The Lions

cjcp
cjcp Posts: 13,345
edited July 2013 in Commuting chat
God's captain, so all will be fine. We've also got Halfpenny, North, Cuthbert. Jenkins, Roberts, Evans, Davies, Jones, Faletau, AWJ, Tipuric and Lydiate. There's a bunch of other blokes who are quite handy too. :wink:

Lions to win.

EDIT: changed Davies to Evans, and forgot Hibbard and Philips. Doh!
FCN 2-4.

"What happens when the hammer goes down, kids?"
"It stays down, Daddy."
"Exactly."
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Comments

  • rubertoe
    rubertoe Posts: 3,994
    What makes me laugh about this is that he (gatland) said that he wouldnt pick anyone playing in France?

    Can some one explain this to me? Its like Brazil not picking any footballers playing in Europe!

    Clearly with the Heinikan (sic) Cup final being an all french affair, the T14 or whatever is the best league in the world and therfore has the best players.
    "If you always do what you've always done, you'll always get what you've always got."

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  • DrLex
    DrLex Posts: 2,142
    Where's Joe Root?


    Oooohhhh; that Lions squad...
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  • greg66_tri_v2.0
    greg66_tri_v2.0 Posts: 7,172
    Apparently JW turned it down (according to the Beeb); body can't take it any more.

    Matt "penalty machine" Stevens is a baffling choice. As is leaving Sheridan at home. I have a feeling that Vunipola might find the pace of the games a bit too much, even as a 20 minute impact player. Tuilagi and Grey would not have made my list.

    It will be interesting to see who gets the call once the injuries start.

    My pick for the test XV:

    1/2P
    North
    Davies
    BOD
    Bowe
    Sexton
    Youngs (but I think Gatland will pick Philips)
    Falatau
    SW
    Croft
    AWJ
    POC
    A Jones
    Youngs
    Healy

    Hooker and BOD's partner are hardest to call, IMO.
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  • walkingbootweather
    walkingbootweather Posts: 2,443
    Bit worried that they have only picked two natural fly-halfs. I know the likes of Halfpenny can kick penalties and conversions, but this is likely to be a physically grueling tour and if Farrell or Sexton get injured we are in trouble.
    Nobody told me we had a communication problem
  • greg66_tri_v2.0
    greg66_tri_v2.0 Posts: 7,172
    Hogg can cover 10 at a push (though a Lions tour is not the best place to dust off some old skills). If Sexton or Farrell get injured, I think Gatland will hit speeddial "JW" on his phone...
    Swim. Bike. Run. Yeah. That's what I used to do.

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  • walkingbootweather
    walkingbootweather Posts: 2,443
    Greg66 Tri v2.0 wrote:
    I think Gatland will hit speeddial "JW" on his phone...

    Not sure the Jehovah's Witnesses would go down well on a rugby tour :wink:
    Nobody told me we had a communication problem
  • Paulie W
    Paulie W Posts: 1,492
    Yes, the Stevens thing is a mystery and don't understand the Vunipola pick or Parling over Launchbury.
  • sketchley
    sketchley Posts: 4,238
    Parling over Launchbury I get. Stevens just doesn't make sense.... Vunipola, noticably ran out of puff in the 6 nations after 60mins I don't think he's up to it yet, exciting player though. Only 2 fly halfs seems odd. Ho hum.... glad I didn't spend £10k on ticket package now......
    --
    Chris

    Genesis Equilibrium - FCN 3/4/5
  • andyb78
    andyb78 Posts: 156
    Curious team, all in all. Reckon Gatland's gone very heavy, confrontational, and looking to blast the Aussies out of it. Depends which Wallaby team turns up, I s'pose. Reckon we might run out of gas eventually...

    Agree Stevens shouldn't be anywhere near even the dirt-track team, although he is a solid scrummager. (Wouldn't Sheridan have relished in the role, given form, and that he loves to eat Aussie front rows?)

    Reckon Laidlaw's been unlucky not to go as a utility back. Worry that we haven't got an out and out fetcher at 7 (Tipuric's fast, but he's not a real fetcher) especially with the form George Smith's in - we've too many 6.5s. Bowe and Heaslip are risks, but ones that might pay off. Biggest surprise for me was Hartley over Rory Best. Wouldn't have Warbs as (C), played much better when the responsibility was taken away from him. POC far better. BOD at a push.

    Other thing - bet money on JW being out there by the end of the tour. His own integrity meant he wouldn't leave Toulon in the lurch which is fantastic, but some of the loose forwards in the Oz club sides will have Sexton firmly in the middle of their crosshairs.
    Road bike FCN 6

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  • tetm
    tetm Posts: 564
    This sums up the Lions rather well
  • sketchley
    sketchley Posts: 4,238
    andyb78 wrote:
    Agree Stevens shouldn't be anywhere near even the dirt-track team, although he is a solid scrummager. (Wouldn't Sheridan have relished in the role, given form, and that he loves to eat Aussie front rows?)

