Tommy Freeman hands Lions major injury scare on eve of third Australia Test
Tommy Freeman has handed the British & Irish Lions a major injury doubt before their third Test against Australia,The 24-year-old winger, who has started the first two Tests, sat out the captain’s run on Friday and it is understood he is struggling with a back injury,The Lions are targeting a first clean sweep since 1927 and a first unbeaten series since 1974,On Friday the Lions were adamant that Freeman would be fit to play in Sydney, claiming his absence was down to his workload being managed,It is understood, however, that contingency plans have been drawn up that could see Huw Jones moved to the wing and Owen Farrell coming into the starting XV.
Mack Hansen would be an option if fully fit but he has missed the first two Tests with a foot injury and was deemed “85%” fit earlier in the week.Other options include Duhan van der Merwe and James Lowe with Blair Kinghorn switching from the left to the right wing.Jamie Osborne could also be a consideration.This season Freeman has featured in 33 matches, surpassing the 30-match limit mandated by the Rugby Football Union.“He was just doing the light walk-throughs,” said the assistant coach John Dalziel.
“Wingers will do a lot of high-intensity running so he had the morning off.He’s got to view a stadium which is hopefully going to come to life tomorrow.“There’s no easy way to be a winger when you are chasing kicks and balls up in the air in the way the first two Tests have gone, so it’s quite easy for those guys to get their metres up.”Tadhg Furlong, meanwhile, has called on the Lions to make lasting memories as the tourists seek to wrap up a first clean sweep since 1927.The Ireland tighthead prop will make his ninth consecutive start for the Lions, moving to joint fifth on the all-time list and though the 32-year-old did not entirely rule out the 2029 trip to New Zealand, he conceded the clash in Sydney is likely to be his last for the touring side.
“You’re still playing for the Lions, it’s not hard to motivate yourself,” he said.“My motivation is obvious.I’m not going to say I won’t [but] I probably won’t play for the Lions again.It’s been very good to me.It’s been very good to my career.
You want to play well in it,“Without being clinical about it, you want to give the best version of yourself to it,Sometimes the last memory is the lasting memory you have in a jersey,I want it to be a good one,I think you can use [that] towards your advantage, just the appreciation of it.
Understanding what makes the Lions so special or why it’s so special to you.You don’t want to get too caught up and emotional about it because you have to do a job.“Lions tours are some of the best days of your career and I’m delighted to be able to go again.”There were question marks over Furlong’s fitness at the start of the tour after he arrived into camp in June with no game time since early May due to a calf problem.“It wasn’t a big enough injury to warrant [thinking I wouldn’t make it],” he added.
“It was like, we need to get back and play here, lads, because it’s on your calendar.You want it so badly.I think the cruel thing is when you go on one, you just want to go on more.You go on that first one and you take it all in.“The second one, you want to perform and the third one you just want to appreciate it all because you don’t want it to pass you by.
There was a stage this season where we were having conversations with medical staff.It’s like, what is going on here? We need to nip this stuff in the bud.”While Furlong forms part of an unchanged all Leinster and Ireland front row, Australia have changed two-thirds of theirs with Taniela Tupou coming in at tighthead and Billy Pollard promoted to the No 2 jersey after a late injury to Dave Porecki.Tupou nicknamed “the Tongan Thor” has endured a difficult season in Super Rugby and will head to Racing 92 next season but Furlong is only too aware of the threat posed by the 23-stone prop.“I first came across him in 2018, he was a young fella breaking through,” said Furlong.
“He was coming off the bench for Australia.He is what he says in the tin.He’s incredibly powerful.He’s dangerous in the scrum.Very aggressive.
