dogmc Posted June 17, 2017 Share Posted June 17, 2017 The contrast is also that nz play a superb brand of rugby. They're fabulous to watch for a neutral Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Savage Henry Posted June 17, 2017 Share Posted June 17, 2017 Pretty decent win that in fairness. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dogmc Posted June 17, 2017 Share Posted June 17, 2017 Pretty decent win that in fairness. Yeah lions were smarter in 2nd half. Mab forwards were a real let down. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Savage Henry Posted June 17, 2017 Share Posted June 17, 2017 This guy comes from the Liam Boyce elocution school. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Salvo Montalbano Posted June 17, 2017 Share Posted June 17, 2017 Same feelings as above. The thing is, it's not that difficult to pick a Lions squad to satisfy all 4 unions and still retain a lot of control for yourself (and of course being in the squad doesn't mean you'll play a test anyway). - Pick the 4 captains (unless injured, newly appointed and so have no leadership experience, or have discipline issues). - Get the opinion of players, coaches, journalists and you could even say fans about who the best 5 players for each country at the most recent 6N has been. Ideally you'd want a split of forwards and backs - if for some reason it's all flying wingers and scrum halves you'd have an issue - and more often than not it would be. - You now have 24 players split equally between the 4 nations so everyone will be fairly satisfied. Now you go to your own picks, the guys described as "Test Match Animals who maybe aren't in the best of form but have stood up in the past on the big occasion and can be relied on to bring experience and a willingness to do anything, whether that's play 20 minutes midweek between tests or face up to the best player in the world against you. - You then look at any positions where the squad is a bit thin and add a few who have impressed in the 6N, have potential, might be capable of pushing for a test space or even just are there to help with morale. I'd ideally include one or two "bolters" who have maybe impressed in the leagues, age grade rugby or whatever in the old Lions tradition. Garland seems to have went through his Welsh players first, then plugged any gaps with Irish and English players then added a few token Scots at the end. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dogmc Posted June 17, 2017 Share Posted June 17, 2017 Sticking the ball up the jumper isnt likely to work against nz....they play sa every year who do the same thing n nz almost always wins....comfortably. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Savage Henry Posted June 17, 2017 Share Posted June 17, 2017 Same feelings as above. The thing is, it's not that difficult to pick a Lions squad to satisfy all 4 unions and still retain a lot of control for yourself (and of course being in the squad doesn't mean you'll play a test anyway). - Pick the 4 captains (unless injured, newly appointed and so have no leadership experience, or have discipline issues). - Get the opinion of players, coaches, journalists and you could even say fans about who the best 5 players for each country at the most recent 6N has been. Ideally you'd want a split of forwards and backs - if for some reason it's all flying wingers and scrum halves you'd have an issue - and more often than not it would be. - You now have 24 players split equally between the 4 nations so everyone will be fairly satisfied. Now you go to your own picks, the guys described as "Test Match Animals who maybe aren't in the best of form but have stood up in the past on the big occasion and can be relied on to bring experience and a willingness to do anything, whether that's play 20 minutes midweek between tests or face up to the best player in the world against you. - You then look at any positions where the squad is a bit thin and add a few who have impressed in the 6N, have potential, might be capable of pushing for a test space or even just are there to help with morale. I'd ideally include one or two "bolters" who have maybe impressed in the leagues, age grade rugby or whatever in the old Lions tradition. Garland seems to have went through his Welsh players first, then plugged any gaps with Irish and English players then added a few token Scots at the end. The last thing we want is Ireland fans having an influence on the team selection. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dogmc Posted June 17, 2017 Share Posted June 17, 2017 In fairness you dont need to focus groups or an arithmetical formula to put together a balanced lions squad, you just need a progressive smart coach. Mcgeechan n telfer managed it by picking simply on merit. Gatland has too fragile an ego and his rant after toony turned down a token coaching post was pathetic, as was his expression during the Scotland wales game. His tactics are laughable hence in his long career he only has 3 wins over sh sides (toony is only 2 behind him only 2 games into his career) n 2 of those were over a pish oz side with lions. Even then had beale not slipped in 1st test the tour would have been lost. