I didnât watch that game because OâDriscoll wasnât playing and I donât trust your judgement on rugby football, which was proven to be biased in the past, so I still think Wyn-Jones should be in the test side as heâs a superior operator.
Wouldnt have called him excellent, but would say he was the driving force of that side at times and definitely would be a far more serious operator than the likes AWJ.
Of course Bando you would have had a lad who wasnât getting his game with Ulster in instead of POC in the past, so perhaps youâre not the best judge! 
Also, just to clear things up here. BOD was NOT captain. He was the âstand in captainâ for POC. POC is captain of the lions whether he is playing or not and if not, then they nominate someone as a âstand inâ.
Wyn Jones was very good last night. 1 small fumble but it was forgivable as it was a quick ball and I donât think he was ready. Still though, as everyone else in Rugby can see, POC is obviously the serious contender and deserves his place as Captain of the Lions.
Yours in clarifcation of Captain Vâs Stand In Captain,
GSH.
[quote=âGarda Sean Horganâ]Also, just to clear things up here. BOD was NOT captain. He was the âstand in captainâ for POC. POC is captain of the lions whether he is playing or not and if not, then they nominate someone as a âstand inâ.
Wyn Jones was very good last night. 1 small fumble but it was forgivable as it was a quick ball and I donât think he was ready. Still though, as everyone else in Rugby can see, POC is obviously the serious contender and deserves his place as Captain of the Lions.
Yours in clarifcation of Captain Vâs Stand In Captain,
GSH.[/QUOTE]
Everybody knows that BOD is the heartbeat of the team though
The peopleâs captain as it were
POC can be replaced, BOD canât
[quote=âW.B. Yeatsâ]Everybody knows that BOD is the heartbeat of the team though
The peopleâs captain as it were
POC can be replaced, BOD canât[/QUOTE]
BOD will never be replaced, never.
Was watching SSN the other day and the Brit Lions were getting off their chariot. BOD the mong was carrying what looked like a large teddy bear. Now maybe Hubers was waiting up stairs for him and he picked her up something at the airport or whatever but it looked extremely gay.
It was a Lion, surely you could mske that out and make the link?
IRELAND centre Gordon DâArcy, who joined up with the Lions squad yesterday, may be thrown in at the deep end against the Free State Cheetahs in Bloemfontein tomorrow.
The Lions management have only ruled out one player from selection as centre Riki Flutey continues his recovery from a knee injury and have stressed their intention to get every player involved as soon as possible.
With Brian OâDriscoll and Jamie Roberts almost certain to be rested, this could see DâArcy and the other late arrival, Wales winger Leigh Halfpenny, being asked to face the Cheetahs, who are expected to provide much sterner opposition than the Golden Lions managed in the 74-10 rout at Ellis Park on Wednesday.
âRiki is the only player who has been ruled out so far, with no one involved on Wednesday picking up anything worse than bumps and bruises,â said assistant coach Graham Rowntree.
âThe thing about a Lions tour is that you have to take your chance because you do not want to find yourself at the back of the queue.â
DâArcy was a key factor in Leinsterâs successful Heineken Cup run and impressed for the Barbarians last weekend. Having only flown in from holiday in the US yesterday morning, it might be deemed too soon to start him in the midfield, but if the management are happy with his post-flight recovery, they may ask him to do a job.
Meanwhile, tour captain Paul OâConnell, set to form an all-Irish second row with Donncha OâCallaghan, believes the victory over the Golden Lions has sent out a message to South Africa, who are warm favourites for the Test series.
âI think it is great for the tour what happened, we played some great stuff,â said OâConnell. âIt gives the tour a bit of momentum and maybe they (South Africans) will sit up and take notice a bit.â
5 Irish starting at the weekend
Fitzgerald & OâCallaghan in for Lions
Friday, 5 June 2009 13:19
Luke Fitzgerald starts alongside Keith Earls at centre
Luke Fitzgerald and Donncha OâCallaghan will get their first taste of action for the British and Irish Lions in Saturdayâs clash with the Cheetahs in another new-look Lions selection.
And Wales winger Leigh Halfpenny, who linked up with the squad on Tuesday after recovering from a thigh injury, will start on the wing.
