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The National
7 hours ago
- Entertainment
- The National
Scott Cummings on Franco Smith effect at Glasgow and Lions selection
Scott Cummings – the big cat in question – sits across from me, strategically placed directly beneath Mungo the giraffe to help negate any inferiority complex his six foot five frame had sparked in this more modestly proportioned correspondent. When Mungo traded a safari park in Holland for his current post in 2006, the museum staff famously struggled to get their £11,000 giraffe into the room after a measurement oversight, and although I wasn't quite so worried about that with the newly anointed British & Irish Lions lock, there were other concerns. There was a niggling feeling in the back of my mind that if we sat for long enough, we'd risk being classified and catalogued by an overzealous curator. Passing pensioners and schoolchildren of the future would ooh and ahh as their tour guide explained the vast differences between near relations 'homo eggchaserus', found mainly tackling its prey in fields and 'homo journalisticus', found mainly eating Wotsits in a swivel chair, technically the same species but difficult to fathom how. Cummings is used to the media setting up left-field photo opportunities though, mentioning an altogether regrettable instance involving pom-poms around the 2019 World Cup. The requests won't be slowing down any time soon. After his selection for the upcoming tour of Australia, alongside three of his club-mates in Sione Tuipulotu, Huw Jones and Zander Fagerson, Glasgow Warriors had commissioned portraits by Sky Arts Portrait Artist of the Decade Gareth Reid, to be unveiled at the city landmark that evening. A few early school trips aside, the museum isn't Cummings' natural habitat – although that may well change. He's recently discovered he's going to be a father and hey, it's a cheap day out. 'It's sinking in a bit now, yeah,' he says. 'We did the first pram shopping at the weekend and started trying to get some nursery stuff. That's when you're really like 'what the heck?'. Catherine [his wife] gave us a list of stuff and I'm like, I don't even know what half this stuff is! 'I'm really good mates with Zander and he's got four kids – a six-year-old, a five-year-old and then they tried for a third and had twins – so he's got that chaos and it's quite nice having them for a few hours, so we're used to being with kids on our own. 'We're not due until October, so we've still got a bit more time. It's a shame Catherine can't travel, but with the tour timing-wise it ends up all right.' Cummings may need to change a few nappies upon return after his other surprise announcement. The tour whisks him away to Australia with Andy Farrell's squad next week until early August. Cummings will make his Lions debut from the bench against Argentina in Dublin, and the lock has as good a chance as any of cementing his place in the side when the Test matches kick off in earnest. With matches set up against the best club sides Oceania has to offer, ending in a three-match series against the Wallabies themselves, the rewards are there for the taking. A lovely video taken by Warriors staff during the selection announcement showed just how much it means to the Glasgow native and how well-liked he is in the dressing room. The place erupts as his name is read and, flanked by best pal Zander and fellow big unit Rory Sutherland, the pile-on is immediate. Scotstoun is built for scrums but not usually among the folding chairs of the conference room. The moment Scott found out he was a Lion 🦁 #WhateverItTakes ⚔️🛡️ — Glasgow Warriors (@GlasgowWarriors) May 8, 2025 'It was a pretty special moment,' says Cummings. 'Franco [Smith, Glasgow Warriors head coach] put us through a mauling session in the morning so we didn't have too much time to think about it and dwell on it. 'I would have been gutted if I hadn't been picked, definitely, but I'm so thankful that it happened. You're just counting through the letters because it's alphabetical, trying to see if it's going to happen or not. 'My first call was to Catherine – it was a shame because she'd actually got between two and half two off work for it, but she works on the NHS as a physio so she had to go back to the wards. She watched all the info at the start then missed me actually getting called out!' After a celebratory meal at Cameron House near Loch Lomond – no beers of course, with the Warriors' league season still winding up – a shattered Cummings had time to relish the achievement. It says much of his mental strength that he had never completely given up hope on making the 38-man shortlist. A broken arm ahead of the Six Nations deprived the second row of any chance to impress with Scotland and indeed he managed just 20 minutes on the park, coming off the bench in a URC cameo against Bulls, before selectors made their decision. 'It was a strange situation for me,' he admits. 'What I envisioned was having a good Six Nations would mean I've put myself forward for the Lions tour. Obviously getting injured the week before it was a massive blow to that plan. 'I was still fighting to get back fit for the end of the season for Glasgow but the Lions wasn't as much in my focus. I knew it was going to be three months [out]. I was just trying to go in my head 'right, what can I control?'