Lions tour of New Zealand 2017

[vogue]

Lions should have done something with the line out there and didn't..

 

[social]

Didn't realise that Sonny Bill was playing for the Blues

Mismatch!

 

[flibbertyjibber]

Ah man we could play that well and beat a bunch of test sides. This tour is going to be near impossible

Fully expect this to be 3-0. Won't help that Gatland will pick the wrong side to include his favourites.

 

[Magrat Garlick]

playing New Zealand at rugby union is hard, eh?

brand_new_information dot gif

 

[ripper868]

Great win for the Blues, something to savour for them given they won't be playing finals in Super Rugby this year. Only gets tougher for the Lions from here.

 

[StephenZA]

Great win for the Blues, something to savour for them given they won't be playing finals in Super Rugby this year. Only gets tougher for the Lions from here.

All the NZ are more deserving than the SA or Aus teams ..... Lions (superugby team!) and Brumbies the exception.

I think that the Lions will get better but need to score more than one try, not being able to break down the Blues defense is a worry for them. I am looking forward to the Crusaders game.

 

[BoyBrumby]

Any positives for the Lions? How did Biggar go at stand off?

 

[BoyBrumby]

I'll answer my own question then. I thought the Lions looked a lot better with Biggar at ten than ***ton. Farrell is starting at fly half though, short of injury. ***ton looks like an insipid imitation of the player he was.

Actually Biggar's concussion could do Fatland a favour; if it's bad we could see Russell or Ford called up. Both have more of a spark about their game, regardless of any defensive concerns.

Warrenball looks like it's been well and truly found out. A big centre on the crash just isn't going to beat NZ defences. Henshaw and Te'o have both actually gone decently and made yards, but as often as not it's resulted in rucks and slow ball, which is meat and drink to Kiwi defences. Laidlaw's lack of pace and ordinary distribution not helping in that regard either. Nice chap, decent cove but patently short of Lions' test quality.

As for Best's throw at the end; Ulster weeps for you, fella. Massive jib under the pump.

Massive kudos to the Blues though. Their offloading was deific; Luatua and Sonny Bill at the end, well words fail me. If one cannot appreciate that quality of play one shouldn't watch the game. Great gas from West to finish too. Not a hand laid on him.

Suddenly Sir Bald's stewardship in 2005 doesn't look quite so wretched, does it? I semi-jest, but Twatland seems to have made the same mistake. Bringing too many players based on what they've done for him previously.

 

[Howe_zat]

https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1MVqQOp4SSTk6N81OewhkDKWpv92hqjWJusKqs6TJb4Y/edit?usp=sharing

Marcuss on top in the sweepstakes thanks to CJ Stander. Ripper would be a close second if Jonny ***ton hadn't scored -3 points this time.

 

[Howe_zat]

I suspect the biggest error Gatland has made might be bringing Howley as attack coach.

Two tries scored on tour, one of which was a catch and drive.

 

[BoyBrumby]

There's probably something in that. Another error seems to have been too many "safe" selections. Players picked because of what they won't do or because they're good eggs. Best over Hartley, Biggar over Russell/Ford, Laidlaw over Care and Payne over Ringrose.

Launchbury missing out is even more bizarre viewed through that prism, the boy seems like the dictionary definition of a good soldier.

In fairness though Warren's been unlucky with Hogg, Joseph and Nowell all forgetting how to play rugby.

 

[social]

I'm probably in the minority but I didnt think that the Lions were that bad and certainly havent seen anything to be convinced that the ABs will slaughter them

Sure, they've been a bit short on creativity but that was to be expected IMO

At worst, they will hold their own in the forwards and they still have time to sort out combinations etc whilst the ABs will come in cold

 

[_Ed_]

ABs have a test against Samoa next week, so they won't be completely cold. But, yeah, I do think that was an improved showing from the Lions. Hopefully they'll continue on that upward trajectory - they'll need to, with a pretty formidable Crusaders team up next.

I wish the Blues had played like that a bit more often this year.

 

[Howe_zat]

Team for Saturday

15 Stuart Hogg – Glasgow Warriors, Scotland, 783
14 George North – Northampton Saints, Wales, #792
13 Jonathan Davies – Scarlets, Wales, #778
12 Ben Te’o – Worcester Warriors, England, #815
11 Liam Williams – Scarlets, Wales, #832
10 Owen Farrell – Saracens, England, #780
9 Conor Murray – Munster, Ireland, #790

1 Mako Vunipola – Saracens, England, #787
2 Jamie George – Saracens, England, #818
3 Tadhg Furlong – Leinster, Ireland, #817
4 Alun Wyn Jones (capt) – Ospreys, Wales, #761
5 George Kruis – Saracens, England, #819
6 Peter O’Mahony – Munster, Ireland, #833
7 Sean O’Brien – Leinster, Ireland, #796
8 Taulupe Faletau – Bath Rugby, Wales, #779

Replacements
16 Ken Owens – Scarlets, Wales, #829
17 Jack McGrath – Leinster, Ireland, #827
18 Dan Cole – Leicester, England, #794
19 Maro Itoje – Saracens, England, #825
20 CJ Stander – Munster, Ireland, #831
21 Rhys Webb – Ospreys, Wales, #820
22 Johnny ***ton – Leinster, Ireland, #791
23 Anthony Watson – Bath Rugby, England, #816

With the exception of the back row I think that's pretty close to the test team.

