2009 Lions Tour

Can't wait for it.
I remember watching the last Lions Tour in SA as a young boy with my dad.

Always something very special to witness. Many of the South African players - Bakkies Botha, Vic Matfield etc have kept on playing Rugby in SA (in stead of playing in France for more money), purely to do this tour.
 
Yeah, 1997 was immense. That Living with the Lions doc made at the time was fantastic. If only we had people like Keith Wood and Scott Gibbs now. Met Gibbs a few months ago at an engagement party my band were playing at. Quite distracting trying to sing and play bass when one of your heroes is dancing about 2 yards away...and his missus is mint, lucky swine!:p
 
should pick up a bit at the weekend after the first *real* clash against S.A. I'm looking forward to it, although its hardly safe hitting the pub at 2pm (or earlier) on a Saturday. I think the Lions will take it, but I expect a battle.
 
I'm looking forward to some amazing rugby this weekend. The Lions can beat them, it's just down to if they can do it on the day. We should have a strong starting team out.

Biggest fail of the tour: Ryan Jones. Silly rush to get him out there. I think Adam Jones had the game of his life yesterday! So often he just doesn't seem to contribute in ball handling, but he was there yesterday. Hopefully that stays with him once he's back here!
 
lemonkettaz said:
Battling win 20-8.

Can't believe this is the only puny thread on this, thought there would have been bit more of a buzz on here for it...
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The moment I saw the name "Barry" in the teamlist for the Kings, I knew exactly what to expect. He's been a dirty animal since the first time I ever saw him play. He'll tell you he's hard, but fair, but I think he's a dirty cheating git. I was a bit disappointed with yesterday, mainly with the backrow - I felt they were trying too hard to show something special - and not getting the basics right.

Both times I've seen a Lions tour to South Africa, there has always been one local team whose sole ambition was to damage the Lions - in '97 Doddie Weir went home due to a snidey little rake down his leg, this time I think it was only luck that meant the two injuries sustained by the Lions were both accidental.

Having grown up in SA, with half my family South African and the other half English, Lions tours (and the World Cup last year!) are a source of great fun around here!

To be honest, I think the Lions are really going to struggle. Up front, they should be able to match the Saffers muscle for muscle, but Mears will have to throw perfectly in the lineout (which, to be fair, he has done so far) and the backrow are gonna have to be at their best if the Lions are to have any kind of chance.

Personally, I think the backrow decisions are the toughest and most important that Lions management team have. Do they go with pace, power, guile, intelligence, defensive, offensive....really hard to call - if it were me, I'd go Williams, Wallace and Heaslip - breaks my heart to leave Croft out cos I think he's class - not even sure he'd make my bench if he didn't make the first 15, but that's life. I just think the breakdown is where the Lions are going to win or lose this series - I see the Springboks have decided to call in Brossouw, the Cheetahs flanker who gave us such a hard time the other weekend, as cover for Burger.

As for the backs, I think they've pretty much picked themselves - apart from at number 11 - do they go Monye (loved that tackle on the Kings prop yesterday - my favourite tackle of the tour so far - immense!) who seems to be favourite for the position? Or perhaps even Kearney? To be honest, after yesterday, I think even Earls has an outside chance - but only on the wing. Jones pips the stand-off position, if only for the physicality of the Test match - it was a tough call though!

So, to get the ball rolling, here's my 15 for the first Test:

1 - Gethin Jenkins
2 - Lee Mears
3 - Phil Vickery
4 - Paul O'Connell
5 - Alun Wyn Jones
6 - David Wallace
7 - Martyn Williams
8 - Jamie Heaslip
9 - Mike Phillips
10 - Steven Jones
11 - Ugo Monye
12 - Jamie Roberts
13 - Brian O'Driscoll
14 - Tommy Bowe
15 - Lee Byrne

Sheesh - that went on a bit :D



edit: err yes, Lee Byrne, not Rob :D
 
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bcjames said:
Lee Byrne in full back? I'm with you on that team, not sure about the tighthead though. I think I've got to say Adam purely as an Ospreys fan :p
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Fixed that little error - god knows why I did that :)

I thought both props were tough calls, to be honest. Adam Jones is great in the loose and a solid scrummager, but I felt that Phil Vickery had that little bit extra on both counts, plus he's a real gobby git and seems to lead his pack well - something the forwards are missing cos Paul O'Connell is not as vocal as he could be. Went for Melonhead (or whatever they call him!) as he's just playing really well and if needs be he can cover both sides of the hooker (and this is coming from an Englishman whose other option is Andrew Sheridan :D).
 
Mine is very similar but I would change the Fly Half to Ronan, his big match experience would pip Stephen Jones for me.

