Its all about results. The Lions were out scored 10-3 in the try stakes in South Africa in 1997, South Africa winning the try count 3-0 in the key 2nd test in Durban, but the series was won largely because South Africa didn’t have a test standard kicker.
I would make our boys favourites from here largely because of the Australian injury count, but its worth remembering in 1989 and 2001, the team that lost the first test came from behind to win the series.
Why?
[quote=“Manuel Zelaya, post: 790278, member: 377”]Its all about results. The Lions were out scored 10-3 in the try stakes in South Africa in 1997, South Africa winning the try count 3-0 in the key 2nd test in Durban, but the series was won largely because South Africa didn’t have a test standard kicker.
I would make our boys favourites from here largely because of the Australian injury count, but its worth remembering in 1989 and 2001, the team that lost the first test came from behind to win the series.[/quote]
Sensible words. Quiet satisfaction should be the mood amongst the boys, but very much tempered by the knowledge that the job is not done yet. A lot done, more to do.
Thought he was the pick of the back row today and had a very good game. There will be no doubts about him being retained i’d say
An even bigger idiot who doesnt know why he’s an idiot.
Idiot.
[SIZE=15px][FONT=Georgia][quote=“The Tipping King, post: 789460, member: 681”]Lions -3 at Evs is free money. They will cover the handicap no doubt.[/quote][/FONT][/SIZE]
[SIZE=15px][FONT=Georgia] [/FONT][/SIZE]
[SIZE=15px][FONT=Georgia]Could you point me in the direction of where we can collect this free money TTK?[/FONT][/SIZE]
Wouldn’t surprise me if the entire back row was replaced.
[quote=“myboyblue, post: 790301, member: 180”]An even bigger idiot who doesnt know why he’s an idiot.
Idiot.[/quote]
What did I say that was untrue?
[quote=“Mac, post: 790306, member: 109”][SIZE=15px][FONT=Georgia][/FONT][/SIZE]
[SIZE=15px][FONT=Georgia] [/FONT][/SIZE]
[SIZE=15px][FONT=Georgia]Could you point me in the direction of where we can collect this free money TTK?[/FONT][/SIZE][/quote]
No doubt, no no doubt 
I can’t see this bluffer ever logging in here again.
lads - those of you who know about rugby
Is Johnny Sexton as good as Dan Carter? Tom McGurk on the wireless said that he is that good
[quote=“kerry1891, post: 790349, member: 1379”]lads - those of you who know about rugby
Is Johnny Sexton as good as Dan Carter? Tom McGurk on the wireless said that he is that good[/quote]
Jonny, his name is Jonny.
And he’ll never be as good as carter until he rides someone in a bank vault.
[quote=“kerry1891, post: 790349, member: 1379”]lads - those of you who know about rugby
Is Johnny Sexton as good as Dan Carter? Tom McGurk on the wireless said that he is that good[/quote]
No
This is NOT what the Loins is about, I demand Gatland discipline this whelp.
Thanks for clarifying that. I suspected as much
Australia 21-23 British Loins - comprehensive match report and player ratings:
Job done, but only for now. As that great champion of British-Irish friendship, Bertie Ahern would have said, “a lot done, more to do”. The British Loins magnificent record of having never lost a Test match in Brisbane stays intact for another 12 years after a match of phantasmagoric proportions. Sky often get a bad rap for hyping up events they have the exclusive rights for, but yet again, the hype was entirely justified.
For so long we had waited, we had debated, we had anticipated. And this first Test was everything we hoped it would be, and more. The scene was set. Sky’s montage spine-tingling. Incredible massages of support for the boys from the celebrity and sporting fraternity. Becks, Rors, Beefy, Keano, Rosey, the lovely Jess , Sir Chris, and most importantly, Wills and Harry. A Royal seal of approval. Shoulder to shoulder.
Tuesday’s defeat to the Brumbies sent the Loins into the Tests on a bum note. Would morale be damaged? Or would this be our Rorke’s Drift to Tuesday’s Isandlwana?
Home and Away the supporters gathered. The Barmy Army doing us proud in Brisbane. At home, some awkward scenes down at Kiely’s as a group of Australians turned up - they misread the bar’s name as “Kylie’s” and thought it was an Australian supporters’ pub. But the chaps down there accommodated them all the same and pints and bants aplenty were shared about the misunderstanding. That’s because rugby football people are more civilised and have a greater culture of respect than followers of inferior sports. Good neighbours, and good friends.
A perfect segue from “Advance Australia Fair” straight into a Eurodisco remix of Men At Work’s “Land Down Under” built the tension. But it was on the sour note of the non-playing of God Save The Queen that Sam Warburton led his Loins into the Lion’s den of Suncorp Stadium™. But it was a Christian (Lealifano) who was devoured after just 53 seconds, his neck trapped between his body and Jonathan Davies like a Juventus fan at the bottom of a collapsed Brussels wall. One down.
Australia advanced unfairly. Two decisions against Brian O’Driscoll, a load of Pollocks as far as those of us used to proper Northern Hemisphere rugby were concerned. The Southern Hemisphere bias was obvious as New Zealand’s Chris showed that Nigel Owens isn’t the only bent ref in the game.
