CarewsEyebrowDesigner Posted June 4, 2013 Share Posted June 4, 2013 Sure. But they turned up when it mattered and won the tournament by giving England a spanking. England, on the other hand, had a great autumn and started the tournament with high expectations. They played well at the start of the Six Nations but got progressively worse and struggled to score a try because they have a very limited 10 directing play. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CVByrne Posted June 4, 2013 Share Posted June 4, 2013 At the end of the day it's individuals that make up the Lions not countries. The players who went by and large deserved their places. Ireland had a shambolic six nations yet we have 10 players in the squad. Why? Because most of them are winners who play for Leinster the utterly dominant force of European rugby in recent seasons. While O'Connell & Bowe are experienced Lions tourists. The squad was picked based on current form and experience. Wales win in the decider against England in Cardiff had an impact of course because many of the players in those teams had no chance to show their best in important club matches. Welsh teams are by and large useless. their only platform to shine is internationally. I don't have much complaints about the squad. I'll be bitterly disappointed if we lose the series given the damage that can be done with that pack, especially in the last 20 minutes when we can unload our bench with real impact. We've damage players everywhere. While I just love the Roberts, BOD centre partnership. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
villamark Posted June 4, 2013 Share Posted June 4, 2013 I am really struggling to see an English starter in the test team, maybe hooker?. Few on the bench maybe. My starting team at the moment would be Healy, Best, Jones, Connell, A W Jones, O' Brien, Warbuton, Heaslip Phillips, Sexton, roberts, Davies, North Halfpenny, Bowe. It can all change, if some players have some big games! I would of liked to see Ben Morgan of England go as he always makes yards. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CVByrne Posted June 4, 2013 Share Posted June 4, 2013 (edited) I'd be stunned if Brian O'Driscoll didn't start alongside Roberts. I think it'll be Healy, Best, Jones, O'Connell, A W Jones, O' Brien, Warbuton, Heaslip, Phillips, Sexton, Roberts, O'Driscoll, North, Halfpenny, Cuthbert. Jenkins may start ahead of Healy with Hibbard possibly starting instead of Best. The side will be dominated by Wales and Ireland I'm sure, simply because the best players for those positions happen to play for those 2 countries. Edited June 4, 2013 by CVByrne Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Zatman Posted June 4, 2013 Share Posted June 4, 2013 Wales have been the outstanding team in the NH for a few years, so I think Wales dominating the party is only fair. Oh but they didn't beat NZ and England did! The kicking debate is pointless. Halfpenny is better than both and will probably have the kicking duties. Sexton is proven, experienced 10 and has trophies to his name to back him up. He'll get the nod and Farrell will come off the bench if the game gets tight and they need to just ping it in the corners and batter the Aussies up front. Then again, Sexton didn't beat NZ and England did. Oh, did I mention that England beat NZ? They did you know! Dave Whelan is that you Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
villaajax Posted June 4, 2013 Author Share Posted June 4, 2013 I'd be stunned if Brian O'Driscoll didn't start alongside Roberts. I think it'll be Healy, Best, Jones, O'Connell, A W Jones, O' Brien, Warbuton, Heaslip, Phillips, Sexton, Roberts, O'Driscoll, North, Halfpenny, Cuthbert. Jenkins may start ahead of Healy with Hibbard possibly starting instead of Best. The side will be dominated by Wales and Ireland I'm sure, simply because the best players for those positions happen to play for those 2 countries. You do know the team was named yesterday, right? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
villamark Posted June 4, 2013 Share Posted June 4, 2013 I'd be stunned if Brian O'Driscoll didn't start alongside Roberts. I think it'll be Healy, Best, Jones, O'Connell, A W Jones, O' Brien, Warbuton, Heaslip, Phillips, Sexton, Roberts, O'Driscoll, North, Halfpenny, Cuthbert. Jenkins may start ahead of Healy with Hibbard possibly starting instead of Best. The side will be dominated by Wales and Ireland I'm sure, simply because the best players for those positions happen to play for those 2 countries. You do know the team was named yesterday, right? Not the starting test team. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
