A first female British & Irish Lions tour is coming soon to the global rugby landscape with talks now centred on a venue and opposition as the women’s game continues to grow exponentially.
On the back of this year’s hugely successful World Cup in New Zealand — where the hosts ended England’s 30-match unbeaten run to lift the trophy — getting a Lions side together is seen as the logical next step.
Lions chairman Ieuan Evans has insisted there is no need for a cross-border women’s team — which would be made up of players from England, Wales, Ireland and Scotland — to tour at the same time and to the same venue as the men’s side.The next men’s Lions tour is slated for Australia in 2025.
Female Lions side is seen as logical next step following the success of the women’s World Cup
‘I chaired the feasibility study on the women’s Lions. A recommendation went to board and it was accepted,‘ Evans said.
‘Those discussions are ongoing but they’re very positive.The feedback and response we’ve had from players and unions, sponsors and broadcasters, has been excellent.
‘Look at the women’s World Cup. Talk about transformational and inspiring. The quality of the rugby was off-the-charts good.It really is an opportunity for us.
‘It’s a question of when and finding a slot. Why wouldn’t the Lions, who are such a totemic entity, have a women’s team?
Talks are now centered on a venue and opposition for a first women’s British & Irish Lions tour
‘There is the appetite and the quality and now it’s literally about finding a slot in the calendar for it’
The men’s Lions side tour Australia, New Zealand and South Africa on four-year cycles.Given the respective strength of the female sides in those countries, it would be logical for the Lions to take on world champions Black Ferns as a first port of call. France could also be potential and logical opposition.
One potential drawback to a women’s Lions team is that as things stand, it would likely be dominated by England’s professional players.Wales, Ireland and Scotland are still trying to reach that level but are progressing from their previous amateur status.
Lions chairman Ieuan Evans said the women’s tour can be totally separate to men’s tour
‘The one thing about the women’s Lions is it needs to find its own path.The Lions has embraced its uniqueness and benefitted from being different to everyone else,’ Evans said.
‘The women’s Lions similarly should embrace being different. It doesn’t need to follow the men’s. It can do it its own way and 온라인슬롯 there is interest from the host nations.
‘There is a lot of enthusiasm to host a women’s Lions.There is significant value in it. That’s what the Lions does. It has a footprint well beyond its geographical boundaries.’
and have each earned their first ever Oscar nominations.
Both pop stars have been recognized in the best original song category — Beyonce, 40, for the biopic King Richard and Billie, 20, for the film .
The 94th annual nominations were announced on Tuesday morning in a broadcast hosted by Leslie Jordan and Tracee Ellis Ross.
Milestone: Beyonce (left) and Billie Eilish (right) have each earned their first ever Oscar nods
Beyonce worked with the songwriter Dixson on the song Be Alive for King Richard, which covers Venus and Serena Williams’ childhood with a focus on their father.
Will Smith plays Richard Williams, heading up a cast that includes Saniyya Sidney and Demi Singleton as Venus and Serena respectively.
Meanwhile Billie co-wrote the title song for No Time To Die with her brother and longtime collaborator Finneas O’Connell.
As she was just shy of her 18th birthday when she recorded the number, she became the youngest singer ever of a Bond theme.
Collab: Beyonce worked with the songwriter Dixson (pictured) on the song Be Alive for King Richard, which covers Venus and Serena Williams’ childhood with a focus on their father
Superstar: Will Smith plays Richard Williams, heading up a cast that includes Saniyya Sidney and Demi Singleton as Venus and Serena respectively
No Time To Die was the final outing for Daniel Craig as 007, a role he first assumed for the 2006 smash hit Casino Royale.
Billie gushed on Instagram this Tuesday: ‘thank you SO much to @theacademy for this nomination!!it was an absolute dream to write a song for a @007 film and i’m so honored that it’s nominated. peak life experience. THANK YOU!!!’
She included a joint statement with Finneas in which they wrote: ‘Words cannot describe how honored and excited we are to have been nominated for an Academy Award for our song «No Time To Die.» It was a lifelong dream of ours to write a Bond theme, and one we never thought would ever come true.’
They went on: ‘It’s completely unbelievable that we are here being recognized for this song, and this is a peak life experience for us as songwriters and artists.To be recognized today among these other incredible nominees is something that we most certainly do not take for granted.’
Family business: Meanwhile Billie co-wrote the title song for No Time To Die with her brother and longtime collaborator Finneas O’Connell whom she is pictured with at LACMA last month
Guns out: No Time To Die was the final outing for Daniel Craig as 007, a role he first assumed for the 2006 smash hit Casino Royale
The statement continued: ‘Thank you to the Academy, from the bottom of our hearts.Thank you to Barbara Broccoli and Michael G. Wilson for allowing us this incredible opportunity, and to be part of Daniel Craig’s unparalleled legacy as James Bond.’
Finneas and Billie concluded their heartfelt message: Thank you to Cary Joji Fukunaga, and last but not least, thank you to Hans Zimmer, Stephen Lipson and Johnny Marr for being an absolute joy to work with on this song.’
The other nominees for best original song are Diane Warren for Somehow You Do from Four Good Days.
Speaking with DailyMail.com after the announcement, Warren, 65, said: ‘I am extremely excited.This was a tough year, there are hundreds of songs. The have picked the best of the best, so whether I win or not, just to get nominated is a win.’
Warren is the most nominated woman in Oscar history who has not won a trophy.Her latest feat marks her 13th nomination for Best Original Song and will see her battling it out against the likes of , Lin-Manuel Miranda, Van Morrison, and for the honor.
Also in the group is Lin-Manuel Miranda for Dos Oruguitas from Encanto and Van Morrison for Down To Joy from Belfast.
Beyonce achieved a milestone last year when she became the most awarded woman in the history of the Grammys, with 28 gongs to her name.
‘Peak life experience’: Billie gushed on Instagram this Tuesday: ‘thank you SO much to @theacademy for this nomination!!’
Thrilled: She included a joint statement with Finneas in which they wrote: ‘It was a lifelong dream of ours to write a Bond theme, and one we never thought would ever come true’
She has been involved with Oscar fare before, including the 2006 film Dreamgirls, based on a Broadway show that was itself loosely inspired by the Supremes.
Although Beyonce herself did not earn an Oscar nomination for her role in the film, her co-star Jennifer Hudson won best supporting actress.
Meanwhile, by entering the tradition of the James Bond song, Billie is following in the footsteps of multiple past Oscar nominees.
The two most recent Bond songs before No Time To Die both took home the Academy Award — Writing’s On The Wall from Spectre and the title song of Skyfall.
Triumph: Beyonce achieved a milestone last year when she became the most awarded woman in the history of the Grammys; she is pictured at the 2021 ceremony
Adele performed Skyfall, which she co-wrote with Paul Epworth, 슬롯사이트 while Sam Smith sang Writing’s On The Wall and co-wrote it with Jimmy Napes.
Past Bond songs to get nominated include the title songs for Live And Let Die and For Your Eyes Only, as well as Nobody Does It Better from The Spy Who Loved Me.
The first James Bond song to earn an Oscar nod was the haunting Dusty Springfield classic The Look Of Love from the 1967 version of Casino Royale.
