Latest news with #FinSmith
Yahoo
11 hours ago
- Sport
- Yahoo
How to watch British and Irish Lions vs Argentina: TV channel and live stream for 1888 Cup today
Chance to impress: England's Fin Smith lines up at fly-half for the British and Irish Lions against Argentina in Dublin (Getty Images) The British and Irish Lions summer officially begins tonight as they open a busy six weeks against Argentina at the Aviva Stadium. The star-studded touring side are historically unbeaten in seven meetings with the Pumas, winning six times and drawing once, and they will look to preserve that record in Dublin this evening before heading Down Under. Advertisement In a further boost to the Lions, Argentina are not on a good run. They come into the meeting, their first competitive match since November, on a run of just one win in their last four, shipping bruising defeats to South Africa, France, and Ireland along the way. Nine England stars have made the starting XV for Andy Farrell's Lions, with Maro Itoje donning the captain's armband. Joining him are Marcus and Fin Smith, as well as Ellis Genge and Tom Curry. Farrell said the decisions were far from easy: "There's such good competition and that's how it should be. "You can give yourself any excuse as far as time together is concerned, but we've had good prep and if you want to be a good Lions player you've got to hit your straps straight from the off." How to watch British and Irish Lions vs Argentina TV channel: Today's match will be broadcast live on Sky Sports Main Event, with coverage starting at 7pm BST ahead of an 8pm kick-off. Advertisement Live stream: Sky Sports subscribers can follow the action live online via the Sky Go app. The match will also be streamed on Now TV. Live blog: You can follow minute-by-minute updates and all the latest news with Standard Sport's LIVE blog.
North Wales Chronicle
21 hours ago
- Sport
- North Wales Chronicle
Danny Care backs ‘incredible' Marcus Smith to make mark on Lions tour
Smith began this year's Guinness Six Nations as England's first-choice fly-half before being shifted to full-back and dropped to the bench due to the emergence of rival playmaker Fin Smith. In preparation for this summer's series in Australia, the 26-year-old will start Friday's pre-tour send-off fixture against Argentina in Dublin in the Lions' number 15 jersey, with namesake Fin selected at 10. Care believes his long-term half-back partner has been a victim of his own versatility and also suffered at international level due to an underwhelming season for Quins, which concluded with a seventh-placed finish in the Gallagher Premiership after a 62-0 thrashing by Leinster in the last 16 of the Investec Champions Cup. Fin Smith, meanwhile, helped Northampton finish runners-up to Bordeaux in the European competition following last season's Premiership title triumph. 'I don't think he's got anything to prove,' former England scrum-half Care, speaking of Marcus Smith, told the PA news agency. 'He played in the autumn internationals against some pretty good teams not long ago and everyone was saying he's England's best player and he was wearing the 10 shirt. 'Unfortunately, I think Harlequins' form probably hasn't helped because we've not been playing in the big games, or giving ourselves a chance in those big games this season, whereas Northampton have been playing really well and got themselves to a European final. Our team to face Argentina in Dublin! 🦁#Lions2025 — British & Irish Lions (@lionsofficial) June 18, 2025 'My belief in Marcus' ability is he's still going to get better and better; he's already incredible and he deserves everything he gets.' Marcus Smith was a late addition to the 2021 Lions squad as injury cover for Finn Russell but did not make a Test appearance during the series defeat in South Africa. Russell is the other fly-half selected by head coach Andy Farrell this time around, with fellow Scotland star Blair Kinghorn and Ireland's Hugo Keenan the alternatives at full-back. Following the Aviva Stadium clash with Los Pumas, the Lions will fly to Australia to prepare for Test matches against the Wallabies on July 19, 26 and August 2. 'They are three very different 10s, which I think is great for Andy,' said 38-year-old Care, who will officially retire from professional rugby at the end of this month. 'Maybe there are games where he can pick and choose a certain style that maybe he wants to see. 'Obviously Marcus almost suffered from his own success in a way: he's so good at playing 15 as well that he's so interchangeable. 'I'd imagine you're going to see him in a 10 and a 15 jersey this summer, whereas the other two are out-and-out 10s.' While the two Smiths took part in last week's Lions training camp in Portugal, Russell only joined the group on Monday after becoming a Premiership champion with Bath on the back of Premiership Rugby Cup and European Challenge Cup glory. 