What an exciting weekend we have ahead of us. On the Lions front there is plenty to talk about, as the Wallabies suffer a major injury setback with the loss of fly half Noah Lolesio to injury and the Lions gain an extra fly half in the shape of Owen Farrell. In the case of the latter, there have been various negative assertions about the selection of Farrell given his Father sits in the Coaching box, but we feel it’s important to make the distinction that the decision was always on the backburner and the injury to Elliott Daly has in essence made it inevitable. Consequently, the rather tasteless allegations of nepotism need to be thrown in the dustbin where they belong. Meanwhile, the Lions brace themselves for their sternest test yet as they prepare to face a rather ominous looking combined Australia/New Zealand XV in Adelaide this Saturday.
Elsewhere on the July International front, we were delighted to see that France made New Zealand be careful of what they wish for. The so called “disrespectful” side assembled by French Coach Fabien Galthie showed the All Blacks plenty of respect by comparison and made New Zealand realize that French depth is something to give some serious thought to, especially with a World Cup two years away. The more exposure the All Blacks get to it, the better in our opinion, especially as they are only likely to meet once more before a potential World Cup knockout match in Australia in 2027.
Wales lost their 18th consecutive Test match against Japan last weekend, while Scotland were fantastic against the Maori All Blacks. The flying Fijians gave the Wallabies the fright of their lives ahead of the first Lions Test, while Italy were extraordinarily brave and rather effective in a powerful second half against World Champions South Africa despite ending on the wrong side of the scoreboard. Finally, England managed to clinically shut down Argentina, despite the Pumas’ historic win over the Lions only a fortnight earlier.
Last but DEFINITELY not least, Canada’s phenomenal Women put South Africa to the sword in Pretoria and look in exceptionally fine form ahead of the World Cup next month.
So let’s unpack what happened and what we’re looking forward to this weekend.
The Wallabies hit a major setback while the Lions face a stern examination this weekend ahead of that all important first Test and a familiar face returns to the Lions pride
LOTS to talk about here as we pick our Lions fixture to watch this weekend. England’s Owen Farrell finds himself in Australia for a last-minute Lions call up, and while some have called it nepotism, given his father is the Coach, we beg to differ. Meanwhile, speaking of fly halves, the Wallabies suffered a devastating setback as they lose Noah Lolesio to injury before the three Tests have even got underway. After struggling against the Waratahs last week, we air our concerns as the Lions prepare to face a rather menacing looking combined Australian and New Zealand this Saturday in Adelaide.
After blowing past the Reds last week in a game we had thought was going to be a lot closer, we were surprised to see the Lions struggle so much against one of Australia’s poorer sides on Saturday. In short, they made seriously hard work of getting a win over a Waratahs side who finished deep in the bottom half of this year’s Super Rugby table. It wasn’t a good look with several key players such as one of our fan favourites here at the Lineout, Irish utility forward and Captain for the day Tadgh Beirne and fellow countryman Hugo Keenan at fullback having an exceptionally poor day at the office. Meanwhile, flavor of the month English fly half Fin Smith just wasn’t at the races in the ten jersey. Alarm bells were no doubt ringing, made worse by another injury loss as in the game against the Reds, England utility back Elliot Daly picked up a Tour ending injury.
The Daly injury has led to England’s Owen Farrell being drafted into the squad, and despite the cries of nepotism plaguing social media, due to him being Coach Andy Farrell’s son, a sense of perspective is needed. While we are the first to admit we haven’t always been one of Farrell Junior’s biggest fans over the years, there is no denying both his abilities and experience. He has made 18 appearances for the Lions since his first Tour with the team in 2013, ironically to Australia, and featured in 6 Lions Tests. He also has 112 Test appearances for England and, quite frankly, is one of the most experienced players out there in terms of being a playmaker in big games. Why wouldn’t you want to have him on your side? Oh, and yes, if you need any other credentials, he is still England’s leading points scorer of all time. There’s also that rather handy distinction that he’s actually a useful center, in addition to his skills in the number ten jersey.
