TrippyLondoner
Well-Known Member
no try 
British and Irish Lions
- Thread starter mattie
- Start date
TrippyLondoner
Well-Known Member
hahahaah nice end to the series.
Red Faction
Allez Les Rouges
awesome
1927
Funnier than he thinks he is.
Even the most one-eyed saffa could not dispute the fact that Lions were the better team over 3 tests, and certainly played the most rugby! well done boys. there are some players coming back with reputations seriously enhanced. Jamie Roberts man of tour for me.
Red Faction
Allez Les Rouges
TrippyLondoner
Well-Known Member
Didn't see the match, but been a much better series than some previous ones even if we lost - if you look at the last Lions tour that was a series of thrashings. The first two matches were very close in this 
david dissadent
New Member
Never been to rural South Africa then...
Threshers_Flail
Well-Known Member
Good game, glad to see some prestige salvaged.
Why did the Saffies feel the need to wear those Justice armbands? Very childish, Botha was only banned for 2 weeks, and in light of Burgers gouging and de Villiers insane commentary on that matter, they really shouldn't be throwing their toys out of the pram. They definitely need some PR training, or a slap in the face, I'm sure Mike Phillips would oblige.
Why did the Saffies feel the need to wear those Justice armbands? Very childish, Botha was only banned for 2 weeks, and in light of Burgers gouging and de Villiers insane commentary on that matter, they really shouldn't be throwing their toys out of the pram. They definitely need some PR training, or a slap in the face, I'm sure Mike Phillips would oblige.
They're definitely my most hated rugby team. It's saying something that I would even support Australia against them... Or even France, come to that!
1927
Funnier than he thinks he is.
That sort of petualnt gesture against an IRB decision should get the whole team charged with disrepute.
Mr Retro
Beware hedgehogs
I think if the IRB don't charge them then the game is in trouble. Simple as that.
As for todays game the best player on the pitch was Martyn Williams by any metric you want to measure it. Delighted for many of the Lions who had great games but Williams was an open side wing forward giving a master class in how to play in that position.
Showing how a true open side wing forward can win games. And have no fucking doubt he won us this game. If you don't agree, go back and watch the tape, forget everything else and watch him.
What a player, what a fucking player.
1927
Funnier than he thinks he is.
Absolutely agree with every word of this post. I think if Geech looks back over the three tests he would pick a very differnt side if he could start again tomorrow. We could and should have won the series 3-0.
1927
Funnier than he thinks he is.
Both finishes were standard agreed, but it was the positional sense of his to be in the right place in the first place that made them.
starfish
No dialogue. Just plot.
Never been to rural South Africa then...
We should have won 3-0 & our big brother should nbot have been banned.
Mr Retro
Beware hedgehogs
Good wingers make it look easy. Look at Moyne in the first test making it hard, getting over the line twice and not scoring once
Paul had a great game today too. Delighted for him. Heaslip had a cracker.
But Martyn Williams ..... can we have a sub form dedicated to him?
1927
Funnier than he thinks he is.
Unfortunately SA are only playing Ireland in the autumn. It would have been fantatsic if they were playing all home unions as there would have been a few scores to settle and would have made for some good rugby.
As a Welshman I am looking forward to seeing our new world class front row performing. I said last autumn, and I think this series has supported my argument to a degree, that the NH SH gulf is not as great as perceived by some. Bring ema ll on in the autumn as I think Ireland and wales atleast can take heart from the performances of their boys on this tour. hard to tell abouth England and Scotland as they did not have as many players in the tests.
As a Welshman I am looking forward to seeing our new world class front row performing. I said last autumn, and I think this series has supported my argument to a degree, that the NH SH gulf is not as great as perceived by some. Bring ema ll on in the autumn as I think Ireland and wales atleast can take heart from the performances of their boys on this tour. hard to tell abouth England and Scotland as they did not have as many players in the tests.
1927
Funnier than he thinks he is.
Travesty that that was his first start in a Lions test. What away to go out, and he has given credit to Gats for coaxing him out of retirement. What awaste the last 3 years would have been. Great player, and up there as one of the best Welsh forwards of all time.
Best player from the British Isles for the last four years and all they do is pick him for a dead rubber.
Fucking laughable.
Threshers_Flail
Well-Known Member
Martyn Williams is God in my household, awesome player. Bought my dad his biography for fathers day, he's enjoying it. I'm glad he got the start today, it's the least he deserves.
bendeus
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starfish
No dialogue. Just plot.
Bout fucking time then, was anonymous in the first 2 tests. Wondered who was playing at 8.
bendeus
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Funny that Heaslip finally showed up in a well-balanced backrow, isn't it? Case bloody rested.
Indeed.
bendeus
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So, looks like Jamie Roberts has been given HSBC player of the series. Chwarae teg, big fella, chwarae teg.
