ACT Brumbies v British and Irish Lions (18/06/13)

[TRF_Olyy]

Didn't he do Baabaas after one of his final finals?

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[TRF Mr Fish]

Well by my reckoning it is something like:

Final international game: WC semi-final v France.
Final, final international game: Wales v Aus.
Final Ospreys game: Ospreys v Dragons.
Final, Final Ospreys game: Ospreys v Munster (Pro12 semi)
Final, Final, Final Ospreys game: Leinster v Ospreys (Pro12 final)

and now, Final, Final, Final, Final, Final, Final game: Lions v Brumbies.

Just you wait, he'll play a test against the Lions, I'm sure of it.

 

[Thingimubob]

Just you wait, he'll play a test against the Lions, I'm sure of it.

His Final, Final, Final, Final, Final, Final, Final, FINAL game eh (after the brumbies)

 

[dullonien]

Didn't he do Baabaas after one of his final finals?

You're right. So another one in there. His Dynaboars final game will also be his final professional game whenever that is. So we'll be able to add one more final game to the list in the future.

 

[TNT88]

I may have a dodgy memory, but aren't people so obsessed that at one point a few years back they auctioned off parts of the millennium stadium in-goal that Shane Williams had scored on before they tore the ground up to replace it?

University of Canberra Brumbies
1. Ruan Smith
2. Siliva Siliva
3. Scott Sio
4. Leon Power
5. Sam Carter
6. Scott Fardy
7. Colby Faingaa
8. Peter Kimlin (c)
9. Ian Prior
10. Matt Toomua
11. Clyde Rathbone
12. Andrew Smith
13. Tevita Kuridrani
14. Henry Speight
15. Jesse Mogg

Replacements
16. Josh Mann-Rea
17. Jean-Pierre Smith
18. Chris Cocca
19. Etienne Oosthuizen
20. Jordan Smiler
21. Mark Swanepoel
22. Robbie Coleman
23. Zack Holmes


I think the Brumbies will win this one, by a try or so. Jesse Mogg has pace like Morahan's last Saturday.

 

[TRF Mr Fish]

Decent squad - probably the closest game of the tour so far, just due to the fact that the Lions are putting out their weakest team so far.

 

[Peat]

On the one hand, I can't miss a Lions game where Wory is captain...

On the other, I don't want to watch any game where Barritt is playing 13.

Slightly surprised to see Youngs starting, as you'd have him down for test 23 - might be an early sub.

 

[InsaneAsylum]

LOL Shane Williams has had more come backs than John Farnham

Out of all the non-tests I think this one will test the Lions the most.

 

[Patchey]

Awesome selection. The idea of Shane being in a Lions shirt again makes me feel things that shouldn't be described in public (good things though). However according to the BBC he's going to fly out Monday, play Tuesday and leave Wednesday. 48ish hours with the squad literally to cover for the Brumbies game so enough players can be rested.


36 and Barritt in the centres is a positive for England fans as, knowing Lancaster, we'll see that combo in the Autumn so the more time they get to play together the better.

Hogg at ten. Can anyone explain why in all these call ups Laidlaw, Flood, Hook or, given Williams being asked to play, Wilkinson, haven't arrived as cover for ten?

 

[TRF_Olyy]

Wilkinson had surgery just after the top 14 final so is unavailable.
Does seem odd that they haven't called up a new 10 though.

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[Peat]

Wilkinson had surgery just after the top 14 final so is unavailable.
Does seem odd that they haven't called up a new 10 though.

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There's been no changes to the 10s they went out there with. Clearly Gatland reckons 2 and a half is enough.

 

[McTallshort]

almost spat my coffee out when I saw this! Thought its was an April fool in June.

Good luck to the lad obvious who the test team is now, sure him(for one game), Wade, 36 and Barriett will not mind playing midweek for the Lions, shocked at the number of injuries to be honest something wrong with whatever conditioning they are doing.

 

[TRF_Olyy]

There's been no changes to the 10s they went out there with. Clearly Gatland reckons 2 and a half is enough.

True enough - but then again I thought 2 was too few to start with.

shocked at the number of injuries to be honest something wrong with whatever conditioning they are doing.