In short, enough said, Owen Farrell is an important and flexible option for Lions Coach Andy Farrell’s toolbox. Fair enough, we’re sure that just like any father/son combination the added bonus of coaching your son in the legendary red jersey is both a priveledge and pleasant fringe benefit, but we really don’t believe that was the guiding principle on which this decision was made. A bit like the New Zealand media’s ridiculous assertions of France’s squad to face the All Blacks this month being disrespectful – once again, let the rugby do the talking!
Meanwhile, speaking of fly halves, for Australia, their problems have suddenly got almost seemingly insurmountable with the injury to theirs, Noah Lolesio in the Wallabies’ first outing of 2025 against Fiji last weekend. Australia are, unlike the Lions, not exactly blessed with any great degree of depth in the position. The loss of Lolesio for the whole series is a potential hammer blow. Furthermore, at only 25, the Brumbies man was just coming into the prime of a promising career and was by far Australia’s leading contender for the 10 jersey.
Wallaby Coach Joe Schmidt is unfortunately not exactly spoilt for choice, unlike his Lions rival Andy Farrell, in who will wear the ten jersey for the Wallabies as a result. The Western Force’s Ben Donaldson has shown definite promise at times in his 16 appearances for the Wallabies, or the Reds Tom Lynagh with three caps to his name. Donaldson is a capable replacement, though despite his lack of experience, Lynagh is the more dynamic X-factor type of package. However, in Lynagh’s case, a Lions stage may just be a bit too grand at this point in his career, so the starting jersey is likely to go to the more experienced Donaldson. Nevertheless, neither of these two players have the all round game set of Lolesio, though we’d argue that Lynagh’s off script imagination could well rival Lions playmaker Finn Russell’s at times, making him a potential game changer off the bench for the Wallabies. We don’t envy whatever decisions Wallaby Coach Joe Schmidt will have to make on this one, but we could end up seeing one of the big surprise revelations of the Tour in the process.
In terms of what to watch this week on the Lions Tour, we originally had the Brumbies midweek game labelled as the biggest club game against the Lions, but with the Canberra outfit shorn of all their Wallaby stars for this fixture, we sadly feel it may end up being rather a damp squib. Instead, a rather fearsome force of Wallabies and All Blacks have been assembled for a one off match against the Lions in Adelaide this Saturday, and even though the fixture itself has no stature it’s as close as the Lions will get to a full blown Test until they meet the Wallabies for the first time on July 19th. There are some big All Black names in the squad, most notably center David Havili and Hoskins Sotutu in the back row. Both players are currently not part of Scott Robertson’s endeavours against the visiting French, but you can be assured that they will be putting in big performances to ensure that the All Black Coach revises his opinion in time for the start of the Rugby Championship next month, along with Chiefs fullback Shaun Stevenson who also missed out on selection.
The Wallabies who find themselves in Saturday’s squad will also be seeking to impress for Test spots and Rugby Championship appearances, especially the Reds winger Lachlan Anderson and back rower Lukhan Salakai-Loto along with Western Force Hooker Brandon Paenga-Amosa. Also, in the mix representing Australia are Bordeaux’s back rower Pete Samu, who had an electric season with the European Champions and winger Marika Koroibete currently doing service in Japan. With these last two unlikely to feature for the Wallabies during the Lions Tour due to currently plying their trade overseas, they will still want to make a statement as there is a loophole to let some players be eligible for Wallaby selection under the “Giteau” law.
Either way, it’s set to be a fascinating game as both the Lions and Wallabies get set to lay out their final stall on market day next week for the first Test. You won’t want to miss it!
Invitation ANZAC vs British and Irish Lions – Saturday, July 12th – 6:00 AM (Eastern) – DAZN, Premier Sports Asia and Stan Sport Australia (live and on demand)
New Zealand’s media were made to eat their words somewhat last weekend as plenty of respect was shown by France’s “no name” squad, while the All Blacks first Dutchman made a genuine statement on debut
We couldn’t help smiling smugly to ourselves as we watched the first of three Tests this July between France and New Zealand unfold. As you may recall, we have made the statement all along that the All Blacks should treat the fact that France turned up on their shores with a relatively unknown squad with a degree of caution. In fairness to the All Black Coaching staff, we think they have had no illusions about the depth of talent that France is currently producing and are probably relishing this godsend of an opportunity to get to know it so comprehensively over the next few weeks. Especially given the fact that they may well be facing some of it in two years time at the next World Cup and that, after this tour, New Zealand are likely to only face France in one more Test prior to the next global showdown in Australia in 2027.
