2021 British & Irish Lions Squad

[Bada-Bing!]

Reckon we should just cancel the tour now AWJ and Tipuric are out.

TBH, can't wait until the Union breaks up and we won't have anymore Lions tours. Lol.

The BIL will still exist and play even if there is a break up of the Union, IMO. Too much money at stake and despite the protestations of Gatland's picks (wouldn't be surprised if this was his last tour) players still want to be a BI Lion and perceived as best of the best of GB and Ireland.

 

[LeinsterMan (NotTigsMan)]

Really? That surprises me but it shouldn't in this Brexit age. People who are considered experts aren't anymore and their opinions are given the same weight as an uninformed nobody on the internet who's never played the game. Wow.

Yeah, I hope you don't mind, and while I will never take any opinion from anyone as factual I think I'll put a little more weight into people who have actually played top level rugby before. Lol.

Thought pieces and opinion pieces don't = facts.

SCW won the rugby world cup yet some of the things he says are massively biased/plain dumb.

 

[Welsh Exile]

The BIL will still exist and play even if there is a break up of the Union, IMO. Too much money at stake and despite the protestations of Gatland's picks (wouldn't be surprised if this was his last tour) players still want to be a BI Lion and perceived as best of the best of GB and Ireland.

Yeah maybe. It's possible, though if the Union totally breaks up I don't know what you would call it but I guess in theory in could still happen. I doubt it, personally but this is a while off yet anyway.

 

[Welsh Exile]

Thought pieces and opinion pieces don't = facts.

It doesn't. But not all opinions are created equal my friend. Mind you, that's another sign of the times. People like to say" well that's my opinion" like that is the end of the conversation, when in reality some opinions are not worth listening to. Like 99% of people on the internet offering up rugby opinions. They're uniformed, have a fraction of the available information that people in the know have and just generally know a lot more.

I find it really odd you're arguing this point to be honest.

 

[Rinkadink]

The BIL will still exist and play even if there is a break up of the Union, IMO. Too much money at stake and despite the protestations of Gatland's picks (wouldn't be surprised if this was his last tour) players still want to be a BI Lion and perceived as best of the best of GB and Ireland.

Not only that, I guess a large number of people will still want to be brought together and sport/Lions would be a suitable rallying point.

 

[Welsh Exile]

Not only that, I guess a large number of people will still want to be brought together and sport/Lions would be a suitable rallying point.

Look no further than this forum as to how the Lions can bring a bunch of ***** like us together.

 

[LeinsterMan (NotTigsMan)]

It doesn't. But not all opinions are created equal my friend. Mind you, that's another sign of the times. People like to say" well that's my opinion" like that is the end of the conversation, when in reality some opinions are not worth listening to. Like 99% of people on the internet offering up rugby opinions. They're uniformed, have a fraction of the available information that people in the know have and just generally know a lot more.

I find it really odd you're arguing this point to be honest.

Cool. As I say, each to their own. We all have our opinions.

A bit like that?

On the argument you brought up rugby pundits and I brought up why I don't hold their opinion in high regard then you argued with that...

 

[Welsh Exile]

A bit like that?

On the argument you brought up rugby pundits and I brought up why I don't hold their opinion in high regard then you argued with that...

No, that is not what I was talking about but
I can see how you took it that way. I just find it hilarious that you seem to think you know better than all rugby experts. It's genuinely hilarious and a tad embarrassing but each to their own.

I'm talking about people looking to shut down debate arguing a point that maybe subjective (as most sporting matters are) but is clearly, how shall I say, an outlier view. A bit like people getting their knickers in a twist that a guy who hasn't played international rugby since March 2020 and has been playing rugby out in Japan not getting picked for the Lions over a player who played an important role in winning a 6N championship in 2021 who also hasn't been playing in a sub standard league. (Insert jokes about how **** the Pro 14 is here)

There's no right or wrong to this bollix is there. But what you can do is use a consensus of informed experts who back up your view. This doesn't prove anything other than more informed people tend to agree with you. It's a bit like the whole "AWJ is a average lock" it can't be proved either way but see what rugby people around the world think about that statement and you might find the consensus disagrees

 

[Bada-Bing!]

Look no further than this forum as to how the Lions can bring a bunch of ***** like us together.

Part and parcel of being a BIL fan, I'm afraid or at least the experience of it. You have years of each nation playing each other and being rivals and all the lead up and disagreements over the picks and then come test time a "coming together" (sort of) and then the *****ing between tests if the Lions lose and the dissection of what went right and wrong and which players should never be near the test team again. You either enjoy it or hate and stay the hell out of it.

