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Lions squad
Lions squad
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Replies: 89
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You're probably right about O'Donnell , but he did have the great David Wallace in front of him and he has bulked up and is the future, even at 25 for me is young!
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Gatland is not interested in the future though, he's interested in the here and now. Otherwise Wade (surely the 'form' winger?), Madigan and a few others would be thrown in. Keith Earls was that sort of pick last time round and he was rubbish. Had he got in this time I imagine he would have been far better, but no such luck.
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I have watched Croft a lot and I don't rate him , simple as .......
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A substantial "Welsh " flavour to the Lions , front and back of house . Just hope it all works out , my own relationship with the Welsh has always been brilliant , fellow Celts and all that . Not sure that comment applies to all the Welsh "neighbours" . Touring parties sometimes dont add up to the sum of all the parts .
Scotland with only 3 might feel a little left out , particularly as one of those 3 is not native , parachute job . |
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Try watching the heineken QF or Northampton v Leicester. Those two games are why he got in. That and previous Lions form I guess. I don't think it's coincidence that every head coach picks Croft when given the chance.
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plus Croft can cover 2nd row at a push
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which allows gatland to pick more back-rowers
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Oh ok Mr SKY bosses
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True, although it doesn't look like a squad where cover has been a major consideration.
Launchbury a little unlucky to be left out, especially as Richie Gray has done very little all season, but I guess O'Connell's barnstorming return put paid to his chances. Still plenty of time for a few fringe players to find themselves on the plane though, there must be a few injuries still to come. |
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Yes, a Lions pick is all about SKY TV somehow. Also, the moon landing was faked, the US government was responsible for 9/11 etc etc.. It's all a conspiracy don't you know.
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Apparently Stevens can sing, every squad needs a good singer
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Matt Stevens
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they could have the welsh and Scotland team and beat the aussies there ****,
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no irish or English in the squad and beat these diddlys
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Appearing soon on SKY TV, the magic double act of Houdini (Heaslip)and his lovely assistant Croft.
I hear they do a lovely dissappearing act |
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I'm with North. Ryan Grant can count himself desperately unlucky not to be picked.
Better in the loose than all the fatties bar Vunipola but a way better prop than him. Thought his brace of try's against the Spreys would have sealed it. The debacle at the scrum for Scotland against the Taffs wasn't his fault imo but poor perceived weekness on the refs part. |
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Who will cover outhalf from the bench in the midweek games?
Two outhalves with 10 games in 5 weeks  |
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the lack of a utility back or a third fly is truly baffling. I'd wager a large sum one will appear in the squad in the next 3 weeks. Hook the likeliest. Murray is probably the 6th best scrum half in the home nations.
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Will Johnny Wilkinson not be joining the tour ? Think I would have a bet on him appearing sometime in OZ this summer . The Aussies will target Farrell , dont think he would sustain their pressure based on observation to date . There is a bit of Aussie Rules thinking still inherent in Aussie sport .
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Wilkinson ruled himself out according to 5Live. Gatland called him and he said he didn't think his body could cope. I'd imagine Flood, Hook or Biggar is the next cab off the rank (although it should be Laidlaw imo).
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Watching the TV now , Wilkinson apparently opted out , which explains his omission . But he is definitley First Sub !
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I don't think they'll be targeting farrell with water bottles while he's on ze bench, now they might just target Sexton on the field
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Wilkinson would be a fairly miserable bugger to have on tour anyway.
I am not happy with the prospect of Dylan Hartley wearing my British and Irish Lions shirt. He is just not a very pleasant man. I think on balance it is a fairly ordinary Lions squad. Australia will be licking their lips imo. |
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Great to see gingCat back btw...I had assumed that a poor diet had done for him.
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Funny , Ozy , I always liked Wilkinson although he was aften a thorn in our side . I always felt that with Johnny , what you saw was what you got . Possibly too honest , maybe not very interested in a physical tour to Australia at this stage in his career . Has a stellar record though over the years on the best England team ever , changed kicking perception forever especially for the younger generation .
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Farrell lucky his dad is on the coaching team.
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A few surprise selections for me and by definition a few surprise omissions also.
Certainly thought Zebo would have been picked in front of Maitland. Mike Brown is not and will probably never be an international class winger Expected to see 3 fly halves included or at the very least a utility player such as Hook or Laidlaw selected. Serious workload on sexton and Farrell who apart from injuries will tog out for and quite possibly appear in every match of the tour. Hartley? No Best? Not many have mentioned him on this thread but I thought Jim Hamilton deserved a call up possibly in front of his Scottish teammate Gray Robshaw had a decent 6 nations playing a certain intense style of play that has certainly caused his effectiveness to decrease as the season goes on. I thought he would have been picked and indeed only 5 weeks ago certain experts (OZY) had him starting. Having said that I would not have picked him. English style of back play has been rewarded with only one outside back been picked along with 2 halfbacks. Vis a vis O'Donnell , I could argue for POM but Tommy will do fine in the USA I for one will be lumping on the LIONS to win the series and to win the series 3-0 |
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When will Wilkinson join the tour?