Quite frankly, we could see no shred of disrespect in the performance in Dunedin on display by French Coach Fabien Galthie’s young charges last Saturday. It was evident that at times this so called French “C” side was scaring the living daylights out of many of the seasoned All Blacks on the pitch, as well as leaving them scratching their heads as to how to tame this unknown French beast. While this French touring team may be thin on experience, it has ambition and talent by the bucketload. It was a thrilling spectacle of a Test match that kept us on the edge of our seats until the final whistle.
New Zealand got the win, but to be honest, it was France we were talking about over our pints post-match. Back rowers Alexandre Fischer, Killian Tixeront, and Mickael Guillard were utterly outstanding, while Tyler Duguid was impressive in the lineouts and the second row. It’s interesting to note that Duguid actually hails from Edmonton, so he is essentially one of our own and it was great to see a Canadian getting the opportunity to thrive overseas on one of the biggest stages possible. However, that French back row was imperious at times despite having only a combined total of 8 caps between the three of them. Compare that to the 133 held by the All Black trio they were up against. At fullback, Theo Attissogbe really caught the eye as he has all season with Pau and when he got to don the blue jersey in this year’s Six Nations.
Now, before we all get too carried away, New Zealand’s first match of their International season is always a slightly rusty affair. The debutants have to quickly adapt to Test Rugby, while new combinations take some getting used to. France will know that the All Blacks they face this week will be a much sharper and more accurate unit. However, they themselves will surely only grow in confidence after essentially being written off last weekend. Added to that will be the fact that two dynamic centers will be added to the French roster in the shape of Bordeaux’s Nicolas Depoortere and Toulouse’s Pierre-Louis Barassi. It’s clearly gone from a B- to a B+ team.
As for New Zealand, there are plenty of work ons and a need for a general tightening up of proceedings, though in fairness to them we felt that there is certainly no need to ring any alarm bells as long as they recognise they are in for another “proper” Test match this weekend. Of the debutants this past weekend, we have to take our hats off to second rower Fabian Holland. Orginally hailing from the land that bears his last name, it’s a genuine feel-good story for the 22 year old. Wanting to play a sport that suited his rather intimidating size, Holland fell in love with rugby from an early age after watching the All Blacks Sevens team train on a pitch near his home town when he was eleven. Passionate about his dream, he worked relentlessly to make it happen. He got a six month stint at Christchurch Boys High School when he was sixteen and made such an impression that he was invited to stay. The rest is history, but it was inspirational to watch the young man run out for his first All Black appearance as a stellar example of how following your dreams through hard work and dedication pays off. As Test debuts go, it was a pretty impressive performance last weekend, and expect to see a lot more of this young man in the future.
Like we say, it wasn’t a bad performance from the All Blacks, and expect to see them significantly improved this weekend after blowing off those initial cobwebs. It’s likely to be a slippery and damp track in Wellington this Saturday with the Capital’s infamous winds to deal with to add further complexity to the kicking and aerial battles, and it will be fascinating to see which side it favors as a result. France, by contrast, will go one of two ways. Knowing that a Test decider is on the line, they will pull out all the stops or start their inevitable summer Tour slide into obscurity. However, with a World Cup only two years away and places up for grabs for a young and very motivated side, we somehow doubt the latter will be as much of a concern as in years gone by.
It’s likely to be more a much more strategic game with a predominance of grinding the ball from end to end through the forwards than last Saturday’s open play extravaganza, but entertaining nevertheless. We really hope it will set up the final Test in Auckland as one to decide what has been a controversial Series from the outset. Whichever way you cut it, the coffee will be on as soon as we get up much earlier than most people should on a Saturday morning!