'I've been a massive Finn Russell fan ever since playing against him, seeing him throwing some of those incredible passes, unlocking our defence with England a few times,' said Care, who won 101 England caps and made a record 395 appearances for Quins. The self-styled Lionel Messi of rugby, who will have the ball on a string for the Lions this summer 🦁✨ We take a closer look at The Making of Finn Russell ✍️ — British & Irish Lions (@lionsofficial) June 17, 2025 'And Fin Smith has come in and taken to international rugby so well. I've been blown away by his professionalism. 'He's a wise head on young shoulders but he's a real confident lad and it's shown again with the Lions that it's timing: if you get your timing right and you can get in and play really well in that Six Nations and your club form is good then you can find yourself on a Lions tour. 'Three different 10s to choose from and each of them would deserve a pick, so I'm looking forward to seeing how they go.'
Times
21 hours ago
- Entertainment
- Times
Fin Smith: My biggest regret is never meeting grandad. Now I'm a Lion too
Judith Smith will be in a unique position in the history of the British & Irish Lions when she takes her green plastic seat at the Aviva Stadium for Friday night's tour-opening game against Argentina. She will be in Dublin to witness her son, Fin Smith, emulate the feats of her father, Tom Elliot, in becoming a Lion. Never before, in 137 years of touring, has there been such a grandfather-grandson connection. When he was not helping out on the family sheep farm in the Borders, Elliot was a prop for Gala and Scotland who defied his father's initial wishes by accepting an invitation to tour with the 1955 Lions. He contracted pleurisy in South Africa and spent time in hospital but still played eight matches and was hailed upon the squad's return for his contribution to the tour effort. Elliot died of motor neurone disease in 1998. Smith was born four years later and grew up idolising his grandfather, running around in his old Lions gear and asking eager questions of the man he knew only from photographs. Smith heard the stories of Elliot's playing days, from his achievements on the field to some wild post-match celebrations in Edinburgh and the day he quietened a gobby opposition prop by dropping a worm into his mouth. And so when Smith was selected for the 2025 Lions tour to Australia, his emotions spilled over. He thought of his grandfather. He thought of this unique family connection. And he was choked with pride. Smith's tears and those of his family reveal why the legacy of the red jersey matters so much to so many, even in an age of rampant commercialism. 'I don't really cry but I was bawling my eyes out,' Smith, 23, said after being selected. 'I phoned my parents. They were both sobbing. We didn't actually say a word to each other, we just sort of watched each other cry and then hung up. All I've ever wanted to do is be like my grandad and to replicate him.' The Times arranged for Smith to be reunited with Elliot's blazer from 1955 for a unique photo shoot, connecting Lion No380 with (barring any late mishap) Lion No862. 'It was almost a tailored fit,' Smith says. 'Although I am not sure what that says about him as a prop if he could have fitted into the same clothes as me! 'I wore the blazer to a few things growing up. For any smart occasion at school, I would stick on a pair of chinos, a shirt and that jacket because I thought I was the bollocks wearing it. I wore it to show my mates. 'It has a slightly different feel now, trying on my grandad's Lions blazer having been fitted for my own. It will be cool for my mum having two hanging up in the wardrobe one day. 'It feels super special. We have photos all over the house of him playing for Scotland and the Lions. The same with my granny. When you never meet someone you have a real perception of what you think they are like. At a young age it was pure admiration and idolisation of him. 'I love rugby, so to think there was someone in my family who had played for the Lions, I was completely in awe of everything he had done.' When Smith was asked recently to name his dream dinner party guests, his grandfather was on the list. 'My biggest regret in life is that I never got to meet him,' Smith says. 'I look back on everything I have read and learned and footage I have seen of him with real joy. I am so proud to be part of the family with him. 'Only recently, as I have got older, I have found out more about him. I have read all about his rise as a second-team prop at Gala to become the first player from the club to play for the Lions. 