LIONS RUGBY WATCH
A record 43,124 Lions, Wallabies and All Black fans, and locals, witnessed the British and Irish Lions thrash the AUNZ invitational side 48-0.
The SA Government says hotel occupancy on Saturday night was due to reach 93% compared to 71% for the same time last year. The latest forward data showed an average 87% hotel occupancy across metropolitan Adelaide from Thursday until Saturday, up from 68% in 2024.
SA Tourism Minister Zoe Bettison says their hotel and venue operators had already “scored big” a day before the game.
“This is more than a sporting event – it’s a showcase of South Australia on a world stage,” she says.
Australian Hotels Association SA’s chief executive officer Anna Moeller says the game “is a huge win” for industry and business.
MATCH SUMMARY
But the Lions’ crushing 48-0 win over AUNZ on Saturday may have come at a price.
With Irish centre Garry Ringrose already ruled out of the Lions’ first Test against Australia in Brisbane this Saturday, English hooker Luke Cowan-Dickie is now in doubt as both men struggle with concussion.
Lions head coach Andy Farrell said Ringrose failed a head injury assessment after their midweek win against the ACT Brumbies in Canberra.
The Lions’s eight tries to none win over the AUNZ side was dented when Cowan-Dickie was stretchered off after a knee to his head.
As he lay on the ground being treated, the record 43,124 crowd broke out into song after Sweet Caroline was played on the loudspeakers.
Cowan-Dickie’s fellow England front-rower, Jamie George has been called up from England’s tour of Argentina.
AUNZ coach Less Kiss wants the Anzac concept to continue, noting that the team had barely a week together and the lack of team cohesion seen in some of the Lions tries.
WOMEN BLACKED OUT IN WELLINGTON
New Zealand’s Black Ferns women’s side handed out a second-half lesson in their 37-12 win over the Wallaroos in Wellington.
Outgoing Wallaroos coach Jo Yapp’s side were on top in the first 35 minutes as they led the hosts.
NZ’s Portia Woodman-Wickliffe scored a hat-trick of tries, including one just 90 seconds into the match, as the Wallaroos led 7-5 for most of the half.
On the verge of halftime, Woodman-Wickliffe scored her second try to make it 12-7 at the break.
They scored 32 unanswered points to sweep the O’Reilly Cup, with Jorja Miller’s solo effort the standout of the bunch.
- The New Zealand men crushed an under-strength France 43-17 in the second Test in Wellington, scoring six tries to go 2-0 in a three-Test series.
- Fiji capitalised on a red card to Scottish winger Darcy Graham to beat Scotland 29-14 in Suva for their first win over the tourists in eight years.
- A weakened Ireland ran in a record-breaking 16 tries in a 106-7 rout of Portugal in Lisbon to register their biggest Test win in the first match between the nations.
- England scrum-half Jack van Poortvliet scored a late try as they edged Argentina 22-17 in San Juan to claim the two-Test series 2-0.
- South Africa smothered Italy 45-0 with only 14 men at Nelson Mandela Bay Stadium to sweep their two-Test rugby series.
- Wales edged Japan 31-22 in Kobe to end a record 18-game losing streak and pick up their first win since the 2023 World Cup.
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