Thankfully James O’Connor was like a rabbit in the headlights as his pathetic efforts drifted well wide. The bugs in his technique were obvious and he must have felt like a proper bunny.
The first scrum, and the front row showed their mettle, driving the Australians back in a manner reminiscent of the massacre of the Anzacs at Gallipoli. That typical Gatland game was now in motion - quick, continual phases and constant switches of direction. Chris Pollock signalled a penalty but inexplicably failed to give advantage as the Loins drove forward.
Australia won a free kick deep in their own 25 (true Loins fans don’t recognise the metric system). Then a moment of Genias, as scrum half Will Genia tapped and burst out of defence in a manner reminiscent of the great Sid Going at Wellington in 1977. Loins were left flailing all over the place as Genia entered enemy territory. Then a sublime little passover kick straight into the path of Israel Folau who made the promised land as the Red Sea opened in front of him. Even the hapless O’Connor couldn’t miss the conversion and it was 7-0.
Leigh Halfpenny steadied the ship with a penalty to reduce the deficit. Then the backlash really began. A high ball into the Loins’ half was taken by George North, and the giant wing sprinted what must have been all of 80 yards to score a Hollywood try, fingering Will Genia as he prepared to touch down. No wonder Kanye West and Kim Kardashian named their daughter after him. Halfpenny was on the money from an acute angle to make it 7-10.
Just a couple of minutes later and Gorgeous George was at it again - The North Wales man agonisingly denied by the Angles(ey) - a stray elbow in touch on the replay for what initially looked like a second try. Another flawless Halfpenny penalty kept the scoreboard ticking over. And to think people in Ireland moaned when he was given the goal kicking duties at the start of this tour.
Australia did not lie down. Israel showed he was not afraid to invade the Loins’ occupied territory and folau-ed up his first try with a second, which had some Loins supporters heading for the bar (mitzvah). Fair Jews to him. A hint of a forward pass perhaps, but unsurprisingly the decision went with the home team. It was poor defence from the Loins, the Sex pulling out his tackle allowing Folau to ram his way through the hole. But James O’Connor was kicking more like Tom O’Connor and missed he conversion, the Loins retaining the lead at 12-13.
Folau was to make more of an impact before half-time as he accidentally crashed into his team-mate Barnes. Poor Berrick didn’t know whether he was in England, Scotland or Australia after being on the receiving end of the most violent Israeli strike since Qana in 2006. Two down.
Prodigal son Kurtley Beale came on, taking a swig from a bottle as he entered the fray. A quick loosener for the man with a drink problem, perhaps?
We were to witness one last piece of action before the break. Alex Cobisiero hip-hopped his way through at a rap-id pace, the 50 cent fan starting the attack which would end with an another chance for Halfpenny. With the line at the Loins’ mercy, Wyclef Palu was faced with a dangerous attack andconvicted for killing it not-so-softly. I thought Wyclef should have been Gone 'Til November, or at least got a yellow card, but referee Chris Pollock said otherwise and gave the bare penalty. Leigh Halfpenny’s miss was all the more shocking given his remarkable success rate on the expedition so far. An exhilarating half of football ended 12-13 to the Loins.
It would be a war of attrition from now on and the second half started in that vein. The sides testing each other out, the foreplay before getting down to the real business.
Crofty was making some good tackles as was Youngsy. Jonathan Davies suffering a bit from his move to inside centre. For the Strines, Ben Mowen was motoring well at the breakdown, waiting in the long grass, using his good engine and having a right cut at Mike Phillips.
Pat McCabe was the first casualty after the restart, the substitute having to be helped off, himself. Three down.
While some might say that it was a shame that injuries played such a part, it just goes to show the physical toll that a Loins test takes on players’ bodies, and that’s as it should be. Robbie Deans may curse his luck, but it’s part of the game. Declan Kidney would still be Ireland coach only for injury. Such is life.
With the Aussies not having a fourth quarter to cover three-quarter and centre, flanker Michael Hooper moved to 12. There would be no excuses no for the Loins.
48 minutes in and the seemingly inevitable Loins victory was on course when a sublime cut-back pass from Jonathan Sexton wronged footed the Australian defence and opened a gap for Alex Cuthbert to charge through. Count 'em - one, two, three, four tackles beaten by the best finisher in Europe ( in the words of Stuart Barnes). So appropriate that the right-wing should score in the year of Margaret Thatcher’s death.
The substitutes poured in to embrace Cuthbert, showing the magnificent camaraderie amongst the troops. Individuals yes, but with their family, their rugby football family. A hint of obstruction from Brian O’Driscoll on James O’Connor perhaps? But he’d earned that call after the way he’d been unfairly penalised in the first half. 12-20. 20-12. A scoreline that tapped nicely into the zeitgeist of British sporting excellence of late. There looked to be more fight in James Gandolfini’s limp and lifeless body than in the Australian challenge. They were being whacked.
