The latest rugby news from Wales and beyond.
The Lions players have a big weekend ahead(Image: Niall Carson/PA Wire.)
Your rugby evening headlines on Friday, July 25.
Four Lions head home
The Lions have confirmed four players have now left the squad and flown home to the UK.
Ewan Ashman, Gregor Brown, Rory Sutherland and Darcy Graham – all late call-ups from Scotland’s tour of New Zealand brought in to help with Tuesday’s fixture against the First Nations and Pasifika XV – have returned home.
Graham started that match, scoring a try before suffering a heartbreaking injury that left him in tears. Sign up to Inside Welsh rugby on Substack to get exclusive news stories and insight from behind the scenes in Welsh rugby.
Some of the call-ups proved controversial, with Ashman and Brown in particular far down the pecking order but called up because of Scotland’s close proximity to the Lions after matches against Fiji and then Samoa in New Zealand.
Morgan gets Lions jersey from England legend
The Lions will stage their attempt to close out a series victory over Australia inspired by the words of Martin Johnson.
Johnson presented the jerseys to Wales captain Jac Morgan and the rest of the selected team as a surprise guest speaker at a special ceremony before dinner as part of the build-up to Saturday’s second Test at the Melbourne Cricket Ground.
The former England lock captained two Lions tours, overseeing a series triumph against South Africa in 1997 and a defeat to Australia four years later, and drew on his experience to outline what will be required against the Wallabies.
“Martin speaks nice and calmly. It was a privilege to have him there,” scrum coach John Fogarty said.
“He talked a bit about the Lions series they won and the Lions series they lost and the difference in both.
“The room was completely quiet for the whole time he spoke. There were guys just staring up at him. Maro asked him a question or two and then he handed out the jerseys.
“There was a bit of contemplation and reflection after he talked, which is a good thing. It was a quiet room because they wanted to listen to a guy they see as an icon.”
The Lions seized a 1-0 lead in the series by outmuscling Australia 27-19 in Brisbane last Saturday, placing them just 80 minutes away from emulating Johnson’s heroes of 1997.
However, they are braced for a backlash from opponents who finished the opener strongly and who have been reinforced by the return of powerful forwards Will Skelton and Rob Valetini from injury.
“Martin said it is the smallest of margins in the biggest of games. He talked about being able to get back to neutral and talking about being in the moment,” Fogarty said.
“All that stuff is difficult when you’re playing in front of 95,000 people in a stadium as iconic as the MCG.
“When you’re under pressure or applying pressure your emotions can go up and down, so being able to get back to neutral or find a way to get clarity back in your mind in the shortest of times is difficult for players.
“That’s really important for us in this game. We are not going to get everything our own way and we know it’s going to be a game of small margins. So it was good advice.”
Chessum: We must take the series now, or regret it for years to come
By Duncan Bech, PA Rugby Union Correspondent, Melbourne
Ollie Chessum has challenged the British and Irish Lions to leave Melbourne Cricket Ground without regrets by rising to the occasion in Saturday’s collision with Australia.
Victory in the second Test would establish an unassailable 2-0 lead in the series against the Wallabies and place them alongside the 1997 and 2013 Lions as the only successful tours in the professional era.
But Chessum insists Australia will be transformed from the side that was overpowered in the Brisbane opener following the return from injury of influential forwards Will Skelton and Rob Valetini.
“This is everything you have ever dreamt of,” said Chessum, who has replaced the injured Joe McCarthy in the second row.
“There’s no better time to walk towards the challenge – you’d be kicking yourself in years down the line if you didn’t.
“This is where – and I can’t speak for everyone, although I am fairly sure I can – everyone wants to be: on the biggest stage with the chance to win a Lions series at an arena like the MCG in front of our families. There’s nothing better.
“Australia are going to draw on every emotional aspect of this game that they can. They are 1-0 down in the series but they are at the MCG, in front of their fans, on their home soil with the series on the line.
“We know they’re going to throw the kitchen sink at us and there’s a real statement in the team they’ve named as well.
“Maro (Itoje, captain) said it to us earlier in the week – what we produced last Saturday will not be good enough this Saturday.
“There’s a whole different beast coming down the road and we’ll have to front up and tackle it head on.”
The 27-19 victory in the first Test was built on the work of flankers Tom Curry and Tadhg Beirne, who made an immediate impact at Suncorp Stadium through Curry’s thunderous hit on James Slipper and Beirne forcing a breakdown penalty.
“They did a very good job of setting the intensity. Sat on the bench, I’d been sat down for about 30 seconds when that first hit went in,” Chessum said.
“We knew from then on that the tone was set for the game – for us and for them. I expect no different this week. I expect it to go up another level.”
‘Fortress’ Arms Park will drive Cardiff on
Daf Hughes wants to retain the Arms Park’s ‘fortress’-like reputation in the 2025/2026 season.
Cardiff did not lose a game in 64% of the matches played at the iconic stadium last season, and considering they missed out on the play-offs by a single point, he thinks they can use the venue to their advantage in the upcoming campaign.
“We’ve taken a lot of confidence from last year. I think we were just a point away from the playoffs. We’re building confidence in how many teams we beat at home so if we can keep making the Arms Park a fortress and build on some of those away wins I think we’ll be in for a good season,” explained Hughes at the Royal Welsh Show.
“They’re all going to be tough games, but this year I think we’ve got more of an expectation to win. We’ve changed it probably from last year and the year before. Previously people thought maybe we were in with a chance of winning but I think it’s more expectation that we can win now.
“Personally I had a good year last year. Now hoping for the same again for this year, just play in as many games as I can and be as fit as I can.”