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The Lions squad for 2021 prediction

TRF_heineken said:
Neither Proudfoot or Mitchell? With their inside knowledge of the country and the local stadiums and players??

Mitchell especially would have been of great help as he coached the Lions for a long time, and knows Ellis Park very well. I think Gatland missed a trick here...
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I would agree IMO Mitchell would've been the best choice defence coach wise.

I also hope they bring a dedicated lineout coach.
 
Sky trying to make a case for Van Der Flier @ 7. He had a superb game against Exeter and was good vs an abysmal England at the Aviva. However I've also seen him bullied by an aggressive English pack on at least two occasions. If my memory served me right he was subbed early. The boks as bare minimum will bring the same aggression and physicality that England played with. Far better to go with a more abrasive 7 in Curry or Watson. Who fetch just as well, but also carry better and are definitely more aggressive
 
LIONSxv said:
Sky trying to make a case for Van Der Flier @ 7. He had a superb game against Exeter and was good vs an abysmal England at the Aviva. However I've also seen him bullied by an aggressive English pack on at least two occasions. If my memory served me right he was subbed early. The boks as bare minimum will bring the same aggression and physicality that England played with. Far better to go with a more abrasive 7 in Curry or Watson. Who fetch just as well, but also carry better and are definitely more aggressive
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I don't think that reasoning holds up, I could say the same about Itoje* and getting beat up by Ireland. He's shown massive improvements in general this season and always looked good when he wasn't in packs containing POM since 2019. But Watson, Curry and Connors are all better options.

*Or any English forward who played this year and in 2018.
 
The Alpha Bro said:
I don't think that reasoning holds up, I could say the same about Itoje* and getting beat up by Ireland. He's shown massive improvements in general this season and always looked good when he wasn't in packs containing POM since 2019. But Watson, Curry and Connors are all better options.

*Or any English forward who played this year and in 2018.
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I've never seen Itoje get beat up by Ireland, or subbed off because he was getting bullied either. I've seen him have a poor game- vs Ireland and Leinster. In the main he has had more good than bad games That's the difference for me.

I understand we are all a bit one eyed when it comes to our fellow countrymen and certainly club affiliations. But van der flier would be 6 or 7th lions choice for me. Connors whilst promising would be behind Curry, Watson, Tips and Underhill
 
The Alpha Bro said:
I don't think that reasoning holds up, I could say the same about Itoje* and getting beat up by Ireland. He's shown massive improvements in general this season and always looked good when he wasn't in packs containing POM since 2019. But Watson, Curry and Connors are all better options.

*Or any English forward who played this year and in 2018.
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Exactly, every player gets beaten up from time to time. Unless your name is Justin Tipuric.
 
LIONSxv said:
I've never seen Itoje get beat up by Ireland, or subbed off because he was getting bullied either. I've seen him have a poor game- vs Ireland and Leinster. In the main he has had more good than bad games That's the difference for me.
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VdF has lost to England three times, his debut in 2016, and the two 2019 games, he played 80 mins each time, he had three quiet to bad games. Itoje has lost to Ireland three times, 2017, 2018 and 2021, he played 80 mins each time, he had three quiet to bad games.

Do you really think VdF has had more bad games than good? He's a grand slam winner, a Heineken Cup winner and has beaten NZ twice.
LIONSxv said:
I understand we are all a bit one eyed when it comes to our fellow countrymen and certainly club affiliations. But van der flier would be 6 or 7th lions choice for me. Connors whilst promising would be behind Curry, Watson, Tips and Underhill
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You've blown your load a bit with the biased comment I think. What I said wasn't at all unreasonable, apart from forgetting to mention Tipuric. Connors had a better 6n than Curry or Tipuric in my opinion, and he only played three games. He should have been Motm in both the Scotland and Italy games but was a victim of wearing the same head gear as Tadhg Beirne, you definitely can't pick Underhill ahead of him with no rugby but equally his injury probably rules him out.

Ultimately I'm happy with as few Leinster/Ireland players touring as possible, I just don't think you've reasoned your opinion very well by dismissing VdF for games he played two years ago.
 
living sacrifice said:
He didn't. He did get the most minutes on the wing out of any forward though.
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Is this not the right statistic to look at?

UYm6A3.jpg
 
Dean Cooperfield-West said:
Is this not the right statistic to look at?

UYm6A3.jpg
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Completely different list from the one I saw (which pretty much sums up rugby statistics).

Edit: I was looking for the other stats page but can't find it on my phone. I'm sure it was an ESPN one but can't see it.

Well done Mr Justin making the most tackles in a team that also won the tournament. He's still not a great 7 but he's ok I guess.
 
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living sacrifice said:
Completely different list from the one I saw (which pretty much sums up rugby statistics).

Edit: I was looking for the other stats page but can't find it on my phone. I'm sure it was an ESPN one but can't see it.

Well done Mr Justin making the most tackles in a team that also won the tournament. He's still not a great 7 but he's ok I guess.
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To be honest his defensive display this 6N wasn't anything that special by his standards. Was just mentioning it to demonstrate he wasn't out on the wing that much this tournament.
 

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