So prob Croft 6 in that case.
Real pity that OāLeary, Flannery and Ferris missing, all 3 would surely have started and made the Lions competitive.
[quote=āSheriff Loboā]So prob Croft 6 in that case.
Real pity that OāLeary, Flannery and Ferris missing, all 3 would surely have started and made the Lions competitive.[/QUOTE]
Williams is far too small to play 7. He will bench for Wallace Id say. Whatever little chance they have they must try to match the Boks physicality in the first test
Interesting comparison between the Irish journos and nonIrish un the Sunday Times today, the Irish went for OGara at 10 the others went for Jones
Iād go for Jones myself
Williams has to start on Saturday I reckon. Had a very good game on Saturday and was instrumental in nearly everything Lions did well. Besides this he has been in excellent form over past couple of seasons and donāt accept he is too small to play 7. If it was a straight call between him and Wallace for 7 Iād go for Williams but donāt think it will be
Iām fairly sure backrow will be 6. Wallace 7. Williams 8. Heaslip
I donāt understand this rationale but itās all you read on the previews of the Lions games. If youāre playing against a monstrous back row why do people think we should pick a back row designed to keep it tight and compete with them on the physical stakes? Surely thatās just playing into Boksā strengths.
In saying that itās not that straightforward a decision because Wallace isnāt huge anyway and he was certainly the form player going onto the tour but Iām not convinced heās a better bet than Williams at 7. Think the Lions could get carried away trying to pick the biggest side but the likes of Mears is proving that you need to select the most effective players, size comes into that but too much is being made of it.
[quote=ātherock67ā]I donāt understand this rationale but itās all you read on the previews of the Lions games. If youāre playing against a monstrous back row why do people think we should pick a back row designed to keep it tight and compete with them on the physical stakes? Surely thatās just playing into Boksā strengths.
In saying that itās not that straightforward a decision because Wallace isnāt huge anyway and he was certainly the form player going onto the tour but Iām not convinced heās a better bet than Williams at 7. Think the Lions could get carried away trying to pick the biggest side but the likes of Mears is proving that you need to select the most effective players, size comes into that but too much is being made of it.[/QUOTE]
Good point well made.
[quote=āW.B. Yeatsā]Interesting comparison between the Irish journos and nonIrish un the Sunday Times today, the Irish went for OGara at 10 the others went for Jones
Iād go for Jones myself[/QUOTE]
Would have thought that jones was nailed on for the first test
You only saw half of yesterdayās game didnāt you? He was brutal yesterday - got worse as it went on. Still think heāll start but itās not as cut and dried as it might seem. Depends on how much OāGara was playing to instructions the other night. If he was told to kick everything in attacking phases as some sort of practice then heās fine, if that was his own tactical decision making then he canāt start.
I expect it to be Jones but heād want to improve an awful lot from yesterday.
[quote=ātherock67ā]I donāt understand this rationale but itās all you read on the previews of the Lions games. If youāre playing against a monstrous back row why do people think we should pick a back row designed to keep it tight and compete with them on the physical stakes? Surely thatās just playing into Boksā strengths.
In saying that itās not that straightforward a decision because Wallace isnāt huge anyway and he was certainly the form player going onto the tour but Iām not convinced heās a better bet than Williams at 7. Think the Lions could get carried away trying to pick the biggest side but the likes of Mears is proving that you need to select the most effective players, size comes into that but too much is being made of it.[/QUOTE]
I accept your point about playing to the Bok strengths. But if you concede the physical battle and try to take them on in another facet you could end up getting beaten around the place. McGeechan cant ignore the fact that it is going to be hugely physical, and you cant hide from that, no matter that it might suit you better to do so.
i meant that Williams was too small to play 6 in response to Lobos comments earlier, dont know why I said 7. Obviously he has proven himself as a seven throughout his career. Dont think Wallace is an option at 6 either, its a very different place to play than 7.
Think Croft wil ldef start, Philips and JOnes will start too. Fitz might have a squeak on the wing. Looking forward to seeing what they do about scrum half for the game tuesday. Williams might start and that would be his tour fucked. I wonder is Andy Nicol on holiday?
i donāt think that two natural sevenās in the back row worksā¦Australia tried it with two top class sevenās in Smith and Waugh and the All Blackās with holah and McCaw but it didnāt work for themā¦
Eddie Butlerās team for the first Test
15 Lee Byrne (Wales)
Has dropped a couple of balls, but has made a far better impression as a creative force, gathering his own kicks and finding gaps. In defence, nobody kicks more prodigiously.
