1927
Funnier than he thinks he is.
I noticed the improvement when he came on ! Not!
Tips is head and shoulders above him.
British and Irish Lions 2017
- Thread starter bendeus
- Start date
Tips is head and shoulders above him.
Grandma Death
Reconfiguring & Reconstructing
Very disappointing today. Some flashes of brilliance from the Lions but flashes arent enough The ABs work rate is immemse. They rarely take their foot of the pedal-and I dont think they had their foot all the way down today either. I thought our handling errors and penalty count was inexcusable today. That first AB try was forward IMO. But other than that it almost felt like they were toying with us. The ABs see scoring opportunities where other teams play safe. I was blown away by that Lions try first half-but I could see it was on because the support was there. Then the ABs came back with an immense Dagg (was it Dagg?-the one that was almost length of pitch) try second half which I didnt even think was on.
Anyway Id start with Itoje next test. His work rate was immense. Also Webb. Im baffled that other teams havent worked out or appear to always stop his sniping tries-he's know for it at the Ospreys. His trademark. Yet some teams struggle with it
Anyway Id start with Itoje next test. His work rate was immense. Also Webb. Im baffled that other teams havent worked out or appear to always stop his sniping tries-he's know for it at the Ospreys. His trademark. Yet some teams struggle with it
sleaterkinney
Well-Known Member
ABs were clinical, we weren't. Disappointing.
Basically. They took their chances, the Lion weren't clinical enough.
Watson looked a lot brighter than in the provincial games I saw. And I didn't think I'd ever see someone make Daly look slow.
Mr Retro
Beware hedgehogs
You have to frame everything against the massive pressure we were under. And against just how fuckkng good they are.
For me AWJ has to start as a leader and lineout man. Murrays kicks were one of the few things that bothered the AB's and he's just better than Webb.
Maybe a bit of mental stuff will help the Lions? "They came right the fuck through ye last week. Are ye going to lie down to that this week?"
But it's a different game now. Would that lions could call 99 and pile into them. Though they'd lose there too I think.
1927
Funnier than he thinks he is.
I am so tempted to agree with you on AWJ cos I think he's awesome and has an impeccable pedigree but maybe I've been looking at Planet Rugby too much where they hate him with a passion . My point about Murray is he's a one trick Pony and he's too easy to suss out. Webb may not be a better passer, but he offers another option at SH, as he proved today. Murray would not have scored that try if he'd stayed on the field for the month of July on his own !
Mr Retro
Beware hedgehogs
I don't Read Planet Rugby but fuck them in this instance because they're wrong.
We will disagree about Murray. I think he's the best scrum half playing the game by a mile. To give balance that I'm not a one eyed paddy I think Wharburton should be ahead of SOB. I think a fully fit pure 7 should be first on the team sheet.
bendeus
Bellend Tagline Generator
Utter, gold plated bollocks. If you think Tipuric brings more to the elite game than Warburton you need your head examined.
bendeus
Bellend Tagline Generator
Also gold plated bollocks. You can do better than this.
E2A: I should qualify myself: being a great 9 doesn't simply require making sniping runs to score tries in matches that have already been determined.
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bendeus
Bellend Tagline Generator
He's not as good as Erron Smuth but he's way better than Webb. Think the French kiddie (forget his name) is going to eclipse him soon as the best in the NH but right now he's that for sure.
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bendeus
Bellend Tagline Generator
Webb lacks the consistency and decision making to be a Lions test starter.
Grandma Death
Reconfiguring & Reconstructing
Give him a chance to play then I say. At the very least he can play wed. After a run out see if he's up to second test. I agree he's inconsistent. But when he's on form he's formidable in my opinion
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1927
Funnier than he thinks he is.
He may not be as good as Murray, but he can do 3 things at SH, whilst Murray can only do 2!
gawkrodger
Well-Known Member
gawkrodger
Well-Known Member
Has Nowell ever played full back?
bendeus
Bellend Tagline Generator
Better class of staff for Warrenball, though.About half an hour in I noted that Hansen had set up a great Warrenball side for the game
bendeus
Bellend Tagline Generator
Gatland has stated that he couldn’t field the players for political reasons. So why the fuck bother in the first place? Why not call up Launchbury et al so they can play.
