Twenty-five years after the "last extended Great Britain trip to Australia and New Zealand," British & Irish Lions tours look set to "finally be restored" to the sport’s int'l calendar. The Rugby League Int'l Federation "is expected in the next two months to fill in the gaps between the three World Cup competitions" -- this year in Australia, New Zealand and Papua New Guinea, England in '21 and North America in '25 -- with Lions tours of the southern hemisphere that will include int'l and club fixtures. The last "fully fledged" Great Britain tour took place in '92. Momentum for "a revival has continued to grow since Australia pulled out of plans to host a tour" in '12 (LONDON TIMES, 2/11).
Duco Events Australia CEO Rachael Carroll has "given her assurance" the Brisbane Global Tens will remain in Queensland amid "talks of a swap with the Auckland Nines next year." The National Rugby League wants to negotiate a deal with Duco, "the brains behind both the Auckland Nines and Brisbane Global Tens," to bring the rugby league version from New Zealand to Australia. The "problem, however, lies in the fact the Global Tens has a four-year agreement to be played in Brisbane" (SYDNEY MORNING HERALD, 2/12).
Andy Murray’s management team "expressed concern about inflated prices for an exhibition match against Roger Federer after online resellers advertised tickets for thousands of pounds." Murray announced on Thursday he will play Federer at Glasgow’s SSE Hydro on Nov. 7 in aid of UNICEF and a local Scottish charity. Tickets went on sale with half of all seats costing just £25 ($31.21). Others cost up to a maximum face value of £150 ($187.24). The tickets sold out but Ticketmaster subsidiary Getmein on Friday had tickets for sale ranging from £285-£990 ($356-$1,235) before booking fees. Viagogo also had "high demand" tickets available from £204-£3,080 ($255-$3,844) (LONDON TIMES, 2/11).
The proposed fight between Jeff Horn and Manny Pacquiao "has been thrown into confusion" with an adviser to Pacquiao saying the bout "would now be held in the UAE and not in Horn's hometown of Brisbane." Duco Events, which promotes Horn in partnership with Bob Arum's Top Rank, "was confident the fight would be held at Suncorp Stadium on April 23 in what would be one of the biggest bouts ever staged on Australian soil." But Pacquiao's adviser, Michael Koncz, "now says the fight is confirmed for the cashed-up UAE" (THE AGE, 2/13).
The United States Tennis Association issued an apology after a German national anthem used during the Nazi era was "accidentally played at a tennis tournament in Hawaii." The song was played during the opening ceremony of America's Fed Cup first round match against Germany. Performed by a Hawaiian soloist, the "now obsolete" first verse, "Germany, Germany above all else," was sung ahead of the match. The words were "closely identified with Adolf Hitler's Third Reich in the period before and during the Second World War" (London TELEGRAPH, 2/12).
The Grand Depart of the 2018 Tour de France will be from the Pays de la Loire region, organizers announced on Sunday. It will be a "return to the race's roots as the first edition in 1903 was also hosted by the western region" (REUTERS, 2/12).
Scottish Championship side Hibernian fans were "locked out" of Scottish Premiership side Heart of Midlothian's Tynecastle Stadium, it has been claimed. A "sizeable section" of Hibernian fans were "denied entry to Hearts’ ground ahead of their William Hill Scottish Cup clash." It "appears to be the latest example of forged tickets preventing away supporters from entering the stadium" (Scotland DAILY RECORD, 2/12).
