Printable View
I think the Lions have a decent chance (again). Keep the penalty count down, get in front early and see what happens. The scrum cannot get any worse.
Shaw might even steal the odd lineout and will add considerable bulk to the scrum.
I'll go against the trend here and tip the Lions to win. I'm hoping POC makes his critics eat their words by having a stormer.
Whats simple about that??:rolleyes:Quote:
Originally Posted by OneRedArmy
He didn't say it was easy...Quote:
Originally Posted by joeSoap
Teams named:
Lions: R Kearney (Leinster and Ireland); T Bowe (Ospreys and Ireland), B O’Driscoll (Leinster and Ireland), J Roberts (Cardiff Blues and Wales), L Fitzgerald (Leinster and Ireland); S Jones (Scarlets and Wales), M Phillips (Ospreys and Wales); G Jenkins (Cardiff Blues and Wales), M Rees (Scarlets and Wales), A Jones (Ospreys and Wales), S Shaw (Wasps and England), P O’Connell (Munster and Ireland, capt), T Croft (Leicester and England), D Wallace (Munster and Ireland), J Heaslip (Leinster and Ireland).
Replacements: R Ford (Edinburgh and Scotland), A Sheridan (Sale Sharks and England), A-W Jones (Ospreys and Wales), M Williams (Cardiff Blues and Wales), H Ellis (Leicester and England), R O’Gara (Munster and Ireland), S Williams (Ospreys and Wales).
South Africa: F Steyn (Sharks); JP Pietersen (Sharks), A Jacobs (Sharks), J de Villiers (Stormers), B Habana (Bulls); R Pienaar (Sharks), F du Preez (Bulls); T Mtawarira (Sharks), B du Plessis (Sharks), J Smit (Sharks), B Botha (Bulls), V Matfield (Bulls), S Burger (Stormers), J Smith (Cheetahs), P Spies (Bulls).
Replacements: C Ralepelle (Bulls), D Carstens (Sharks), A Bekker (Stormers), D Rossouw (Bulls), H Brussow (Cheetahs), J Fourie (Lions), M Steyn (Bulls).
You insinuated that the selection of the bench will play a material role in the Lions losing the game heavily.Quote:
Originally Posted by joeSoap
I really don't think so. The pack is not far of the best 8 left out there, my only misgiving is Croft and Wallace are too similar. In the absence of a Ferris or a Worseley that's 5 years younger, there aren't many other options.
Whilst it's easy to see how the game can be won, as I said, it will require the unlikely event of all the pack playing a blinder.
Im happy with the starting 15 but I dont see how Wyn Jones got ahead of O'Callaghan on the bench. DOC done well when he came on and shaw will only have 50mins, 60 max.... So then its back to Wyn Jones and O'Connell and we all saw how that went for 60mins on saturday.
As for Shane Williams how he got in ahead of Earls is beyond me....
Does anyone else think that Gatland is making a bit of a tit of himself on this tour??
First he says after tuesdays game that he doesn't expect to be many changes...
He also says Earls impressed but yet Williams gets in ahead of him
He had to notice early on in the 1st test that Vickery was struggling but yet he didnt come off until the 45min
As Forwards coach, is it not his job to do the research on the Boks front-row... Sadly I cant put all the blame on him for that. Rowntree has to put his hand up too.
Gatland and Rowntree have a lot to answer for. The homework on 'The Beast' or whatever moniker they give him obviously wasn't done. Again, I'm not going to slate Vickery too much cos I don't believe it all to be his fault, but its down to these guys to see these problems from their lofty perches in the stands and rectify them. Gatland is a pompous, arrogant man...well he is a Kiwi, and has done himself no favours on this tour. Politics came into this team selection it saddens me to say, and I have lost a lot of respect for McGeechan for allowing it to do so. Wyn Jones in particular, and Shane Williams clearly have not had better tours than their Irish counterparts in O'Callaghan and Earls. Yet they get selected. Why? Because there's already 8Irishmen in the squad and Gatland and Gerald Davies are selectors. I know Woodward made an arse of his chance but his philosophy of having total control of selection policies is a good one. 'Accept the praise when you win, take the criticism when you lose' was his philosophy and its one I believe in. I know hindsight is a great thing, but players like Ryan Jones, Nick Easter, Tom Rees, Rory Best, Dwayne Peel and a few others would represent the jersey a lot better than some that are down there.