    No he isn't. Not any more.
    --
    Chris

    Genesis Equilibrium - FCN 3/4/5
  • tailwindhome
    tailwindhome Posts: 19,462
    I don't follow Rugby (as I don't really understand it TBH)

    Why would Brian O Driscoll not be captain? Looking at the Times article today he has more Lions experience than anyone else in the team - which isn't hard as it seems that most of the squads have never made a Lions Tour before.
    “New York has the haircuts, London has the trousers, but Belfast has the reason!
  • vermin
    vermin Posts: 1,739
    They fought hard to pick up a draw in the south London derby against Palace last night. It's far from certain yet but that point leaves them in with a more than fair chance of escaping the drop on Saturday. It'll still be a nail-biter, but a point at the weekend, or a failure by either Peterborough or Barnsley to win, or indeed Sheffield Wednesday to pick up points, would guarantee survival.
  • Sewinman
    Sewinman Posts: 2,131
    The no French thing (apart from Mike Phillips!) is because they have a few more games to play so won't be available for the start of training, hence JW making himself unavailable.

    Re 2 fly halfs. Wales are touring Japan, so Priestland & Biggar won't be far away. Also Gatland has picked some dodgy English forwards to sacrifice to injury mid-week, allowing a call to some of the welsh boys in Japan.,,,all part of the master plan.
  • greg66_tri_v2.0
    greg66_tri_v2.0 Posts: 7,172
    Sewinman wrote:
    The no French thing (apart from Mike Phillips!) is because they have a few more games to play so won't be available for the start of training, hence JW making himself unavailable.

    Re 2 fly halfs. Wales are touring Japan, so Priestland & Biggar won't be far away. Also Gatland has picked some dodgy English forwards to sacrifice to injury mid-week, allowing a call to some of the welsh boys in Japan.,,,all part of the master plan.


    Uh-huh. Because Wales' record against Australia has been pretty awesome over the last 6 years:

    Played 12
    Won 1
    Lost 11

    Ah, but, I hear you say, what about the mighty Welsh on Australian soil over the same period?

    Played 5
    Won 0
    Lost 5

    http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/History_of ... _and_Wales
    Swim. Bike. Run. Yeah. That's what I used to do.

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  • cjcp
    cjcp Posts: 13,345
    Oi. We *nearly* won three games there last summer.

    Anyway, ahem, moving on...

    But on a related note, we lost that first test last year in large part due to the awesomeness of David Pocock.

    Pocock ain't playing against the Lions. Which is very good news for the Lions.
    FCN 2-4.

    "What happens when the hammer goes down, kids?"
    "It stays down, Daddy."
    "Exactly."
  • jamesco
    jamesco Posts: 687
    <blows the dust off the thread>

    Anyone else see the George North vs. Israel Folau show? Four cracking tries and a cliff-hanger - what a game! With the ref for this one running the sidelines for the remaining 2 games, I'll go out on a limb and predict a series whitewash.

    It's a nightmare for Robbie Deans - missing first choice players, and the ones he does get on the field are being knocked out all over the place, even without Doctor Roberts running at them.
  • greg66_tri_v2.0
    greg66_tri_v2.0 Posts: 7,172
    OTOH, the Wallabies gave us a 14 point head start, then played a comedy back Line of the sort that you'd usually not have to play even after a red card.

    And still only lost by 2.

    Next weekend should be ... interesting.
    Swim. Bike. Run. Yeah. That's what I used to do.

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  • cjcp
    cjcp Posts: 13,345
    Greg66 Tri v2.0 wrote:
    OTOH, the Wallabies gave us a 14 point head start, then played a comedy back Line of the sort that you'd usually not have to play even after a red card.

    And still only lost by 2.

    Next weekend should be ... interesting.

    That's how I was looking at it, but the front row change didn't help us. But that's karma after the way Hill was taken out 12 years ago...

    Four cracking tries. Just kept watching the North try over and over on YouTube. Glorious.
    FCN 2-4.

    "What happens when the hammer goes down, kids?"
    "It stays down, Daddy."
    "Exactly."
  • sketchley
    sketchley Posts: 4,238
    Hhmmm not highlights on terrestrial tv.... Only way to watch is sky not happy.... Managed to find 2mins of highlights on guardian site.... North try is/was excellent... Sw missed a tackle that he really shouldn't have for one Aussie try he also looked off the pace in a clip a little later when bod was called back for a forward pass.... How was he during the rest of the game?
    --
    Chris

    Genesis Equilibrium - FCN 3/4/5
  • jamesco
    jamesco Posts: 687
    Sketchley wrote:
    Hhmmm not highlights on terrestrial tv.... Only way to watch is sky not happy.... Managed to find 2mins of highlights on guardian site.
    Longer highlights here; full replay here.
  • greg66_tri_v2.0
    greg66_tri_v2.0 Posts: 7,172
    edited June 2013
    For anyone Sky-less who has a laptop or iPad, this is the legal way to watch. Subscribe to nowtv. There is a monthly fee, auto renewed, but the first month is free and you can bin it before you have to pay anything.

