Test Match 2: All Blacks v British & Irish Lions (Wellington)

[ncurd]

100-0 tomorrow?

That would require NZ not to commit a single kickable penalty......I don't see that happening.

 

[TRF_Olyy]

I don't think we'll win by that much

 

[valley commando]

That would require NZ not to commit a single kickable penalty......I don't see that happening.

100 to 3 then ?

 

[RugbyMarvel]

Still a bit miffed as to why AWJ is starting...

https://rugbymarvel.wordpress.com/2...hosen-the-right-men-to-unlock-the-all-blacks/

Very good player, but feel the other locks have been better. Happy to be proved wrong and hoping I am. Fear though that we may struggle.

only 22.5 hours till kick off.

 

[Bruce_ma gooshvili]

Delighted we will see the Sexton / Farrell tandem from the start as I've been calling for that from day one. The problem is is about 6 games too late. What sort of chemistry can they possibly have here?

Backs in general would just about be my first choice (barring Daly if he is out of position). There are a lot of players who can actually pass the ball!!! Another nail in the coffin of Warrenball. A real chance of 17+ points for then Lions here.

Forwards for BIL but should have enough to gain the upperhand. I share the disappointment at AWJ but not Warburton.

I slightly prefer the NZ side to the one from the first test so I expect something like:

NZ 32 - 20 Lions

 

[Caitlyn Jenner]

Just won some free tickets today, bloody stoked!
I actually think the Sexton/Faz combo is a good move from Gatland. The weather's meant to be atrocious, so having two skillful guys with great kicking games is smart. Between those 2 and Murray, the ABs back 3 will have a handful!
This game will be won in the forwards, and imo the ABs have an edge there. Warburton can be good but has no form and AWJ is off the pace. In contrast, the whole NZ pack is firing, and Retallick is on another level!
I think the SBW/ALB combo may really hurt the Lions too, they drag in a lot of attention and are excellent at putting guys in space. Plus SBW running full tilt at Farrel is an exciting prospect.
If the Lions' forwards front up it will be tight. But despite the weather, I expect us to be too classy and run away with it in the end. ABs by 20 I'll say.

 

[g6mcg]

I know Woodward was knocked for it, but i wonder if the best approach for future lions tours is to select the preferred 23 and play them together for cohesion for 2/3 games. Drop the midweek games as they're just disruptive.

 

[ncurd]

I know Woodward was knocked for it, but i wonder if the best approach for future lions tours is to select the preferred 23 and play them together for cohesion for 2/3 games. Drop the midweek games as they're just disruptive.

Lets be honest Woordwards main mistake was being too loyal to players who had gone off the boil but had won a world cup 2 years previous....I remember a ton of injurues as well.

 

[valley commando]

I know Woodward was knocked for it, but i wonder if the best approach for future lions tours is to select the preferred 23 and play them together for cohesion for 2/3 games. Drop the midweek games as they're just disruptive.

No I wouldn't be in favour of that, Woodward was the worst ever Lions coach, the midweek games are vital in providing a platform for fringe players to show their worth, I would be in favour of longer tours at the expense of the money making but pointless play off games at the end of season, for a team to end up 4th in their respective league possibly 10 to 12 points worse than the league leader and still get a chance to win seems ridiculous to me and is nothing more than a money making exercise for the respective unions. I'm also not keen on the November tests, once again nothing more than financial gain for the unions.
Players these days play to many times per season, often when carrying injuries, the collisions have become more brutal as players get stronger and fitter, thus careers are shortening. Of serious concern are the volume of head injuries, something I feel has a knock on effect on decision making, North for instance looks a lesser player now than 2 years ago, could his on field decision making be effected by the amount of knocks to the head he has taken ? I suspect it may and it surely needs looking at by neurological specialists

 

[McTallshort]

I know Woodward was knocked for it, but i wonder if the best approach for future lions tours is to select the preferred 23 and play them together for cohesion for 2/3 games. Drop the midweek games as they're just disruptive.

Woodwards idea was sound his approch and selection were wrong.

 

[valley commando]

Just won some free tickets today, bloody stoked!
I actually think the Sexton/Faz combo is a good move from Gatland. The weather's meant to be atrocious, so having two skillful guys with great kicking games is smart. Between those 2 and Murray, the ABs back 3 will have a handful!
This game will be won in the forwards, and imo the ABs have an edge there. Warburton can be good but has no form and AWJ is off the pace. In contrast, the whole NZ pack is firing, and Retallick is on another level!
I think the SBW/ALB combo may really hurt the Lions too, they drag in a lot of attention and are excellent at putting guys in space. Plus SBW running full tilt at Farrel is an exciting prospect.
If the Lions' forwards front up it will be tight. But despite the weather, I expect us to be too classy and run away with it in the end. ABs by 20 I'll say.

Congratulations on winning free tickets, I presume to tomorrows test, lets hope you get to see a competitive match over the 80 minutes, with a Lions victory. I suspect however you will see a competitive match over 50 minutes with the AB's pulling away and winning by 12 to 16 points.

 

[valley commando]

Woodwards idea was sound his approch and selection were wrong.

Woodward proved to be the luckiest coach ever when England won the WC, the win was more about the players and the individual leaders on the pitch than any contribution from Woodward. He then went on to be the worst coach that has and will ever coach the Lions.