'My granny has told me in such detail of what he was like and the games he played in. To then be able to tell her that I had been picked for the Lions, to say, 'This is the same team as grandad played for' is so special and makes it so emotional for me.' Elliot, who won 16 caps for Scotland, never spoke much about his rugby career but he touched so many people in the game that the turnout for his funeral was enormous. Judith and Andrew, her husband and Fin's father, recently discovered a letter from the Lions, sent in October 1955, hailing Elliot's contribution on the three-month adventure to South Africa. Judith tells the story. 'When he was invited to go on tour, his dad said, 'No you are not going. There is farming to do, we are too busy'. That could have been it. You can't imagine Andy saying to Fin, 'You are not going'. 'They would have discussed it. 'You can't have three months off work' — that sort of conversation. My dad would have said: 'I want to go'. We have since found a letter sent to my grandad saying, 'Thank you very much for letting him go.' ' The letter from L.E.L Donne, the honourable secretary of the Four Home Unions Tours Committee, to Mr J Elliot confirms the eternal truth about Lions tours: that their success rests on the contribution of the entire squad and the efforts of those who do not make the Test team. 'My committee has asked me to write to you on their behalf to express their appreciation of the facilities granted to Mr Thomas Elliot, which enabled him to be a member of the British Isles Rugby Union Team on the recent tour to South Africa and Rhodesia,' the letter says. 'My Committee would like you to know that his exemplary conduct and loyalty contributed in no small measure to the outstanding success of the team both on and off the field.' That description of Elliot tallied with the man Judith knew. He was humble and homely. 'He would farm in the morning, go up to Murrayfield in the afternoon to play for Scotland and come back the next day,' Judith says. 'Dad was one of the good guys. Although he was a prop forward, he was the kind of softest chap you can imagine. He was really kind. He had a great sense of humour. 'This man had been giving him loads of grief in the scrum once, niggling away at dad. So the next scrum they're in, when the chap was there starting the chat again, dad just picked up a worm and popped it in his mouth.' Judith sees traits between her father and son, particularly in how thoughtful they are. Smith has always been analytical. He has just completed his fifth year of an Open University degree in mathematics and economics. His dissertation, on how families make their spending decisions, was completed shortly after Northampton Saints had played in the Champions Cup final. 'The last words were written in the taxi on the way to his first Lions meet-up,' Judith says. As a sportsman, Smith was a tennis player first, competing as a schoolboy against Jack Draper, the world No6. He was an angry player, prone to smashing racquets, before switching his focus to rugby while at Warwick School, primarily to play with his friends. Smith's older brother, Angus, also played tennis and rugby. When they go home, they still tackle each other on the trampoline in the garden. 'It started for my grandad just running around with his mates and that is one thing with rugby that resonates with me: training and playing with my best mates every weekend,' Smith says. 'Having a nice full-circle moment with the Lions call-up has been great.' Andrew believes that the tennis background has been key to his son's rapid rise, securing the England No10 jersey in February and now starting for the Lions. 'When you're on the court by yourself, you've only got yourself who can help you,' he says. 'He's always had that resilience, that ability to look after himself, which he's then taken into a team environment. Ordering some big scary forwards around doesn't seem to phase him.' The prospect of being a professional had barely dawned on Smith until Worcester Warriors offered him a contract in the summer of 2020. 'The night it happened, he got in the lift and his little face, he couldn't believe it. That felt like the pinnacle of his career,' Judith says. The Smiths have one of their son's England Under-20 jerseys up on a wall at their house. The decor needs an emergency upgrade, now that he has become a Premiership champion with Northampton, England's first-choice fly half and a Lion in the space of 12 months. Smith is one of nine Englishmen selected to play Argentina, including his fellow Saints Alex Mitchell, the scrum half, and Tommy Freeman on the wing. Smith will have Maro Itoje as his captain and some heavy-duty weaponry outside of him in Sione Tuipulotu, Bundee Aki and Duhan van der Merwe, with Marcus Smith operating as a creative foil from full back. 'This is all a bit mad,' Judith says. 'It has all happened so quickly. Yesterday on Instagram there was a picture of them in a huddle and he's chatting away and you just think, 'You are only little!' 'But he can definitely hold his own. He has proved it. My dad would be very proud of Fin.'