BTW - I reckon that Gareth Davies is a better scrum half than Laidlaw, who has been embarrassingly shit this tour.
BTW - I reckon that Gareth Davies is a better scrum half than Laidlaw, who has been embarrassingly shit this tour.
Balbi
Hey, Dean Yager!
If Alun Wyn Jones had two broken legs Gatland would pick him, appears to be a Kiwi first response here. Followed by 'What did Ben Teo do wrong then?', followed by 'I thought Gats said Farrell wasn't a 12' and so on and so on.
Having Lawes, Stander and Te'o off the bench is good for punch, I guess but this looks like an odd side. I feel for O'Mahoney as well, poor bugger.
Watson's going to have Ioane running at him. Guess his defence better improve
Having Lawes, Stander and Te'o off the bench is good for punch, I guess but this looks like an odd side. I feel for O'Mahoney as well, poor bugger.
Watson's going to have Ioane running at him. Guess his defence better improve
OzT
Online early mornings when at work ....
Well except for AWJ maybe his strongest pack without Hartley being on tour. Attacking pacey back 3 though not convinced about the centres and half backs. they're solid enough but wil lthey get the ball out to the wingers?
Not worth looking at thre kiwi side. They're like England, a good squad and even 2nd/3rd placers will be compentent performers. Difference being they do have world class stars in their starting line up.
Looking forward to the game! Plenty of Lions pride tp play for, and if those back 3 get the ball in hand with a few yards space can cause havoc in the AB's line.
ETA: though my head says an AB win
Not worth looking at thre kiwi side. They're like England, a good squad and even 2nd/3rd placers will be compentent performers. Difference being they do have world class stars in their starting line up.
Looking forward to the game! Plenty of Lions pride tp play for, and if those back 3 get the ball in hand with a few yards space can cause havoc in the AB's line.
ETA: though my head says an AB win
bendeus
Bellend Tagline Generator
How, exactly, is it 'shit' and who would you have picked in its place?
bendeus
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I'd suggest that moving Farrell out to 12 shows intent to spread the ball wide and make use of our dangerous/creative back 3. Te'o has been great as a battering ram crash ball 12 but it is sometimes at the cost of getting it into the hands of the pace men. Farrell is a great second receiver who can bring players onto the ball and who is defensively very solid. A lot depends on Sexton who, tbh, has looked a shadow of his former self on this tour. Let's hope combining with his compatriot at 9 and with Farrell's nous outside him he puts in a different level of performance to what we've seen so far.
Warburton to 6 brings far greater breakdown presence and adds pace to the backrow while sacrificing a little at the lineout.
I appreciate the controversy around AWJ but would say that it's interesting how little stick Kruis has come in for after the first test in comparison to him. He was, tbh, dreadful and not at the races at all either going forward or in defence. Going to do a bit of one eyed Taff mitigation here but AWJ took a blow to the head on 18 minutes in the first test which he didn't get a HIA for. His less than stellar performance seemed to follow this. Maybe Gatland recognises the fact and is banking on a full cylinder performance on Saturday (or maybe he's just purblind when it comes to Welsh players). Guess we'll soon find out.
I think all in all it's a decent selection but, tbh, that it won't be enough. The ABs are just on another planet when it comes to the game. I reckon we'll be game and competitive for 50-60 minutes and that they'll blow us away in the final quarter. Bit like last week, really.
Smangus
comatose at a desk
The finishing has not been good enough through the tour , that's what has killed us. Think AWJ didn't look fit last week, if he has a knock he should have had an HIA , Gatland/Wales have a not great recent history at spotting this sort of thing (North). I would have thought they would have taken these recent lessons and improvements with them, not good enough from a player welfare pov and may have affected the result (think ABs would have won anyway though).
