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2013 British and Irish Lions

I really hope Maitland doesn't start he was rubbish yesterday and hasn't been very impressive all tour and I think he'd struggle against the Aussie back 3.
 
Is Tuilagi out of picture? I know he's had his injuries just thought he'd be more the cover. Personally (maybe Munster bias) Zebo is best of 3 in my eyes but even if Zebo on bench why not start him and give him 40 then play Shane like same will apply in my eyes to Farrell is undercooked to which is worry if Sexton goes down. Why not give them 40 at start
 
munstermuffin said:
Is Tuilagi out of picture? I know he's had his injuries just thought he'd be more the cover. Personally (maybe Munster bias) Zebo is best of 3 in my eyes but even if Zebo on bench why not start him and give him 40 then play Shane like same will apply in my eyes to Farrell is undercooked to which is worry if Sexton goes down. Why not give them 40 at start
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Could be that Gatland has Zebo down to start the test but after he played a full 80 yesterday doesn't want him starting Tuesday then potentially having to play the full 80 on Saturday. If Gatland wants to give him twenty minutes off the bench on Tuesday to keep him ticking over (I guess he probably got less minutes for Ireland in North America than Cuthbert and Maitland have had in their games on this tour so far although I'm not sure as I haven't been following that tour) and then start him on Saturday it could be too much starting three games in a week. If the coaches feel that 20-30 minutes would be ideal for Zebo on Tuesday then it would make more sense for the Tuesday game to bring him on in the second half than start him and take him off before halftime. That's all guesswork on my part but I know if I wanted to start Zebo on Saturday but give him a short runout on Tuesday I'd do it off the bench for twenty rather than sub him off in the first half.
 
By heck, just seen Austin Healy putting a case and a pair of boots in the back of a taxi. You dont think.....................................................
 
Excellently written piece, very good read, especially in comparison to the one sentence per paragraph rubbish churned out my the tabloids.

As always I'm more than a little sceptical about his use of ESPN's scrum statistics. Zero clean breaks by Lydiate? I'm fairly certain I've seen a few from him. He may not be a Croft in open play, but he does add value to a teams attack, and that's with his carries around the fringes. These may not result in eye catching stats, but they are vital in modern rugby where defences need to be broke down before going wide.

Apparently Warburton can't 'carry the ball worth a lick' either, disagree with that.

Very interesting to hear his views about changing the tactics for the second test, even if the first is successful. I can't see it happening myself, but he does make some interesting points.
 
I find it a pretty plausible stat. Testrugby.com records 3, all of them made in the 2011 Six Nations, which incidentally was by far and away his best carrying tournament according to them. Its all been downhill from there. Testrugby have some pretty weird stats as well at times though. As for his carrying around the fringes, I'd describe it as strictly military medium. Most blindsides could come in and contribute what he does there imo; he is distinguished neither by the number or the efficacy or his interventions there.

The Warburton stuff is wrong though. Both in that he is a reasonable carrier, particularly by the standards of an openside, and that he doesn't actually win many turnovers. No, seriously. Testrugby would back me up on this (World Cup, where he was on fire, aside) and its what my eyes have been telling me. He makes a nuisance of himself, tackles well, carries well, gets the odd turnover here and there... he's like a poor man's version of Ritchie McCaw as he is now, a fine all-round ball-carrying openside who wins the odd bit of ball here and there.

He also failed to mention that Toby frequently shows all the ball handling skills of a concrete cow. Fantastic other than that, but it does somewhat preclude the renaissance man tag.
 
Yeah, not arguing that Lydiate is some kind of carrying god in the tight, but he does offer an option, and a decent one at that imo.

Warburton had a quiet 2012 in regards to turnovers. Injuries and a slight dip in form has meant that he's been a split second slower than he was in 2011. He doesn't need too many games to get back up to speed, so hopefully he'll make a couple more again on Sat.

Regarding Faletau, his handling skills are actually top drawer, and is why his offloading stats and his solidity at the restart are so impressive. It's his vision which has let him down in the past, not recognising overlaps outside of him on a number of occasions. I feel that he's improving in this regard. Still quite amazing the level he's at considering his age.
 