But straight away Australia responded. Tom Youngs was pinged for not releasing. Again Rabbbit O’Connor could hardly have missed given the simplicity of the kick.
It was time for Gatty to start to bring in the cavalry. Two new props. The game was closing down rather than opening up. Graft rather than flair now the key, Heaslip and Croft’s ball carrying abilities the weapons of choice., Wyn-Jones and O’Connell providing the platform.
Heaslip’s over-eagerness at the breakdown gave Curly Bill the chance to bring the Aussies a little closer and he took it from 49 yards. 18-20. Halfpenny restored the five-point margin moments later with a penalty from an identical angle to the one he’d missed just before half-time.
A rapier-like thrust from Beale took Australia right into the danger zone. Top Gun O’Connell killed it for the penalty. No yellow card in an identical situation to Palu’s at the end of the first half. Two wrongs don’t make a right, two Wongs don’t make a white, but one unhinged genius does make a very dangerous rugby player. Kurtley Beale was now making the difference and he slotted it through for 21-23.
Back the Loins came, North seizing Ioane after a Sextton kick. Scrum five and the chance to kill it. Dr. Roberts roaring from the sideline as of a revolver-style killer blow looked likely. The chance was lost and Genia’s kick put Folau away. But guess who? George North with a crucial tackle again. A multi-talented sportsman, hurling’s loss has certainly been rugby’s gain. The small ball game has lost Keith Wood and Tomas O’Leary to the Loins in the past. But the Welshman could be the biggest loss of all given the skills he showed during the week. The North v Israel clash was certainly the bomb today - completely explosive.
Worryingly, new loose head Mako Vunipola was becoming a loose cannon. And with just over six minutes left, he was off his feet, and the home crowd were off theirs. An easy one for Beale, surely? No. If ever there was a kick which summed up the pressure of a Loins series, this was it. Right and wide.
Surely this was the Loins’ day. 78 minutes and a scrum which was indubitably British. Somehow the Aussies got the shove. The biggest Welsh collapse since Aberfan in 1966 was in prospect.
I nearly threw my full British Isles breakfast up with the tension. My mind was suddenly transplanted back to Pretoria in 2009 and the dagger that Morne Steyn plunged to my heart. Please, God, please not again. Prayers were offered up.
This time Beale had no option of a loosener to calm his nerves. This was it. Time to stand up. Character. Mind. Heart. All the hundreds of years of suppression the Aboriginal community had suffered at the hands of the British, all that ingrained inferiority in comparision to their colonial superiors came out in Beale’s kick. He slipped and scuffed it. The Loins were victorious. Beale slunk off, presumably to hit the bottle in a serious way.
It wasn’t pretty, but it was real. Victory to the Loins. Shades of the second Test in 1997 when South Africa won the try count 3-0 but lost 18-15 due to Henry Honiball’s nightmare from placed balls.
Captain Sam acknowledged the Barmy Army, and a roar went up that could be heard around the world.
Tonight, we are the Kings of Brisbane. But we are only Kings for a day.
Ratings:
1/2p : soild as a rock in play. Neil Jenkins-esque kicking, bar one. 7.
Cuthy: dispelled doubts about his selection and a wonderfully finished try. 7.
BOD : Unfairly penalised by a referee out of his depth, a subtle influence in Cuthbert’s try, ahem… Solid but not outstanding. 6.5.
Jono : suffered a bit due to his move to inside centre. 6.
Northie : North, south, east or west, Gorgeous George is the best. 9.
Sexy : caught out for Folau’s second try but showed his class when most needed in the second half. 7.
Philo: a poor match all round. 5.
Corbs : excellent at scrum time and good in the loose. Justified his selection totally. 8.
Big Youngsie : good in the loose and busy in the tackle, but gave away one penalty. Still, 7.
Jonesy: Solid. No more needs to be said. 7.
Wyn-Jonesy: gave a good platform for the back row which was not always taken. 7
Walnuts: Paulie’s performance was a great tribute to his late, great mate Tony Soprano. Leadership and personality shone through on the pitch. Killed the ball professionally for Beale’s second penalty, but it had to be done. Used his experience to know what the consequences would be in the light of Palu’s yellow for a similar offence. 8.
Crofty: Poor first half, good third quarter, faded a bit towards the end. 6.
Sammy: Not a captain’s performance, but he is our leader, and we must rally round him. I repeat - he is our leader. Give me a lucky general any day. 5.
Heaslippy: Best of the back row. Carried well. 7.5.
Substitutes:
Polie: His worst day on the tour. Showed his naivety. 5.
Hibby and Coley did not improve things in the front row and the scrum suffered. 5.
Little Youngsie: Messed up with the five-metre scrum and the Loins were always on the backfoot after that. 5.
Parls: Not on long enough to be rated.
Do you think Paul O Connell will get that MBE he wants so badly Dan if he can steady the ship and ensure the tour ends on a triumphalist note?
my outstanding memory from today’s game apart from israel is a lad in a tipp jersey with a boris Johnson facemask calling fokau an abbo
Calling an indigenous Australian a “fokau”.
You fucking racist shit.