. I've probably missed this opportunity. Thankfully it didn't work out that way. Scott Cummings at Kelvingrove Art Gallery and Museum (Image: Colin Mearns) 'I think from rumours that there were like seven or eights odd boys that they were constantly chopping and changing between, so I'm sure there were some pretty tough decisions in there, but I'm just really thankful they've picked me to represent them.' It's likely John Dalziel played no small part in that. Although Cummings is held in high esteem by anyone who's been on the business end of his oncoming shoulder, the Lions selection process can be a murky business that can sometimes see standout candidates stood down in favour of the coaches' trusted lieutenants from back home. Having a Scotsman in the backroom making your case is always nice, and especially when you already get a bit of stick for being his golden boy. 'I get that a lot,' says Cummings with a laugh. 'It was literally one time in a line out in training I said his name in a strange way, and all of a sudden it's gone, it's grown arms and legs. Read more: 'I've been coached by JD loads throughout the years – he was my Under-20s coach, he was our forwards coach at Glasgow and then at Scotland, so I'm sure he'll have put in words for the Scottish contingent that have been selected, just as I'm sure the Irish coaches did for the Irish boys. 'I'm really happy for JD as well, he's a great coach that's come through the ranks in Scotland and to have a Scottish coach on the lines for the forwards is a massive, massive thing for him. We're all really happy for him.' That's not to say he's there as a favour. For the Kelvinside Academy graduate, this is the culmination of more than a decade of hard graft, building on his natural strengths and eliminating any weaknesses in his game. The son of a mother who works in the school's office and a dad who is a driving instructor, the family didn't have much interest in rugby in those early days – his brother hated playing himself - and so a young Cummings made progress on his own steam, with help from school coaches. 'The first thing that was bigger than just normal school rugby was I went to some under-15 regional stuff, and to be honest, I was quite a shy guy and I got dropped from it all,' he recalls. 'In the first rounds they just said I wasn't there. I wasn't great. 'The next year, I was close to not doing it again, but I went back to the under-16s. I still enjoyed playing but I didn't know if going down the actual rugby route was for me. But then this regional coach, Nic Humphries, he came and did extra sessions with me, helped me build my confidence up a bit and pushed me through. My first 15s coach, Davie Wilson at Kelvinside, pushed me on to go a bit further as well. 'You know what it's like with rugby, if you're a big kid when you're younger, you're good at rugby. You don't need to be that good to be good. But I've always been a quieter guy so developing that confidence was a big thing. 'There's a lot of big personalities in rugby, so you've got to fight for yourself.' There was no looking back for Cummings from there. The virus had spread. Season tickets with the Warriors followed, first at Firhill then Scotstoun, and watching Jason White clad in dark blue lifting the Calcutta Cup in 2008 became a formative memory. Mum accompanied him on the early trips, before pathway coaches with the Institute of Sport took over chaperone duties, helping the eager pupil shut out the excitement of the match to watch the movement of just one player, often fellow Kelvinside alumnus Richie Gray, and absorb as much as the could for their own game. Scour the annals of YouTube and you'll come across the Warriors' semi-final celebrations on the way to a 2015 Pro12 title win and when the camera pans across the Scotstoun stands, if you squint hard enough you can see Cummings, the Glasgow Warriors fan first and foremost, losing his mind. After coming through the academy system to make his debut at 18 and spending 10 years with the Warriors, Cummings is as invested as anyone in their success both on the pitch and off it. So what of the man who has elevated his club in so many ways? The head coach who may be headed for the door this summer? Franco Smith's future may be in doubt, but for Cummings there's no questioning the impact he has had on his players since the South African's arrival in 2022. 'He's someone who breaks down barriers that we probably set ourselves,' says Cummings. 'For example, the Bronco, the fitness test that we all run, we all get really nervous for it, so he'll make use run it at the end of sessions all the time just to be like 'See? It's not that bad'. Scott Cummings in Lions training (Image: Getty Images) 'He's very much someone that when you first come in you say 'Oh we can't do that', and he'll always ask 'Well, why not?' He's always pushing the limits of what you can do. 'There's been times where he's pulled me into his office and said 'You're playing well, but there's more in you. I think there's more from you. If you want to just be a Glasgow player in the Scotland team, then fine, but if you want to take the next step, here's what I need from you'. 'He's not afraid to challenge the big guys, more than other coaches. He's someone that, if he doesn't think those star players are performing, he'll tell you and drop you. 'He's definitely made sure that all 40 or 50 guys in the squads feel like they're going to play even though only 20 are going to get the chance on the weekend. "He rotates a lot – I think last year when we were going into the final, it wasn't until the last three games that he picked the same team, so everybody's ready and everybody's fighting and it breeds competition. He has belief in the young guys. 