VIDEO - Lynagh, le fils de la légende des Wallabies, décrypte l’essai de la saison de Champions Cup
Louis Lynagh, fils d’un ancien grand joueur des Wallabies et autrefois pressenti pour devenir ailier de l’équipe d’Angleterre, a peut-être contribué à relancer son rêve de rugby international en réalisant une performance spectaculaire avec les Harlequins lors de la Champions Cup.
Billy Millard, l’entraîneur australien du club anglais, a assuré qu’il porterait un toast à l’essai solitaire de Lynagh – l’un des deux essais du joueur de 23 ans lors de la victoire 47-19 sur l’Ulster.
Une action partie de ses 22
Lynagh, fils du maestro Michael Lynagh, champion du monde avec l’Australie en 1991, a battu quatre défenseurs dans une course folle lancée depuis ses propres 22 mètres au Stoop de Twickenham, après une relance rapide et une passe de Marcus Smith.
Mais ce premier essai a surpris Lynagh lui-même, qui ne pensait même pas jouer.
D’abord écarté de la sélection en raison de son manque de performance, il a été rappelé d’urgence sur le banc des Quins juste avant le coup d’envoi, après qu’une blessure a contraint Millard à remanier l’équipe.
Lynagh a ensuite été surpris d’être invité à entrer en jeu après un peu plus d’un quart d’heure lorsque Oscar Beard n’a pas passé le protocole commotion à la 17e minute.
Il a profité de l’occasion pour marquer deux des sept essais des Quins, lesquels se dirigeaient vers une qualification pour les huitièmes de finale de la plus prestigieuse compétition de clubs de rugby d’Europe.
Deux essais opportunistes
Le premier a été le plus spectaculaire : Lynagh s’est engouffré dans la brèche, a déjoué un plaquage de Billy Burns au milieu du terrain, a donné un coup de pied à suivre et a distancé ses poursuivants de l’Ulster, avant de bénéficier d’un bon rebond qui lui a permis de contourner Jacob Stockdale et de plonger pour marquer l’un des essais les plus marquants de la saison européenne.
https://www.instagram.com/reel/C2Uu3nIiUmv/?utm_source=ig_embed&utm_campaign=loading
« Quand Marcus a attrapé le ballon haut et a crié marque, j’ai regardé et nous avons vu un petit espace, il s’est ouvert et ensuite le reste, je ne sais pas vraiment ce qui s’est passé », a déclaré Louis Lynagh en riant.
« Parfois, on essaie des trucs sur le terrain de rugby et ça paye – et c’était l’un de ces moments.
« Le ballon a rebondi dans ma direction et je suis heureux d’avoir pu finir l’action. J’étais crevé à la fin, mais c’était vraiment cool de faire ça et j’espère que je pourrai vivre d’autres moments comme ça. »
Il a saisi sa chance
Six minutes plus tard, il a de nouveau fait preuve d’un réel opportunisme, profitant d’un cafouillage de la défense des visiteurs pour reprendre le ballon et filer une nouvelle fois à l’essai.
Cette performance est un grand encouragement pour Lynagh, qui avait été en marge de la sélection anglaise sous Eddie Jones, avant de tomber dans la hiérarchie suite à des blessures la saison dernière.
Le directeur du rugby de Quins, Billy Millard, était ravi pour lui.
« Louis est avec nous depuis longtemps, il sait donc exactement ce qu’il en est. Il a travaillé très dur et il le mérite. Il nous a permis de prendre pied dans le match », a salué l’Australien.
« Louis est exceptionnel et il l’a montré – je vais m’asseoir et regarder son essai en buvant un verre de rouge. Il a fait preuve d’une détermination sans faille pour rester dans le match. Il joue un rôle important ici. »
A solo STUNNER from Louis Lynagh ?
And @Harlequins' BP win puts themselves in contention for a home knockout…
Instant #InvestecChampionsCup highlights ??
— Investec Champions Cup (@ChampionsCup) January 20, 2024
Comments on RugbyPass
A very good player.We are finally getting some balance in our team. Plummer..Heem ..Lam a solid..experienced combo who take the sensible options consistently. Clarke was a grt impact of the bench option until Lam moved to 13 to replace an injured Reiko. Cotter is doing a grt job building his team. .
1 Go to commentsSaturday was last straw. Terrible record in Premiership since Jan 23. Capitulation against Bath at home. There are 3 conclusions. Players aren't good enough. Coaching team aren't good enough or combination of both.
