just saw the lions coach there talking about the tour of S Africa
he said players will be picked on form so I think a good 6 nations is vital for many of our boys to get into the squad- if players play well in the november internationals they prove they can do it against the southern hemisphere teams but they dont want to burn out too early form wise
views?
even if they say they are picking on form i still think there will be a wasps/wales biasedā¦
if i had to pick a lions 15:
sheridan
flannery
stevens
O connell
wyn-jones
tom croft
david wallace
ryan jones
dwayne peel
ronan o gara
david strettle
james hook
brain o driscoll
shane williams
lee byrne/rob kearney
[quote=āThe Pukeā]even if they say they are picking on form i still think there will be a wasps/wales biasedā¦
if i had to pick a lions 15:
sheridan
flannery
stevens
O connell
wyn-jones
tom croft
david wallace
ryan jones
dwayne peel
ronan o gara
david strettle
james hook
brain o driscoll
shane williams
lee byrne/rob kearney[/quote]
did wallace go on the last tour?
I trust beating SA is more achievable than the last 2 tours
south africa are struggling a bit since the world cup, new manager and a bit old racial tensions between the dutch and the nativesā¦read something in the paper today about some of the players boycotting the squad if ben watson is picked(donāt know the ins and outs of it)
Donāt think wallace went on the last tour, although i think he got called up at the tail end of the 2001 tour (and the 2003 world cup by ireland), easterbuy got called up as an injury replacement and ended up in the test team
who is ben watson
an outspoken rugby playerā¦it think his father was a campaigner for anti apartide or something like thatā¦
i wonder what he done to piss them off
Outspoken alright!
Springboks threaten turmoil if outspoken Watson picked
Wednesday October 22 2008
Springbok stars are threatening to boycott their European tour if outspoken forward Luke Watson is included in the squad.
Watson, son of rugby player and anti-apartheid activist Daniel āCheekyā Watson, courted controversy this month when, in a speech to the University of Cape Town RFC, he suggested he felt like vomiting over his Springboks jersey after he was called up, and said, in reference to the Afrikaner influence in the team, āthe problem with South African rugby is that it is controlled by Dutchmen.ā
According to Afrikaans Sunday newspaper Sondag, players in Durban, Gauteng and Cape Town are now ready to pull out of the coming tour having reportedly asked captain John Smit to inform Springboks coach Peter de Villiers of their feelings at a meeting last Friday.
Watsonās comments are the subject of an investigation to determine if he breached the Springboksā code of conduct. World champions South Africa play Wales, Scotland and England next month.
apologies for the luke/ben mix upā¦
Hope the Lions get buttfucked over there anyways. Any Irishman that wants to play for this team deserves to have his passport rescinded.
You can go and try take WJās and POCās passports then ya ludar.
Warren Gatland is set to be a Lion
INPHONewly-appointed Lions forwards coach Warren Gatland is hoping that his positive memories of the Lions will continue in 2009.
Gatland, who will travel with Ian McGeechan and co to South Africa next summer, may be a New Zealander but he is fully immersed in Lions culture.
I remember as a young boy the Lions winning in New Zealand in 1971 - that really captured my imagination about the Lions and how strong they were, said Gatland, who tasted victory against the Lions for Waikato 15 years ago.
As a player in 1993, and it only comes around once in your career to play against the Lions, it was a huge honour.
At the time, we were probably one of the best teams in New Zealand. It was the Tuesday before the last Test and 35,000 people turned up to watch Waikato.
We did give the Lions a bit of a thumping that day but I remember just how motivated the players were. They were incredibly determined to do well because they saw it as once in a lifetime opportunity to play against the Lions.
Having previously plotted their downfall, Gatland is already determined to lead the Lions to success when they take on the World Champions in less than eight months time.
The man who oversaw Wales Grand Slam triumph earlier this year and will now form a formidable Lions coaching team with McGeechan, Sean Edwards and Rob Howley, is acutely aware of the expectations that accompany a Lions tour. For Gatland, there is an overwhelming desire to do justice to one of the games great traditions.
Im very humbled, first of all to be considered and then to be asked by Ian to come on board.
I think that I need to be very aware of the responsibilities that go with that, who Im representing, the coaches that have gone before and the players and the history and what the Lions means. Its really important that I convey that.