'Don't get me wrong, he trains us very hard as well, he's not just belief. He works us hard, we train the way we play, we need to be fit, we need to be able to run and do things under pressure, he's definitely added that side to us.' One sticking point on whether Smith sticks around to build on his success is the recent shift in policy around foreign players in the Scottish game. Scottish Rugby performance director David Nucifora has implemented an informal ruling around signing players from overseas who may block the pathway for Scottish prospects, much to the chagrin of the Warriors boss, who has lost Henco Venter and Sebastian Cancelliere after making clear he had plans for them at Scotstoun. Read more: As a Scot who prospered given his chance, what's Cummings' take on the difficult transition? 'I don't want to speak out of turn – it's a tough one,' he says. 'I understand the vision. Obviously the more Scottish players you have, the better for Scottish rugby but it's got to be a fine balance between that and still having the quality of players to compete. 'It's tough because there's some boys in there – Cancelliere, Henco, JP [du Preez] – foreigners that we really love, they've become part of our squad, their families have grown up here and it's pretty gutting this year that they're leaving and not a lot of people want them to leave. 'I can understand the plan it's just sometimes tough to take when you see the actual personal side of it as much as anything. "You also need to make sure young Scottish talent is ready to come through so it's a fine balance they have to strike with it.' For now, the domestic scene takes a back seat for the long summer ahead. Hotel rooms have to be sorted – Garry Ringrose was his room-mate for their London meet-up but he's keen to get acquainted with the other lads too – tickets may have to be procured – although Catherine won't make it over, his parents and some pals will make it Down Under – and of course, nursery construction beckons. 'In some ways my priorities will change – the wee one will be a massive part of my life,' he says. 'I'll go out there to make them proud. But I'm still going out there to make myself proud, make the rest of my family proud and for the sacrifices my wife and my family made growing up. Scott Cummings poses for a photo while on Lions duty in Dublin (Image:) 'For me it's just about making sure I gave it my all. My dream was to win the Six Nations with Scotland and then you're in hospital with a broken arm – it happens. It's just knowing I didn't leave anything out there. 'It's knowing I didn't let it become a chore because I know a lot of players who stop enjoying rugby. I make sure I enjoy every day because it's not going to last long, when you retire you go into a nine to five job and it'll be a lot tougher. 'We might complain about not getting looked after or that training should be shorter but at the end of the day we've got a pretty good life, so I don't want any regrets.' As we leave the holding room for Noah's Ark, one suspects life is about to get a lot wilder for Scott Cummings. It may be a zoo in here, but it's a jungle out there.
The Herald Scotland
8 hours ago
- Entertainment
- The Herald Scotland
Scott Cummings on Franco Smith effect at Glasgow and Lions selection
When Mungo traded a safari park in Holland for his current post in 2006, the museum staff famously struggled to get their £11,000 giraffe into the room after a measurement oversight, and although I wasn't quite so worried about that with the newly anointed British & Irish Lions lock, there were other concerns. There was a niggling feeling in the back of my mind that if we sat for long enough, we'd risk being classified and catalogued by an overzealous curator. Passing pensioners and schoolchildren of the future would ooh and ahh as their tour guide explained the vast differences between near relations 'homo eggchaserus', found mainly tackling its prey in fields and 'homo journalisticus', found mainly eating Wotsits in a swivel chair, technically the same species but difficult to fathom how. Cummings is used to the media setting up left-field photo opportunities though, mentioning an altogether regrettable instance involving pom-poms around the 2019 World Cup. The requests won't be slowing down any time soon. After his selection for the upcoming tour of Australia, alongside three of his club-mates in Sione Tuipulotu, Huw Jones and Zander Fagerson, Glasgow Warriors had commissioned portraits by Sky Arts Portrait Artist of the Decade Gareth Reid, to be unveiled at the city landmark that evening. A few early school trips aside, the museum isn't Cummings' natural habitat – although that may well change. He's recently discovered he's going to be a father and hey, it's a cheap day out. 'It's sinking in a bit now, yeah,' he says. 'We did the first pram shopping at the weekend and started trying to get some nursery stuff. That's when you're really like 'what the heck?'. Catherine [his wife] gave us a list of stuff and I'm like, I don't even know what half this stuff is! 'I'm really good mates with Zander and he's got four kids – a six-year-old, a five-year-old and then they tried for a third and had twins – so he's got that chaos and it's quite nice having them for a few hours, so we're used to being with kids on our own. 