(Very) early thoughts on the 2017 Lions

[Saint4805]

Or maybe it's a cunning plan to make the opposition think they are playing the wrong direction

I did enjoy Baldrick's poem 'The German guns'. Boom boom boom boom boom

Lets hope the Lions tour doesn't get the same critique - started off badly, tailed off in the middle and the less said about the end the better.

 

[munstermuffin]

Is ringrose this generations Keith earls?
Couple of good performances and everyone goes mental until he fades away into club level obscurity?

In fairness to Earls being record scorer for country in RWC and scoring regularly is hardly fading in to club level obscurity now is it?

And being fair to Ringrose he's developed well and passed every hurdle so far. I'd argue he's done alot more than Daly

 

[valley commando]

No way is Ben Youngs better than Webb or Davies

 

[Ragey Erasmus]

Ah here we go again, our resident "The Lions should be Wales + token others" member strikes again. So how many world class is that now in Wales? 10 by your count? Second only to the ABs? Do you write for Wales Online by any chance?

 

[Mrs. Peter Quinn]

Ah here we go again, our resident "The Lions should be Wales + token others" member strikes again. So how many world class is that now in Wales? 10 by your count? Second only to the ABs? Do you write for Wales Online by any chance?

Mike Philips and Dwayne Peel are also better than Ben Youngs don't you know. Gareth Cooper also

 

[TRF_Olyy]

Were there any spoilers or leaks before the last squad announcement or is it all kept safely under wraps? I seem to recall a live presser on Sky where Gatland introduced Warburton as captain before the rest of the squad names were read out one by one by a member of the Lions committee.

Can't remember any spoilers - just remember the shock of Fat Stephens being included!

 

[Groundhog]

Is ringrose this generations Keith earls?
Couple of good performances and everyone goes mental until he fades away into club level obscurity?

This along with your comment about the Pro 12's quality in comparison to the Prem aren't Valley Commando level stupid, but they're still pretty poor, unless they were JK Rowlings, I can't really tell.

 

[ncurd]

Ah here we go again, our resident "The Lions should be Wales + token others" member strikes again. So how many world class is that now in Wales? 10 by your count? Second only to the ABs? Do you write for Wales Online by any chance?

TBF I'm not convinced Youngs will make the plane and even if he does its debatable whether he'd make the test team on the bench.

 

[valley commando]

Ah here we go again, our resident "The Lions should be Wales + token others" member strikes again. So how many world class is that now in Wales? 10 by your count? Second only to the ABs? Do you write for Wales Online by any chance?

Oh you guessed

 

[Leonormous Boozer]

In fairness to Earls being record scorer for country in RWC and scoring regularly is hardly fading in to club level obscurity now is it?

And being fair to Ringrose he's developed well and passed every hurdle so far. I'd argue he's done alot more than Daly

To be fair though Muff being Ireland's top RWC try scorer is the equivalent of being the most ripped kid in fat camp.

 

[munstermuffin]

To be fair though Muff being Ireland's top RWC try scorer is the equivalent of being the most ripped kid in fat camp.

Not exactly as he's proven it in a green or red shirt on wing that he's a finisher.
As I said if it were easy to score tries then not 1 of Ireland's back 3 deserves to go on Lions squad as they all have a much worst strike rate. And has a better strike rate per game/minutes even than Bowe. Only Denis Hickie has better.

So as a wing I'd hardly say he has faded away. He is Ireland's 5th top try scorer and still young enough to add alot more tries on to that.
Not sure if there is any evidence to show he has faded away.
Has been selected be Schmidt almost always when available, been called 1 of the most natural finishers by lads like Howlett O'Driscoll and the mentioned Hickie.
So again just not sure what I've missed on how he's faded away

 

[Don't Skip Leg Day]

No way is Ben Youngs better than Webb or Davies

Very true, Ben youngs is no way near those amateurs, I hope one day the 6 nation winning player can get to the level of those two semi professional inbred players.

Oh by the way I think Wales sucks, you might want to check that against score lines, but pretty sure they are a pile of dog poo.

 

[LeinsterMan (NotTigsMan)]

Not exactly as he's proven it in a green or red shirt on wing that he's a finisher.
As I said if it were easy to score tries then not 1 of Ireland's back 3 deserves to go on Lions squad as they all have a much worst strike rate. And has a better strike rate per game/minutes even than Bowe. Only Denis Hickie has better.

So as a wing I'd hardly say he has faded away. He is Ireland's 5th top try scorer and still young enough to add alot more tries on to that.
Not sure if there is any evidence to show he has faded away.
Has been selected be Schmidt almost always when available, been called 1 of the most natural finishers by lads like Howlett O'Driscoll and the mentioned Hickie.
So again just not sure what I've missed on how he's faded away

So we agree no Irish players should be in the back 3.

 

[corny]

Its not preposterous to suggest Webb and Davies are better than Youngs. They're both good players. I'd go Davies>Youngs>Webb myself.

Davies' pass is much better than Youngs'.

 

[munstermuffin]

So we agree no Irish players should be in the back 3.

Well in squad I'd argue if Zebo keeps up form he'd be fighting but no none are really in contention for test as I speak. The 6 Nations could change all that

 

[Ragey Erasmus]

Its not preposterous to suggest Webb and Davies are better than Youngs. They're both good players. I'd go Davies>Youngs>Webb myself.

Davies' pass is much better than Youngs'.

I'd be more inclined to accept it if it wasn't for the fact that Youngs easily played better than either during the mid and end of year tests and it wasn't Valley Commando saying it, considering he still seems to be under the delusion that Wales have world class talent in half their positions and Itoje it possibly the only English player who he thinks is better than his opposite in the Welsh squad.

 

[Peat]

For the love of god - can we stop basing all discussions on the more outrageous statements going around?

 

[LeinsterMan (NotTigsMan)]

For the love of god - can we stop basing all discussions on the more outrageous statements going around?

Peat such blasphemy, I nearly choked on me Steak pie and Henderson relish dinner.


So can we all agree that Manu should be starting for the lions yes.....

 

[TRF_Olyy]

Henderson relish

Did Ian hand make it himself?

 

[Leonormous Boozer]

Cian Healy is stupid as **** and shouldn't be allowed near planes in general for the safety of other passengers, nevermind one carrying a squad of Ireland's and Britain's best players. Discuss.