Then once it's all over peeps go back to supporting their nation. Before the inevitable who do you think can make the next Lions tour team and the cycle starts all over again.

 

[anderton46]

Anyone could of beaten that Ausssie team and the Kiwi's were beaten better by wholly Irish and English sides.

Easy to say in hindsight. I remember people crying about BOD being dropped (similar to todays crying), and then JD2 just proving exactly why BOD was dropped.

 

[Leonormous Boozer]

Easy to say in hindsight. I remember people crying about BOD being dropped (similar to todays crying), and then JD2 just proving exactly why BOD was dropped.

By being carried by a dominant pack and Sexton on one of his unplayable days and not being better than BOD was?

Bringing SOB and Faletau into the backrow was what facilitated that win, Heaslip and Croft weren't generating front foot ball which was all that was needed.

On the I&B Lions and the union, they've survived a war between the two countries, I reckon they'll survive q split union. Surviving Gatland on the other hand?

 

[Don't Skip Leg Day]

Easy to say in hindsight. I remember people crying about BOD being dropped (similar to todays crying), and then JD2 just proving exactly why BOD was dropped.

Who did BOD have to have as his 12? That's why he didn't looked 100%. Should have swapped the 12 not the 13 ( and the 6 an 8).

 

[ncurd]

Who did BOD have to have as his 12? That's why he didn't looked 100%. Should have swapped the 12 not the 13 ( and the 6 an 8).

Hey let's remember a time when Gats could of played BOD and Tuilagi as a center combination. When he relegated Manu to the mid-week team and then when he did call up Manu to the bench he dropped BOD so he could play the Welsh boys instead.....what a genius.

 

[Welsh Exile]

Such a strange debate/thing to still contend/get annoyed about.

It would be cool if we had access to a parallel universe so we could see what would've happened if we played BOD or whoever. We might've won by more, we might've won by less, we might've lost the game, who knows? What we do know is the team Gatland picked won a decisive 3rd test match very comfortably in what was a tight test series. We had lost the previous 3 lions tours so it was a welcome win, who cares what 15 players did it really.

 

[Leonormous Boozer]

Such a strange debate/thing to still contend/get annoyed about.

It would be cool if we had access to a parallel universe so we could see what would've happened if we played BOD or whoever. We might've won by more, we might've won by less, we might've lost the game, who knows? What we do know is the team Gatland picked won a decisive 3rd test match very comfortably in what was a tight test series. We had lost the previous 3 lions tours so it was a welcome win, who cares what 15 players did it really.

It was triggered by someone stating the game proved "exactly why BOD was dropped". It didn't.

 

[anderton46]

It was triggered by someone stating the game proved "exactly why BOD was dropped". It didn't.

I guess that time Gareth Maule did him on the outside was the game that showed why he was dropped. Lol, awful.

Unreal how many people are still super salty about a game WE WON. Such tears, much cry.

 

[Welsh Exile]

It was triggered by someone stating the game proved "exactly why BOD was dropped". It didn't.

That's fair, I don't think you can say any victory is ever down to 1 individual but I also don't think you can say he made any mistakes in that selection either, considering the result.

If he, or even any of us, could go back in time and we chose to do something different we'd be stupid as you know the team he picked smashed it so why take the risk and make changes in the hope we would've won by even more?

 

[Bada-Bing!]

By being carried by a dominant pack and Sexton on one of his unplayable days and not being better than BOD was?

Bringing SOB and Faletau into the backrow was what facilitated that win, Heaslip and Croft weren't generating front foot ball which was all that was needed.

On the I&B Lions and the union, they've survived a war between the two countries, I reckon they'll survive q split union. Surviving Gatland on the other hand?

Corbs return to loose head, in place of a struggling Mako also definitely had a big impact on that 3rd test, especially those early scrum pens and getting Alexander yellow carded.

 

[RedruthRFC]

Yeh wouldn't surprise me if more cases on both sides when the tour begins.

I'd certainly price is as odds on, particularly within the Lions camp as they're being dragged unnecessarily from pillar to post and will be facing different teams.

 

[Don't Skip Leg Day]

Corbs return to loose head, in place of a struggling Mako also definitely had a big impact on that 3rd test, especially those early scrum pens and getting Alexander yellow carded.

I remember that. Would be really strange for a coach to pick Mako again against the boks, oh wait……