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The Lions 2013

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Dead certs so far for me:

North
Halfpenny
Phillips
BOD
A Jones
O'Connell
Warburton
Falatau

Vunipola or Corbisiero
Youngs or Hibberd
Gray or A W Jones
Bowe or Cuthbert (Bowe if fully fit)
Tuilagi or Roberts
Sexton or Farrell
Lydiate or O'Brien
 
I don't think Warburton's nailed on (he certainly shouldn't be), I reckon Roberts will beat Tuilagi to a Test spot because of (a) the BOD/Roberts combo and (b) Tuilagi's injury, and Best should be ahead of Hibbard in the Test reckoning. Agree otherwise.
 
I think he's nailed on and I think it'll prove to be a mistake. He's no better than the others in the back row and his form is the worst of the bunch. And it's pretty clear O'Connell is the leader in this side.
 
Rosco said:
Tipuric has been way better than Captain Fantastic thus far.
Click to expand...

I think you need to let go of the fact that Sam has quite rightly been named skipper ahead of BOD and O'Connell. They both had their chances (BOD lasted about 10 mins of the first test + we got humped and O'Connell couldn't lead us to glory).

Sam has played 1 game so far after a injury and you're already having a pop. Lets not forget that the last international that Warburton played in he got MOTM in one of the best performances iby a northern hemispere sides in decades.

Tipuric is a fine player and could turn out to be a truly world class player, but Sam is by far the best 7 on tour.
 
JJ: If Tuilagi is fit then i really think he has every chance to get the nod mate. He just has that x factor that not many of our backs can bring to the table.
 
Rafa - Rob Kearney is the best prototype fullback about. I would not consider playing him given he's been injured and Halfpenny's form is good.

Warburton is a prototype 7, but he's been injured and is being outplayed by all around him. Like Kearney I wouldn't put him in for the first test either.

I don;t care what he did in one game last year, I care about what he's doing now - which is fuck all.
 
Rosco said:
He doesn't have to do anything. Gatland just needs to realise how bad the other two are.
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Youngs was named the Aviva Premiership hooker opf the season
Hibberd was named six nations hooker of the tournament and ranked 1st in the lions index (based on HC performances).

The only game that Best has played in so far on tour and the lineout was reported as being dodgy + as usual he was less than dynamic around the park.

Since the squad was named you've had it it in for Sam and anyone who is selected ahead of Best, but I remember you doing the same about how Stephen Jones would cost us the match when he was seleceted over anothe rone of your poster boys last tour...........................and we all know how that one turned out.
 
Rosco said:
He doesn't have to do anything. Gatland just needs to realise how bad the other two are.
Click to expand...

Youngs was named the Aviva Premiership hooker opf the season
Hibberd was named six nations hooker of the tournament and ranked 1st in the lions index (based on HC performances).

The only game that Best has played in so far on tour and the lineout was reported as being dodgy + as usual he was less than dynamic around the park.

Since the squad was named you've had it it in for Sam and anyone who is selected ahead of Best, but I remember you doing the same about how Stephen Jones would cost us the match when he was seleceted over anothe rone of your poster boys last tour...........................and we all know how that one turned out.
 
"Less than dynamic" - he outworks every other hooker in the game. And he's not a fucking liability in the scrum like Hibbard who clearly has limited understanding of body positioning. And Best threw one bad ball in that game you're referring too, have a look at how many HIbbard threw today against a bunch of amateurs.

Youngs can be named whatever he wants but with that throwing technique he will cost us.

I'm intrigued to know what the fuck the Lions Index is
 
Ross:

You're naive if you think that selection would be 100% based on performances put in during these warm up matches. When you are talking about players like Phillips, BOD, O'Connell, A Jones and Sam then it's fair to say that if they are fit then they will start the first test regardless of how they've performed. The fact is that these players are soooooooooooooo clearly better than any other players in the squad in their positions.

It's like being given a choice between an out of form Ian Rush or an in form Andy Carroll.
 
Rosco said:
"Less than dynamic" - he outworks every other hooker in the game. And he's not a fucking liability in the scrum like Hibbard who clearly has limited understanding of body positioning. And Best threw one bad ball in that game you're referring too, have a look at how many HIbbard threw today against a bunch of amateurs.

