feeling

Barrow has placed an emphasis on developing young talent. Post-match, he referenced the DiSE programme,, external which started in 2019 to provide a pathway for young players to develop after leaving high school.

In his 17-player squad to face Australia, he named 11 players aged 23 or under – including the all-Wigan half-back pairing of Isabel Rowe and Jenna Foubister, both 19.

“We are here to compete, but with a group like this we are hopefully bleeding them in for the 2030 World Cup,” Barrow added.

“There are a lot of 19, 20 and 21-year-olds in our group, who are going to gain a load of experience from this.

“Our aim is to give them every experience we can to make them better for the future.”

In contrast, Jess Skinner’s Australia only had two players below the age of 25 in their 17 and had an average age of almost 28.

And the greater experience, power and pace of the seasoned professionals told against England, who only fielded three NRLW players, and have a squad largely comprised of players who have full-time occupations away from the sport.

“When they get on a roll like that I don’t think any team in the world can compete with them,” Barrow added. “They are just too quick, too skilful and too fast for our girls at that stage.

“They don’t face that week in, week out. So when it comes at them quickly, it can be a shock to the system but they will learn from it. I thought they competed and tried in the second half but we never had the ball.”

Welsh actor Luke Evans is currently starring in ITV psychological thriller The Party

Hollywood actor Luke Evans admits he was once ‘very isolated’.

The Welsh actor, now 47, has appeared in Hollywood films like Fast & Furious and Beauty And The Beast and TV dramas including The Pembrokeshire Murders. He can currently be seen in the latest ITV thriller The Party.

But the star, who was raised in Aberbargoed in the South Wales Valleys and started out in his career in West End musicals like Avenue Q and Miss Saigon, hasn’t had it easy and has previously spoken out about how he contemplated suicide during his teenage years.

As The Party, based on the novel by Elizabeth Day, unfolds on ITV and ITVX, we examine Luke’s life beyond the cameras.

Feeling ‘very isolated’

Luke has previously discussed reaching a “dark place” during his adolescence when he faced challenges growing up as gay while being part of the Jehovah’s Witness community, reports Wales Online.

In the third instalment of the BBC series, Alison Hammond’s Big Weekend, Luke revealed his experiences of bullying and the clash between his sexuality and faith, which led him to a “dark place” where he considered taking his own life.

“I knew I was different, I didn’t know I was gay,” he explained. “I just knew I was different from the ages of 7, 8, 9, you know, very young.”

He continued: “I also didn’t have anyone outside the religion to be able to confide in or ask what was wrong. I’ve been baptised in the religion and that meant if I chose to be openly gay, I would be cut-off from everyone and everything I knew.”

Luke acknowledged the situation was “very complicated” and “very confusing”. He said: “I felt very, very isolated.”

Alison then asked if he had reached a “dark place”, to which Luke replied with: “Oh god, yeah. My teenage years, when it was clear in my mind who I was, and I was just… I had no-one to talk to. It was a very difficult position, place to be. Yeah, I contemplated suicide for sure.”

Love life

Luke previously dated Spanish model and actor Jon Kortajarena. Jon has fronted advertising campaigns for prestigious brands including Just Cavalli, Versace, Giorgio Armani and Guerlain, and in 2009 Forbes placed him eighth on The World’s 10 Most Successful Male Models list.

Luke is currently in a relationship with entrepreneur Fran Tomas. Speaking previously to People magazine, Luke described his boyfriend, whom he has been with since 2021, as his “best friend”.

“We’re a great team in life. He’s my best friend. He’s the calm, deep waters, and I am the rushing, bubbly water. And between the two of us, we can solve anything,” he told the publication.

What is The Party about?

Elizabeth Day’s bestselling 2017 psychological thriller has been adapted into a five-part series following Martin Gilmour ( Luke Evans ), a scholarship pupil who escaped poverty to enter British high society after befriending the affluent, magnetic Ben Fitzmaurice at boarding school.

The delicate relationship shatters during Ben’s extravagant 40th birthday celebration at his newly acquired grand country manor. The following morning, Martin discovers himself inside a police station facing questioning over a disturbing incident that occurred overnight.

The Party is on ITV1 and ITVX

Manchester City head coach Enzo Maresca says the “feeling is fantastic” among his players and they “don’t care too much about the noise” surrounding the club after it was found guilty of the majority of the 115 charges brought against it by the Premier League.

The club’s international players returned to training on Thursday, nine days after the Premier League published a damning report that stated the club had used “sham” contracts to disguise secret funding of more than £830m.

BBC Sport reported this week that Maresca would address the players upon their return to domestic duty after news of the verdict broke while the majority of the squad were away with their respective nations.

It is understood the City head coach asked his players not to allow the crisis that has engulfed the club to affect their attitude and focus as the Premier League campaign gets back under way this weekend.

“The feeling is fantastic, to be honest,” Maresca said in an in-house interview when asked about the mood among his squad prior to their trip to face Liverpool on Sunday (16:30 BST).

“The players are excited for the next two games. But especially they are excited because in this moment we are top of the league. The players are just focused on that.

“They know what we can control is the football side – they are not worried at all about different things.

“They know their profession and they know that the noise is there, but they don’t care too much about the noise. They are just focused in this moment on how we can beat Liverpool and how, together with the fans, we can try to win in Anfield.”

Maresca added he felt “calm” and his squad trusts the club “completely”.

City have launched an appeal and have publicly maintained their innocence.

The private communication to those with links to the playing staff at City has been equally as emphatic, it is understood.

Speaking to Sky Sports, striker Erling Haaland echoed his manager’s sentiments, saying: “I care a lot about this place. I spent my first four years here, it’s a special place for us. I care a lot about City and the fans. I am a fan myself. I feel with them.

“The fans will have a good time on Sunday – we have to stick together. We have to stay with each other and stay positive. No matter what happens in life, we always have to smile. Stay positive, look ahead, and try to win football games and enjoy the situation.

“We have to stick together and spread the love to each other. Enjoy the ride and smile.”