1 - Gethin Jenkins
2 - Lee Mears
3 - Phil Vickery
4 - Paul O'Connell
5 - Alun Wyn Jones
6 - David Wallace
7 - Martyn Williams
8 - Jamie Heaslip
9 - Mike Phillips
10 - Ronan O'Gara
11 - Ugo Monye
12 - Jamie Roberts
13 - Brian O'Driscoll
14 - Tommy Bowe
15 - Lee Byrne
 
rainbow6six said:
Mine is very similar but I would change the Fly Half to Ronan, his big match experience would pip Stephen Jones for me.

1 - Gethin Jenkins
2 - Lee Mears
3 - Phil Vickery
4 - Paul O'Connell
5 - Alun Wyn Jones
6 - David Wallace
7 - Martyn Williams
8 - Jamie Heaslip
9 - Mike Phillips
10 - Ronan O'Gara
11 - Ugo Monye
12 - Jamie Roberts
13 - Brian O'Driscoll
14 - Tommy Bowe
15 - Lee Byrne
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I think that is as good a bet as you will see although maybe Jones would be a better pair with Phillips but other than that I cant see any other options.
 
I almost had it right - just didn't expect to see Croft get a place in the starting XV. Seeing as Phillips and Jones were the halfbacks, I kind of expected Williams to get the nod, but Wallace has had a good tour so far, so no real complaints.

Now we just need to wait for Saturday - and since it's a joint birthday celebration for my brother (the Springbok supporter) and I, it should be a cracker! :D
 
No real surprises in the starting 15, I think that they'll miss not having Hook on the bench, he can cover lots of positions and gives something different at 10 if the Lions wanted, ROG and Jones are too similar.

There's lots of bull coming from the Sprinboks about the Lions having an "illegal" scrummage (link)
Sounds to me like they're getting a bit worried, the Lions have had the edge in the scrum in all their games so far, and the Boks front row looks like it was picked more for their loose play.
Gethin Jenkins should give John Smith (an ex hooker!) at tighthead all sorts of problems, hopefully the ref will be on the ball.
 
nst68 said:
No real surprises in the starting 15, I think that they'll miss not having Hook on the bench, he can cover lots of positions and gives something different at 10 if the Lions wanted, ROG and Jones are too similar.

There's lots of bull coming from the Sprinboks about the Lions having an "illegal" scrummage (link)
Sounds to me like they're getting a bit worried, the Lions have had the edge in the scrum in all their games so far, and the Boks front row looks like it was picked more for their loose play.
Gethin Jenkins should give John Smith (an ex hooker!) at tighthead all sorts of problems, hopefully the ref will be on the ball.
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I agree that Hook will be a miss. Looking at the two flyhalves, I think Jones was the better choice for this match.

I'm not so sure that the Boks are as worried as people think they are. I think they're just playing mind-games - after all, they're talking more about the breakdown in that piece you linked to (although the journalist concentrates on the scrum) and it's well-known that the breakdown has been the Lions biggest problem so far. They're just highlighting weakness - at least that's my interpretation. If I was a Springbok fan, I'd be more worried about their lack of matches.

As for John Smit, don't write him off. He's been inspirational for the Boks over the last four or five years and he's a great player - I don't think he'll let himself get bossed by Jenkins.

Anyhow, I would not want to put a tenner on either side on Saturday. It's going to be really interesting to see how it goes. Fingers crossed the Lions win :D
 
Here is the squad from the BBC website:
L Byrne (Wales and Ospreys);
T Bowe (Ireland and Ospreys),
B O'Driscoll (Ireland and Leinster),
J Roberts (Wales and Cardiff Blues),
U Monye (England and Harlequins)
S Jones (Wales and Scarlets),
M Phillips (Wales and Ospreys);

G Jenkins (Wales and Cardiff Blues),
L Mears (England and Bath),
P Vickery (England and Wasps),
Alun Wyn Jones (Wales and Ospreys),
P O'Connell (Ireland and Munster, capt),
T Croft (England and Leicester),
D Wallace (Ireland and Munster),
J Heaslip (Ireland and Leinster).

Replacements:
M Rees (Wales and Scarlets),
A Jones (Wales and Ospreys),
D O'Callaghan (Ireland and Munster),
M Williams (Wales and Cardiff Blues),
H Ellis(England and Leicester),
R O'Gara (Ireland and Munster),
R Kearney (Ireland and Leinster).

I am worried about cover for loosehead. I know Jenkins is good but I have a feeling Smit will stuff him. I know Vickery can move across but he isn't that comfortable there. Annoyed Nathan Hines and Simon Shaw arn't included as well. The pack is looking light and the scrummage will come under pressure however it is very much geared for the line out with 3 proven jumpers there.
 
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I was expecting Shaw or Hines to be on the bench (esp with Croft in there as a jumper), they've both done well as a replacements so far and would supply some impact.

Looks like Hook's injury isn't as bad as feared and he should be able to play next Tuesday.
 
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