- The Telegraph
Ellis Genge: Sam Warburton's backing means nothing after Lions long-list snub
England prop Ellis Genge said the backing of pundits means "f--- all" for his hopes of featuring on a first Lions tour, after the Leicester loosehead revealed that he had received no correspondence from head coach Warren Gatland enquiring as to his availability to travel to South Africa this summer. Genge's performance in Leicester's comeback victory over Ulster in last Friday's Challenge Cup semi-final drew praise from 2017 Lions captain Sam Warburton on BT Sport, with the former Wales flanker saying that he would “definitely” have Genge in his squad to face the Springboks. In characteristically forthright fashion, however, Genge was unmoved by the comments. “It means f--- all unless you get picked, doesn’t it?” the 26-year-old said. “It doesn’t matter what everyone else thinks. My old man had me as captain but he doesn’t pick the squad. If you don’t get picked, none of the outside noise matters.” Telegraph Sport revealed on Monday how several Premiership players were still in contention for Lions selection ahead of Thursday’s squad announcement. Marcus Smith, Ben Spencer, Sam Simmonds and Danny Care all received a “save the date” email from Lions management, signalling that they had been included on Gatland's long-list of players. When asked if he had received similar correspondence, Genge joked: “I think my emails are broken,” before adding, “No, I haven’t got one, mate. “I’m getting my carpets cleaned on Thursday and the TV’s in that room so I won’t be in there. I’ll have my phone with me, but I haven’t had any emails so I'd assume [it's a no].” With Genge seemingly having received the cold shoulder from Gatland, alongside Ben Youngs pulling out of a second successive tour due to family reasons, George Ford is Leicester's only realistic hope of representation on this summer's tour. But if the England fly-half is not selected, then it would be the first time since 1968 that a Lions tour would take place without a Tiger.
- PA Media: Sport
Manchester United face three games in five days as Liverpool match rescheduled
Sunday’s clash between the bitter rivals was called off due to United fans’ anti-Glazer protest and will now be played on Thursday, May 13.
- Evening Standard
Manchester United vs Liverpool date confirmed with Man Utd facing Premier League fixture pile-up
Manchester United and Liverpool will play on May 13 after Sunday’s Premier League clash was postponed due to protests at Old Trafford. The rearranged fixture means United face the prospect of three Premier League matches in just five days. Sunday’s clash between the bitter rivals was called off due to United fans’ anti-Glazer protest, which saw some supporters get into Old Trafford and onto the pitch while two police officers were also injured.