Im lucky enough, having spent time in Ireland as well and with Wasps and now Wales, to hopefully have a pretty good understanding of the cultures and the people involved. With my own experience as a Kiwi as well, Im really hoping that I can add to the coaching and management group.
thought you said you hate rugger ncc;)ā¦
British lionsā¦
sounds like someone is looking for a rise
might as well keep an eye on thge boks as wellā¦luke watson has pulled out of the tour after what he described a media witch hunt
South Africa squad for november tests
South Africa coach Peter de Villiers has excluded overseas-based players from his 28-man squad for the end-of-year tour to Britain.
De Villiers said in an official news release on Saturday: 'We decided against selecting players from overseas on this occasion as they know they can slot in at any time but we felt that the time is right to give players like Ruan (Pienaar) an opportunity in the No 10 jersey and we will be looking at John Smit as a tighthead on this tour.
āRuan Pienaar is earmarked for the No 10 jersey as Iām looking to find a long-term successor to Butch James, following his decision to retire following the Lions tour next year.ā
James (Bath), number eight Joe van Niekerk (Toulon) and prop forward CJ van der Linde (Leinster) were therefore not selected.
The Springboks depart on a three-week tour of Britain on Oct. 31 and will face Wales in Cardiff on Nov. 8, followed by Scotland in Edinburgh and England at Twickenham.
Four other players from the most recent Tri-Nations squad are also missing with hooker Adriaan Strauss and flyhalf Peter Grant overlooked while fullback Percy Montgomery has retired from internationals and controversial flanker Luke Watson made himself unavailable prior to the team announcement.
Watson withdrew from the selection process in the wake of his dispute with the South African Rugby Union over inflammatory remarks he allegedly made earlier this month.
STRONGEST SQUAD
De Villiers said: 'We have named what we believe is the strongest squad.
āIt has been selected from players we used during the Tri-Nations as well as the form players in the Currie Cup.ā
āWith the British & Irish Lions heading to South Africa in just a few months these Tests are as important as any we have undertaken since our readmission in 1992.ā
Free State Cheetahs flanker Heinrich Brussow (22) and Golden Lions flyhalf Earl Rose (24) are the only uncapped players in the squad.
The coach praised the two newcomers for their outstanding form in South Africaās domestic Currie Cup competition.
De Villiers continued: 'Both Earl and Heinrich really put their hands up.
āEarlās form may have dipped at times but he has the āXā factor you look for in a flyhalf and he has time to develop while Heinrich has really burst onto the scene and is outstanding at contesting at the breakdown.ā
De Villiers also called on four players who have recovered from injuries of varying length, including centre Jaque Fourie, number eight Ryan Kankowski and lock Bakkies Botha.
Hooker Chiliboy Ralepelle has been rewarded after a long fitness battle with a recall for the first time since 2006.
Squad:
Backs: Jean de Villiers, Fourie du Preez, Jaque Fourie, Bryan Habana, Adrian Jacobs, Conrad Jantjes, Enrico Januarie, Jongi Nokwe, Odwa Ndungane, Ruan Pienaar, JP Pietersen, Earl Rose, Francois Steyn
Forwards: Andries Bekker, Bakkies Botha, Schalk Burger, Heinrich Brussow, Bismarck du Plessis, Ryan Kankowski, Victor Matfield, Tendai Mtawarira, Chiliboy Ralepelle, Brian Mujati, Danie Rossouw, John Smit (captain), Juan Smith, Pierre Spies, Gurthro Steenkamp
Danny Care is having a great game for Quins against Stade and could well be an outsider for the starting 9 test spotā¦There will be some competition for the scrum half spots in the squad come nect summer with the likes of Peel, Phillips, Reddan, O Leary(versatility), Care, Blair and possibly the likes of Harry Ellis and Pete Hodgesonā¦
They should all be taken out and shot.
Josh Lewsey has just announced his retirement from the England international set up. However, heās declared that he still aims to nail down a place on the Lions tour next summer.
I would be shocked if Lewsey made the squadā¦A shadow of the player he was in 2003ā¦Given that the likes of Lee Byrne, Geordan Murphy, Rob Kearney, Chris Paterson and Nick Abendonen to name a fw all well ahead of him in the pecking order