'We're not due until October, so we've still got a bit more time. It's a shame Catherine can't travel, but with the tour timing-wise it ends up all right.' Cummings may need to change a few nappies upon return after his other surprise announcement. The tour whisks him away to Australia with Andy Farrell's squad next week until early August. Cummings will make his Lions debut from the bench against Argentina in Dublin, and the lock has as good a chance as any of cementing his place in the side when the Test matches kick off in earnest. With matches set up against the best club sides Oceania has to offer, ending in a three-match series against the Wallabies themselves, the rewards are there for the taking. A lovely video taken by Warriors staff during the selection announcement showed just how much it means to the Glasgow native and how well-liked he is in the dressing room. The place erupts as his name is read and, flanked by best pal Zander and fellow big unit Rory Sutherland, the pile-on is immediate. Scotstoun is built for scrums but not usually among the folding chairs of the conference room. The moment Scott found out he was a Lion 🦁 #WhateverItTakes ⚔️🛡️ — Glasgow Warriors (@GlasgowWarriors) May 8, 2025 'It was a pretty special moment,' says Cummings. 'Franco [Smith, Glasgow Warriors head coach] put us through a mauling session in the morning so we didn't have too much time to think about it and dwell on it. 'I would have been gutted if I hadn't been picked, definitely, but I'm so thankful that it happened. You're just counting through the letters because it's alphabetical, trying to see if it's going to happen or not. 'My first call was to Catherine – it was a shame because she'd actually got between two and half two off work for it, but she works on the NHS as a physio so she had to go back to the wards. She watched all the info at the start then missed me actually getting called out!' After a celebratory meal at Cameron House near Loch Lomond – no beers of course, with the Warriors' league season still winding up – a shattered Cummings had time to relish the achievement. It says much of his mental strength that he had never completely given up hope on making the 38-man shortlist. A broken arm ahead of the Six Nations deprived the second row of any chance to impress with Scotland and indeed he managed just 20 minutes on the park, coming off the bench in a URC cameo against Bulls, before selectors made their decision. 'It was a strange situation for me,' he admits. 'What I envisioned was having a good Six Nations would mean I've put myself forward for the Lions tour. Obviously getting injured the week before it was a massive blow to that plan. 'I was still fighting to get back fit for the end of the season for Glasgow but the Lions wasn't as much in my focus. I knew it was going to be three months [out]. I was just trying to go in my head 'right, what can I control?'. I've probably missed this opportunity. Thankfully it didn't work out that way. Scott Cummings at Kelvingrove Art Gallery and Museum (Image: Colin Mearns) 'I think from rumours that there were like seven or eights odd boys that they were constantly chopping and changing between, so I'm sure there were some pretty tough decisions in there, but I'm just really thankful they've picked me to represent them.' It's likely John Dalziel played no small part in that. Although Cummings is held in high esteem by anyone who's been on the business end of his oncoming shoulder, the Lions selection process can be a murky business that can sometimes see standout candidates stood down in favour of the coaches' trusted lieutenants from back home. Having a Scotsman in the backroom making your case is always nice, and especially when you already get a bit of stick for being his golden boy. 'I get that a lot,' says Cummings with a laugh. 'It was literally one time in a line out in training I said his name in a strange way, and all of a sudden it's gone, it's grown arms and legs. Read more: 'I've been coached by JD loads throughout the years – he was my Under-20s coach, he was our forwards coach at Glasgow and then at Scotland, so I'm sure he'll have put in words for the Scottish contingent that have been selected, just as I'm sure the Irish coaches did for the Irish boys. 'I'm really happy for JD as well, he's a great coach that's come through the ranks in Scotland and to have a Scottish coach on the lines for the forwards is a massive, massive thing for him. We're all really happy for him.' That's not to say he's there as a favour. For the Kelvinside Academy graduate, this is the culmination of more than a decade of hard graft, building on his natural strengths and eliminating any weaknesses in his game. The son of a mother who works in the school's office and a dad who is a driving instructor, the family didn't have much interest in rugby in those early days – his brother hated playing himself - and so a young Cummings made progress on his own steam, with help from school coaches. 'The first thing that was bigger than just normal school rugby was I went to some under-15 regional stuff, and to be honest, I was quite a shy guy and I got dropped from it all,' he recalls. 'In the first rounds they just said I wasn't there. I wasn't great. 'The next year, I was close to not doing it again, but I went back to the under-16s. I still enjoyed playing but I didn't know if going down the actual rugby route was for me. But then this regional coach, Nic Humphries, he came and did extra sessions with me, helped me build my confidence up a bit and pushed me through. My first 15s coach, Davie Wilson at Kelvinside, pushed me on to go a bit further as well. 'You know what it's like with rugby, if you're a big kid when you're younger, you're good at rugby. You don't need to be that good to be good. But I've always been a quieter guy so developing that confidence was a big thing. 