villaajax Posted May 6, 2013 Share Posted May 6, 2013 Is anyone else looking forward to the Lions' tour of Australia? I'm disappointed by the omission of Chris Robshaw but I'm sure he will be first in line for a call up if anyone gets injured. I think the Lions will win this series, Australia just aren't the team they once were. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
WhatAboutTheFinish Posted May 7, 2013 Share Posted May 7, 2013 I used to really love Lions tours but I can't help but feel they are a bit of an irrelavence in the modern game. We hear all this talk about building for the world cup but we can still take the time to break all preparations for a self congratulatory, back slapping tour of Australia. And if I hear one more player say that representing the Lions is 'the highest honour in the game', I might throw my TV through the window...being a World Champion is the highest honour in the game! Having said all that...the nearer the time comes I can feel myself getting a little more excited. I'm sure Robshaw will have been disappointed but it is hard to argue with the back row selection. The choice of captain for me was a surprise because I don't think (and I should declare myself as Welsh at this point) that Warbuton is a guaranteed starter in the test team...he's not even the best open side in Wales on current form. Agree that this is probably the best opportunity for a Lions tour victory in a long time and I'm going to stick my neck out and say that they should look comfortable in doing so. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CarewsEyebrowDesigner Posted May 7, 2013 Share Posted May 7, 2013 It should be a comfortable win, but the Aussie's have a knack of finding a way. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JB Posted May 7, 2013 Share Posted May 7, 2013 I'm finding it difficult to get as excited as normal about the Lions this time around. The Aussies aren't at their strongest and the Lions selection has been quite uninspired IMO. A few of those Welsh guys are very lucky to be touring. Roberts and Davies (in for his passing game?!) haven't shone for a while. Warburton isn't a great pick as captain either. Wales have lost the last 7 games he's led them, including 4 against Australia. Tipuric is the better player and Robshaw has had a better season. Wales were very poor for the best part of a year, losing to, amongst others, Samoa at home. It seems to me that one game is being used as evidence to suggest that they should make up the majority of the team. In that case, why is England destroying the All Blacks being seemingly forgotten about? Wales consistently bottle it against the SH nations. It's a shame they can never get as up for a game as they do against England. I can't think of many Welsh players who've had an impact in the Heineken Cup either, other than Lee Byrne being in the final. Corbisiero should have gone. England's scrum looks ten times better with him in there. I'd love to have seen Ben Morgan at 8 as well. I don't understand why he hasn't been picked. I think he would've been particularly awesome in Aussie conditions. I agree with others that this in the best chance for us to win a series that I can remember. Unfortunately, I don't think we've necessarily got/picked the players to do it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CVByrne Posted May 9, 2013 Share Posted May 9, 2013 I'm looking forward to the British & IRISH Lions. Unless you don't need our 9 players Please edit the title. Ta 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TrentVilla Posted May 31, 2013 Moderator Share Posted May 31, 2013 I absolutely love the Lions tour, I followed them around Australia in 2001 and think this would will be a cracker, I fancy us to come out as winners on their soil which would be fantastic. Fixtures Sat 1 Jun 12:30 BARBARIANS V BRITISH & IRISH LIONS Hong Kong Stadium Wed 5 Jun 11:00 WESTERN FORCE V BRITISH & IRISH LIONS Patersons StadiumSat 8 Jun 10:30 QUEENSLAND REDS V BRITISH & IRISH LIONS Suncorp Stadium Tue 11 Jun 10:30 COMBINED NSW-QLD COUNTRY V BRITISH & IRISH LIONS Hunter StadiumSat 15 Jun 10:30 NSW WARATAHS V BRITISH & IRISH LIONS Allianz StadiumTue 18 Jun 10:30 BRUMBIES V BRITISH & IRISH LIONS Canberra StadiumSat 22 Jun 11:00 QANTAS WALLABIES V BRITISH & IRISH LIONS Suncorp StadiumTue 25 Jun 10:30 MELBOURNE REBELS V BRITISH & IRISH LIONS AAMI Stadium Sat 29 Jun 11:00 QANTAS WALLABIES V BRITISH & IRISH LIONS Etihad StadiumSat 6 Jul 11:00 QANTAS WALLABIES V BRITISH & IRISH LIONS ANZ Stadium Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bickster Posted May 31, 2013 Moderator Share Posted May 31, 2013 Tbh the Lions Tours have lost a little gloss in the age of professionalism a they are now a filler for those gaps in the rugby calendar that aren't taken up by lucrative tournaments like the World Cup. It used to be the ultimate in Northern vs Southern Hemisphere rugby and was shown on Terrestrial TV. Look we're even playing the "Quantas Wallabies" wtf! The northern countries even play the southern ones every year in the "Autumn Internationals" long gone are the days when the All Blacks toured Britain and played regional representative sides before a Test Match or three, the Lions tour is a hark back to that but as such it's now an anachronism.I'll be watching what I can but the Lions no longer has the us vs them ultimate test of the game about it, it's lost something for me. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Meath_Villan Posted May 31, 2013 Share Posted May 31, 2013 British lions .....? guess we will take our guys back so Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
8pints Posted May 31, 2013 Share Posted May 31, 2013 I'm going to play a drinking game. I'll have a pint every time they're referred to as The British Lions And a short each time an Irish person comments on it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AVFCforever1991 Posted May 31, 2013 Share Posted May 31, 2013 I'll give the Egg chasing a watch... 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
villaajax Posted May 31, 2013 Author Share Posted May 31, 2013 British lions .....? guess we will take our guys back so You can take Cian Healey back. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Meath_Villan Posted May 31, 2013 Share Posted May 31, 2013 No dice !!! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CarewsEyebrowDesigner Posted June 1, 2013 Share Posted June 1, 2013 Ding dong! Smack in the chops for Farrell. He's been flaky so far. Best sort his head out. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
snowychap Posted June 1, 2013 Share Posted June 1, 2013 What's this 'drinks break' malarkey? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mikeyp102 Posted June 1, 2013 Share Posted June 1, 2013 Anyone know if the test matches will be reshown or at least highlights shown on terrestial tv(guessing the tour games won't)? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
villaajax Posted June 1, 2013 Author Share Posted June 1, 2013 What's this 'drinks break' malarkey? It's 31c there with 72% humidity, that's why they've lost to much sweat it looks like they're playing in the rain. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
StefanAVFC Posted June 1, 2013 Share Posted June 1, 2013 I detest Farrell. Why he's in the Lions squad I'll never know. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
snowychap Posted June 1, 2013 Share Posted June 1, 2013 What's this 'drinks break' malarkey?It's 31c there with 72% humidity, that's why they've lost to much sweat it looks like they're playing in the rain.I understand why they may require fluids to replace what they've lost - it's the idea of a scheduled break (other than half time) that's the problem not the taking on of fluids (as happens during natural breaks in play nowadays anyway).Wasn't there coaching going on too during that break? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
islingtonclaret Posted June 1, 2013 Share Posted June 1, 2013 Well that was an old fashioned pasting. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
villaajax Posted June 1, 2013 Author Share Posted June 1, 2013 I detest Farrell. Why he's in the Lions squad I'll never know. He didn't have a great game today but he's the best fly half available aside from Wilkinson. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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