Rhyl Journal
a day ago
- Sport
- Rhyl Journal
Danny Care backs ‘incredible' Marcus Smith to make mark on Lions tour
Smith began this year's Guinness Six Nations as England's first-choice fly-half before being shifted to full-back and dropped to the bench due to the emergence of rival playmaker Fin Smith. In preparation for this summer's series in Australia, the 26-year-old will start Friday's pre-tour send-off fixture against Argentina in Dublin in the Lions' number 15 jersey, with namesake Fin selected at 10. Care believes his long-term half-back partner has been a victim of his own versatility and also suffered at international level due to an underwhelming season for Quins, which concluded with a seventh-placed finish in the Gallagher Premiership after a 62-0 thrashing by Leinster in the last 16 of the Investec Champions Cup. Fin Smith, meanwhile, helped Northampton finish runners-up to Bordeaux in the European competition following last season's Premiership title triumph. 'I don't think he's got anything to prove,' former England scrum-half Care, speaking of Marcus Smith, told the PA news agency. 'He played in the autumn internationals against some pretty good teams not long ago and everyone was saying he's England's best player and he was wearing the 10 shirt. 'Unfortunately, I think Harlequins' form probably hasn't helped because we've not been playing in the big games, or giving ourselves a chance in those big games this season, whereas Northampton have been playing really well and got themselves to a European final. Our team to face Argentina in Dublin! 🦁#Lions2025 — British & Irish Lions (@lionsofficial) June 18, 2025 'My belief in Marcus' ability is he's still going to get better and better; he's already incredible and he deserves everything he gets.' Marcus Smith was a late addition to the 2021 Lions squad as injury cover for Finn Russell but did not make a Test appearance during the series defeat in South Africa. Russell is the other fly-half selected by head coach Andy Farrell this time around, with fellow Scotland star Blair Kinghorn and Ireland's Hugo Keenan the alternatives at full-back. Following the Aviva Stadium clash with Los Pumas, the Lions will fly to Australia to prepare for Test matches against the Wallabies on July 19, 26 and August 2. 'They are three very different 10s, which I think is great for Andy,' said 38-year-old Care, who will officially retire from professional rugby at the end of this month. 'Maybe there are games where he can pick and choose a certain style that maybe he wants to see. 'Obviously Marcus almost suffered from his own success in a way: he's so good at playing 15 as well that he's so interchangeable. 'I'd imagine you're going to see him in a 10 and a 15 jersey this summer, whereas the other two are out-and-out 10s.' While the two Smiths took part in last week's Lions training camp in Portugal, Russell only joined the group on Monday after becoming a Premiership champion with Bath on the back of Premiership Rugby Cup and European Challenge Cup glory. 'I've been a massive Finn Russell fan ever since playing against him, seeing him throwing some of those incredible passes, unlocking our defence with England a few times,' said Care, who won 101 England caps and made a record 395 appearances for Quins. The self-styled Lionel Messi of rugby, who will have the ball on a string for the Lions this summer 🦁✨ We take a closer look at The Making of Finn Russell ✍️ — British & Irish Lions (@lionsofficial) June 17, 2025 'And Fin Smith has come in and taken to international rugby so well. I've been blown away by his professionalism. 'He's a wise head on young shoulders but he's a real confident lad and it's shown again with the Lions that it's timing: if you get your timing right and you can get in and play really well in that Six Nations and your club form is good then you can find yourself on a Lions tour. 'Three different 10s to choose from and each of them would deserve a pick, so I'm looking forward to seeing how they go.'
