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

[munstermuffin]

People can't underestimate Brumbies though and I've a feeling this will be the hardest tour game. They're flying in Super Rugby but have good depth in squad and as Laurie Fisher said recently this is a chance for lads to make a career and get noticed.

 

[sifplay]

This tour is scheduled crap. The first test should have been played this weekend already instead of seeing how many the Lions have left when test actually starts.

 

[munstermuffin]

This tour is scheduled crap. The first test should have been played this weekend already instead of seeing how many the Lions have left when test actually starts.

It's actually shorter as there should've been 10 games in Oz but Lions had to pay 300k to remove 1

 

[sifplay]

It's actually shorter as there should've been 10 games in Oz but Lions had to pay 300k to remove 1

Expected that from OZ. They will use any angle to make money. From scheduling minnows games with with short rest period to avoiding Argentina and eventually facing them at Mickey Mouse stadiums cause of their market value is not high

 

[InsaneAsylum]

sifplay, do professionals play rugby for free in South Africa? It sure sounds like it the way you are talking about Australia. From an administrative perspective, all professional sport is about increasing revenue.

 

[munstermuffin]

To be fair to Oz on this 1 I presume Lions cancelled to allow Baa Baas game

 

[Draggs]

I think Warren has realized that we aren't going to have a chance in the tests if we play our best a week before so that they can get twatted. I mean, it would suck losing to the Brumbies, but making it to the tests with no further injuries would be a major boost. Also, I pure loves Shane.

 

[sifplay]

sifplay, do professionals play rugby for free in South Africa? It sure sounds like it the way you are talking about Australia. From an administrative perspective, all professional sport is about increasing revenue.

At the expense of other teams during a WC? No they do not play for free. They get the same 33 percent from the Network deal Aus and NZ got. You want to increase revenue stop trying damage limitations go out and make rugby popular at schools

 

[Shaggy]

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?

Hogg to be the cover for both 10 and 15 on the bench, in the tests perhaps? ... who knows, perhaps they want to give both Hogg and Kearney more game time ... mind you, you could play just about anyone at 10 against some of the opposition they have come up against so far on tour.

 

[sifplay]

Makes a mockery of the whole selection process. Retired international playing in japan gets selected, wtf? Bit of an insult to Visser, Brown, Earls, blimey even Ashton

What a mad back line. Hogg's second match at fly half, Barritt at 13, Wade only just capped by England, Kearney just back from injury and then Shane stopping by for a run out before he goes on to commentate next weekend.

 

[mstar]

Makes a mockery of the whole selection process. Retired international playing in japan gets selected, wtf? Bit of an insult to Visser, Brown, Earls, blimey even Ashton

I agree another Gatland favoritism gone OTT. i agree a insult to other wingers and if i was the home nations rugby head officials i would not be happy, its denying another player almost selected proving his worth if there is a injury on the tour from now on.

 

[j'nuh]

I agree another Gatland favoritism gone OTT. i agree a insult to other wingers and if i was the home nations rugby head officials i would not be happy, its denying another player almost selected proving his worth if there is a injury on the tour from now on.

But there's absolutely no chance that a winger called at this point will actually have a chance of playing a test. Partly because of a lack of training time, partly because there are 6 wingers already on tour. A stop-gap was needed, Shane provided it.

 

[Mrs. Peter Quinn]

Think people are going OTT. I was critical of Gatland prior to the tour but virtually every call he made has come good, imo. Someone like Matt Stevens, who seemed an odd choice...has put in an excellent shift and has been better than Dan Cole. So with these new calls, I'm pretty happy to defer to his judgement. The only call I don't think has come off has been Maitland.

My other main criticism is Kearney... effectively, we took a 3rd full-back in favour of a 3rd fly-half... and that full-back has been out the whole time, when we could have been giving games to Biggar, for example

 

[UlsterRugby2012]

I agree another Gatland favoritism gone OTT. i agree a insult to other wingers and if i was the home nations rugby head officials i would not be happy, its denying another player almost selected proving his worth if there is a injury on the tour from now on.

Williams is only being called out for cover for this one game, and then will be flying home the next day.

 

[Thingimubob]

Makes a mockery of the whole selection process. Retired international playing in japan gets selected, wtf? Bit of an insult to Visser, Brown, Earls, blimey even Ashton

I agree another Gatland favoritism gone OTT. i agree a insult to other wingers and if i was the home nations rugby head officials i would not be happy, its denying another player almost selected proving his worth if there is a injury on the tour from now on.

As others have said, this is a stop gap measure. Calling in a winger from that list (Brown has no chance of being injury cover as a wing btw.. fullback maybe though) would mean that theyd have to travel halfway around the world and acclimatise in a few days at most, while Shane has been living in a very similar time zone (Japan is UTC +9:00 while Aus is UTC +8:00, +9:30 and +10:00) and was going to come to Australia to do pundit work for the tests anyway, so why not? Gives a rest to the boys that need it, creates a lot of publicity and hype and you get to have a legend gracing the Lions shirt again!
And hell, I'd take a retired Shane over Ashton any day!

 

[MunsterMan]

Always fancied the Brumbies to win this one, weeks ago, but i never feared the Lions team would be this bad. Shane Williams was great once, but Brad Barritt? Oh well, they're all Lions now! Lions abú.

 

[nealn]

As others have said, this is a stop gap measure. Calling in a winger from that list (Brown has no chance of being injury cover as a wing btw.. fullback maybe though) would mean that theyd have to travel halfway around the world and acclimatise in a few days at most, while Shane has been living in a very similar time zone (Japan is UTC +9:00 while Aus is UTC +8:00, +9:30 and +10:00) and was going to come to Australia to do pundit work for the tests anyway, so why not? Gives a rest to the boys that need it, creates a lot of publicity and hype and you get to have a legend gracing the Lions shirt again!
And hell, I'd take a retired Shane over Ashton any day!

Exactly... Brown and Visser etc would not have had the time to get to Oz, get over jet lag and train once or twice before Tuesday whilst as Williams was already scheduled to fly into Oz this weekend after the Japan Wales match yesterday he's in a much better position for that. Don't really see this as Gatland favouritism... Just pragmatism and expediancy combining.

 

[Peat]

Its better than a still hungover Andy Nicol on the bench for a test isn't it?

 

[Mrs. Peter Quinn]

I hope this squad doesn't indicate that Murray will take the scrum half bench spot... Gatland would be seriously shooting himself in the foot by selection BOTH philips and murray

 

[munstermuffin]

Lads just to say Williams benefitted from being in Aus already. It made sense as opposed to call someone who may have struggled to be there and ready for Tuesday and would know after that game they practically a bag carrier. It isn't really biased as opposed to saving money for covering the gap