'There's a lot of big personalities in rugby, so you've got to fight for yourself.' There was no looking back for Cummings from there. The virus had spread. Season tickets with the Warriors followed, first at Firhill then Scotstoun, and watching Jason White clad in dark blue lifting the Calcutta Cup in 2008 became a formative memory. Mum accompanied him on the early trips, before pathway coaches with the Institute of Sport took over chaperone duties, helping the eager pupil shut out the excitement of the match to watch the movement of just one player, often fellow Kelvinside alumnus Richie Gray, and absorb as much as the could for their own game. Scour the annals of YouTube and you'll come across the Warriors' semi-final celebrations on the way to a 2015 Pro12 title win and when the camera pans across the Scotstoun stands, if you squint hard enough you can see Cummings, the Glasgow Warriors fan first and foremost, losing his mind. After coming through the academy system to make his debut at 18 and spending 10 years with the Warriors, Cummings is as invested as anyone in their success both on the pitch and off it. So what of the man who has elevated his club in so many ways? The head coach who may be headed for the door this summer? Franco Smith's future may be in doubt, but for Cummings there's no questioning the impact he has had on his players since the South African's arrival in 2022. 'He's someone who breaks down barriers that we probably set ourselves,' says Cummings. 'For example, the Bronco, the fitness test that we all run, we all get really nervous for it, so he'll make use run it at the end of sessions all the time just to be like 'See? It's not that bad'. Scott Cummings in Lions training (Image: Getty Images) 'He's very much someone that when you first come in you say 'Oh we can't do that', and he'll always ask 'Well, why not?' He's always pushing the limits of what you can do. 'There's been times where he's pulled me into his office and said 'You're playing well, but there's more in you. I think there's more from you. If you want to just be a Glasgow player in the Scotland team, then fine, but if you want to take the next step, here's what I need from you'. 'He's not afraid to challenge the big guys, more than other coaches. He's someone that, if he doesn't think those star players are performing, he'll tell you and drop you. 'He's definitely made sure that all 40 or 50 guys in the squads feel like they're going to play even though only 20 are going to get the chance on the weekend. "He rotates a lot – I think last year when we were going into the final, it wasn't until the last three games that he picked the same team, so everybody's ready and everybody's fighting and it breeds competition. He has belief in the young guys. 'Don't get me wrong, he trains us very hard as well, he's not just belief. He works us hard, we train the way we play, we need to be fit, we need to be able to run and do things under pressure, he's definitely added that side to us.' One sticking point on whether Smith sticks around to build on his success is the recent shift in policy around foreign players in the Scottish game. Scottish Rugby performance director David Nucifora has implemented an informal ruling around signing players from overseas who may block the pathway for Scottish prospects, much to the chagrin of the Warriors boss, who has lost Henco Venter and Sebastian Cancelliere after making clear he had plans for them at Scotstoun. Read more: As a Scot who prospered given his chance, what's Cummings' take on the difficult transition? 'I don't want to speak out of turn – it's a tough one,' he says. 'I understand the vision. Obviously the more Scottish players you have, the better for Scottish rugby but it's got to be a fine balance between that and still having the quality of players to compete. 'It's tough because there's some boys in there – Cancelliere, Henco, JP [du Preez] – foreigners that we really love, they've become part of our squad, their families have grown up here and it's pretty gutting this year that they're leaving and not a lot of people want them to leave. 'I can understand the plan it's just sometimes tough to take when you see the actual personal side of it as much as anything. "You also need to make sure young Scottish talent is ready to come through so it's a fine balance they have to strike with it.' For now, the domestic scene takes a back seat for the long summer ahead. Hotel rooms have to be sorted – Garry Ringrose was his room-mate for their London meet-up but he's keen to get acquainted with the other lads too – tickets may have to be procured – although Catherine won't make it over, his parents and some pals will make it Down Under – and of course, nursery construction beckons. 'In some ways my priorities will change – the wee one will be a massive part of my life,' he says. 'I'll go out there to make them proud. But I'm still going out there to make myself proud, make the rest of my family proud and for the sacrifices my wife and my family made growing up. Scott Cummings poses for a photo while on Lions duty in Dublin (Image:) 'For me it's just about making sure I gave it my all. My dream was to win the Six Nations with Scotland and then you're in hospital with a broken arm – it happens. It's just knowing I didn't leave anything out there. 'It's knowing I didn't let it become a chore because I know a lot of players who stop enjoying rugby. I make sure I enjoy every day because it's not going to last long, when you retire you go into a nine to five job and it'll be a lot tougher. 'We might complain about not getting looked after or that training should be shorter but at the end of the day we've got a pretty good life, so I don't want any regrets.' As we leave the holding room for Noah's Ark, one suspects life is about to get a lot wilder for Scott Cummings. It may be a zoo in here, but it's a jungle out there.