Leader Live
a day ago
- Sport
- Leader Live
Danny Care backs ‘incredible' Marcus Smith to make mark on Lions tour
Smith began this year's Guinness Six Nations as England's first-choice fly-half before being shifted to full-back and dropped to the bench due to the emergence of rival playmaker Fin Smith. In preparation for this summer's series in Australia, the 26-year-old will start Friday's pre-tour send-off fixture against Argentina in Dublin in the Lions' number 15 jersey, with namesake Fin selected at 10. Care believes his long-term half-back partner has been a victim of his own versatility and also suffered at international level due to an underwhelming season for Quins, which concluded with a seventh-placed finish in the Gallagher Premiership after a 62-0 thrashing by Leinster in the last 16 of the Investec Champions Cup. Fin Smith, meanwhile, helped Northampton finish runners-up to Bordeaux in the European competition following last season's Premiership title triumph. 'I don't think he's got anything to prove,' former England scrum-half Care, speaking of Marcus Smith, told the PA news agency. 'He played in the autumn internationals against some pretty good teams not long ago and everyone was saying he's England's best player and he was wearing the 10 shirt. 'Unfortunately, I think Harlequins' form probably hasn't helped because we've not been playing in the big games, or giving ourselves a chance in those big games this season, whereas Northampton have been playing really well and got themselves to a European final. Our team to face Argentina in Dublin! 🦁#Lions2025 — British & Irish Lions (@lionsofficial) June 18, 2025 'My belief in Marcus' ability is he's still going to get better and better; he's already incredible and he deserves everything he gets.' Marcus Smith was a late addition to the 2021 Lions squad as injury cover for Finn Russell but did not make a Test appearance during the series defeat in South Africa. Russell is the other fly-half selected by head coach Andy Farrell this time around, with fellow Scotland star Blair Kinghorn and Ireland's Hugo Keenan the alternatives at full-back. Following the Aviva Stadium clash with Los Pumas, the Lions will fly to Australia to prepare for Test matches against the Wallabies on July 19, 26 and August 2. 'They are three very different 10s, which I think is great for Andy,' said 38-year-old Care, who will officially retire from professional rugby at the end of this month. 'Maybe there are games where he can pick and choose a certain style that maybe he wants to see. 'Obviously Marcus almost suffered from his own success in a way: he's so good at playing 15 as well that he's so interchangeable. 'I'd imagine you're going to see him in a 10 and a 15 jersey this summer, whereas the other two are out-and-out 10s.' While the two Smiths took part in last week's Lions training camp in Portugal, Russell only joined the group on Monday after becoming a Premiership champion with Bath on the back of Premiership Rugby Cup and European Challenge Cup glory. 'I've been a massive Finn Russell fan ever since playing against him, seeing him throwing some of those incredible passes, unlocking our defence with England a few times,' said Care, who won 101 England caps and made a record 395 appearances for Quins. The self-styled Lionel Messi of rugby, who will have the ball on a string for the Lions this summer 🦁✨ We take a closer look at The Making of Finn Russell ✍️ — British & Irish Lions (@lionsofficial) June 17, 2025 'And Fin Smith has come in and taken to international rugby so well. I've been blown away by his professionalism. 'He's a wise head on young shoulders but he's a real confident lad and it's shown again with the Lions that it's timing: if you get your timing right and you can get in and play really well in that Six Nations and your club form is good then you can find yourself on a Lions tour. 'Three different 10s to choose from and each of them would deserve a pick, so I'm looking forward to seeing how they go.'