Wales seem to get more injuries than any other 6N side, especially since they started all this cryotherapy nonsense.
Lions also use cryotherapy...

 

[Peat]

Its what they went with last time as well. I'm guessing the intent is to have two 10s getting a ton of time to ready them - but as we can see, it hasn't exactly worked. I had no strong opinions at the time, but now fully agree with you. The question, I guess, becomes just how well Hogg performs.

 

[Taylo2]

I don't think I've ever been as excited to see a Welshman play lol Can't wait to see Shane back in action, he is an absolute legend and always worth a punt on first try scorer

Just a shame i'll be working and have to avoid speaking to anyone until at least 7 :/

 

[Thingimubob]

almost spat my coffee out when I saw this! Thought its was an April fool in June.

Good luck to the lad obvious who the test team is now, sure him(for one game), Wade, 36 and Barriett will not mind playing midweek for the Lions, shocked at the number of injuries to be honest something wrong with whatever conditioning they are doing.

Doubt it's the conditioning, just one of those things I suppose. Remember that 2nd test 4 years ago where we lost Roberts, BOD, Gethin and Adam in the 2nd half?

 

[McTallshort]

Doubt it's the conditioning, just one of those things I suppose. Remember that 2nd test 4 years ago where we lost Roberts, BOD, Gethin and Adam in the 2nd half?

Yeah but we havnt even got to the 1st test yet and there have been less provincial games against weaker sides than there was in SA.

 

[Patchey]

There's been no changes to the 10s they went out there with. Clearly Gatland reckons 2 and a half is enough.

Which is baffling to be honest. Supposing Hogg gets a knock this game, with Kearney starting the Brumbies game and having suffered from injuries already that would leave the Lions vulnerable both at 10 and 15. The only other players in the squad who could cover 10 are Twelvetrees and (read in a weep) Barritt who played there at some point in South Africa. Similarly Maitland and Zebo have both played 15 occasionally but I'd rather have them on the wings where they're best and not out of position. If I was the ARU/Wallabies management I'd be begging the Brumbies to run their biggest forwards down the 10 channel all game.

Calling up another ten would be the way forward. Laidlaw is in South Africa with Scotland, Jackson and Madigan are in the US and Burns is in Argentina with England so they could all have left this weekend and be over the jet lag in time for the game. Admittedly they also played at the weekend. Calling up Williams for 48 hours just seems like a waste from an overall tour perspective. Another player would spend the rest of the tour with the Lions, providing cover for later injuries, pushing other players for places and just generally developing as an individual player. I'd put good money on Gatland having to call up either another outside back or a 10 before the end of the week once Williams has gone back to Japan. From a purely rational point of view the only advantages I can see of having him in the team are that it was relatively easy for him to get to Australia and that having not played test match rugby recently he is probably in better shape.

Of course from a purely irrational point of view I firmly believe tat Williams will arrive, score a last minute hatrick to win the game and be carried off the pitch after an ex-pat led pitch invasion...

 

[Mrs. Peter Quinn]

To me it looks as if Gats has decided, it wouldn't be a lions tour without losing to a club side! I mean, I like the look of the team, apart from Barritt at 13, but from that back-line, 4 players are recent call-ups(Wade, Williams, Twelvetrees, Barritt, one(Kearney) has played the least rugby of any lion this tour, and one(Hogg) is playing somewhere he's only really played in lower-level games.

So I'm pretty worried to be honest, it could go either of two ways: we could run rings around them and win by 30 again, or it might not click and we could very easily lose. The pack will need to put in a huge shift...

 

[dullonien]

I'm hoping the pack will be dominant enough to allow the backs to cut loose. It's still a very good pack, which bar a couple of positions I'd be happy to see start the tests. The backrow in particular is exceptionally strong, and imo quite a balanced, attack orientated one.

The backline is full of attacking players bar Barritt, but then someone like him is needed to do the hard work that some of the others possibly won't be able to. If the pack can release Youngs, Hogg, 36, Wade, Shane and Kearney, we could see some marvellous attacking rugby being played.