Herald Sun
17 hours ago
- Sport
- Herald Sun
Trainer James Cummings has a slew of chances at Randwick
Cummings will also saddle up Contemporary, Pereille and Razors in the Randwick closer with all four of the stable's sprinters prominent in TAB Fixed Odds betting. But Kerguelen is the $2.40 favourite even though the promising gelding is only third emergency and needs another scratching to gain a start. 'Kerguelen's going really well and it would be nice to get him into the race carrying 52kg,'' Cummings said. 'For a horse on the rise that is a great recipe.'' • PUNT LIKE A PRO: Become a Racenet iQ member and get expert tips – with fully transparent return on investment statistics – from Racenet's team of professional punters at our Pro Tips section. SUBSCRIBE NOW! A five-year-old son of former champion racehorse and sire Lonhro, Kerguelen has only been to the races six times for three wins and three seconds. But Kerguelen resumed with a strong win over the talented Brave One at Rosehill and drops 5.5kg for the Randwick sprint, albeit he is up sharply grade. 'We have been so patient with this horse,'' Cummings said. 'Although we have always held him in high regard, he's needed time to mature and I would like to think our patience will be rewarded now. 'This might be one of the drier tracks he's raced on but he's going along so sweetly and is a chance to rocket through his grades.'' • EXPERT TIPS: Clinton Payne's race-by-race tips and analysis for Royal Randwick on Saturday Kerguelen is the pick of the Godolphin quartet and the $2.40 favourite with TAB Fixed Odds with his stablemates Razors at $9, Pereille $9.50 and Contemporary at $11. Razors was twice stakes-placed as a three-year-old but hasn't raced for 12 months. Cummings has given the gelding two recent barrier trials to ready him for a Randwick return. 'I thought it was good work from Razors the other day in his trial and he's coming into this race looking pretty athletic for a horse coming off a long break,'' he said. Pereille ran fourth behind Headley Grange in a strong form race at Randwick last start and Cummings feels the sprinter is at his peak after two runs from a spell. 'He is going well and has come on from that last run,'' Cummings said. 'This does look a suitable race for him.'' • Ray & Duff's Randwick tips: Punters should plan their Exit on Saturday Topweight Contemporary has to shoulder 59kg after apprentice Benjamin Osmond's 2kg claim but his second-up effort when third to In Flight in the Listed Bob Charley Stakes is very good form for the Randwick closer. 'Contemporary is knocking on the door and is ready to win,'' Cummings said. 'He is up there where it hurts in the ratings but that is offset with the claim and he should be very strong late in the race.'' Cummings, who will take a break from training at the end of next month before moving to Hong Kong for the 2026-27 season, also has three-year-old fillies Amusing and Glorioso entered for the Quayclean Handicap (1300m) although the trainer hinted only the former was a certain starter. 'I like the look of Amusing, her trials have been good and I'm happy for her to go back to the races,'' he said. 'Glorioso won last start (Gosford) but I'm just considering the options with her, we might even wait for Wednesday (Kensington.'' • Saturday Market Movers: Feature race favourite $3 to $2.40 Cummings also has chances interstate with Kin contesting the Listed $160,000 Gai Waterhouse Classic (1200m) at Ipswich while boom two-year-old Observer lines up in the TAB We're On (1420m) at Flemington. 'Kin has a lovely barrier (two) at Ipswich she should be able to be ridden to her strengths,'' the trainer said. 'As for Observer, there is a lot to like about that horse. He was stylish winning last start (by five lengths at Sandown), he has come a long way and will only get better.'' ■ ■ ■ ■ ■ Hooligan Tommy 'right in the race' Hooligan Tommy, part-owned by NRL legend Greg Alexander, can continue his form surge in the Midway Handicap (1600m). The John Sargent-trained Hooligan Tommy has won two of his five starts this campaign including his dominant effort at Kembla Grange last start by more than three lengths under 60.5kg. Tough four-year-old Hooligan Tommy drops to 58kg and is at $8.50 behind Callistemon at $3.40. 'Hooligan Tommy is on top of his game and is right in the race,'' Sargent said. 