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cheeko Green Posted June 17, 2017 Share Posted June 17, 2017 Just back in from the game. The Lions style was very effective in those conditions but horrendous to watch. Felt a bit sorry for some of the MAB backline who were not playing in their usual positions and got no help from their forwards, Lowe and McKenzie especially. The shitfest from the lions was further enhanced by the drunken lions fans standing/staggering around us. Made a poor spectacle even harder to endure. The Lions will be praying for rain next week but the AB forwards will not be so easily dominated. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dunning1874 Posted June 17, 2017 Share Posted June 17, 2017 I don't always want the Lions to lose, far from it, but on this tour I want them whitewashed and humiliated purely to get it right up Gatland and his ridiculous selections. While his desperate scrambling to find any excuse for leaving out Scottish players (who have taken us to fourth in the world and mutilated the Welsh side he's taken about 8000 players from) is the main reason for me feeling this way, his style of rugby and also pro-Welsh bias at the expense of all other countries rather than just Scotland are also a problem: not taking Launchbury is a bigger scandal than any of the Scots who missed out. I would love it, love it if Russell and Dell told him to ram it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dogmc Posted June 17, 2017 Share Posted June 17, 2017 I don't always want the Lions to lose, far from it, but on this tour I want them whitewashed and humiliated purely to get it right up Gatland and his ridiculous selections. While his desperate scrambling to find any excuse for leaving out Scottish players (who have taken us to fourth in the world and mutilated the Welsh side he's taken about 8000 players from) is the main reason for me feeling this way, his style of rugby and also pro-Welsh bias at the expense of all other countries rather than just Scotland are also a problem: not taking Launchbury is a bigger scandal than any of the Scots who missed out. I would love it, love it if Russell and Dell told him to ram it. Russell n dell have already done the obligatory photo op with the jersey. Some clown on Facebook just tried to tell me finn will be improved by the training he will get with lions [emoji23] Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Allan Jacobsen Posted June 17, 2017 Share Posted June 17, 2017 2 hours ago, Mark Connolly said: Such a shame. No-one likes to see that. I thought it was Ulster and Munster that everyone disliked? Do we all hate Leinster now? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GAD Posted June 17, 2017 Share Posted June 17, 2017 I thought the Maori were really shite there Btw. Completely annihilated up front, with an inability to do the basic skills in the backs, then descended into cheap shots and hammer throwing by the end because they weren't good enough to do anything else. The hit on Halfpenny could also easily have been red. That was the Lions easiest game this tour. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GAD Posted June 17, 2017 Share Posted June 17, 2017 28 minutes ago, Allan Jacobsen said: I thought it was Ulster and Munster that everyone disliked? Do we all hate Leinster now? We just hate everyone. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dogmc Posted June 17, 2017 Share Posted June 17, 2017 I thought it was Ulster and Munster that everyone disliked? Do we all hate Leinster now? I don't mind them....play a decent brand of rugby n fans not as bad as munster n ulster Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Allan Jacobsen Posted June 17, 2017 Share Posted June 17, 2017 14 minutes ago, GAD said: We just hate everyone. Us Scots sure are a contentious people. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
same_ol_g35 Posted June 17, 2017 Share Posted June 17, 2017 Us Scots sure are a contentious people. Damn Scots, we ruined Scotland. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Savage Henry Posted June 17, 2017 Share Posted June 17, 2017 Us Scots sure are a contentious people. I think we hate us as well. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
peasy23 Posted June 17, 2017 Share Posted June 17, 2017 I thought the Maori were really shite there Btw. Completely annihilated up front, with an inability to do the basic skills in the backs, then descended into cheap shots and hammer throwing by the end because they weren't good enough to do anything else. The hit on Halfpenny could also easily have been red. That was the Lions easiest game this tour. Didn't see the whole game, but from what I saw I thought the MABs looked exactly what they are, a select team that haven't had a lot of prep time. The Lions still looked well short of the levels the All Blacks showed yesterday. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Northsea80 Posted June 17, 2017 Share Posted June 17, 2017 I thought it was Ulster and Munster that everyone disliked? Do we all hate Leinster now? Ulster,Leinster and Munster! I've no issues with Connacht. Good guys. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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