Ryan Jones was called into the squad but pulled out as soon as he landed! I agree with you on Peel and Rory Best. Two major omissions once O'Leary and Flannery had to pull out of the squad.Quote:
Originally Posted by joeSoap
Did you see the Gatland interview straight after the match on Tuesday? I thought he was gonna go for the Sky Sports interviewer because he had the cheek to ask some questions about the first test.
ROG got what he deserved.
Cowardly not to jump, and he knew it.
Lions ran out of steam with 20 to go and Paulie's decision to go for the posts was a bit conservative for me.
Big question over the future of the Lions. Moral victories doesn't do it.
I dont really blame ROG. That penalty was harsh. He never tried to tackle the player or use a shoulder. Bull**** penalty!!!
He turned his shoulder into it. Definitely penalty even though there wasn't much contact.Quote:
Originally Posted by JGKyne
He turned away I dont think there was much intent... Maybe im wrong :confused:Quote:
Originally Posted by DmanDmythDledge
I disagree, I thought it was the dumbest penalty I've ever seen conceded - in the context of its importance. If he jumps and misses it's not a penalty. He didn't jump because it wasn't there to be won so with his experience (and even without it) he should have had the commom sense to wait for the player to land. Stonewall penalty and totally moronic on O'Gara's part.
ROG also missed his tackle for the boks' last try. Bad day at the office though in fairness it looks like he had taken a battering.
They were up against it once the two front rowers and the two centres went off. Unlucky in that regard.
Kearney is the best fielder of a high ball I've ever seen. What a player he's going to be.
R5 Live said afterwards that gouging is a mandatory straight red so on that basis it's an easy decision for the officials. Big turning point giving Schalk Berger (spelling ?) only a yellow.
Yeah, you're wrong. He needed to jump. He took his eyes off the ball which is always a teller.Quote:
Originally Posted by JGKyne
I don't think there's much he could have done there in fairness as he took a cut to eye and his vision was obviously obscured.Quote:
Originally Posted by Stuttgart88
Completely forgot about that. Ridiculous decision for reason stated above.
Agree re Burger, ref bottled it.Quote:
Originally Posted by DmanDmythDledge
No excuse re O'Gara, once a non-tackler, always a non-tackler.
Fair play to Kearney and Shaw, legends the pair.
Shaw played good put gave away 2 penaltys for stupid high tackles...:mad:Quote:
Originally Posted by OneRedArmy
Kearney was excellent alright!!
I was looking at Fourie's try again...
Everyone is blaming O'Gara but take a look at Bowe's effort to stop him... He could have done alot better!!!
Fitzgerald also shot out of the line..
We can play the blame game but we'll be playing all night!!:rolleyes:
Well I got it very wrong....I thought they were going to get a pasting, and I'm glad to admit I was wrong.
This was heartbreaking. It was a ludicrous penalty to concede....no excuses. I'll bet that dressing room was very very silent for a while afterwards. I have sympathy with him though, because I can only imagine how he must be feeling now. Shaws post match interview said it all...When asked how he felt about finally getting a test start after 18 Lions appearances, he couldn't reply...20 seconds of silence followed by one sentence; "I really wanted to win today" after which he walked away with tears in his eyes.
Shaw was immense. Kearney too. We finally saw a nasty streak in Drico....Roussow didn't know where he was going off after that hit. We needed more of it.I thought Fitzgerald was poor, Jones very good, with Phillips that little bit too hesitant for me. Bowe and Roberts did their jobs well.
Game changed when we had to revert to non contested scrums. It gave Spies too much of a platform and enabled them to get vital scores. Sheridan and Adam Jones were immense. Paulie was Paulie, and Wally did well. Croft is a little out of his depth at this level and Heaslip was like a rabbit in the headlights all day. Can someone please tell me what the f**k Alun Wyn-Jones was doing out on that pitch?
Injuries wil see the Bull get a test place next week, and probably Earls. I hope they start ROG next week to show a bit of faith and give him the chance to restore his confidence.
Terrible, terrible way to lose a game...still sick!!:(
Burger and Botha both cited....Burger should have seen red. That ref can kiss big games bye bye for the forseeable future.
O'Gara was the last man I'd blame for Fourie's try.
Start ROG for "his confidence"?! He'll get what a 32 year old bottler deserves.
Hook will start, and rightly so, he's the future.
I'm sickened by the Munster bias on here.