Stick a fork in Farrell playing centre. 80 minutes for Te'o and Henshaw in each of the first three games.

 

[BoyBrumby]

Yeah, as of now I think that's pretty close to full strength. Williams, L and Hogg have some ground to recover though. Both have stunk out the games they played in.

Not convinced by Wazza's AWJ love either; all three English options have out - performed him so far.

 

[ripper868]

That's a much stronger looking Lions team, should be another cracking game given the form the Crusaders have had this season. If Lions can't get a win with that XV it's basically goodnight to the test series.

 

[StephenZA]

Lions lacking a little bite: by Tony Johnson

​Lions Diary: Lions lacking a little bite: by Tony Johnson

Game One

An underwhelming start to the Lions tour, after they scraped through to a 13-7 win over a bunch of part time professionals dressed up as the Provincial Barbarians.

It would be ridiculous to write the team off on the basis of one game, especially the first one, a match they probably didn’t spend much time preparing for. There will be much bigger fish to fry and that is where the priorities lie.

They had flown from the UK, with a stopover in Melbourne, and had had only three days in New Zealand, but even so it was an unimpressive effort against a fired up and a local side a little better prepared than they might have anticipated.

Only four players made a truly favourable impression, prop Kyle Sinckler looks an interesting beast, Taulupe Faletau lived up to his reputation, Ben Te’o looks a penetrative centre and the backline looked a lot better when Owen Farrell came on.

If there is one big concern, it is their ability to cope with the pace and tempo of the New Zealand teams. They looked a bit startled at times by the speed of the Provincial team, and will get a lot harder against the Super teams.

The media coverage has been, in keeping with the times, over the top, far too quick to condemn, and at times a bit too harsh for my liking. The need for click-baiting headlines, and unduly provocative writing is something about the modern media game I do not like one bit.

One thing is for sure, these Lions are making a far greater effort off the field than the 2005 version did, when it was all stage managed to a ridiculous degree.

They cut a fine figure at a stirring, memorable Maori welcome at Waitangi on Sunday and appear to be well versed on the cultural front, even able to respond with a song or two of their own.

And after the opening game in Whangarei, instead of moping over a less than glorious win, they swapped jerseys and had a beer with the local players.

That’s what it’s supposed to be like.


Game Two:

An early loss, early signs of trouble for the Lions and early indications that the decision to play matches against all five Super Rugby franchises is going to prove too tough.

The Blues are certainly good enough to be in the Super Rugby playoffs, and in a fair and equitable format probably would be, but they are the bottom of the five New Zealand teams. They struggled away at set piece, and yet managed to win the game with superior skills and an attack that was streets years ahead of what the Lions were trying to do.

The try scored by Ihaia West, which turned out to be the game winner, was the result of a sublime display of offloading, angles of running, and individual evasive qualities that the Lions simply do not appear to possess. Sonny Bill Williams was imperious, and may have even done enough to quieten down those who seem to almost pathologically dislike everything he does.

The Lions should still have won. They had a five-metre lineout at the end and should have been able to control it and drive it over for a try, but they completely messed it up. Their discipline was poor, although the refereeing of the Frenchman Pascale Gauzere was at times incomprehensible.

The loss shouldn’t spell doom. We still have yet to see three of their most influential backs, Conor Murray, Jonathan Davies and George North in action, and we have only seen a little of Owen Farrell.

We have yet to see anything like their strongest possible combination, and are probably not going to until the Maori All Blacks game the weekend after next, which is a risk in itself because the team right now is lacking cohesion and combination. Harder still, when they are up against Super Rugby sides that have been playing together for four months.

But the signs are not promising.

They appear to be under-prepared, and it seems like the commitments to their clubs, and the endless demanding sponsor requirements have eaten into valuable time that could have been spent on the training field.

It is also appears that Warren Gatland is going to put all his eggs in the test series basket. If they win that then what happened at Eden Park won’t matter, but they are going to have to get a lot better to have any chance of competing with the All Blacks.

 

[StephenZA]

This feels very much like a 4th test.....

 

[BoyBrumby]

Better start for the Lions, but worrying Hogg's first action was to concede a pen for hanging on.

 

[BoyBrumby]

Very encouraging set piece from the Lions. Bossing an All Black front five.