14 Tommy Bowe (Ireland)
Continues to excel, a fine reader of the game and now an elegant contributor to movement up and down the backs.
13 Brian OāDriscoll (Ireland)
Those legs donāt quite take him the full 70m now at the lick of old, but the brain has compensated, replacing pace with wisdom. Better than ever.
12 Jamie Roberts (Wales)
The purveyor of midfield surge, and much more than just a sledge-hammer. Has developed a good change of pace and an instinctive bond with OāD.
11 Ugo Monye (England)
Did enough yesterday to snatch the initiative from Luke Fitzgerald and Shane Williams. Full of speed and appetite.
10 Stephen Jones (Wales)
They say the Springboks will target the Lions at 10 and 12. Jones is a lot tougher than your traditional outside-half. He likes that sort of challenge.
9 Mike Phillips (Wales)
Nobody likes a physical challenge more than MP. Keeping him out of the flash points will be one of the missions for the more cerebral Lions.
1 Gethin Jenkins (Wales)
At the scrum, wonāt have a go at tight-head John Smit like Andrew Sheridan might have, but this is off-set by his remarkable contribution in the loose. An extraordinary tackler and distributor.
2 Lee Mears (England)
His squat, compact frame is suddenly all the rage. Difficult to tackle, heās a mole. And heās accuracy itself at the line-out. Breakthrough star of the tour so far.
3 Phil Vickery (England)
Comeback star of the tour. Thought he might have been too battered for all this, but he is standing up well and, far from burying himself, is enjoying the visibility of the new propping order.
4 Nathan Hines (Scotland)
Played out of position yesterday but did a few sweet off-loads. Should be happier as the cart-horse to OāConnell (meant as a compliment).
5 Paul OāConnell (Ireland, capt)
Is doing everything superbly as a leader, from off-the-field stuff to show time at the line-out. Everything, except carrying the ball forward ā and that should be easy to resolve. Use others first.
6 Tom Croft (England)
Stephen Ferrisās knee helped the flankerās cause but Croft had more than played himself into the frame. Lightning-fast, spring-heeled ā¦ a touch of the gruesome would complete the package.
7 David Wallace (Ireland)
Brings a greater solidity to the position than Martyn Williams. Twinkle may not be a priority.
8 Jamie Heaslip (Ireland)
Another of the finds of the tour. His running was no secret, but has been just as strong in defence. Mentally tough, too.
Replacements: 16 Matthew Rees (Wales) 17 Andrew Sheridan (England) 18 Alun Wyn Jones (Wales) 19 Martyn Williams (Wales) 20 Harry Ellis (England) 21 James Hook (Wales) 22 Luke Fitzgerald (Ireland)
[quote=āmyboyblueā]5 Paul OāConnell (Ireland, capt)
Is doing everything superbly as a leader, from off-the-field stuff to show time at the line-out. Everything, except carrying the ball forward and that should be easy to resolve. Use others first.[/QUOTE]
Eddie Butler makes the point Iāve been making for months. OāConnell needs to let the back row forwards take on more of the ball - he really overdoes the pick and drive stuff. But the thing that really pisses me off is the fact he keeps standing in the 12 channel and disrupting back line moves. The wide ball is on and he gathers and slowly takes it up the middle and momentum is lost. I couldnāt believe nobody else could see it and I was being accused of all sorts of unfounded bias and I even began to doubt mysell at times when I was alone. I respect Eddie Butler as a judge of rugby football so this is reassuring to me.
The problem O Connell has had this tour is that heās taking on too much of the ball carrying on his own shoulders. However POC rarely if ever loses the ball in contact and will normally take 3 players to bring him down, thus tying up defenders.
Eddie doesnt mention anything about the 12 channel there bandage, I would take it heās referring to ruck ball.
[quote=āmyboyblueā]The problem O Connell has had this tour is that heās taking on too much of the ball carrying on his own shoulders. However POC rarely if ever loses the ball in contact and will normally take 3 players to bring him down, thus tying up defenders.
Eddie doesnt mention anything about the 12 channel there bandage, I would take it heās referring to ruck ball.[/QUOTE]
Yep, I assume heās talking about ruck ball too but he needs to get the fook out of the 12 channel too. My locks for the tests would be Hines and Wyn-Jones.
You played a lot of it
Huh?
Wyn Jones? Heās had a shocker of a tour Bandage!
He was good in BODās first game when they routed a bunch of creamers.
You woulda looked good on the wing in that game.
OāConnell didnāt stand out in the opening game against 15 randomers. Look, it would be a close call between Hines, Wyn-Jones and Shaw as to who should get the test spots but Iād go for the first two on balance.