'He is better on a firmer track which he will get on Saturday, and a good, hard run mile will suit him. He's worked well during the week and looks great in the coat.'' Hooligan Tommy seems to have found his niche race distance around 1600m after being tried as a stayer last season when he ran unplaced behind Riff Rocket and Ceolwulf in the ATC Australian Derby. Sargent also ran Glad You Think So in that Derby with the gelding finishing a very game third in the prestigious Group 1 classic. Glad You Think So hasn't lived up to that promise since but Sargent is optimistic the stayer can find something like his best form this winter, starting with a comeback run in the Traffic Warden At Darley Handicap (1400m). • Racing Confidential: The tribute to Gai that's fit for a Queen 'He had a so-so campaign last time but I think he's come back in very good order this time,'' Sargent said. 'I think he will sprint well fresh. Although he will get back a bit, as long as he is hitting the line I will know he is on the right track.'' Meanwhile, Sargent has sent emerging filly Bearings interstate for the Ken Cox Handicap (2000m) at Flemington. Sargent was hoping to get Bearings to the Queensland Oaks but the filly failed to qualify despite consistent results this campaign including wins at Goulburn and Newcastle. 'Bearings has gone to Melbourne as this looks a nice race for her with good prizemoney,'' Sargent said. 'She does gets back in her races so hopefully they run along because she will be hitting the line.'' ■ ■ ■ ■ ■ Hopper ready to Medal at Randwick The winning form of Mickey's Medal has given trainer Peter Snowden added confidence Hopper will be hard to beat in the QMS Media Handicap (1600m). Hopper, a son of former super sire Snitzel, made a race of it with Mickey's Medal at Rosehill three weeks ago, finishing a close second. Mickey's Medal then franked the form by winning again at Rosehill last Saturday. 'The form around Hopper is good, it's always nice to see the form hold up,'' Snowden said. 'The Randwick race sets up well for Hopper. He's drawn a nice gate and should get his chance.''
New Statesman
2 days ago
- Politics
- New Statesman
Dominic Cummings: oracle of the new British berserk
Photo by James Manning/PA The woman next to me wanted more on Nikolay Chernyshevsky. She'd been reading about him and was telling me how his ideas about utopian socialist communes are gaining increasing traction on the American right. The talk was titled 'What Is to Be Done?', an allusion to his most famous work. How had he not been mentioned? If you're wondering which event could pull this sort of crowd, we'd been listening to Dominic Cummings. On 11 June, he spoke to a packed Sheldonian Theatre over the pealing bells of a midsummer Oxford evening. In the audience were the university's male nerdfolk, in their standard sky-blue shirts and navy trousers, an assortment of academics and curious civilians. Above us was the theatre's scarlet and brimstone ceiling fresco, titled 'Truth Descending upon the Arts and Sciences to Expel Ignorance from the University'. Introducing Cummings, Professor Nigel Biggar called him an 'oracle'. He didn't look like one. The outfit was of the same pedigree as throughout his latest and ongoing media campaign: red-and-white baseball cap, the same sneakers he mows the lawn in and a polo shirt in storm-cloud grey. The only upgrade in Cummings' 2025 couture has been a pair of finely wired aviator-style spectacles, elevating the look to one of a briefly heralded 2010s house DJ. And he didn't sound like an oracle either – if oracles are supposed to speak in looping epigrams. As during his career as a freelance critic of the British state, Cummings was clear and frightening. He is a rhetorician of simple invective. Our governing 'regime has become cancerous', he opened, in a speech that also mentioned 'industrialised mass rape', 'stupid [small] boats', 'stupid old tanks', and a 'constant jihad' waged against skilled migration within the Home Office. He was here to tell us how to fix it all. If there is such a thing as a Cummings critique, this represented its most comprehensive digest. He recited his current favourite examples of state failure – fugitive terrorists using human rights law to sue the Ministry of Defence, deep-state officials murmuring of riots in the provinces, politicians who hide from responsibility behind the scripts of their civil service administrators. He connected this with his current favourite historical parallel: the crisis of capitalism, technology and ideology of the 1840s, which he compares to the revolutions in AI and 'biological engineering' in Silicon Valley about to 'smash into all our lives'. Cassandra in tracksuit bottoms, then. And given the scale of this upheaval, the corresponding Cummings programme is remarkably precise, but limited. His great theme is, to put it facetiously, paperwork management. Government should be narrower, sharper, modelled after the administrations of Pitt the Younger (he speaks as if there is no difference between late-18th-century carronade procurement and modern bureaucracy). The Cabinet Office should be shuttered. 