Rory Keane

3 days ago | extra.ie | Rory Keane

When the Lions’ long-haul fight touches down on the tarmac at Perth Airport on Sunday evening, the players are likely to be met with torrential rain. The weather is biblical on Australia’s Western Coast at the moment. After a warm weather training camp on the Algarve followed by a glorious week in Costa del Dublin, the travelling squad are braced for a serious change in conditions. Today's top videos STORY CONTINUES BELOW It will be fitting really.

1 week ago | extra.ie | Rory Keane

The British and Irish Lions get their campaign up and running against Argentina at Aviva Stadium on Friday night – but the three-Test series has got more daunting with cross-code superstar Joseph-Aukuso Suaalii in line to face Andy Farrell’s side this summer.

1 week ago | extra.ie | Rory Keane

It’s easy to be cynical about the British and Irish Lions. The whole concept gets hyped up more than a Christopher Nolan movie. You’ll hear plenty about ‘immortality’,’ legends’ and ‘legacy’ in the coming weeks. All of it playing out against a background of an epic orchestral soundtrack which belongs in something like Gladiator or Oppenheimer. Today's top videos STORY CONTINUES BELOW It can all veer into hysteric at times. And some of the grandiose statements about the Lions can jar a bit, too.

1 week ago | extra.ie | Rory Keane

Have the British and Irish Lions ever fielded a more imposing midfield? In Bundee Aki and Sione Tuipulotu, Andy Farrell is rolling out a hard-running centre partnership which collectively tips the scales at around 32 stone. Today's top videos STORY CONTINUES BELOW That’s a lot of midfield muscle. Aki and Tuipulotu are the kind of operators which strike fear into opposition out-halves. The prospect of one of these powerhouses paying a visit down the No10 channel is daunting.

1 week ago | extra.ie | Rory Keane

The heat followed the British and Irish Lions squad back to Dublin as Andy Farrell’s troops arrived back on Irish soil on Sunday after five days in the Algarve sun. The Lions spent last week training at the world-class, high-spec Campus sports facility in the plush surroundings of Quinta do Lago. It’s been Ireland’s port of call for many years now. Today's top videos STORY CONTINUES BELOW Farrell felt it was the perfect setting to get this newly assembled playing group into the groove.