Youngs can be named whatever he wants but with that throwing technique he will cost us.

I'm intrigued to know what the fuck the Lions Index is
Click to expand...

LOL.

Hibberd is a beast in the scrum, you have no idea what your on about if you think he's a liabilty in this area. For club or country nobody has ever mentioned that area of his game as anything other than a strength.

You constantly mock Youngs obvious abilities, yet turn a blind eye to the fact that Best has numerous limitations AND does not fit in with how Gatland wants the Lions to play.
 
Didn't see the game today and judging by what Rosco has said Hibbard must have been fucking awful if Best has leapfrogged ahead of him seeing as how Best couldn't hit a barn door in the last game.
 
Brendan4PM said:
Ross:

You're naive if you think that selection would be 100% based on performances put in during these warm up matches. When you are talking about players like Phillips, BOD, O'Connell, A Jones and Sam then it's fair to say that if they are fit then they will start the first test regardless of how they've performed. The fact is that these players are soooooooooooooo clearly better than any other players in the squad in their positions.

It's like being given a choice between an out of form Ian Rush or an in form Andy Carroll.
Click to expand...

If Gatland wants to pick unfit, out of form players that's his business.

I fully expect him to pick Warburton, i fully expect it to be a mistake. I'm not naive at all, I'm saying Gatland could look very stupid.

Rafa your Powell love showed the type of rugby fan you are, you have zero appreciation for the finer points of the game. I'm aware Hibbard is strong, but he's far from a beast in the scrum which involves a hell of a lot more than just strength.
 
Dahuge said:
Didn't see the game today and judging by what Rosco has said Hibbard must have been fucking awful if Best has leapfrogged ahead of him seeing as how Best couldn't hit a barn door in the last game.
Click to expand...


Ie. He missed *one* throw without the benefit of training with the lads for more than a few days and working on calls.
 
Rosco said:
If Gatland wants to pick unfit, out of form players that's his business.

I fully expect him to pick Warburton, i fully expect it to be a mistake. I'm not naive at all, I'm saying Gatland could look very stupid.

Rafa your Powell love showed the type of rugby fan you are, you have zero appreciation for the finer points of the game. I'm aware Hibbard is strong, but he's far from a beast in the scrum which involves a hell of a lot more than just strength.
Click to expand...

I suspect that you were a small prop who always used to get battered by bigger players when you played rugby, hence why you always bang on about the 'finer points' of the game (you were probably technically good,but physically shite).

With regards to Hibbard and your comments about him being a liability in the scrum, well basically that just tells me that you have never watched him play except for in these warm up matches. Next you'll be telling me that Jamie Roberts is short and that ROG can tackle.

You're doing what you always do........Over rating the Irish boys and talking shite about players who you know very little about.
 
England centre Billy Twelvetrees is joining the British and Irish Lions' tour of Australia as cover for the tourists' injury-affected backline.
Twelvetrees, 24, has been on England duty in Argentina, scoring a try in the 32-3 win over the Pumas at the weekend.
The Gloucester man has five England caps and played four times in this year's Six Nations Championship.
He left Buenos Aires to fly to Sydney to join up with the Lions squad on Wednesday.
Fly-halves Jonathan Sexton and Owen Farrell are struggling with a hamstring problem and a dead leg respectively, while centre Manu Tuilagi picked up a stinger injury in the 22-12 win over Queensland.
The Lions have already called up Ireland winger Simon Zebo as cover for Tommy Bowe and props Alex Corbisiero and Ryan Grant have also been drafted in following injuries to Cian Healy and Gethin Jenkins.
 