2 Go to commentsAs you say in your article Brett, the point was Hamish and his vanity - plain and simple. The crazy bit is that sua’ali’i has to be probably twice the player of mark N, no easy feat, just for RA to get their money's worth!?! And as you say, tahs aren't short of wingers, props on the other hand id like to see $1.6m spent on. I still shake my head at the absolute carry on in the media and comments section around the boon of getting sua’ali’i and the revenue it'd generate. It was all such hogwash imo and short sighted, real sugar hit stuff. And wasnt Waugh (and others) on the board at the time this money was spent? You say silver bullet, I'd say sugar hit but without the flavour.
2 Go to commentsNZR should play hard all a bit with some of these players and make them sign up to the next world cup. If they won’t, offer it to someone who will. Because what happens is the NH (especially France) swoop on a bunch of nz players coming off contract, weakening their depth, and nz scrambles less than 2 years out trying to get replacements up to speed.
1 Go to commentsNo thanks. Savea almost always leaves easy points out there and goes for the corner, no matter how many times it’s not working. He claimed he took “the learnings” from this when he kept making the same mistake against the Boks a few years ago. Then went out the very next week and did the same thing and SA snatched victory because of it. Years later he still does it, right up to and including the world cup final. Great player, not so great rugby nous.
10 Go to commentsIt certainly wasn't a rhetorical masterpiece coming from big E …. (just as a side remark: Eben is the better player, Siya by far the better talker - maybe that's why they don't seem to like each other very much) …. but could we please move on?
50 Go to commentsMan who wasn't there and hasn't held a conversation with those who were present weighs in on dead rubber debate and is presented as representative of the Irish Rugby Union’s spokesperson on subject he has no apparent knowledge of whatsoever.
50 Go to commentsanybody who bends at the waist when they tackle
3 Go to commentsThe evidence is not strong that this is necessary. Mounga choked on clutch kicks in the WRC final and lost the match by not performing his core goal kicking role to the level required. He also choked in the Semi final against England and was targeted as the weak point in the defence allowing them to score. Not a test great frankly. Why bend the rules for a player that is competent but not brilliant at test level?
11 Go to commentsDear Robbie, Please return to the Crusaders next season. Sincerely, Scott
1 Go to commentsDid the big E call the Irish the ‘White Can’ts’? That would’ve been good
50 Go to commentsDalton Papalii will be lucky to be selected on the Matchday 23. Ardie Savea, Ethan Blackadder, Luke Jacobson, and Peter Lauki are all as good or better openside flankers
10 Go to commentsScott Barrett is a lock and they have a much longer shelf life than a loose forward. Far more likely that Barrett will still demand a starting position based on performance at age 33 at RWC 2027 than Savea, whose explosive athleticism will have declined and he will in all likelihood have been surpassed by Hoskins Sotutu, Wallace Siti, Peter Lauki and Brayden Iose.
10 Go to commentsExtremely frustrating to get yet more speculation over whether or not Eben actually counted 12 players or not, but honestly big respect to McCloskey for keeping it classy and not pointing out Etzebeth’s hypocrisy. The Irish are a popular team outside of Ireland because they do their talking on the pitch, and its honestly a PR masterclass that they’re keeping it that way following Etzebeth’s provocation.
50 Go to commentsGood option for the lineout lost there.
1 Go to commentsIt’s not like Saffas have a long history of spouting absolute shite at any & every occasion. Oh wait… The dangers of an inferior third world education strike again.
50 Go to commentsI’m so glad we’re revisiting this. Really needs to be dissected further. I’m also so glad that a guy in the stands who wasn’t anywhere near the field when any of it would have been said (and even confirms this) has taken the lead and commented as Ireland. Definitely cleared it all up. This article would be hilarious if it wasn’t so misleading.
50 Go to commentsits such a shame he hasn’t achieved more success at club level. He’s really not been a potent finisher for a while now, but he’s still excellent in the kick chase. That’s the kind of skillset that generally only gets appreciated when you’re playing in premiership and european finals. I’m not sure whether the challenge cup counts given the quality of the competition seems lower than in previous years, but his duel with Mapimpi should be enthralling.
1 Go to commentsThe point is the irish players were arrogant,call it like you want sugar coat it aswell but they were you could see it in their way they handeled themselfs on the field when they got something right so dont tell me it was not arrogance it was,you can fool other people but not me,and to say to one of our players see you in the final put a nail in the coffin for this bullsh@t,just be grown men and accept it that you were arrogant,you could if seen it from a mile away, and then you lost to the allblacks what a cocky move that didnt work out for you ,Eben was right when he said u were arrogant,the point is you will deny it because you lost it all just grow some balls and move on we had won you lost accept it.
50 Go to comments“summer tour of North and South America” so its a summer tour of america?
1 Go to comments