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British and Irish Lions

bendeus said:
Tell you what, if he comes in as a result of an injury I'll buy you a lime soda.

Can't say fairer than that:cool:
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ha ha, ok (I'll spice it up with a snifter of medicinal) :D

Today certainly showed up the true worth of Jenkins. Sheridan scrummaged well enough but in the loose he's awful.

For me, Mears is still front runner for no2. Other prop is still pretty open


E2a - We just all better hope Byrnes finger is ok :(
 
And just before I go to bed, here's my test XXII. Positions with a / denote likely first and second choices, but still too close to call.

15: Byrne
14: Bowe
13: BOD
12: Roberts
11: Kearney
10 Wellies
9: Phillips

8: Heaslip
7: Wallace/Williams
6: Croft
5: POC
4: AWJ
3: Murray/Vickery
2: Mears
1 Jenkins

Replacements
16: Vickery/Murray
17: Hook
18: Ellis
19: Rees
20: Williams/Wallace
21: Hines
22: D'Arcy

9 Taffies, 7 Irish, 4 English and 2 Jocks.
 
I like your backline, I that will be the test one. Hopefully they don't do something like straight swap Shane for Moyne.

I can see AWJ losing out because Hines is playing very well on this tour and he would suit O'Connell better. It would be very harsh for AWJ - being the best second row but not making the test side - but thats how it goes sometimes.

Wallace is now my front runner to start the first test, as is Vickery.So my pack:

8: Heaslip
7: Wallace
6: Croft/Ferris
5: Paul
4: Hines
3: Vickery
2: Mears
1 Jenkins
 
Mr Retro said:
I like your backline, I that will be the test one. Hopefully they don't do something like straight swap Shane for Moyne.

I can see AWJ losing out because Hines is playing very well on this tour and he would suit O'Connell better. It would be very harsh for AWJ - being the best second row but not making the test side - but thats how it goes sometimes.

Wallace is now my front runner to start the first test, as is Vickery.So my pack:

8: Heaslip
7: Wallace
6: Croft/Ferris
5: Paul
4: Hines
3: Vickery
2: Mears
1 Jenkins
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I can see AWJ losing out to POC also. They're fighting for the same shirt. Thing is, if Geech is picking on form, as he said he would be, POC will bench and AWJ will start. Wonder if Hines and POC do start, whether they'll have 2nd row cover on the bench, or whether they'll use Croft's ability to cover in the engine room to open up another place on the bench for a backrow forward or utility back. All a bit tight, innit?
 
B and I Lions to face the sharks in Durban, quite a strong line up, probably not too far removed from the test side.


15. Lee Byrne (Ospreys/Wales)
14. Shane Williams (Ospreys/Wales)
13. Brian O'Driscoll (Leinster/Ireland)
12. Jamie Roberts (Cardiff Blues/Wales)
11. Luke Fitzgerald (Leinster/Ireland)
10. Ronan O'Gara (Munster/Ireland)
9. Mike Phillips (Ospreys/Wales)

8. Jamie Heaslip (Leinster/Ireland)
7. David Wallace (Munster/Ireland)
6. Tom Croft (Leicester Tigers/England)
5. Paul O'Connell (Munster/Ireland) captain
4. Alun Wyn Jones (Ospreys/Wales)
3. Adam Jones (Ospreys/Wales)
2. Lee Mears (Bath/England)
1. Gethin Jenkins (Cardiff Blues/Wales)

Replacements:

16. Matthew Rees (Scarlets/Wales)
17. Phil Vickery (London Wasps/England)
18. Simon Shaw (London Wasps/England)
19. Joe Worsley (London Wasps/England)
20. Mike Blair (Edinburgh/Scotland)
21. Riki Flutey (London Wasps/England)
22. Leigh Halfpenny (Cardiff Blues/Wales)
 
Very strong team.

Last chance for Shane Williams to make the test side. He deserves to get one with a decent back line inside him too.
 
travellerlife said:
B and I Lions to face the sharks in Durban, quite a strong line up, probably not too far removed from the test side.
Click to expand...

Not too far at all. Glad that they're trying out the POC/AWJ combination - possibly in the hope that it will gel. Also interesting that they're giving Shane yet another chance. They must really want to see him in the side and firing. Interestingly, for the first time he'll be starting with a decent centre pairing. Poor bastard has had to deal with Earls at 13 both times he's started, and latterly Fitzgerald at 12. This is one of the reasons he's been starved of ball and has started trying too hard in order to put his hand up. Monye has had an armchair ride with BOD and Roberts inside him. My one-legged uncle could have run in the two tries that he was gifted, but he's suddenly being talked up as a Test starter. With a bit of luck and some decent distribution Shane will hopefully finally get the chance to show what he can do. Pity it's at 14, really.

Interesting also that Onan will be playing with just about the only combination at 7 and 12 that will cover up his glaring deficiencies in defence. The chance to show that he can control a game when he's not worried about being trundled over beckons.
 
Sharks to face B and I lions, they have lost 10 first choice players to the bok squad. The backs are are all second stringers except for Stefan Terblanche, loose forwards should give the Lions a workout, and the front row should put up a decent fight, with Carstens and Du Plessis playing. Not a full strength team by any measure, but should provide some indication of where the Lions find themselves.

