The Lions

2

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  • jamesco
    jamesco Posts: 687
    Greg66 Tri v2.0 wrote:
    But just how on earth DO you crush the Wallabies and overrun them in the last 20?
    This is how :)

    Keep Corbs & Jones on for as long as possible and the next game is in the bag.
  • greg66_tri_v2.0
    greg66_tri_v2.0 Posts: 7,172
    jamesco wrote:
    Greg66 Tri v2.0 wrote:
    But just how on earth DO you crush the Wallabies and overrun them in the last 20?
    This is how :)

    Keep Corbs & Jones on for as long as possible and the next game is in the bag.

    Almost proves *my* point! Almost...

    RWC semi, in NZ. 14-6 to the ABs at half time. The second half score is 6-0 to the ABs, despite (from the highlights) seeming to play almost the whole 40 mins in the Aussie half. No tries. I wonder what the Australian defensive stats for the second 40mins look like against the other top 6 world sides. Pretty bloody good, I'd bet.

    I heard that there were some twitterings that POC has a broken hand. Anything concrete on that? Not good if true.
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  • cjcp
    cjcp Posts: 13,345
    The Aussies are very difficult to kill off. Just ask Wales and Gatland.
    FCN 2-4.

    "What happens when the hammer goes down, kids?"
    "It stays down, Daddy."
    "Exactly."
  • cjcp
    cjcp Posts: 13,345
    Re POC: there was a flurry of tweets, one saying that he was flying home. But that seemed to change to him being monitored. Not good, though.
    FCN 2-4.

    "What happens when the hammer goes down, kids?"
    "It stays down, Daddy."
    "Exactly."
  • ddraver
    ddraver Posts: 26,388
    POC's out, fractured arm or something

    Agree with Greg! Given that the Lions were basically playing a third string Australian team, they were bloody lucky to win. Have to say it was one of those games that I was ashamed to have won a bit...

    Should have been a few more Lion's heads hung in shame than there were...

    Defence from both sides was atrocious (apart from that one bit from the Aussie bloke that saved the second try!) The 2 wingers were the stars of the game although that Johnny Sexton looks a bit good!

    Oh and Skethcly - surely forcing down a pint at way too early in the morning is 50% of the point of a Lions tour anyway?!?! ;)
    We're in danger of confusing passion with incompetence
    - @ddraver
  • walkingbootweather
    walkingbootweather Posts: 2,443
    Having watched these highlights I'd say we have something to build upon.

    Almost hope that the Aussies get a result on Saturday to make the final match a winner takes all affair. Will be exciting either way.
    Nobody told me we had a communication problem
  • Sewinman
    Sewinman Posts: 2,131
    Change won't happen but one of the main issues in the first test was playing two show pony backrow forwards in Croft and Heaslip. Both of them pretty unwilling to contest the breakdown or make hard yards, which exposed Phillips and basically meant Warburton was playing as a one man backrow. Heaslip is the king of jogging to the breakdown and doing a little gentle leaning and then jogging to the next one, also why won't he pick up the ball in the scrum and control it like a proper 8! :evil:

    The usual political team selection mucking up the Lions yet again.
  • Sewinman
    Sewinman Posts: 2,131
    Interesting selections.

    Replacements - Hibbard, Grant, Cole, Croft, O'Brien, Murray, Farrell, Cuthbert

    Forwards - Vunipola, T Youngs, A Jones, AW Jones, Parling, Lydiate, Warburton(c), Heaslip

    Backs - Halfpenny, Bowe, O'Driscoll, Davies, North, Sexton, B Youngs


    Shit bench...worrying. Only 7 welsh too...I suppose the good thing is that they won't get broken, as per last Lions tour.
  • cjcp
    cjcp Posts: 13,345
    By leaving out Tualagi and Faletau, I'm assuming he's saving them for the third test. Maitland must be a little disappointed not to make the bench. Lydiate only cover for the second row?
    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
    Do NOT like that selection. I think the Aussies will have our and their gameplans worked out with a whiteboard in about 15 minutes.
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  • cjcp
    cjcp Posts: 13,345
    Greg66 Tri v2.0 wrote:
    Do NOT like that selection. I think the Aussies will have our and their gameplans worked out with a whiteboard in about 15 minutes.

    Don't worry, we've got this. :mrgreen:
    FCN 2-4.

    "What happens when the hammer goes down, kids?"
    "It stays down, Daddy."
    "Exactly."
  • The Rookie
    The Rookie Posts: 27,812
    That's another few years we'll have to wait for a Lions series win, what a chronic selection......
    Currently riding a Whyte T130C, X0 drivetrain, Magura Trail brakes converted to mixed wheel size (homebuilt wheels) with 140mm Fox 34 Rhythm and RP23 suspension. 12.2Kg.
  • Sewinman
    Sewinman Posts: 2,131
    Cracking selections for the Lions and a good nasty bench to bring on. Lions by ten.
  • redhanded
    redhanded Posts: 139
    BOD being dropped is the big talking point. He didn't play well in the 2nd test but neither did Davies and Davies was at fault for AAC's try.

    Roberts + BOD would have been a lot of people's choice for the ideal centre partnership before the tour but it looks like Gatland thinks they won't gel in time.... or maybe BOD is less than impressed with Gatland's game plan so he has picked centres who will do what they are told?

    Faletau and SOB is a back-row for boshing... but why did he pick show pony back row players like Heaslip and Croft for the previous games?