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A very conservative squad overall I think. 63 comments and not one mention of Tom Youngs? If Best doesn't get in for his throwing...
I'm disgusted with the selection of Maitland who only decided he was Scottish a few months ago while selecting Gray and Lydiate makes a mockery of his mantra to be picking on form. I'm not Hamilton's biggest fan (a penalty machine), but he was superb in the 6N. Think he might be injured? There's not one broken field runner in the entire backline who would fancy to do something exceptional from 80 metres (maybe Youngs or Hogg), which I think is very sad to see given the history of the Lions. Heaven forbid anything happens to Ben Youngs or Jonny Sexton. |
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Spread on the number of injury replacements called out?
7-9 I reckon. So a lot of the disappointees will get to go IMO. |
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Big dunc , is Maitland not playing for Scotland because he was unlikely to ever get picked for his country of birth ? Unless of course he is a Petersen type character ( which I doubt ) .
Dont mind him myself , has played well in last year we have seen him , but dont see him terrifying the Aussies if he gets a pick for the big ones . |
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Maitland being a part of the Lions squad when he was probably roaring NZ on to beat them 8 years ago leaves a bitter taste in the mouth. He's more Maori than he is Scottish and has been capped by NZ Maori as well as winning Underage World Cups with NZ. I've no problem with Scotland exploiting the rule, but to parachute him into the squad is just plain wrong, especially when there are far more deserving players missing out.
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I agree with Dunc...it is a fairly uninspiring squad...I think Australia have an outstanding chance and wouldn't be backing the Lions to win the Test series. Not necessarily laying them either mind. Too tight to call for me, Australia the value.
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Reasonably happy with the squad, Best omission for me is inexplicable, when hatelys picture came up on screen my wife thought I was having a stroke. An off form Best is better than a good hately,Best beasted him in Ravinhill in every dept.
I personally would have brought Care instead of Murray as he can change a game (both ways a it happens), Hamilton unlucky not to travel as is Forshaw. Suprised that no 3rd 10/utility player picked and we could see either Jonny joining after hes finished with Toulon or a Hook/Madigan type travelling even after the Baa Baas game. Still Best is a huge error and smacks of a personality clash more than anything else. |
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I see that ticket only packages have now been released to the NH public.
Melbourne bronze tickets face value $95 = £65 and a lions jersey £50 total face value cost £115. Lions package cost €429. seriously trying to feck over the NH supporter big time. |
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Sorry that should be £429 not €429. difference of £314.
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Ballaman, I was told first hand by a former Lion that very few of the official packages from the NH have sold. Still hard to get your hands on them given the way they're sold, but he seemed to think you'd have no trouble picking them up over there. A friend of mine living in Aus got an email off the ARU to say that a number of tickets for all matches were going on sale again yesterday morning to Aus residents, so I suspect they've sold only a fraction of what they're letting on.
They were looking for the guts of a grand for that package that you listed above earlier in the year. |
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Cheers Dunc, I have two for brisbane and a friend got me two for sydney which Im hoping to swap for Melbourne as im not going to stay for the 3rd test.
Things are looking up on that front, its just a pity that they are totally creaming the supporters, i wouldnt mind paying a few € over the odds but €700 over the odds for two tickets from an official source is outrageous. They seem to have overestimated the spending power of the NH supporter,even the Lions arent recession proof. |
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There's not one broken field runner in the entire backline who would fancy to do something exceptional from 80 metres (maybe Youngs or Hogg), which I think is very sad to see given the history of the Lions.
Reckon 1/2p may fit the bill too dunc. You could possibly look outside the backline at Croft and Tipuric too. Actually think the call with the 10s is a good one looking at the situation. They obviously want Johnny to go and they are going to call on him at some point with the lack of cover in the position. This way, the selected squad can get on with things without having to worry about a late-comer, it suits Wilkinson's commitments in the French league and offers the touring party a big boost when he turns up. It's the sort of boost you can see Robshaw giving the squad when he invariably gets on a plane too. Stevens is a poor choice. I'm assuming he's being taken on the basis that he can play both sides. |
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Cuthbert always looks decent to me in broken play situations, strong runner and hard to stop when he gets up a head of steam.
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