He poses his own threats around the park,He’s a good carrier, explosive,”
England squander chance to take control as tetchy final Test heads for close finish
Day two at the Oval was played in fast forward and when England are batting this tends to mean one of two things: either the scoreboard spinning like wheels on a fruit machine and pigeons flying to all parts, or the regular clank of spikes up and down the dressing room stairs.There was a fair bit of both, as it happened, plus tempers once again fraying, as the crowd witnessed a bun fight unfold out in the middle. But while India were initially skittled for 224 by the completion of Gus Atkinson’s fourth five-wicket haul in Test cricket, England then folded to 247 all out and an opportunity to take full control had gone begging.The injury Chris Woakes sustained on day one not only ruined his Ashes but it also left England a bowler down in this series finale. As well as needing to give the remainder of the attack time off their feet, this meant securing a decent lead
England v India: fifth men’s cricket Test, day two – as it happened
Ali Martin’s reportThe end of a pretty remarkable day at The Oval. Only 75 overs were bowled, but in that time we saw 342 runs, 16 wickets and thousands of Thorpey headbands.India, who looked a beaten team during a bruising the morning session, showed extraordinary resilience to fight back and then edge ahead in the game. They were inspired by Mohammed Siraj, who took out England’s entire middle order across two superb spells.England need something similar from Gus Atkinson, Josh Tongue or Jamie Overton tomorrow morning
Graham Thorpe remembered by England amid the joy and sorrow of fifth Test | Simon Burnton
Friday morning at the Oval, and the ground reverberates to a unique but not unfamiliar sound, the baritone rumble of thousands of pained groans. It was prompted by replays on the ground’s big screens of a particular kind of delivery with a very specific outcome, on this occasion bowled by Akash Deep. The ball flicked off the inside of Ben Duckett’s thigh before crashing remorselessly into, well, the next part of his anatomy that it reached, and with agonising results.The game was paused for several minutes while the pain subsided and the opener regained his composure (the blow certainly didn’t make him at all cautious, and by the end of that one over Duckett had survived a review for lbw, skipped down the track and missed completely with a wild swing, seen a leading edge drop short of gully and reverse-scooped for six).On Thursday evening a very different sound had been heard, Chris Woakes’ cries of pain after he landed awkwardly on his left shoulder having flicked a ball back from the boundary edge, close to the press box at the Vauxhall End
Tommy Freeman hands Lions major injury scare on eve of third Australia Test
Tommy Freeman has handed the British & Irish Lions a major injury doubt before their third Test against Australia. The 24-year-old winger, who has started the first two Tests, sat out the captain’s run on Friday and it is understood he is struggling with a back injury. The Lions are targeting a first clean sweep since 1927 and a first unbeaten series since 1974.On Friday the Lions were adamant that Freeman would be fit to play in Sydney, claiming his absence was down to his workload being managed. It is understood, however, that contingency plans have been drawn up that could see Huw Jones moved to the wing and Owen Farrell coming into the starting XV
Tour de France Femmes 2025: Squiban storms to another win on stage seven – as it happened
An amazing second stage win from Maëva Squiban in as many days. As Dani Rowe said on TNT Sports: “She played her cards to perfection.” Thank you for reading the live blog today and for your messages. It was a pleasure to cover today’s exciting and dramatic racing. Join me on Saturday and Sunday for the final stages of this year’s Tour de France Femmes avec Zwift
Tour de France Femmes: Squiban sends home fans wild with second stage win
Maëva Squiban fuelled joyous scenes in the Haute-Savoie, winning the first high mountain stage of the 2025 Tour de France Femmes in Chambéry, just 24 hours after taking victory in stage six in Ambert.The French rider, who celebrated draped in a Breton flag, was part of a 13-rider breakaway that splintered on the first climb, the Côte de Saint-Franc, and then gradually dwindled as the gradients started to bite.Squiban, a former French junior champion when 15 years old, finally shed her last companion, Mareille Meijering, 2km from the top of the Col du Granier and accelerated clear alone.“At the start, I made a joke about attacking again,” she said, “but in the end it wasn’t a joke.”On the fast descent of the Granier, overlooking Chambéry, Squiban, nudging 80km/h on the narrow road, again held off the pursuing group of race favourites, including the defending champion, Kasia Niewiadoma, and rival Demi Vollering, to take successive stage wins
Attacks on prison officers and inmate deaths at record levels in England and Wales
Staff fear to speak up at NHS hospital trust under police investigation, report says
World’s ‘oldest baby’ born from embryo frozen in 1994
Mother’s instinct not addressed, report on death of boy sent home from Rotherham A&E says
First NHS AI-run physio clinic in England halves back-pain waiting list
The care sector needs migrant workers. Labour’s visa crackdown is a cynical move | Letter