Sharks - 15 Stefan Terblanche, 14 Chris Jordaan, 13 Andries Strauss, 12 Riaan Swanepoel, 11 Luzuko Vulindlu, 10 Monty Dumond, 9 Rory Kockott, 8 Keegan Daniel, 7 Jean Deysel, 6 Jacques Botes, 5 Johann Muller (c), 4 Steven Sykes, 3 Jannie du Plessis, 2 Skipper Badenhorst, 1 Deon Carstens.
Subs: 16 Craig Burden, 17 Patrick Cilliers, 18 Albert van den Berg, 19 Michael Rhodes, 20 Charl MacLeod, 21 Guy Cronje, 22 Lwazi Mvovo.
 
Osprey representation increased again!!!

Ryan Jones going out to replace Ferris. Now on the last tour Ryan went out and became the player of the tour, not this time tho!:(
 
Halfpenny has been scrubbed off the teamsheet...

just as they were saying how glad they were to only have one injury after all these games
 
Good for Ryan, though dirt tracking is probably all he can expect. Gutted for 1/2P. Poor sod - to have actually got out to SA only for this to happen. Could have seen him play his way into the test side.

Wonder if Geech will call up another wing, or whether he'll shore up with cover at 9 - none of us want to see Blair anywhere near a test, and we're only an injury away from that happening. If it's a wing he's looking for, young Tom James is playing out of his skin ATM.
 
Oh, and 8 Ospreys now out in SA. Another 2008/09 Bendy prediction slots neatly into place :)
 
Another Lions game for POC, another struggle for the Lions. This guy aint a captain. The sooner Geech realises this and gives captaincy to someone else the better. I thought it would go to BOD automatically if they switched, but my mate in the Cayo, the most one-eyed Blues fan god ever put on this planet reckons that AWJ should be given it!!:eek:
 
O'Gara is diligently playing himself out of a test spot ATM by kicking away every bit of ball we get in their 22.
 
Glad Kaplan is now bothering to take a look at the Natal tighthead..

Agree with both of the above posts re: O'Gara and POC.

POC dosent inspire any confidence at all. Matfield and Botha must be laughing.

Good try - give the captaincy to BOD
 
Agreed re: BOD and POC. The latter isn't really showing up ATM.

O'Gara shouldn't even be in the 22 on this performance.

Glad that Kaplan belatedly saw what was going on on the blind side. Fatty Barnes was busy writing Gethin off in favour of top English wank subject, Andrew Sheridan. Think again, fatty:)
 
south african ref favours home team shocker! :p

whats up with roberts, and whats that yellow card about?

gutted with ROG, but geech is picking the tests on form
that was a nice run in the park :)
 
Played Lions. Awesome defence and a good 2nd Half.

Positives:

Phillips: Got his mojo back. Though he was excellent today and posed a real threat around the fringes. Lions starter
Byrne: Took try well. Solid in defence, great boot. Lions starter
Mears: Good, combative performance. Accurate at lineouts. Took try well
Heaslip: Awesome second half performance - made big yardage
BOD - Captain's performance. Had a hand in a lot that was good.
Roberts - an absolute fucking monster. How many yards and how many big carries did he make?
Adam Jones - scrummaged well and showed up at rucks and in the loose. Responded well to Vickery's test favourite status
Croft - Great game at six

Negatives:
Onan: Gash, gashetty gash. Hook should bench instead of him.
POC: Isolated and slow again. Not enough nous and not enough leadership
Kaplan: Reason I haven't put Gethin in the above list is that the twat reffed him out of the game
Shane: Poor bastard didn't see the ball. Won't get near the first test

FWIW I still don't think Wallace did enough to cement a test spot. Place is still open for Williams to take if he puts in a big game on Sat.

Breakdown still a BIG problem. We need to sort that and sort it fast.
 
Red Faction said:
south african ref favours home team shocker! :p

whats up with roberts, and whats that yellow card about?

gutted with ROG, but geech is picking the tests on form
that was a nice run in the park :)
Click to expand...

Reckon he'll be ok. Just a precaution I hope.
 
Spot on Bendeus - with your test shoe-ins

Second Row is still wide open (even if POC has to play)
Battle royal on for tight head with Jones just nudging ahead.
Wing positions are also up in the air.
Would like to see the nous of Williams used at 7 - the breakdown HAS to be addressed
 
Yep, agree pretty much

Croft & Mears = test starters for me

Byrne, BOD & Roberts, Phillips too.

Atm Bowe and fitzgerald are my wingers, unfortunate for Williams, he's had the ball so little that he's just tried too hard in those moments and just hasn't really looked dangerous.

Jenkins, yeh he was unlucky with Caplans calls but he really wasn't at his best today. Still the best prop though and a test starter.

Wtf happened with Vickery, a shove??

That was (probably) the best team they've faced so far and they did well, seem to be improving game by game and gelling more.

Still don't think the South Africans will be too worried though, but complacency breeds... etc.
 
DaRealSpoon said:
Yep, agree pretty much

Croft & Mears = test starters for me

Byrne, BOD & Roberts, Phillips too.

Atm Bowe and fitzgerald are my wingers, unfortunate for Williams, he's had the ball so little that he's just tried too hard in those moments and just hasn't really looked dangerous.

Jenkins, yeh he was unlucky with Caplans calls but he really wasn't at his best today. Still the best prop though and a test starter.

Wtf happened with Vickery, a shove??

That was (probably) the best team they've faced so far and they did well, seem to be improving game by game and gelling more.

Still don't think the South Africans will be too worried though, but complacency breeds... etc.
Click to expand...

Of that team they'll be worried about Phillips, BOD, Roberts, Byrne and Bowe, and well might they be. They've looked very dangerous every time they've played.

It's a shame that they haven't got Shane to be worried about, as on form he could be key to unlocking their defence. Gutted we're not seeing him as he can be.
 
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