MX23RW : Wednesday, April 24 22:54:32| >> :600:3726770:3726770:

Harlequins' Louis Lynagh aiming to follow in father's Twickenham footsteps

Harlequins' Louis Lynagh aiming to follow in father's Twickenham footsteps
© Reuters
The 20-year-old is relishing Quins' Premiership title bid.

Louis Lynagh hopes to write his own chapter in the family's illustrious rugby history on Saturday when Harlequins bid for Gallagher Premiership title glory.

Thirty years after his father Michael helped guide Australia to World Cup final success against England at Twickenham, Louis will run out for Quins against current Premiership champions Exeter.

Lynagh senior also tasted domestic success on the Twickenham turf, being part of Saracens' 1998 Tetley's Bitter Cup final-winning team alongside fellow global superstars like Francois Pienaar and Philippe Sella.

Michael Lynagh
Michael Lynagh in action for Australia (Barry Batchelor/PA)

But this weekend, it is 20-year-old wing Louis' turn in the Twickenham spotlight as Quins chase a first Premiership crown since 2012.

And he has already played a key role, scoring one of his team's seven tries during a stunning 43-36 extra-time victory over Bristol that booked Quins' appointment with Exeter.

Lynagh senior won 72 caps for the Wallabies as fly-half playmaker during an 11-year Test career and scored more than 900 points, underlining his status among the sport's all-time greats.

He was also among the Ashton Gate crowd last Saturday to watch Quins complete a record-breaking fightback from 28 points adrift.

Bristol Bears v Harlequins – Gallagher Premiership – Semi Final – Ashton Gate
Louis Lynagh is lifted by a team-mate following Harlequins' victory over Bristol (Nigel French/PA)

"Dad is not a man of many words," Lynagh said.

"We had a moment afterwards. He came down to pitch-side and we talked about how brilliant it was. I didn't really have many words myself – I was quite emotional.

"I think I definitely will talk to him about it, because he has obviously been there (Twickenham).

"He will feed the helpful stuff, but he doesn't like to be too hands on with me, he likes to let me find my own path. I like to think I am making my own path.

"I will always have that connection to my dad, and I am always thankful for that, not only for his help in my career, but also the opportunities I have had to meet certain people and gather information about playing rugby.

"This season, I have shown I can pull my own weight and hopefully bring my own name to the forefront. I wouldn't mind being compared to my dad – he was a decent player.

"I have always wanted to make him proud, and hopefully that is what I have been doing since I started playing rugby at Richmond when I was four.

"It is going to be a a pretty special weekend for my family and I."

Lynagh is among an exciting generation of young talent at Quins, linking up with the likes of fly-half Marcus Smith, fellow back-three player Tyrone Green and flanker Jack Kenningham.

And while watching footage of players like his father, David Campese and Jonah Lomu formed part of Lynagh's rugby education, he is rapidly making a name for himself at Quins, while relishing every minute.

"I was the youngest on the team against Bristol, and it has been amazing to come in and play alongside players like Mike Brown, Danny Care, Alex (Dombrandt) and Marcus," he added.

"Teams like this don't come around too often, and to be part of one like this is pretty special.

"When you think about rugby and promoting audiences, that (Bristol game) is one of the ones you put on the front cover.

"It was a special game, and hopefully it can happen again on Saturday. Our brand at Harlequins is to try and entertain."

ID:452507: cacheID:452507:1false2false3false:QQ:: from db desktop :LenBod:restore:8330:
Restore Data
Share this article now:
Marcus Smith pictured for Harlequins in May 2019
Read Next:
Marcus Smith: 'We will continue to be the great entertainers'
>
rhs 2.0
Today's games header
Result
Munar
Borges
7 6
5 4
Result
Navone
Popyrin
7 6
5 2
Result
Vukic
Daniel
2 77 1
6 61 6
Result
Bouzas Maneiro
Badosa
2 6 6
6 3 3
Result
Davis
Sherif
6 64 4
4 77 6
Result
Putintseva
Yuan
6 6
2 4
Result
Stephens
Trevisan
6 5 6
3 7 4
Result
Zhu
Jimenez Kasintseva
4 3
6 6
Result
Altmaier
Landaluce
6 7
1 5
Result
Rinderknech
Shevchenko
4 7 3
6 5 6
Result
Safiullin
Seyboth Wild
4 4
6 6
Result
Arango
Anisimova
1 6 77
6 4 62
Result
Sorribes Tormo
Pera
7 6
5 2
Result
Zhang
Rogers
3 2
6 6
Result
Osaka
Minnen
6 6
4 1
Result
Vekic
Siegemund
6 6
1 2
Result
Darderi
Monfils
6 6
4 2
Result
Karatsev
Marozsan
66 62
78 77
Result
Van Assche
Bergs
6 60 6
4 77 1
Result
Linette
Cocciaretto
3 6 6
6 4 4
Result
Wang
Tomova
5 7 6
7 5 4
Result
Bai
Dolehide
3 3
6 6
Result
Dart
Bucsa
4 4
6 6
Result
Raducanu
Lourdes Carle
2 2
6 6
Result
Bronzetti
Gracheva
6 6
3 3
Result
Frech
Cristian
5 2
7 6
Result
Hibino
Krueger
4 4
6 6
Result
Coric
Hassan
65 7 6
77 5 3
Result
Kokkinakis
Draper
3 6 5
6 3 7
Result
Nakashima
Bagnis
3 65
6 77
Result
Van De Zandschulp
Eubanks
6 6
3 3
Result
Baptiste
Saville
4 65
6 77
Result
Bejlek
Blinkova
4 6 6
6 3 3
Result
Errani
Wozniacki
3 7 7
6 5 5
Result
Montgomery
Avanesyan
6 6
2 2
Result
Klein
Llamas Ruiz
6 4 77
1 6 64
Result
Burel
Danilovic
6 68 4
3 710 6
Result
Moutet
Shang
711 2 610
69 6 712
Result
Diaz Acosta
Shapovalov
4 6 3
6 3 6
Result
Andreeva
Townsend
4 6 7
6 1 5


Sports Mole provides in-depth previews and predictions for every match from the biggest leagues and competitions in world football.
Argentina's Lionel Messi kisses the World Cup trophy after collecting the Golden Ball award on December 18, 2022Sign up for our FREE daily preview newsletter direct to your inbox!