the Suncorp Stadium on Saturday, but made Cooper their captain, they ensured that all eyes would be on the New Zealand-born playmaker.
Posted 11 days ago
MANY MINUTES will be spent and even more pints will be sunk by rugby fans discussing the options for the Lions Test team’s back row between now and 22 June. Competition for those three berths is fierce, and in particular, it’s hard to drive a wedge between Toby Faletau and Jamie Heaslip, who are battling it out for the No 8 jersey.
Posted 11 days ago
From sailing to bridge scaling, Austrlia’s biggest city has everything you need to end the tour on a high!
Posted 11 days ago
ON SATURDAY the British and Irish Lions face the Queensland Reds, a team they thumped 42-8 last time they met at Ballymore 12 years ago. The ground itself became legendary for hosting the infamously physical second Test in the Lions series of 1989, but on that that day, on June 16 2001, Ballymore became the testing ground for one of rugby’s greatest duels.
Posted 11 days ago
THE ENGLAND prop showed significant improvements in 2012 but injury ruined his chances of further development in the 2013 Six Nations and thus he had no chances to impress the Lions coaches. The 24-year-old, who is studying for a history degree, is leaving London Irish for Northampton next season.
Posted 12 days ago
Don’t be boring by flying from city to city – driving the coastal road willbe an experience to cherish.
Posted 12 days ago
THE BRITISH and Irish Lions secured an all-too easy win against the Western Force – scoring nine tries in a 69 -17 drubbing. They dominated all of the core areas of the game – securing 57% of possession and 56% territory. The Lions had a satisfactory scrummage and a functioning lineout – running at 88.9% and 75% respectively. However, the win against the Force was very different to the victory against the Barbarians.
Posted 12 days ago
HERE’S A curious stat for you. In the professional age, every Six Nations championship following a Lions tour has been won by the French. In 1998 they clinched the Grand Slam while the home nations were still basking in the glory of beating the Springboks the previous summer; four years later France repeated the feat nine months after the Lions trip Down Under. A clean sweep eluded Les Bleus in 2006 – a shock 20-16 defeat to Scotland on the opening weekend their only reverse in winning the title) but in 2010 France had another Grand Slam to celebrate.
Posted 13 days ago
The Lions scored nine tries as they made it two big wins from the first two matches of the 2013 tour.