New Zealand vs France – Saturday, July 12th – 3:05 AM (Eastern) – TSN+, Premier Sports Asia, Stan Sport Australia and FLO Rugby (live and on demand)
Canada’s Women continue to gain momentum ahead of the World Cup
Despite a travel itinerary from hell and arriving late, Canada’s extraordinary women once again took adversity in their stride and turned in yet another convincing performance to completely outclass South Africa’s Springbok Women in Pretoria by 50 points to 20. Pretoria and Loftus Versfeld are always tough places to play but Canada’s women seemed unphased by the challenge, and played with precision and at times simply made it look easy, despite a brave but ultimately error strewn performance from the South Africans.
Canada’s honor roll is one for the whole team as once again, the sense of unity and ability to play off each other was on display for all to see. What we really like about this team, so superbly Coached by Kevin Rouet, is that they get better with every performance, and their precision goes up yet another notch. Their forwards set up a platform for the backs to work off as their set piece work is sound and continues to improve. They have reduced many of the mistakes that often crept into their game last year, and their execution has been sharpened along with a better understanding of when to take chances and when to play conservatively. The element of risk to the way they play has been reduced along with a much better understanding of the linkages within the team and how to use them. It’s this unity and cohesion that will make them such a difficult team to break down come the World Cup.
In short, watching Canada play is hugely entertaining, but their ambition has finally started to translate into consistency and control. All traits which will serve them well next month in England and their shot at World Cup glory. There is no doubt that New Zealand and France will be serious challengers to those aspirations, and England still would appear to be in a league of their own. However, Canada now have the right to dream big, and if they can put it all together on the day, then there is no reason to doubt that this team could go all the way.
Much has been talked about in terms of the return to action of their usual Captain and one of the best Women players in the World game right now. Sophie de Goede is back in the squad after a year lay off due to injury. Although with the team in South Africa, she played no part in last Saturday’s match, but is expected to participate in the Second Test in Gqeberha (Port Elizabeth) this Saturday. However, as evidenced from this past year and last weekend’s game, the current squad have hardly missed a beat in her absence. Although it’s hard to single out one player from last Saturday, the increasing influence and ability of Florence Symonds in the centers, especially paired with the oustanding Alex Tessier, deserves special mention. Expect Symonds to feature heavily in media releases from the World Cup as she is one of the most exciting rising stars of the Women’s game.
We’re pleased to announce that their fundraising target for the World Cup has managed to raise well over 75% of the $1,000,000 they are seeking to find, so if you haven’t already head on over to the TV page and please donate generously via the link provided.
In the meantime we hope you’ll be cheering as hard as we will on Saturday morning.
South Africa vs Canada – Saturday, July 12th – 7:30 AM (Eastern) – TSN+ and TSN 2 (live and on demand)
A spot of running rugby, anyone?
Anyone who has ever read this blog before knows we simply love watching Fiji play rugby. We know very few teams that so evidently enjoy what they do and love nothing better than to turn a piece of complete and utter chaos into a thing of magic and a demonstration of almost freakish talent. Don’t believe us, then just watch this:
Not only is the run by winger Jiuta Wainiqolo a thing of beauty, but the fact that a 110 kg flanker can keep pace with him for the full length of the pitch at speed to ultimately score the try is nothing short of logic defying. In short, these guys have what can only be described as a unique set of skills. They gave a star studded Australia the fright of their lives last weekend and were unlucky to lose, albeit by the slimmest of margins.
Meanwhile down in Whangarei, a travelling Scottish side shorn of some of their big guns currently on duty across the Tasman Strait with the Lions, provided us with another thriller against the Maori All Blacks and secured a memorable 29-26 win, which was also full of joyous expressive running rugby. However, there was also discipline, focus, and execution when needed against a Maori side who took the game to Scotland in no uncertain terms both physically and with invention of equal measure. In short, it was ideal preparation for the raucous party atmosphere that awaits the Scots in Suva in front of Fiji’s passionate fans.