n a perfect world Warren Gatland would have jogged up the steps of the pavilion at the beautiful, sun-dappled North Sydney Oval and rattled off 15 names that would have killed any speculation about his probable Test team. Instead the Lions' hobbling head coach, still recovering from the fractured heels he suffered last year, is caught between a devilish injury list and the deep blue waters of Sydney Harbour. The niggling fitness doubts hanging over several of his pivotal figures simply refuse to ease.
If he is lucky then his two most physical young backs, George North and Manu Tuilagi, will recover from the respective hamstring and shoulder injuries that have prevented them, as well as the battered Brian O'Driscoll, from confronting the Waratahs. If they do not heal swiftly, though, the Lions are in danger of suffering a significant power cut.
With the first Test barely a week away, Gatland may yet have to find some alternative sources of energy. The side to face the Waratahs reflects that uncertainty. On paper it is the strongest-looking combination of the tour and may yet contain a dozen of Gatland's Test selection. But with O'Driscoll's body already protesting, Sam Warburton's troublesome left knee covered in strapping and Jonathan Sexton still not kicking with total freedom, these continue to be anxious times for the management. "We don't want to pick up any more knocks or injuries," Gatland admitted. "We've got almost a full complement of forwards but the backs have tended to take most of the punishment, probably because of the way we have been playing. We have been moving the ball a lot and playing a heck of a lot of rugby. It has taken its toll a little bit."
Enter, then, a clutch of candidates with a Test place suddenly within reach if they produce an attention-grabbing 80 minutes. The English trio of Tom Youngs, Mako Vunipola and Tom Croft all fall into that category, although their impact may have to be made in the first 50 minutes with their direct rivals Richard Hibbard, Alex Corbisiero and Dan Lydiate lurking on the bench.
The front row is one of several intriguing areas: are the Lions better going in with a lower-slung front row initially and bringing Hibbard and Corbisiero off the bench to turn the screw, or would they be wiser to do the opposite? The answer could well hinge on how Saturday goes.
The back row, similarly, is not yet a totally done deal. Warburton needs a big game, not just for his team's sake but to hush those who have been talking up players such as Justin Tipuric and Sean O'Brien.
There is also the question of balance: Croft's lineout work in training has been described as "awesome" by Warburton who, nevertheless, remains a massive fan of Lydiate's defensive qualities. That secure Welsh bond is one of the reasons Lydiate remains a good bet to start in Brisbane, with Croft on the bench, although the Leicester man was a Test Lion four years ago and looks sure to be so again at some stage.
Unfortunately, the decision to scrap training for the backs told its own story, further highlighted by the call-up for England's Billy Twelvetrees, who is poised to start against the ACT Brumbies in Canberra on Tuesday. With O'Driscoll, Tommy Bowe and Tuilagi all hors de combatand Jonathan Davies about to feature in his fourth game out of a possible five, it has become increasingly clear the original selection was light in the midfield department.
Gatland said: "When we looked at it there was the potential that, for next week, there could have been three or four players going into their fifth game in a row. We've got to make sure we keep a number of those players fresh for the first Test."
That ambition particularly applies to O'Driscoll, for whom there can never be enough cotton wool with a big series looming. The Irish centre did the splits attempting a painful-looking lunge at a nothing ball close to the touchline in the final minutes against the Combined Country side in Newcastle and is conspicuously absent from Saturday's matchday 23, also notable for first tour selections for his compatriots Simon Zebo and the fit-again Rob Kearney.
"The thing with Brian is that we've got to make sure we manage him," Gatland said. "We spoke about that with him before the tour, saying we didn't really want him to play more than one game a week. We said then that if his body was a little bit sore we'd make sure we keep him fresh and didn't tire him out."
More cheering is the news that the Australian Rugby Union and Robbie Deans, their coach, have finally heeded the increasing howls of public protest and released four Wallaby squad players to face the Lions in the next few days, with Dave Dennis and Rob Horne now due to feature in Sydney and the forwards Peter Kimlin and Scott Sio drafted into the Brumbies lineup.
It is better late than never and, potential injuries aside, it should benefit both the Lions and the Wallabies equally.
Lions side to face NSW Waratahs, 10.30am BST Saturday 15 June

L Halfpenny; S Maitland, J Davies, J Roberts, S Zebo; J Sexton, M Phillips; M Vunipola, T Youngs, A Jones, AW Jones, P O'Connell, T Croft, S Warburton (capt), J Heaslip. Replacements R Hibbard, A Corbisiero, D Cole, G Parling, D Lydiate, B Youngs, O Farrell, R Kearney.
Click to expand...
 
Just got me a ticket for the Melb game. Thank you Accenture and your sexy corporate sponsorship freebie.
 
Justin Lee Collins has been crap since he came on.
No clean line out ball, the scrum is worse.
 
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