Andy Farrell plays down Lions full-back fears but Daly faces tour-ending injury
Andy Farrell says he has his “fingers crossed” for Elliot Daly after the utility back suffered a potentially tour-ending injury in the victory over the Queensland Reds.Daly was taken to a Brisbane hospital on Wednesday for scans on a suspected broken arm, but the head coach said the British & Irish Lions do not have a full-back crisis with the first Test against Australia just over a fortnight away.If, as expected, the 32-year-old Daly is ruled out of the tour it will leave the Lions reliant on two specialist full-backs, Blair Kinghorn and Hugo Keenan, who have yet to play on this tour.Kinghorn has only just arrived in Australia having helped Toulouse win the Top 14 title while Keenan was ruled out of the 52-12 win over the Reds through illness.It is hoped both players will feature against the NSW Waratahs on Saturday, by which time Daly’s prognosis will be clearer.
“He’s got a bang on the forearm and he’s going for an X-ray,” said Farrell.“We’ve all got our fingers crossed for him.”When asked if he will call up another full-back, Farrell replied: “No, we’ve loads of full-backs.Hugo will be OK tomorrow or the next day and Blair’s ready to go.”While the Lions have Marcus Smith, Mack Hansen and Tommy Freeman who can all fill in at full-back, Daly’s all-round versatility made him a perfect bench candidate for the Test series.
It could be, therefore, that Farrell will consider calling up a similar type of player such as Scotland’s Tom Jordan or Ireland’s Jamie Osborne.Daly’s teammates, however, are also hoping for a miracle for a popular player on his third Lions tour who has featured in the past 11 Lions matchday squads.“Elliot is a class teammate and a class player.He’s one of those effortlessly talented people,” said Maro Itoje, a colleague of Daly’s for club and country.“I’m pretty sure he could have been a cricketer.
I’m pretty sure he could have been a golfer if he wanted to,I don’t know about football, but he’s a world-class rugby player and he’s shown it time and time again, in Lions shirts, England shirts and even Wasps shirts,He’s an extremely experienced player, but he’s also a great guy,”Farrell was happy with the way his side raised their game after an error-strewn start and is encouraged by the increasing competition for places in certain positions,“I was pretty impressed with most of those players who had a second chance today.
That’s exactly what we want to see, a reaction,Sign up to The BreakdownThe latest rugby union news and analysis, plus all the week's action reviewedafter newsletter promotion“Maro was one of them, Jac Morgan was everywhere,Bundee Aki was a lot better, Jack Conan looked strong,I suppose what I’m trying to say is that’s exactly what we want,The competition’s started and there’s reactions all over the place.
Long may that continue.“Time on the pitch is our best friend at the minute, isn’t it? The games are coming thick and fast so we’re all learning through the games and not through the training.If you can’t get excited about that you’re on the wrong tour.It’s all about preparing and getting to our best.Winning matters but it’s about getting this squad to its potential come the first Test.
”The Reds head coach, Les Kiss, generously praised the Lions and said the Wallabies will struggle to find many obvious weaknesses.“There’s not going to be many, that’s for sure,” said Kiss, who will succeed Joe Schmidt as Wallaby head coach next year.“You’ve just got to find a way to turn them and have the discipline not to give them easy ball in your half.”
Yorkshire thrash Essex, Surrey and Notts held to draws: county cricket day four – as it happened
Surrey shimmied back to the top of Division One after a run-soaked match at the Oval drifted to a draw. But not before Emilio Gay and Alex Lees had taken a bold approach to the follow-on – slamming an unbeaten 262 for the first wicket until the teams finally shook hands. It was Lees’ second hundred of the game and Gay’s highest score for Durham – a saucy 156.Lancashire finally won a Championship match in 2025, rolling over Derbyshire, who fell well short of their target of 513. Jimmy Anderson swallowed the last catch of the match, leaving Wayne Madsen stranded on 95
‘Most special day of my life’: world No 733 Tarvet enjoys limelight in Alcaraz defeat
As a script it surely would have been rejected by Hollywood for being too outlandish. A 21-year-old British student, who has never played on the main tennis tour before, suddenly finds himself on Centre Court with 15,000 people cheering him on. And on the other side of the net is the Wimbledon champion.Yet that was the situation that Oliver Tarvet, the world No 733 from St Albans, found himself in on Wednesday as he lined up to face the brilliant Spaniard Carlos Alcaraz.And while there was no fairytale ending, with Tarvet losing 6-1, 6-4, 6-4 he left to a standing ovation and warm words from his illustrious opponent, who predicted that he could go on to achieve great things
Emma Raducanu storms past 2023 Wimbledon champion Vondrousova in style
On the eve of another tense fortnight at Wimbledon, Emma Raducanu had every reason to feel overwhelmed by the circumstances she found herself in. As her troublesome back injury continued to restrict her work on the practice court, she has also had to deal with undisclosed personal issues. Her expectations for the tournament were low.It is reflective of Raducanu’s personal growth and maturity that she has taken those difficulties in her stride and found a way to continue to move forward. In one of her most significant matches of the year so far, the British No 1 spectacularly rose to the occasion on Centre Court, producing a brilliant performance to outplay the 2023 Wimbledon champion Marketa Vondrousova 6-3, 6-3 and return to the third round
Carlos Alcaraz shakes off Tarvet from his back without inhibitions or regrets | Jonathan Liew
There were negatives, of course. Shall we focus on the negatives? Shall we dwell on the frailties a little? The uncharacteristic errors, the double faults, an occasional scruffiness at the net, the frequent slumps in intensity? Shall we marvel at the fact that the lowest-ranked player in the tournament earned more break points (11) than one of the greatest players of his generation (10)? Shall we warn, in a tone of affected sternness, that the defending champion will have to raise his game on this evidence?Of course we shall, because this is Carlos Alcaraz, and because there is an entire cottage industry built around maintaining the idea that Alcaraz is in a state of crisis at all times, a state of crisis so acute that it is necessary to feign round-the-clock concern for him. We just want to see all that rich talent fulfilled. That’s all it is. Sincerely and genuinely
Katie Boulter crashes out of Wimbledon with misfiring serve as Sonay Kartal advances
Backing up a big win is never an easy thing, but when you hit 14 double faults, it’s almost impossible. After her outstanding win over ninth seed Paula Badosa on the opening day, Katie Boulter harboured genuine hopes of going further than ever before at this year’s Wimbledon, but her serve misfired badly and her 6-7 (7), 6-2, 6-1 defeat by world No 101 Solana Sierra, a lucky loser from Argentina, will linger for a while.“Of course it hurts,” Boulter said. “It’s a really tough pill to swallow. It always is here
‘Like a kid in a sweet shop’: Brailsford back calling shots at Ineos Grenadiers
Dave Brailsford has returned to a leading role at Ineos Grenadiers on the eve of the 2025 Tour de France, calling the shots on team selection and performance objectives, barely a month after he stepped back from his role at Manchester United.“Dave’s definitely coming to the Tour,” John Allert, the team CEO, said. “He’s like a kid in a sweet shop, talking about climbs and getting back to the mountains. That’s the battlefield that he knows and loves.”Brailsford, who steered British Cycling to serial Olympic success and Team Sky to Tour de France dominance, will be present for much of this year’s Tour, as Geraint Thomas, the 2018 champion, makes his final appearance in the three-week race
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