Latest news with #BundeeAki
Irish Daily Mirror
5 hours ago
- Sport
- Irish Daily Mirror
British and Irish Lions v Argentina: Key head to head battles
Andy Farrell finally gets the chance to run the rule over 23 of his British and Irish Lions squad tonight when they take to the field against Argentina in Ballsbridge. The Lions head coach is without all but one of his Leinster contingent and he is also resting Bath out-half Finn Russell after the Cup winning exploits on both sides of the Irish Sea last weekend. From an Irish angle there are three starters in the home side, with Bundee Aki, Tadhg Beirne and Finlay Bealham getting the nod. An opening win would be welcomed from a morale-boosting viewpoint but it will be an interesting exercise in seeing how various combinations perform. Fin Smith v Tomas Albornoz Andy Farrell wants those starting tonight to immediately put pressure on those in the stands and this is a big chance for the England out-half to lay down a marker on his return to the Aviva for the first time since Northampton's win over Leinster. Albornoz has made a rapid and impressive improvement under Felipe Contepomi and will look to unlock the Lions' still developing defence. Finlay Bealham v Mayco Vivas From not being in the original Lions squad to starting in the opening game of the campaign, it's quite the transformation for Connacht tighthead Bealham. With some doubts still around Tadhg Furlong's fitness but who is on the bench tonight, Farrell will hope that Bealham steps up to the challenge. Vivas, who plays for Gloucester, has close to 30 Pumas caps so is an experienced rival. Sione Tuipulotu v Justo Piccardo A highlight of the night should be the Tuipulotu/Bundee Aki partnership, one with the potential to be a hugely physical and potent combination at centre. After missing the Six Nations, Tuipulotu was returning to his best as the club season ended. Piccardo's only Test appearance came in Dublin in November, when he came off the bench. This should be a fearsome test for the 23-year-old.
Daily Mail
6 hours ago
- Sport
- Daily Mail
Australia coach takes aim at Lions duo - born in New Zealand and Australia - after former stars raised questions over their inclusions
Australia head coach Joe Schmidt has taken aim at the British and Irish Lions for their centre partnership of of Bundee Aki and Sione Tuipulotu ahead of the side's first tour game. Lions boss Andy Farrell has named his stating side for the first of the summer matches against Argentina on Friday, with four foreign-born players included in the 15 and two more in the replacements. Schmidt will lead his side against the Lions later on this summer, with the first Test to be played in July before the tour concludes in early August. The 59-year-old has named his own squad to take on Fiji, and wasted no time taking aim at a duo who were born in New Zealand and Australia respectively. The subject has been a source of controversy since Farrell named his 38-man squad, with Lions icon Willie John McBride saying the inclusions 'bothered' him, while former England scrum-half Danny Care agreed that the inclusion of foreign-born players was an eyebrow-raiser. And Schmidt has now marked himself as the leader of the criticism, highlighting the duo when he named his Australia squad on Thursday. 'A southern-hemisphere centre partnership that will be pretty formidable,' he said. 'Obviously, I coached Bundee for several years (at Ireland) and know him really well, respect him massively as a player and a great contributor to the team environment. 'I've only had glancing conversations with Sione but again, by all accounts a champion bloke. You don't get to be captain of a national team without being a great bloke and really professional in those high-performance environments. 'They are real athletes, those two together, so that'll be really interesting.' Lions back coach Richard Wigglesworth, however, jumped to his side's defence, insisting players aren't picked on their backgrounds, but commitment and talent. 'I don't know if they are questioning their commitment,' he said. 'Their journey and how committed they have been to their country, whether that be Scotland or Ireland, England or Wales, everyone has earned the right to pull on the Lions jersey. 'They are, to a man, incredibly proud to be here. It is not your background or how you have got here, it is what sort of player are you and what sort of man you are and we have got great men and great players.' Care had said on the BBC Rugby Union Weekly podcast: 'Both your starting wingers are going to be lads that never, ever once in their childhood or even their mid-20s dreamt of wearing a red Lions jersey. 'It is what it is, it's the rules, and why not. If you're James Lowe or you're Duhan van der Merwe or you're [Jamison] Gibson-Park, you go, "Oh, I'll play for the Lions, yeah". 'We're not going to change it, but it just doesn't… I think there's a lot of people that feel the same but can't say it.' It's not uncommon in sport for starts to feature for countries they weren't born in at international level, but qualify for through family links or how long they have lived there. That includes in the sports such as football, with the likes of Marc Guehi (Ivory Coast) and Trevoh Chalobah (Sierra Leone) in the current England set-up born elsewhere, while cricket greats such as Jonathan Trott and Kevin Pietersen were born in South Africa but represented England.