 

[Leonormous Boozer]

No I wouldn't be in favour of that, Woodward was the worst ever Lions coach, the midweek games are vital in providing a platform for fringe players to show their worth, I would be in favour of longer tours at the expense of the money making but pointless play off games at the end of season, for a team to end up 4th in their respective league possibly 10 to 12 points worse than the league leader and still get a chance to win seems ridiculous to me and is nothing more than a money making exercise for the respective unions. I'm also not keen on the November tests, once again nothing more than financial gain for the unions.
Players these days play to many times per season, often when carrying injuries, the collisions have become more brutal as players get stronger and fitter, thus careers are shortening. Of serious concern are the volume of head injuries, something I feel has a knock on effect on decision making, North for instance looks a lesser player now than 2 years ago, could his on field decision making be effected by the amount of knocks to the head he has taken ? I suspect it may and it surely needs looking at by neurological specialists

But the Lions is the biggest money making scheme of them all... It literally means nothing, no World ranking points, no competition, a fabricated rivalry, no one really cares when they lose etc... November internationals serve a purpose in preparing for 6nations and World Cups and league playoffs level off the competition which has been skewed by missing internationals. And with regard to playing too much rugby between the November internationals and league playoffs there are 5 games most players will have 3 or 4, the Lions have double that amount of games.

 

[valley commando]

But the Lions is the biggest money making scheme of them all... It literally means nothing, no World ranking points, no competition, a fabricated rivalry, no one really cares when they lose etc... November internationals serve a purpose in preparing for 6nations and World Cups and league playoffs level off the competition which has been skewed by missing internationals. And with regard to playing too much rugby between the November internationals and league playoffs there are 5 games most players will have 3 or 4, the Lions have double that amount of games.

Speak to the players mate it is the pinnacle of their career, it also means a lot to the opposition who only get a crack every 12 years.
Loose the Lions and we are in danger of loosing the whole ethos of our great game, I would rather loose the World Cup than the Lions, does history mean that little to you ?

 

[munstermuffin]

But the Lions is the biggest money making scheme of them all... It literally means nothing, no World ranking points, no competition, a fabricated rivalry, no one really cares when they lose etc... November internationals serve a purpose in preparing for 6nations and World Cups and league playoffs level off the competition which has been skewed by missing internationals. And with regard to playing too much rugby between the November internationals and league playoffs there are 5 games most players will have 3 or 4, the Lions have double that amount of games.

Just on that for history nerds. The whole Lions concept was originally devised simply to make money back at the origins of it all.
It was devised obviously long before the game went pro or competitions like an RWC existed but that is the elephant in the room. It was a money making tour that is still exactly that but is struggling to fit all of it's hype in to the Pro era.

 

[Thingimubob]

The Davies thing is more to do with the centre I think will benefit from the Sexton/Farrell partnership and the ability to unlock the back 3. Absolutely nothing to do with form or who's been best. I just think Daly or JJ(Henshaw has gone home) will benefit greater and make better use of it. Hope the clarifies things.

Yeah that's a fair enough, especially if you mostly focus on Davies' habit in the past of not passing / putting bad balls out to the wings (which has been the only thing to let Te'o's performances down so far this tour).

However, it really looks like he's worked on that this season and for the Scalrets and so far for the Lions he's been excellent in that regard, so I'm fairly confident that's not gonna be an issue. Probably the only blemish from him so far when it comes to distribution is that he passed a bit too early to Daly in the build up to that try last weekend, but his support play (obviously helped by Daly's wonderful in and out) and offload to SOB more than made up for it in my eyes!

Don't worry, not every Welsh poster is gonna dislike you if you disagree about JD2 whole bleedin' point of a forum is to debate and discuss these things

 

[Leonormous Boozer]

Speak to the players mate it is the pinnacle of their career, it also means a lot to the opposition who only get a crack every 12 years.
Loose the Lions and we are in danger of loosing the whole ethos of our great game, I would rather loose the World Cup than the Lions, does history mean that little to you ?

I doubt any Irish player that played in Chicago would swap that for a series win here, nor Series players and their back to back European cups, nor England and their win streak etc... We've started to hear players saying what an honour it is rather than it being the peak of their careers, pro rugby is quickly outgrowing the tour to the point it is literally impossible to beat a half decent side in the series.

And what ethos? I really don't see that either, if this forum is anything to go by debate gets toxic between rugby fans during the tour, any good banter isn't here at all!

 

[LeinsterMan (NotTigsMan)]

But the Lions is the biggest money making scheme of them all... It literally means nothing, no World ranking points, no competition, a fabricated rivalry, no one really cares when they lose etc... November internationals serve a purpose in preparing for 6nations and World Cups and league playoffs level off the competition which has been skewed by missing internationals. And with regard to playing too much rugby between the November internationals and league playoffs there are 5 games most players will have 3 or 4, the Lions have double that amount of games.

Not sure on the fabricated rivalry.
The Lions V SA rivalry is pretty big and real IMO. But yeh the Aus and NZ games are a bit more meh.

Wonder if they should make the Lions tour a once every 8 years and just do SA, easier on the timezone and once every 8 years makes it a proper once in a career thing for the players and should they join the NH club competitions over time then the seasons will be closer.

 

[Nubiwan]

This site is to discuss rugby not other posters, you and Rangechanger need to keep your snide self righteous comments to yourself, if I don't like what you say then I will neg it, its no coincidence that you get so many negs off me when you spout so much shite.
If you check you'll see I give out plenty of likes as well, some even go to you.

You're funny. So I set you to ignore. No longer interested in your opinion. Good luck with everyone else.

 

[Leonormous Boozer]

Not sure on the fabricated rivalry.
The Lions V SA rivalry is pretty big and real IMO. But yeh the Aus and NZ games are a bit more meh.

Wonder if they should make the Lions tour a once every 8 years and just do SA, easier on the timezone and once every 8 years makes it a proper once in a career thing for the players and should they join the NH club competitions over time then the seasons will be closer.

Adds no Gatland or Leinster player clause and I'm down!