Off Topic The lions are here

Ouch Gatling picked too many taffs

 

His selections were questionable although I thought Williams was outstanding. Win Jones should never have started however.

 

I'd like to see it Col, I think they are trying to arrange a game because for some daft reason they hadn't scheduled one for years. Would be good to see both teams head to head after they had a run of challenging games to get up to top speed. One thing with the Lions, they had played together (and not actually together given the massive team changes playing twice a week) a grand total of 6 times against good but not Test class opposition before today. The All Blacks have evolved seamlessly for years, losing legends as they retire but seeming to find new ones at will.

 

Had far to much pilsner tonight

Need to get up early tomorrow to watch the Americas cup

Go team new Zealand

 

Not taking chances and to many pens, means you don't beat the All Blacks.

 

Typical Scots, after beating the Aussies last week and rising to No.4 in the World Rankings they now lose to Fiji...

 

I'll get slated for what I'm
about to say but fu•k it, I'll say it anyway. Gatland is the wrong man. He's incredibly limited and taken a fantastic bunch of Welsh players and made them predictable.
2 or 3 ridiculous team selections that have to be put right quickly.
Itoje,stander and Sexton simply have to start. Itoje is world class and incredibly dynamic and athletic. His off loading in the tackle is All Black standard. Stander is the inform number 6/7/8 in world rugby. It's ludicrous he's not in the staring 15. He is world class and has been consistently playing better than every other player in the northern hemisphere.
Sexton's credentials are unquestionable. As well as being a six nations winner, grand slam winner, European player of the year, triple Heineken Cup winner, double Heineken Cup MOTM etc etc he is truely world class. He needs to be playing. He's also only one of 5 players in that immediate squad who have beaten these guys. Don't underestimate how difficult it is to near NZ. Talk whatever Sh1te you want, but only a handful of players in that squad have beaten the All Blacks and don't fear them. The next team has to be mainly a combination of English and Irish players. Sorry but that's the truth. Picking players from a Welsh squad that has finished fourth and fifth in the last 2 Six Nations is ridiculous and shows what a plonker Gatland is. The English or Irish team both have the capacity to play and perform better than what we saw today. Stop believing the dribble SKY are advertsising. We were given a lesson in basics today. Gatland is way out of his depth . Not in the same vicinity as a Jones or a Schmidt. We'll be beaten 3-0.

 

If Jones was managing the Lions I think there would might have been a different outcome. He certainly wouldn't have brought in several second rate replacements to the squad just because they happened to be nearby at the time and he'd have targetted the All Blacks weaknesses, look at them when England scored their try, for 20 minutes they were rattled but we gave away a cheap try and the opportunity was gone. I think it's a long way back from this result and with better players sitting at home instead of in this squad 3-0 looks very likely...

 

Nuts you are not wrong with Itoje. I said earlier in the post that I think NZ would target him as he does look class. I don't have any problems with foreign coaches for national teams at all. I have been lucky enough to go on tour with The Lions to SA, OZ and NZ as a supporter and The British and Irish Lions is something that is so so special that only English, Irish, Scottish or Welsh coach's really understand what it means. Players are rightly so proud to wear The Jersey for their country, but to wear The Lions Jersey they say it is so special.

 

Sooper agree with you about the 6 players Gatland chose because 'They were in OZ or NZ'. I said earlier that 'It devalues the jersey' as to be a Lion you are the best from the 4 nations.

 

Bloody lions can't even beat the hurricanes
Was a good night out
But
I have to work in Wellington

 

Doesn't look good for the next 2 tests does it?

 

Completely agree with everything here mate, except Sexton. He has been a fabulous, World Class 10, but he seems to have gone right off and doesn't look a patch on Farrell imo.
Gatland has been terrible and his selections ridiculous.

3-0 without a doubt.

 

British and Irish Lions: Warren Gatland did not want to 'devalue shirt'
By Chris Jones
BBC Radio 5 live rugby reporter, Westpac Stadium, Wellington
The controversy over the British and Irish Lions call-ups influenced the decision not to bring them off the bench against the Hurricanes, says coach Warren Gatland.
Four of the eight replacements did not feature as the Lions let slip a 14-point lead to draw 31-31 at the Westpac Stadium in Wellington.
George Kruis and Leigh Halfpenny came off the bench, but Finn Russell - as a brief replacement - was the only 'geographical' call-up to play a part.
Gatland said: "So much was made about devaluing the jersey, so we made a decision we would try and get through the game with as many of the starting XV as we could."
Russell, Allan Dell, Kristian Dacey, Tomas Francis, Cory Hill and Gareth Davies were called up to the squad as injury cover because they were already in Australasia with their national teams.
A host of former Lions criticised the decision to select players for logistical reasons rather than on merit.
Of the six, only Dell - against the Chiefs - and Russell - on Tuesday - have played for the Lions in New Zealand, and both only briefly as injury replacements.
"I understand people's views, so you've got to take cognisance of that," said Gatland.
"So we make a collective decision that we make them injury or HIA (head injury assessment) replacements, which is what happened on two occasions."
Lawes and Henderson in Test frame
The Lions trail 1-0 in the three-Test series against the All Blacks.
Second rows Courtney Lawes and Iain Henderson stood out in Wellington, with Lawes' withdrawal early in the second half pointing to his inclusion in the 23-man squad for the second Test at the same ground on Saturday.
Henderson was the Lions' outstanding performer, but a yellow card for foul play after 65 minutes proved costly as the Hurricanes came from behind to salvage a draw.
"He carried fantastically well," said Gatland, who described Henderson's yellow card as a "crucial moment".
"It was a penalty to us which ends up being a penalty reversed and a yellow card and that's the game."
Gatland added: "Courtney Lawes carried well too in the first half. It's a position right from the start where we knew we had a lot of strength.
"It's a toss-up in terms of selection. Those two guys had really strong games tonight to give us some real food for thought."
Gatland said the coaching staff will meet on Wednesday evening to discuss the squad and tell the players on Thursday.
Clown comparison doesn't worry Gatland