None of the starting XV from Wednesdayâs record 74-10 victory over the Golden Lions will feature in Bloemfontein.
Fitzgerald gets his first chance after recovering from a slight knee injury and will line up at inside centre, with Keith Earls making his second tour appearance at outside centre and OâCallaghan at second row.
James Hook starts at fly-half with Harry Ellis at scrum-half, while number eight Andy Powell, flanker Stephen Ferris, hooker Ross Ford and prop Euan Murray also make their first Lions starts.
Riki Flutey and Martyn Williams were the only two players unavailable for selection with knee and shoulder injuries respectively.
Paul OâConnel returns to captain the side, while Gordon DâArcy is named on the bench barely 24 hours after he arrived in South Africa, with Ronan OâGara also named as a substitute.
British and Irish Lions XV v Cheetahs on Saturday at 2.00pm:
Lee Byrne; Leigh Halfpenny, Keith Earls, Luke Fitzgerald, Shane Williams; James Hook, Harry Ellis; Andrew Sheridan, Ross Ford, Euan Murray, Donncha OâCallaghan, Paul OâConnell (capt), Stephen Ferris, Joe Worsley, Andy Powell.
Replacements: Matthew Rees, Adam Jones, Simon Shaw, Nathan Hines, Mike Blair, Ronan OâGara, Gordon DâArcy.
Disappointed to see Luke start in the centre, fuck that Flutey cunt, windy wee bastard.
Correct Pukey. Fitzgerald gets his first game at centre - not ideal for him but they are short on centres. Has the look of a second choice backline anyway with Byrne and one of the wingers in the test side. Murray, OâConnell and maybe Ferris have chances from the pack but again itâs a second rate sort of team.
L Byrne (Ospreys and Wales); L Halfpenny (Cardiff and Wales), K Earls (Munster and Ireland), L Fitzgerald (Leinster and Ireland), S Williams (Ospreys and Wales); J Hook (Ospreys and Wales), H Ellis (Leicester and England);
A Sheridan (Sale and England), R Ford (Edinburgh and Scotland), E Murray (Northampton and Scotland), D OâCallaghan (Munster and Ireland), P OâConnell (Munster and Ireland, captain), S Ferris (Ulster and Ireland), J Worsley (Wasps and England), A Powell (Cardiff Blues and Wales).
Replacements: M Rees (Scarlets and Wales), A Jones (Ospreys and Wales), S Shaw (Wasps and England), N Hines (Perpignan and Scotland), M Blair (Edinburgh and Scotland), R OâGara (Munster and Ireland), G DâArcy (Leinster and Ireland).
Two second rows on the bench, they will struggle to beat the Cheetahâs I would sayâŚ
suprising halfpenny ainât in the center with fitzy on the wing.
Luke isnt WelshI guessâŚ
Think Luke is better suited to playing in the centre than Halfpenny and they probably figure heâs played there with Earls in training runs for Ireland before. Itâs harsh on him but Iâm sure heâll get a run on the wing at some stage and this is more about cover than anything. Fully expect DâArcy to come on for him at some stage (if Earls stays fit) with Fitzgerald moving onto Williamsâ wing.
Butler has picked his current test XV in the Guardian today:
- Lee Byrne; 14) Tommy Bowe, 13) Brian OâDriscoll, 12) Jamie Roberts, 11) Shane Williams; 10) Stephen Jones, 9) Mike Phillips; 1) Gethin Jenkins, 2) Lee Mears, 3) Phil Vickery, 4) Nathan Hines, 5) Paul OâConnell, 6) Stephen Ferris, 7) David Wallace, 8) Jamie Heaslip.
Not too many issues with it. Murray can overtake Vickery probably and Iâm not convinced by Hines or Wallace yet unfortunately. Otherwise Iâd say theyâre the lads in pole position at the moment alright.
Canât see Hines making the test team and i feel that Williams will get the 7 jersey with wallace as an impact sub
11
4
6
7
8
are all long shots at this point.
The Murray, OâConnell, OâCallaghan lineout combination tomorrow has test team all ever it. Half back will be mid-weekers no matter what. Luke and Earls still have chances. Ferris will play the tests. Murray is great lifter/
OâConnell, OâCallaghan is probably the only combination named tomorrow that may start the 1st test together.