Jakedood
Bench Player
- Joined
- Mar 16, 2015
- Messages
- 891
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I have to say having had a think about it
First off, thank goodness for Finn Russell. That man was magnificent. It seemed like he was always assessing his options as he went along, vs what Biggar did which was almost a preplanned effort, going through the motions. It was fantastic to watch, and his heads up style kept the SA defense guessing in a way which we hadnt yet seen this tour. Shows the quality of a really good fly half. This combined with some handling skills at high pace, on the gain line from the likes of Mako and Sinckler, Tadgh Furlong, Itoje, Conan busting tackles, it was a real free flow and although the Lions didnt get the result, they played the game the way the Lions should be playing and that made me happy
South Africa I'm going to say were a little lucky that game... not in the sense of refereeing calls, but games can swing on the bounce of a ball in rugby, and to me SA didnt create anything, one popped up ball in the air and then they're off, and they capitalised on that chance, but if that game is played 10 times, the Lions I think win 8 of those games
I'm also very grateful that the Lions went for the corner in the last 10 minutes, they knew a draw meant nothing, so was all about getting that win. May not have come off, but Mako held up over the line, again one of those little things that can go the other way on a different day
It does leave a sour taste in my mouth though that Russell can produce such glorious rugby, and yet Biggar & Farrell have shown nothing even remotely comparable to what I just saw. I hope he's about in 4 years time, at the age of 32, along with Marcus Smith, because those two could be one heck of a force playing together in Australia
The series in general hasnt been great, but that 3rd test at least made me enjoy what the best of B&I can do when put together in a team, and that's all you can really want from these tours. I do hope there's a coach who understands this, more so than a coach from Southern Hemisphere. I hope its Townsend next time around, I'm not blaming Gatland for all of this, but the Lions have always been magical and fun to watch, and his style is not suited to the culture of these tours at all unfortunately. Joue boys, joueeee
Fingers crossed in 4 years Australia have a half decent team out and it makes for a fun series. Its like picking a Jose Mourinho for this, and kinda saps a little of the fun out of it?
The Lions are my first rugby memory and I'll always always look forward to these tours, Im grateful that Russell got the 70 minutes or so to show exactly what can be done when you pick players able to play with tempo, and we can take these lessons into 2025
First off, thank goodness for Finn Russell. That man was magnificent. It seemed like he was always assessing his options as he went along, vs what Biggar did which was almost a preplanned effort, going through the motions. It was fantastic to watch, and his heads up style kept the SA defense guessing in a way which we hadnt yet seen this tour. Shows the quality of a really good fly half. This combined with some handling skills at high pace, on the gain line from the likes of Mako and Sinckler, Tadgh Furlong, Itoje, Conan busting tackles, it was a real free flow and although the Lions didnt get the result, they played the game the way the Lions should be playing and that made me happy
South Africa I'm going to say were a little lucky that game... not in the sense of refereeing calls, but games can swing on the bounce of a ball in rugby, and to me SA didnt create anything, one popped up ball in the air and then they're off, and they capitalised on that chance, but if that game is played 10 times, the Lions I think win 8 of those games
I'm also very grateful that the Lions went for the corner in the last 10 minutes, they knew a draw meant nothing, so was all about getting that win. May not have come off, but Mako held up over the line, again one of those little things that can go the other way on a different day
It does leave a sour taste in my mouth though that Russell can produce such glorious rugby, and yet Biggar & Farrell have shown nothing even remotely comparable to what I just saw. I hope he's about in 4 years time, at the age of 32, along with Marcus Smith, because those two could be one heck of a force playing together in Australia
The series in general hasnt been great, but that 3rd test at least made me enjoy what the best of B&I can do when put together in a team, and that's all you can really want from these tours. I do hope there's a coach who understands this, more so than a coach from Southern Hemisphere. I hope its Townsend next time around, I'm not blaming Gatland for all of this, but the Lions have always been magical and fun to watch, and his style is not suited to the culture of these tours at all unfortunately. Joue boys, joueeee
Fingers crossed in 4 years Australia have a half decent team out and it makes for a fun series. Its like picking a Jose Mourinho for this, and kinda saps a little of the fun out of it?
The Lions are my first rugby memory and I'll always always look forward to these tours, Im grateful that Russell got the 70 minutes or so to show exactly what can be done when you pick players able to play with tempo, and we can take these lessons into 2025
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