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New Zealander Gatland said he does not care that the New Zealand Herald newspaper mocked up a picture of him as a clown on their front page.
All Blacks coach Steve Hansen
described Gatland's accusations that New Zealand illegally targeted scrum-half Conor Murray in the first Test as "desperate".
"I'm not worried about what Steve Hansen says or what any newspaper draws me up as," said Gatland. "I just hope it was a happy clown!
"There's been a significant campaign against me personally, but that's water off a duck's back to me.
"I've just got to concentrate on doing my job and not worry about any specific individuals who try and make it personal. It's part of professional sport."

 

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Not AWJ at number 5. Caps for the boys.

 

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While this is a better team selection IMO, he's still off the mark. Would have liked to see Itoje and Laws play together and O'Mahoney, O'Brien and Stander at 6,7 and 8. Warburton needs to have the game of his life to justify his selection. He's overrated and has brought nothing to the party. AWJ is a warrior and I like the way he plays but not sure he can play at the intensity required for more than 40-50 minutes.
Delighted to see Sexton and Murray combination at 9 and 10. IMO they are the best combination in world rugby and potentially the only combination we have that's better than what NZ have to offer in those positions. Sexton will ping them back into the corners. Like it or not that's European rugby. We will only beat them playing European style rugby. Nobody likes to be running backwards. NZ are incredibly mobile and athletic and despite what some think I don't see us beating them trying to play champagne rugby. Farrell has the brain to create space in a tight midfield but may be exposed physically. They will certainly target him and run down his channel. I thought in the heat of battle last week he disappeared and didn't control the game like a 10 needs to. For me he's a world class player still learning the game.

 

Whilst ignoring the Gatland/Welsh bashing, I believe Gatland has potentially made 2 mistakes - AWJ and Farrell. Unless there is a better understanding between Itoje and AWJ and Vunipola steps up, the tight 5 look a little underdone. I would have preferred Henderson alongside Itoje but AWJ a good option in the lineout alongside Itoje and the Lions should have figured out how to stop the ABs disrupting the aftermath of the lineout. I shouldn't mention that the AB tactic defending lineout is bordering illegal, but I will. I predict there will be faster ball from lineout plays as a result.

Farrell conceding 3 stones to SBW is an obvious mismatch and guarantee the ABs will go narrow on many occasions, the back row will have to be at 100% to counter this. That's why Warburton is back in - O'Mahoney had a quieter game than he promised - and they should look to make more gain from the breakdown than last week. Still think I'd prefer Te'o at 12 regardless.

Considering we were meant to be strong in the forwards with a quick set of backs, individual errors at key moments cost the match - poor decision making under pressure was evident - Kruis, O'Brien, Daley, Furlong, Vunipola, Williams and Farrell had those moments at inopportune times. I watched it live and again the following day; it was a cracker of a test match.

The back 3 justified their selection with an attacking mindset that unsettled the ABs at times, I trust they get more opportunities this week and are clinical with their execution. I won't tire of watching the Lions first try - absolutely superb finishing and a sign of what can be achieved.

I hope Conor and Johnny don't give the ball back as often as last week, the ABs love the ball and score 70% of their tries from unstructured play (I read that somewhere).

That's my ten pence worth, I'm optimistic and would love to see it go to a decider.

DON'T PANIC AND CHEER ON THE LIONS, LIONS

 

Excellent post Ian.
I know I have been harsh on Gatland but I just don't rate him. He's too one dimensional for my liking.
Your point about the individual error count is well made. The ferocity at which the ABs played seemed to catch several of our players and I do expect an improvement on Saturday now that they have experienced what's coming. The Lions did not dominate the scrum as they had expected giving the ABs plenty of primary possession. I fully expect Sexton to consistently kick for territory and the Lions to try and pin the ABs back as much as possible. The Sexton Farrell axis will win or lose the match for the Lions IMO.

 

Fair play, the referee may make a difference too. French ref and Northern hemisphere interpretation.

Hoping they've learnt from last week, but expecting the ABs to improve too.

Was impressed with ABs handling last week, haven't seen the forecast but rain and wind could be a good leveller. Barrett was ridiculously assured wherever he was; Read was exceptional as was Retallick. Oh and i did i mention how good Aaron Smith was? Bugger, they've put Dagg at 15.

Still hopeful.

You enjoy your breakfast, it's 5.30pm start here and I have a bunch of fanatics meeting at the local