Warburton didn't make many in 2010 either - which merely backs up my perception as stands. Granted, players improve and injuries happen, so maybe the World Cup form is his true form, but right now it looks like an isolated hot streak.

As for Faletau - haven't seen that myself - picked 10 games from random on ESPN and got 6 offloads, and 14 turnovers (which includes a player knocking on as well as being isolated). Now, that might be the past influencing both the stats and my perception when its no longer true; the Daily Telegraph's stats give him 3 and 3 for the last Six Nations . Which isn't bad at all, but compared to Robshaw (6), Picamoles (8) and Zanni (12!), it doesn't indicate top drawer handling... I shall play closer attention. He is certainly quite the beast given his age and the safest guy in the Welsh back-row imo.
 
Presuming this will be the team to play the first test:

Vunipola Hibbard Jones
POC AWJ
Croft Heaslip Warbs
Phillips Sexton
North Davies BOD Cuthbert
1/2P

I've included Hibbard as I think we need his scrumaging prowess to really push home our advantage there. Only other uncertainty is the right wing, I like to see Zebo start so we have a proper flyer in the back line but I think they'll go with Cuthbert if not Maitland. Tuilagi on the bench if fit, with a chance to start the 2nd test if he makes a difference.

Can't wait for Saturday now!
 
Amazing that out of all the midfield combinations tried out, the one we must settle for is the only one not to have been tried.

In one sense, yesterdays shambles has made Gatlands job a bit more straightforward - most starters, particularly in the pack ruled themselves out. Especially the front row. In contrast, pretty much everyone on yesterdays bench went and guaranteed themselves a bench spot for saturday! :p
 
I'd like Heaslip, Warburton and Lydiate to start - very balanced and would be an exciting backrow. But I feel he'll go for Faletau, Warburton and Croft - to give a boost in the line out.
 
Well Id like to think that Tipuric has secured a spot in at least the 23 - heard he was outstanding yesterday at the breakdown.

I agree with UlsterRugby too, definitely would prefer someone like Lydiate at 6 than Croft.
 
I'd say Croft is a certain starter. What he adds in attack and at the lineout is more than backed up by his underrated work at the breakdown. He got a couple of turn overs in the last game, secured every ball at the lineout and has scored 2 tries in 2 games, what more do you want??

Couple him with Warburton who is usually very gritty at the breakdown but doesn't offer much more elsewhere and you've got a very good set of complimentary blindsides.

The thing is Tipuric has been in better form than Warbs, so arguably you could swap them, but Gatland picked Warburton as his captain!! Go figure.
 
Thingimubob said:
Well Id like to think that Tipuric has secured a spot in at least the 23 - heard he was outstanding yesterday at the breakdown.
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I thought he had a relatively quiet game (compared to his usual standards). He put in a lot of work in defence, and was one of the few Lions players to get involved at ruck time, but he found it tough going. He managed a couple of turnovers early on, but as a whole, the Lions really struggled at the ruck in that game. He was still one of the better performers alongside Faletau and possibly Kearney.

I'm not sure who will wear the 20 jersey. Lydiate, SOB, Tipuric and Faletau/Heaslip are all possibilities. SOB offers the most versatility, covering all three backrow positions. Another option would be to forego a replacement lock, with Croft covering, and have Tipuric + Faletau (or similar) on the bench. This would give us the option of bringing Tipuric on alongside Warburton if the breakdown is an issue.

All in all, I'm expecting Tipuric to miss out, with Croft, Warburton and Heaslip/Faletau starting and SOB on the bench.
 
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If the Lions lose the series are we going to hear them pissin on and on over how unlucky they were how bad the referees were and how dirty SA were punching infront the cameras while the Lions did it in a maul or bottom of a ruck?

If its a yes then please Lions fckin win. I can't take pissin of the Poms for another four years. Strangely the Irish and Welsh did not give a fck and just accepted it.
 
sifplay said:
If the Lions lose the series are we going to hear them pissin on and on over how unlucky they were how bad the referees were and how dirty SA were punching infront the cameras while the Lions did it in a maul or bottom of a ruck?

If its a yes then please Lions fckin win. I can't take pissin of the Poms for another four years. Strangely the Irish and Welsh did not give a fck and just accepted it.
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I'm pretty sure we all just blamed ROG!
 

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