    Then buy a 24 h sky sports day pass via nowtv for a tenner.

    This will give you a stream to a pc, laptop or handheld. AirPlay to Apple TV is disabled by the (mandatory) nowtv app for the iPad, but you can connect your laptop to your tv via an HDMI port if your pappy has one.

    Did this yesterday. Worked a treat. Definition on a 40" screen was somewhere between SD and HD.
    Swim. Bike. Run. Yeah. That's what I used to do.

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  • sketchley
    sketchley Posts: 4,238
    jamesco wrote:
    Sketchley wrote:
    Hhmmm not highlights on terrestrial tv.... Only way to watch is sky not happy.... Managed to find 2mins of highlights on guardian site.
    Longer highlights here; full replay here.

    Thanks will take a look at it later
    --
    Chris

    Genesis Equilibrium - FCN 3/4/5
  • cyclingprop
    cyclingprop Posts: 2,426
    FWIW, Moody, Flatman and Grewcock all did the RAB this year. They're better at rugby than bikes, but all thoroughly nice guys to talk to and very committed and determined. Chapeau!
    What do you mean you think 64cm is a big frame?
  • Agent57
    Agent57 Posts: 2,300
    Apart from commercial interests and tradition, is there a point to the Lions? I enjoy watching international rugby, and avidly watch the World Cup, 6 Nations and the like, but I haven't found any enthusiasm for the Lions tour as I don't really understand why they play.
    MTB commuter / 531c commuter / CR1 Team 2009 / RockHopper Pro Disc / 10 mile PB: 25:52 (Jun 2014)
  • sketchley
    sketchley Posts: 4,238
    Agent57 wrote:
    Apart from commercial interests and tradition, is there a point to the Lions? I enjoy watching international rugby, and avidly watch the World Cup, 6 Nations and the like, but I haven't found any enthusiasm for the Lions tour as I don't really understand why they play.

    There is (should be) a prestige to playing lions. The thought process being that the best team you'lltt ever play at home would be the lions. The lions also have the highest travelling support in numbers than any other test side which makes matches special. it also happens 2 years after world cup therefore 2 year before so it fills a gap. Personally I would quite like to see it become northern hemispehre vs southern every 4 years alternating home countries so nh one year sh 4 years later. In it's current forma I'd like to see it expanded to include the french and italy, plus I'd like to see the midweek team play other international sides like japan, tonga, fuji, samoa etc.....
    --
    Chris

    Genesis Equilibrium - FCN 3/4/5
  • jamesco
    jamesco Posts: 687
    Agent57 wrote:
    Apart from commercial interests and tradition, is there a point to the Lions?
    A player from SA, NZ or Aus has a much better chance of playing (and winning ;)) a World Cup campaign than being selected for a Lions tour, so there's a rarity value there, along with a tradition that goes back much further than the cup.

    You get to see the best players from four nations who normally knock seven bells out of each other play together. It's also a good old-fashioned tour, not a round robin series, so there's a real sense of ebb and flow as they play over a long period.

    News just in: the Aussies have kept their captain after Horwill was found not guilty of deliberate stamping a Lions player. In other, completely unrelated news, OJ Simpson is still looking for the 'real killer'...
  • Agent57
    Agent57 Posts: 2,300
    Cheers. Fair points - maybe I should pay a bit more attention to it. :D
    MTB commuter / 531c commuter / CR1 Team 2009 / RockHopper Pro Disc / 10 mile PB: 25:52 (Jun 2014)
  • cjcp
    cjcp Posts: 13,345
    jamesco wrote:
    Agent57 wrote:
    Apart from commercial interests and tradition, is there a point to the Lions?
    A player from SA, NZ or Aus has a much better chance of playing (and winning ;)) a World Cup campaign than being selected for a Lions tour,

    +1. I think this was a point Matt Burke made back before the 2001 tour.
    FCN 2-4.

    "What happens when the hammer goes down, kids?"
    "It stays down, Daddy."
    "Exactly."
  • greg66_tri_v2.0
    greg66_tri_v2.0 Posts: 7,172
    edited June 2013
    I was thinking about the game a bit more. I've lost count of the number of matches I've watched in which the Wallabies have been nigh on impossible to kill off. At 50 minutes, that was a game looking to be closed down. And yet, as they so often seem able to do, the Wallabies came back in the last 30, conceded next to no points, and clawed their way inch by inch back not the game with a few points here and a few points there. That last ten minutes was a coin toss, which we were very lucky to win. But just how on earth DO you crush the Wallabies and overrun them in the last 20? Tie them up with duct tape and cable ties?

    Ps. Our "impact" bench fecked our scrum royally. First 20 saw the Wallabies' scrum slid backwards in a straight line. Last 20 saw ours look inept. We are supposed to boss them all day long there. What on earth went wrong?
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