My marks for the best and worst players:
Kearney: 9 - fantastic replacement for Byrne. Defiant under the high ball, good boot, deserved try.
Byrne: 8 - had done nothing wrong before injury. Thank god the above was there to replace him
Roberts: 9 - Seems to have added silky offloads and penetrative running angles to his already impressive carrying and tackling skills. A titan. Scared the shit out of the Bokke centres and never, never failed to break the gainline. Breathtaking
BOD: 9 - Should have been captain. A wonderful all round performance. Full of guile and inventiveness and, at times, sheer bloody lunacy in defence. Gutted that we'll never see that centre pairing again.
Wellies: 9 - 4th best OH in the fucking world. Outshone both the Bokke standoffs by quite some margin. Decision making impeccable. Intuitive understanding with his centres. Consistently made the right decisions. Phenomenal defence. Would have been my player of the tour but for a slighly off-colour showing in the first test.
Spikey Pikey Mikey: 9.5 - my player of the tour. Constantly causing problems for the Bokke in all areas. Niggling round the fringes, in their fucking faces, never a backward step. Superb in defence, good kicking with ball in hand. Seems to have learned some maturity. See his winding up of half the Bokke team yesterday. Got right under their skin but didn't blow like he would have done in the past. Better than Du Preez over the three games.
Bowe: 8 - Didn't show quite as much in the tests as he did in the warmup games. Still a great player and future Lion.
Adam Jones: 8.5 - Almost saved the first test, imperious in the second until he was injured. A world class tighthead is born.
Gethin: 8.5 - Didn't put a foot wrong all tour. The naildest onnest of the nailed on. Tackles, rucks hit, turnovers won. Check the stats; the guy's a freak.
Shaw: 8 - Would have been more but for the fact that he's a penalty machine who gave away five plus a yellow in his two appearances. Shored up the pack, gave us some much needed abrasive edge. Great twighlight for a player of his stature.
Martyn Williams: 8 - would someone point out to me what exactly he was that he did wrong to merit non-inclusion in the starting XV until the final game. A wonderful, out-and-out 7's performance to show Geech exactly where it was that he'd fucked up.
Matthew Rees: 7 - what a remarkable tour for Rees. Two-time Lions test starter. Not embarrassed at the lineout and an impressive option in the loose and scrum. Quite a transformation from the man who singlehandedly lost Wales the last game of the 6n.
The Bad
O' Gara: 2 - quite simply one of the most disastrous contributions to a match I can remember. Directly responsible for 10 points in as many minutes. Lost us the series. A coward in defence and a hothead in terms of discipline. Found out. Ireland had better hope that Sexton can step up as every backrow and 12 in the 6N will be running directly at O'Speedbump next season.
Blair: 3 - To think that this man was up for IRB player of the year and Lions captain only a year ago. Some pitiful displays
Ellis: 4 - this man was a test Lion. Embarrassing at the back of rucks. Decision making so very, very poor. Thank fuck Spikey Mikey stayed uninjured.
Earls: 5 - Too early. Why did this man tour?
D'Arcey: 4 - One-dimensional. Did he ever pass? See above
Mears: 5: Great player at GP level, not at test level. Too small and too flakey
Vickery: 5: Some redemption in the last game, but he lost us the first.
Coaching: 3 - some dreadful decisions in selection and substitution. Why was Vickery not hauled off after 30? Why was O'Gara on the bench instead of Hook in the second test? Why didn't we call up Ryan Jones - a proper 6 - earlier? Why the fuck did it take till the last test for Martyn to prove what we already knew; that he's the best 7 on tour and was comfortably more impressive than his Bokke opposite number? Ditto Shane at 11. Why did they wait until it was a dead rubber to see what would happen if they put him at his natural position outside a decent 10? Why were we consistently punished with tries from set pieces? What happened to our defence in these instances? It's not like we didn't know the Bokke would try and work moves from these.
...etc, etc. The coaches cost us big time.
The opposition: 3 - Bunch of dirty cunts who've obviously been instructed to be a bunch of dirty cunts. One dimensional, flat-track bullies. Only one side wanted to play rugby out there over the three tests, and only one looked dangerous from open play. Hope they get reamed by the ABs.
The opposition's manager: -1 - word's fail me.
The tour: 9 - we may have lost, but we fucking gave it our all. Three of the finest test matches you'll ever see. Some great skills, some great partnerships and a whole lot of courage. My faith, and interest, is restored in the Lions, and I even started liking that deranged munchkin, O'Driscoll. Lost a few quid on the Worsley bet, but don't mind, as the Worzle allowed Martyn to shine.
Best moment: Adam's demolition of 'The Beast' in that defensive scrum on our 5 yard line.
Worst moment: got to be Onan, but not sure whether the missed tackle or the daft penalty win it for me.
Funniest moment: Spikey Pikey Mikey getting in to about 6 Bokke. Priceless.