Extra.ie
6 hours ago
- Sport
- Extra.ie
British and Irish Lions vs Argentina: everything you need to know as tour kicks off in Dublin
The British and Irish Lions tour kicks off in Dublin on Friday, when the team entertain Argentina. It will be the first match for the team, which features the best of the Irish, English, Scottish and Welsh rugby teams, ahead of their trip to Australia where they'll play the Wallabies in the three match test. For the first time ever, the Lions will be playing in Ireland — but for those who didn't get tickets, here's all the info you need to know: British & Irish Lions Squad Training, UCD Bowl, Dublin 16/6/2025 Alex Mitchell. Pic: INPHO/Billy Stickland The British and Irish Lions vs Argentina kicks off at 8pm on Friday, June 20. The match will take place at the Aviva Stadium in Dublin. Lions head coach Andy Farrell. Pic: Ramsey Cardy/Sportsfile Sky Sports will be broadcasting the match, with coverage kicking off at 7.30pm on Sky Sports Main Event and Sky Sports Action. Those who are subscribed to Sky Sports can also watch the match via a livestream on the Sky Go app. Several other sites, including the BBC, will be doing a liveblog on the match as well. Bundee Aki is one of three Irish players starting on Friday. Pic: INPHO/Dan Sheridan Three Irish players have been named in the starting XV — Tadgh Beirne, Finlay Bealham, and Bundee Aki. Also on the bench will be Rónan Kelleher, Mack Hansen and Tadgh Furlong. After the Argentina game, the Lions will be heading down under to play Australian clubs, before they play a three match test series against the Australian national team. The tour kicks off on Saturday, June 28, and will conclude on August 2.
The Independent
7 hours ago
- Sport
- The Independent
Australia coach Joe Schmidt takes sly dig at Lions with ‘southern hemisphere' centres comment
Australia head coach Joe Schmidt has taken a swipe at the British and Irish Lions by describing Bundee Aki and Sione Tuipulotu as a "southern-hemisphere centre partnership". Aki and Tuipulotu, who were born in New Zealand and Australia respectively, form a midfield partnership for Friday's tour opener against Argentina in Dublin and Schmidt has seized the opportunity to highlight their switch of national allegiance. Aki qualified for Ireland through residency while Tuipulotu is able to represent Scotland because of his Greenock-born grandmother. "A southern-hemisphere centre partnership that will be pretty formidable," said Schmidt at the Wallabies squad announcement for their forthcoming match against Fiji. "I coached Bundee for several years and know him really well and respect him massively as a player. He's a great contributor to the team environment. "I've only had glancing conversations with Sione but again, by all accounts a champion bloke. "You don't get to be captain of a national team without being a great bloke and really professional in those high-performance environments. They are real athletes, those two together, so that'll be really interesting." The number of overseas-born players in Andy Farrell's 38-man squad has been a talking point ahead of the tour Down Under. Ireland's James Lowe and Jamison Gibson-Park and Scotland's Duhan van der Merwe and Pierre Schoeman qualified for their nations through residency, while Finlay Bealham and Mack Hansen can represent Ireland through family. Lions attack coach Richard Wigglesworth responded to Schmidt's barb by declaring everyone in the squad has earned the right to be there. "I don't know if they are questioning their commitment. Everyone has earned the right to pull on the Lions jersey," Wigglesworth said. "They are, to a man, incredibly proud to be here. It is not your background or how you have got here, it's what sort of player you are and what sort of man you are. We have got great men and great players."
Irish Daily Mirror
7 hours ago
- Sport
- Irish Daily Mirror
What time and TV channel is the British and Irish Lions v Argentina on tonight
Andy Farrell's long wait to get back into the coaches box ends tonight as he returns to Lansdowne Road for the visit of Felipe Contepomi's Pumas in what is a novel fixture for the British and Irish Lions. Never before have the Lions played on Irish soil so that unwelcome record comes to an end here as Farrell gets down to business in a match scenario for the first time since Ireland's Autumn Series victory over Australia on November 30 of last year. Since then he has planned and plotted for this moment and, with many of his Leinster contingent still getting up to speed in Lions camp after their URC final success last weekend, there are six of his Ireland stars involved tonight. The game takes place at Aviva Stadium, Dublin The match kicks off at 8pm on Friday It will be shown live on TG4 (from 7.20pm) and on Sky Sports Main Event (from 7pm) The British and Irish Lions are 1/10 to win, Argentina are 13/2 to win, the draw is 30/1 Referee: James Doleman (New Zealand) Bundee Aki, Tadhg Beirne and Finlay Bealham are the three Ireland players who start the game, while replacements Tadhg Furlong and Mack Hansen are poised to make their return from injury and Rónan Kelleher will be hungry for his chance to shine when the time comes. Farrell will hope that his new-look side hit the ground running and immediately puts down a marker for the squad in terms of standards set, but Argentina won't make it easy. The 2025 Lions are finally ready to roar. British and Irish Lions: Marcus Smith, Tommy Freeman, Sione Tuipulotu, Bundee Aki, Duhan van der Merwe, Fin Smith, Alex Mitchell; Ellis Genge, Luke Cowan-Dickie, Finlay Bealham, Maro Itoje (captain), Tadhg Beirne, Tom Curry, Jac Morgan, Ben Earl. Replacements: Ronan Kelleher, Pierre Schoeman, Tadhg Furlong, Scott Cummings, Henry Pollock, Tomos Williams, Elliot Daly, Mack Hansen. Argentina: Santiago Carreras, Rodrigo Isgro, Lucio Cinti, Justo Piccardo, Ignacio Mendy, Tomas Albornoz, Gonzalo Garcia; Mayco Vivas, Julian Montoya (captain), Joel Sclavi, Franco Molina, Pedro Rubiolo, Pablo Matera, Juan Martin Gonzalez, Joaquin Oviedo Replacements: Bautista Bernasconi, Boris Wenger, Francisco Coria Marchetti, Santiago Grondona, Joaquin Moro, Simon Benitez Cruz, Matias Moroni, Santiago Cordero