'Science and technology' should be embedded in the prime minister's office. Only then will we 'at least have a functioning regime that can build things'. Cummings is probably Westminster's most influential public intellectual, at least among its media-Spad-apparatchik networks. It is odd, therefore, how little actual politics intrudes in his work or recommendations (in this potted account of 20th-century history, the development of socialism and fascism came and went in two sentences). What matters instead is the cyclical appearance of material crises and the attempts of political elites to manage them. Though his present case studies are so extreme as to be unverifiable (in the Q&A after his talk, Cummings alleged an active conspiracy to cover up the grooming gangs inside the Department for Education in the early 2010s), his arguments come laced with what feels like sincerity. Outrage at terminal decline is the best form of patriotism the political right can muster. Subscribe to The New Statesman today from only £8.99 per month Subscribe Britain has seen similar outbursts at times of failure. In his claims of discontent among special forces and military intelligence, in his thunderous warnings of ethnic-sectarian civil warfare, Cummings has acquired the frantic disposition of mid-1970s British officials. Watching him, the person who came to my mind was William Armstrong, another chief adviser to a prime minister (Ted Heath), and another man once considered the true power in No 10. He too was prone to dark, rambling introspections about the state of Britain; in 1974, on a rain-lashed government away day at a stately Oxfordshire home, he suffered a nervous breakdown during which he stripped naked, furiously smoked cigarettes and ranted about Red Armies and the collapse of the world order. Dominic Cummings is nowhere near such a state of dissolution. His arguments about the structural depth of Britain's dysfunction are increasingly axiomatic on the left and right. And there is nothing academic about his pronouncements: Westminster is full of rumour about the extent of his associations with Nigel Farage and Robert Jenrick, and a project to 'unite the right'. However, like Armstrong, he is a man who has been driven berserk by his exposure to state failure. His reforms for government, pitched somewhere between the Hanoverian and the Singaporean model, may or may not be a solution. But his allegations, and his very Russian vision of a politics wracked by elemental forces, are, at the very least, a vivid symptom of this bout of British sickness. Related
Straits Times
4 days ago
- Business
- Straits Times
Niger targets jihadist financing, kills 13 in illegal gold mine raids
NIAMEY - Niger's army has raided jihadist-controlled informal mining sites in the country's west, killing more than a dozen insurgents and seizing material linked to the manufacture of improvised explosive devices, it said. An army statement said the raids took place last week in the Tagueye locality, near Niger's western border with Burkina Faso. It said 13 insurgents were killed and one arrested. "Previously under the control of armed terrorist groups, these sites have been dismantled and systematically rendered inoperative," said the army statement released over the weekend. The raids "aimed at drying up the sources of financing for terrorist activities", it said. Like Sahel neighbours Mali and Burkina Faso, Niger is battling an insurgency by jihadist groups linked to Al Qaeda and Islamic State that have killed thousands and taken control of villages in its western border and the south. The military-ruled government expelled French forces, turning instead to Russia to help fight the insurgents. Ryan Cummings, director of the Africa-focused intelligence firm Signal Risk, said the raids may have temporarily disrupted illicit gold mining, but cutting off insurgents' financing required stronger efforts. "The minute state forces depart areas and mining sites with militant presence, the same actors can return to these deposits and restart operations," Cummings said. The insurgency in Niger has further battered the economy in Niger, where around 4.5 million people, or 17% of the population, required aid in 2024, according to the United Nations. In May, eight staff of privately-owned Nguvu Mining, which operates the Samira Hill gold mine southwest of the capital Niamey, were killed when the military-escorted bus they were travelling in ran over an IED, a company executive told Reuters. REUTERS Join ST's Telegram channel and get the latest breaking news delivered to you.