If the Scots can deal with the suffocating humidity and heat, which is always a factor in the Islands, then this is likely to be without doubt one of the highlights of the weekend. Fiji and Scotland are not too far apart in the World Rankings, which will help determine their seeding for the all-important World Cup draw at the end of the year. Fiji are ranked 9th while Scotland sits 7th, so expect the fireworks to fly.
Never mind where your loyalties lie this weekend. If you simply want to be entertained, then ring this fixture in your calendar – plain and simple.
Fiji vs Scotland – Friday, July 11th – 11:00 PM (Eastern) – Premier Sports Asia and Stan Sport Australia (live and on demand)
England lock down Argentina in a clinical performance
Watching England dismantle Argentina in a very vocal and passionate Stadium Estadio Jorge Luis Hirschi in La Plata last Saturday, made us think it was perhaps one of the most clinical and composed performances we’ve seen from an English outfit in a long time. England looked like they had a plan right from referee Angus Gardner’s opening whistle. It was very simple really, just don’t let Argentina play or if they do put so much pressure on them you force them into countless errors and ultimately make them work so hard it’s almost impossible for them to think straight. Defend like your lives depend on it, but don’t give away needless penalties. Also, throw in one of the best performances we’ve ever seen from fly half George Ford in an England jersey, and the rest is history!
If that really was the plan, then England executed it to the letter. Argentina had significantly more possession and territory than England but simply couldn’t do anything with it. Especially once inside England’s 22, the Pumas had to work so hard at trying to crack a seemingly impenetrable English defense, the inevitable exhaustion and errors started to mount. Argentina simply couldn’t get into the game despite what the post game stats may say. Argentina spent the first forty minutes battering against England’s brick wall with not even a single point to show for their efforts as they headed into the sheds at half time. They simply looked out on their feet.
England by comparison, while appearing content to let Argentina flog themselves to death for the first forty minutes on the English ramparts, recognised they were now up against exhausted and disjointed opponents in the second half and turned the tables on the Pumas, playing some exquisite adventurous open rugby. Watching England in the second half was very similar to watching the Pumas dismantle the Lions in Dublin a fortnight ago. Had Steve Borthwick and his Coaching staff been taking notes? It would appear so. The brief was let’s tire them out in the first half, and then we’ll play their game in the second. Pretty simple plan really when you think about it. Just make sure the nuts and bolts of your game are in place, and in that regard, England would have felt well pleased at half time. Their scrum was utterly dominant, and their lineout throws were finding their targets, while their work in the rucks was both ferocious and executed to textbook standards.
However, before we all get carried away, this Series is not over yet. Without fail, the Pumas warm quickly to the task at hand, especially at home. They are always considerably better in the second Test of their July Internationals. We expect no reason for things to be different this year. They are well Coached and although missing Benetton fly half Tomas Albornoz, who had such a huge impact on the game against the Lions, due to Coach Felipe Contempomi choosing to rest him in readiness for the two Test home series against the All Blacks as part of the Rugby Championship next month, this is still an excellent Pumas team full of exciting, powerful and dynamic players.
In short, the Pumas should find their groove this Saturday and will be infinitely wiser and more creative in dealing with England’s relatively simple but flawlessly executed game plan. Another big bruising encounter awaits between two sides who aren’t exactly the best of friends, even though many of them play together in the English Premiership. With those World Rankings set to play such a big part in the draw for the World Cup Pools set to be held at the end of the year, Argentina will not take kindly to swapping places with England on the table from fifth to sixth as a result of last weekend’s proceedings.
Although building this fixture up last weekend and ultimately walking away feeling slightly frustrated in Argentina’s performance we still hold that this Tour is one of the most intriguing of the summer, especially given what is at stake, and think as a result this weekend will be much more of the contest that we were expecting. Here’s hoping so for both sides!
Argentina vs England – Saturday, July 12th – 3:40 PM (Eastern) – TSN+, Premier Sports Asia, FLO Rugby and Stan Sport Australia (live and on demand)
Well folks, another great weekend awaits and the final run into the much anticipated Lions Tests against Australia! Stay safe and enjoy the rugby!
The Lineout 