TYPICAL!

[shtove]

<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE (Thingimubob @ Aug 10 2009, 08:59 AM) <{POST_SNAPBACK}></div>

I see what you mean about the Lions having around a month of preparation before the 1st Test, but imo the Lions lost that test because of picking the wrong team. You just have to look at when Adam Jones came off the bench to replace Vickery, he stedied the scrum and gave the Lions a platform to work from.This platform led to tries from Tom Croft and Mike Phillips. Maybe if the Lions had more time to prepare, Geech and his coaching staff would have realised that Vickery was going to get mullered in the scrum against Beast, and that Jones wasn't.[/b]

The same thing when Hayes came on in the final test. Plus POC got the better of Matfield in the lineout with Hayes lifting.

There were plenty of us on this forum doing a facepalm the weekend before the first test when Rowntree basically said Vickery was first name on the team sheet. Vickery's performance was a shocker even for his doubters, but I reckon his selection was down to management politics - Rowntree got the front five he wanted, Gatland got his Wales quota in to the match squad - and all while Geech was having his eyebrows plucked for his inspirational soon-to-be-released-on-DVD pre-match sermon.

So maybe preparation time for the squad is not the problem, but the cobbled together management running off at tangents.

Anyway, my respect for PDV is growing. He comes across as a bit nuts, but he's walking through a nest of vipers and surviving quite handily. Boring strategy on the pitch, but still getting it right.