My marks for the best and worst players:
Kearney: 9 - fantastic replacement for Byrne. Defiant under the high ball, good boot, deserved try.
Byrne: 8 - had done nothing wrong before injury. Thank god the above was there to replace him
Roberts: 9 - Seems to have added silky offloads and penetrative running angles to his already impressive carrying and tackling skills. A titan. Scared the shit out of the Bokke centres and never, never failed to break the gainline. Breathtaking
BOD: 9 - Should have been captain. A wonderful all round performance. Full of guile and inventiveness and, at times, sheer bloody lunacy in defence. Gutted that we'll never see that centre pairing again.
Wellies: 9 - 4th best OH in the fucking world. Outshone both the Bokke standoffs by quite some margin. Decision making impeccable. Intuitive understanding with his centres. Consistently made the right decisions. Phenomenal defence. Would have been my player of the tour but for a slighly off-colour showing in the first test.
Spikey Pikey Mikey: 9.5 - my player of the tour. Constantly causing problems for the Bokke in all areas. Niggling round the fringes, in their fucking faces, never a backward step. Superb in defence, good kicking with ball in hand. Seems to have learned some maturity. See his winding up of half the Bokke team yesterday. Got right under their skin but didn't blow like he would have done in the past. Better than Du Preez over the three games.
Bowe: 8 - Didn't show quite as much in the tests as he did in the warmup games. Still a great player and future Lion.
Adam Jones: 8.5 - Almost saved the first test, imperious in the second until he was injured. A world class tighthead is born.
Gethin: 8.5 - Didn't put a foot wrong all tour. The naildest onnest of the nailed on. Tackles, rucks hit, turnovers won. Check the stats; the guy's a freak.
Shaw: 8 - Would have been more but for the fact that he's a penalty machine who gave away five plus a yellow in his two appearances. Shored up the pack, gave us some much needed abrasive edge. Great twighlight for a player of his stature.
Martyn Williams: 8 - would someone point out to me what exactly he was that he did wrong to merit non-inclusion in the starting XV until the final game. A wonderful, out-and-out 7's performance to show Geech exactly where it was that he'd fucked up.
Matthew Rees: 7 - what a remarkable tour for Rees. Two-time Lions test starter. Not embarrassed at the lineout and an impressive option in the loose and scrum. Quite a transformation from the man who singlehandedly lost Wales the last game of the 6n.
The Bad
O' Gara: 2 - quite simply one of the most disastrous contributions to a match I can remember. Directly responsible for 10 points in as many minutes. Lost us the series. A coward in defence and a hothead in terms of discipline. Found out. Ireland had better hope that Sexton can step up as every backrow and 12 in the 6N will be running directly at O'Speedbump next season.
Blair: 3 - To think that this man was up for IRB player of the year and Lions captain only a year ago. Some pitiful displays
Ellis: 4 - this man was a test Lion. Embarrassing at the back of rucks. Decision making so very, very poor. Thank fuck Spikey Mikey stayed uninjured.
Earls: 5 - Too early. Why did this man tour?
D'Arcey: 4 - One-dimensional. Did he ever pass? See above
Mears: 5: Great player at GP level, not at test level. Too small and too flakey
Vickery: 5: Some redemption in the last game, but he lost us the first.
Coaching: 3 - some dreadful decisions in selection and substitution. Why was Vickery not hauled off after 30? Why was O'Gara on the bench instead of Hook in the second test? Why didn't we call up Ryan Jones - a proper 6 - earlier? Why the fuck did it take till the last test for Martyn to prove what we already knew; that he's the best 7 on tour and was comfortably more impressive than his Bokke opposite number? Ditto Shane at 11. Why did they wait until it was a dead rubber to see what would happen if they put him at his natural position outside a decent 10? Why were we consistently punished with tries from set pieces? What happened to our defence in these instances? It's not like we didn't know the Bokke would try and work moves from these.
...etc, etc. The coaches cost us big time.
The opposition: 3 - Bunch of dirty cunts who've obviously been instructed to be a bunch of dirty cunts. One dimensional, flat-track bullies. Only one side wanted to play rugby out there over the three tests, and only one looked dangerous from open play. Hope they get reamed by the ABs.
The opposition's manager: -1 - word's fail me.
The tour: 9 - we may have lost, but we fucking gave it our all. Three of the finest test matches you'll ever see. Some great skills, some great partnerships and a whole lot of courage. My faith, and interest, is restored in the Lions, and I even started liking that deranged munchkin, O'Driscoll. Lost a few quid on the Worsley bet, but don't mind, as the Worzle allowed Martyn to shine.
Best moment: Adam's demolition of 'The Beast' in that defensive scrum on our 5 yard line.
Worst moment: got to be Onan, but not sure whether the missed tackle or the daft penalty win it for me.
Funniest moment: Spikey Pikey Mikey getting in to about 6 Bokke. Priceless.