villaajax Posted June 4, 2013 Author Share Posted June 4, 2013 Ah, I thought you meant tomorrow's team. Either way, Dan Cole and Farrell should be in the team. Healey is a dirty word removed, it's a shame we're not playing a dirty team like South Africa who might... deal with him. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CVByrne Posted June 4, 2013 Share Posted June 4, 2013 (edited) Of course I'm talking about the first test team, the warm up games don't matter at all. Farrell has next to no chance of starting ahead of Sexton (baring a form collapse) and only a fool would even want him to. Sexton is one of if not the best player in the damn squad. Kicking duties can easily be switched to Halfpenny if we need to. Sextons all round play, especially creatively is vastly superior to Farrell. Edited June 4, 2013 by CVByrne Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
villamark Posted June 4, 2013 Share Posted June 4, 2013 Can't see either as Cole is poor in the scrum and Gatland loves Adam Jones, Farrell may get in if Sexton gets injured just before kick off and they can't get a replacement. Not sure Healy is that bad apart from trying to ruck Dan Cole out of a ruck after he had brought down a driving maul. If your going to rule out every player who has had a small misdemeanour than most of the side would be missing. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
villamark Posted June 4, 2013 Share Posted June 4, 2013 I think villaAjax is on a wind up as nobody would pick Farrell to start ahead of Sexton, he may make the bench if Wilkinson does not come out at some point. Even Guscott has given him no chance of starting. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
villaajax Posted June 4, 2013 Author Share Posted June 4, 2013 I think villaAjax is on a wind up as nobody would pick Farrell to start ahead of Sexton, he may make the bench if Wilkinson does not come out at some point. Even Guscott has given him no chance of starting. Guscott is as anti-England as you can get. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CVByrne Posted June 4, 2013 Share Posted June 4, 2013 Not sure Healy is that bad apart from trying to ruck Dan Cole out of a ruck after he had brought down a driving maul. Healy is an excellent player and was man of the match in the World Cup when we gave those Aussies a lesson in the scum. Either as a starter or off the bench Healy will be a very valuable addition to this team. We'll beat these Aussies up, starting with the scrum and just keep it up relentlessly for the full 80 minutes. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
villaajax Posted June 4, 2013 Author Share Posted June 4, 2013 Not sure Healy is that bad apart from trying to ruck Dan Cole out of a ruck after he had brought down a driving maul. He deliberately tried to snap Cole's leg, it was clear for all to see on video. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CVByrne Posted June 4, 2013 Share Posted June 4, 2013 Quite a few supporters will only watch international games and base their opinions on Six Nations etc.. But Wales play excellently together and are bigger than the sum of their parts when wearing the Red jersey. It's the opposite for Ireland. We should have won far more than we have given our dominance of European club Rugby. The problems were with the coaching. Now we have a real top class coach Ireland will show vast improvements. All our players in the Lions squad have been superb for their clubs and if they bring those kind of performances to the Lions we have a serious team on our hands. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CarewsEyebrowDesigner Posted June 4, 2013 Share Posted June 4, 2013 TBH, I'm not fussed who starts. I just want to smash the Aussies. I can't bloody stand them*. *In a sporting sense. Quite like them on the whole. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
villaajax Posted June 4, 2013 Author Share Posted June 4, 2013 Also helps that Australia are so weak. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
villamark Posted June 4, 2013 Share Posted June 4, 2013 He got a short ban which was the right decsion, Healy and Jenkins are by far the best two looseheads on tour, but I think has been excellant this year a great ball carrier as well. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CVByrne Posted June 4, 2013 Share Posted June 4, 2013 Not sure Healy is that bad apart from trying to ruck Dan Cole out of a ruck after he had brought down a driving maul. He deliberately tried to snap Cole's leg, it was clear for all to see on video. Maybe we shouldn't bring the English on these tours. This kind of shit is why it's sometimes tricky to get the Lions to be the sum of their parts. The Lions we all play together so the minute the squad is picked they are our team. Support them ffs. Healy is a quality player. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
villamark Posted June 4, 2013 Share Posted June 4, 2013 I doubt Cole holds any ill will over it, he tried to kill the ball Healy used his boot on him, all water under the bridge. What happens on the pitch in rugby stays on the pitch, player's tend not to hold too may grudges. Farrell against Brits for example, Farrell knew he should of not held onto his shirt, Brits hit him, bit of a scuffle but Farrell and Brits are friends again. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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