The latest rugby news stories from around the world on the day of the second Lions Test
Jonathan Davies and Owen Farrell (Image: © Huw Evans Picture Agency)
Here are the latest rugby headlines from Wales and beyond on Saturday, July 26.
Wales stun Australia
Wales Women have pulled off a stunning first victory under new coach Sean Lynn by defeating Australia 21-12 in Brisbane. It is the team’s first win of 2025 and marks a remarkable turnaround after a disastrous Six Nations whitewash.
The game was delayed by half an hour due to a storm before the Welsh team unleashed their best performance for a very long time to give the women’s game a much-needed boost.
Full-back Nel Metcalfe scored two tries, with new co-captain Alex Callender leading from the front. Hannah Dallavalle scored a third for Wales.
Alex Callender of Wales takes on the defence during the match between Australian Wallaroos and Wales Women(Image: 2025 Getty Images)
Wales Women’s head of rugby Belinda Moore was seen in tears at the end of the match, the BBC report, such was the magnitude of the victory for a team that has endured such struggles.
“It was great to get the first win under Lynny,” player of the match Metcalfe told the BBC.
“We’ve worked really hard to get the win after eight weeks of pre-season, so it just feels great to get the win.
“You can pin teams in the corner and it’s hard to exit ,especially when it rains like this but we still wanted to play.
“We still showed that, we still moved the ball and that’s what we wanted to do.
“We are a young group, but we have the vibes and energy since Lynny has come in, and with Alex [Callender] and Kate [Williams] as co-captains.
“Hopefully we can build on this next week and into the World Cup.”
Foxy: Farrell is best I played with
Jonathan Davies says Owen Farrell is the best player he’s ever played with, and has backed his inclusion in the British and Irish Lions squad.
Farrell was called up to the 2025 tour, and with minimal minutes and his father being the head coach, many fans and pundits have questioned after he was named in the matchday 23 for the second Test.
But the Wales legend has heaped praise on Farrell, both a s a player and a man.
“He’s very private,” Davies said, speaking to Off The Ball Rugby podcast. “Hdoesn’t let much out into the public but I think when you spend time with him and play with him, you understand the quality of not only the player, but the man as well.
“Like I said, (he’s) the best player I think I’ve played with.”
Touching on their centre partnership in 2017, Foxy added: “I remember a conversation we had as a midfield – Johnny Sexton, Owen Farrell and myself.
“They were like: ‘Do you want to add anything?’ I was like: ‘Boys, you just steer the ship and I’ll be the donkey! Whatever you need from me, I’ll do!’ You are the ones in control of this!'”
Farrell has been named on the bench for the second Test against Australia on Saturday. Kick-off is 11am UK time.
Itoje: Wallabies are no pub team
British and Irish Lions captain Maro Itoje has hit back at criticism over the level of competition on this Lions tour, saying that the Wallabies aren’t a ‘pub team’ as they prepare to face them in the second Test in Melbourne.
Andy Farrell’s tourists were comfortable victors in Brisbane last weekend, despite a second-half revival at Suncorp Stadium from Australia. Heading into this tour, the Lions – unlike previous tours – were heavy favourites to win the series.
Much of the talk, both inside and outside of the Lions camp, has been about a 3-0 series victory.
Tuesday’s final midweek clash with the First Nations and Pasifika XV at Marvel Stadium was perhaps the hardest any Lions team has been pushed by any side Down Under.
Having been watching on from the sidelines, even offering up food to his team-mates from a giant tray, the Lions skipper would have seen the scratch team cause real problems by getting stuck into Farrell’s side.
The Wallabies, watching on from the stands in Pasifika scarves, would have seen that too and may well have used the performance as a source of inspiration for Saturday at the Melbourne Cricket Ground.
When asked if Tuesday’s match had provided this tour with some much-needed jeopardy, Itoje insisted the Wallabies weren’t there to be underestimated.
“When you wear this jersey and represent the Lions you know it comes with huge honour and a sense of responsibility and we know we are not playing a pub team,” he said.
“The Wallabies are a proper team, I played them last year in the autumn and we lost to them when we were supposed to win. They are a team that can punish you if you don’t approach the game properly.”
Wallabies skipper Harry Wilson was watching on Tuesday night and believes the Pasifika side has shown them the way to get stuck into the Lions at the MCG this weekend.
“A lot of us were there watching and just seeing the way Pasifika went after them, the line speed, the big hits in defence, it was a great blueprint for how to try and physically dominate them,” Wilson said.
Wales international provides injury update
Wales international Jacob Beetham provided an injury update ahead of the new season.
The utility back made his debut for Cymru in their summer encounter with South Africa last year, with Scarlets legend Gareth Davies branding him as an “outstanding player” and “so talented” at the time.
However, Beetham’s 2024/2025 campaign was plagued by injury and he has spent much of the past 12 months on the sidelines. He appeared just five times for the Blue and Blacks last season but is aiming to hit the ground running at Cardiff in the coming months.
“Yeah, rehab is going good. It’s been a long process, but we’re going into the end stages of rehab and looking to hopefully being fit for these pre-season games. From there it’s obviously leading into next season,” explained Beetham at the Royal Welsh Show.
“I’m just excited to get back. Hopefully I’ll get a bit of training before the games and then if I can get some game time, that will be great. The thing with a lot of injuries is the staying positive, that’s probably one of the hardest things to do, especially when you’re out for a long period of time. So that’s been difficult at times but luckily there’s a good group of us at the moment who are injured.
“As much as none of us would like to be injured, it’s nice to have those boys around as well because it makes it all a bit easier.”
“It’s been interesting. Obviously I haven’t been around the boys too much with rehabbing, but the vibes have all been great. Everyone’s been very positive and getting stuck in.They’ve been getting put through their paces with Ryan Campbell (head of strength and conditioning) and all the training that they’ve been doing. You could see how hard they are working at the dunes. I’ve always been injured when the boys have done that but it doesn’t look nice at all.
“Although I’m rehabbing and that’s tough, pre-season when you’re fit is a different level, so to be fair to the boys, they’re grafting and training very hard. It’ll be a test of my fitness when I get back to running and being put through my paces, but it’s all going good and I’m looking forward to getting back with the boys.”