    Lions tactics look like - Faletau - bosh! SOB - bosh!, Roberts - bosh! and he will try to bosh the Australians into submission. If the Lions set-piece holds up, it may well work, but it won't be pretty.
  • greg66_tri_v2.0
    greg66_tri_v2.0 Posts: 7,172
    Sewinman wrote:
    Cracking selections for the Lions and a good nasty bench to bring on. Lions by ten.

    Good luck with that. This is a series which, by rights, we should have already lost 2-0. Beale's slip is the only reason we're still in with a shout.

    This does not look like the selection of a coach who's suddenly worked out his winning combinations. It looks like the selection of one who still doesn't have much of an idea of what those winning combinations are.

    I hope I'm wrong, but I see us bouncing off the Wallabies' defensive wall for most of the game. The Wallabies will pick up a score or two on the counterattack, and I wouldn't be surprised to see them ahead by 5-10 points with 20 to go. We will go chasing the game and open up our defence to seal it for the Wallabies.

    As I say, really hope I'm wrong.
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  • Sewinman
    Sewinman Posts: 2,131
    It is Gatland picking the players he always wanted to pick but was under pressure not to.
  • ddraver
    ddraver Posts: 26,388
    Totally agree Greg, Gatland's gone scurrying back to his boys. One of those things where if it works it ll be the best decision ever made and if not then it ll be the most blatent failed attempt at Welsh national showing off...
    We're in danger of confusing passion with incompetence
    - @ddraver
  • greg66_tri_v2.0
    greg66_tri_v2.0 Posts: 7,172
    Sewinman wrote:
    It is Gatland picking the players he always wanted to pick but was under pressure not to.


    i-find-your-lack-of-faith-disturbing.jpg
    Lord Vadar wrote:
    I find your faith disturbing.

    I fear that just because he always wanted to pick them doesn't mean that they are the best players to pick. That's the issue, see.
    Swim. Bike. Run. Yeah. That's what I used to do.

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  • Sewinman
    Sewinman Posts: 2,131
    Good to see people getting behind the Lions team.....oh.
  • ddraver
    ddraver Posts: 26,388
    Wales had their chance last year...It's the turn of the British and Irish this year...
    We're in danger of confusing passion with incompetence
    - @ddraver
  • pollys_bott
    pollys_bott Posts: 1,012
    Greg66 Tri v2.0 wrote:
    jamesco wrote:
    Greg66 Tri v2.0 wrote:
    But just how on earth DO you crush the Wallabies and overrun them in the last 20?
    This is how :)

    Keep Corbs & Jones on for as long as possible and the next game is in the bag.

    Almost proves *my* point! Almost...

    RWC semi, in NZ. 14-6 to the ABs at half time. The second half score is 6-0 to the ABs, despite (from the highlights) seeming to play almost the whole 40 mins in the Aussie half. No tries. I wonder what the Australian defensive stats for the second 40mins look like against the other top 6 world sides. Pretty bloody good, I'd bet.

    What about the QF? My Afrikaaner work colleague will go to his grave not knowing how the Saffers lost that game. One of the best defensive displays I've ever seen, by the Aussies or anyone else...
  • stu-bim
    stu-bim Posts: 384
    Shocking to drop BOD from the squad but even worse for two players centres coming back from injury. We could end up with North or Farrell playing centre with JD
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  • Sewinman
    Sewinman Posts: 2,131
    Come on - get behind the shirt. I would LOVE to see the f'ing Aussies battered, regardless who does it. 12 of the 23 are not Welsh.
  • ddraver
    ddraver Posts: 26,388
    Suppose you welsh are nt as used to doing it as the rest of us ;)
    We're in danger of confusing passion with incompetence
    - @ddraver
  • greg66_tri_v2.0
    greg66_tri_v2.0 Posts: 7,172
    Interesting piece by Phil Bennett here: http://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/0/rugby-union/23157738

    The reason for Manu being on the bench in place of BOD had crossed my mind too. I would rather have seen JR + BOD/JD starting, with the other of BOD/JD on the bench.
    Swim. Bike. Run. Yeah. That's what I used to do.

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  • Sewinman
    Sewinman Posts: 2,131
    Greg66 Tri v2.0 wrote:
    Interesting piece by Phil Bennett here: http://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/0/rugby-union/23157738

    The reason for Manu being on the bench in place of BOD had crossed my mind too. I would rather have seen JR + BOD/JD starting, with the other of BOD/JD on the bench.

    JR is the most likely to get injured/tire, thus you need a replacement for his crash ball. Manu is the obvious replacement.

    Fair play to Gatland - he could have picked a team to keep the various biased pundits happy and the English press, but instead has picked on form and gone for a win or bust strategy. If we lose he will get crucified. F'ing ballsy really.
  • stu-bim
    stu-bim Posts: 384
    Sewinman wrote:
    Fair play to Gatland.....but instead has picked on form....

    How is picking a centre and his cover on the bench both returning for injury picking 'on form'

    Complete rubbish
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  • Sewinman
    Sewinman Posts: 2,131
    stu-bim wrote:
    Sewinman wrote:
    Fair play to Gatland.....but instead has picked on form....

    How is picking a centre and his cover on the bench both returning for injury picking 'on form'

    Complete rubbish

    Because the man dropped is out of form?
  • stu-bim
    stu-bim Posts: 384
    http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VttNqKXu84o#action=share
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  • cjcp
    cjcp Posts: 13,345
    BOD was lucky to be on the tour in the first place. A bigger shock is that Tulagi wasn't starting ahead of him.

    BOD's powers are waning. It wouldn't surprise me if much of the media who-ha is because commentators don't want to say he should have been dropped.
    FCN 2-4.

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

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