Lions 2009 thread

[Capt Pat]

Just reading on BBC Sport Paul O'Connell has been named as the Lions captain.

First of his kind to captain the lions anyway i'm sure...

There have been many Irish captains in the past. Do you mean he is the first person who wasn't posh or English to be made leader of the Lions

[bcarrier]

There is an element of giving a dog a bad name where ROG is concerned....I was at The Grand Slam match in Wales with a couple of Leinster supporters and they had me convinced he was having a shocker. Reality is he had a bit of a wobble in first half but his second half performance - in particular exposing the Henson/Williams channel was right out of the top drawer. There is no England out half ( well part from a young jonny) that I would rather have.

[TirEoghaingodeo]

There is an element of giving a dog a bad name where ROG is concerned....I was at The Grand Slam match in Wales with a couple of Leinster supporters and they had me convinced he was having a shocker. Reality is he had a bit of a wobble in first half but his second half performance - in particular exposing the Henson/Williams channel was right out of the top drawer. There is no England out half ( well part from a young jonny) that I would rather have.

Hear hear. Quality player, good kicker positionally and for the posts. Granted defence is a weakness, but in the modern era all 10's suffer in comparison to Wilkinson's defence at his peak. Also think a lot of ulster rugby fans will never warm to him as they feel he should never have played before Humphreys.

[tyroneboi]

Squad has definitely been picked on form rather than form or rugby politics. Though have to say would rather have seen Care in instead of Ellis, one more fly half and the exclusion of Armitage was a bit of a surprise.

As for O'Gara I think he will start as first choice no 10. Since his last Lions tour in 2005, he has guided Munster to 2 (and maybe 3 before the tour starts) European Cups and then the Grand Slam with Ireland this year. Definitely deserves his place on the plane and would have him slightly ahead of Jones at this stage particularly if Munster win the European Cup.

My stab at the test team for what its worth:

Byrne, Bowe, BOD, Roberts, Williams, O'Gara, Phillips, Jenkins, Mears, Vickery, POC, Wyn Jones, Ferris/Worsely, Wallace, Heaslip

[Fear Boirche]

I think O'Callaghan will start, O'Connell will probably have a say in that.

[Bord na Mona man]

Bringing two fly halves might prove a mistake.
If the South Africans manage to injure one of them (they will be targetted) then backup will be a problem.
In warmup matches, you may have the South African equivalents of Duncan McCrea, wanting to make a name for themselves by dishing out a hammering to a Lions player.
With most other positions there are 2 or 3 alternative possibilities.

Great vote of confidence for Keith Earls, he should be some player for Ireland when his turn comes.

[Bogball XV]

Just reading on BBC Sport Paul O'Connell has been named as the Lions captain.

First of his kind to captain the lions anyway i'm sure...

There have been many Irish captains in the past. Do you mean he is the first person who wasn't posh or English to be made leader of the Lions

Baffling statement alright, what did it mean??

Very ballsy selection by McGeechan, I thought he'd have brough several of the Waps and English contingent. Regarding Quinlan and Earls, both of them are absolutely on fire at the moment, and I think Tom Croft is just that bit too light to face the Boks back row. McGeechan promised to pick on form, and the only player in the 37 not in decent form at the moment is Shane Williams. Fair play to McGeechan for standing up to them all. Never mind Francis, I can't wait to hear what Brian Moore thinks!

Test team:

Byrne, Bowe, Roberts, O'Driscoll, Halfpenny, Jones, Phillips

Jenkins, Flannery, Murray, O'Connell, Wyn-Jones, Ferris, Wallace, Heaslip

Not one England player in the 15. Perhaps Monye, maybe Worsley. But I definitely think it has to be the Irish backrow.

I'd be starting Williams too (instead of Halfpenny), I can see why you mightn't, but his try scoring record is unbelievable.

[screenexile]

Yeah the Boks reckon they got it wrong 12 years ago by not playing their bigger names in the Provincial Games against the Lions and there's talk of them rectifying that this time so the 2 Fly Halfs will definitely be targetted with this. Also it means only 2 fly halves to cover something like 10 games which is definitely a bit tight.

If there are any injuries at all I think Cipriani will be the first man on the plane over regardless if its a Forward or a Back as there is loads of cover in these areas.

[Tommy Tight Lips]

does seem a bit strange only taking 2 outhalfs,perhaps they intend to try some of the other guys in the number 10 position in the midweek games?who would be the best option there?

[Capt Pat]

Offhand I can only ever remember O'Leary playing outhalf for Munster in a game earlier in the season. He kicked all or most of the goals as well.

[Capt Pat]

"It was never something I aspired to" said O'Connell at his press conference today.

[Bord na Mona man]

If there are any injuries at all I think Cipriani will be the first man on the plane over regardless if its a Forward or a Back as there is loads of cover in these areas.

It could be a way of buying time to see what sort of form Jonny Wilkinson is in?
Give him a couple of more weeks to see how he is shaping up.
Cipriani or possibly Flood or Hook would be the fallback call up option, if Wilkinson isn't up to it.

[Hound]

If there are any injuries at all I think Cipriani will be the first man on the plane over regardless if its a Forward or a Back as there is loads of cover in these areas.

It could be a way of buying time to see what sort of form Jonny Wilkinson is in?
Give him a couple of more weeks to see how he is shaping up.
Cipriani or possibly Flood or Hook would be the fallback call up option, if Wilkinson isn't up to it.

If he was picking today, he'd have no justification for picking either Cipriani or Wilkinson ahead of Hook (even though Hook is below par at the moment) and the selection of either of them would be the top story in the English media. Hence he's waiting as long as he can to name a third. I'm positive a third outhalf will travel before the end of the tour, and he's hoping that one of Danny or Jonny show form and fitness between then and now, otherwise Hook will eventually get the call.

[Declan]

Unbelievable stuff this!

Sky apologises for Best comments
Sky Sports News was forced to apologise to viewers earlier today following a racist remark by former England coach Dick Best concerning England's Delon Armitage.
In the build-up to this afternoon's British & Irish Lions squad announcement, Best was asked to select his starting XV for the Test series.
When queried as to why he opted for Armitage over Ireland's Grand Slam winning winger Tommy Bowe, Best – who assumed the microphone was switched off – responded: "You've always got to have a coloured boy in the team."
Sky immediately cut back to the studio and a stunned presenter Mike Wedderburn, who is black. Co-presenter Millie Clode later apologised, saying: "[Best] made remarks that he thought were off-camera. We would like to apologise for any offence this may have caused."
In 2004, ITV football commentator Ron Atkinson resigned after making derogatory and racist comments about Chelsea's Marcel Desailly. The former Manchester United and Aston Villa manager has struggled to find broadcasting work since.

[A Quinn Martin Production]

Just reading on BBC Sport Paul O'Connell has been named as the Lions captain.

First of his kind to captain the lions anyway i'm sure...

There have been many Irish captains in the past. Do you mean he is the first person who wasn't posh or English to be made leader of the Lions

Baffling statement alright, what did it mean??

Very ballsy selection by McGeechan, I thought he'd have brough several of the Waps and English contingent. Regarding Quinlan and Earls, both of them are absolutely on fire at the moment, and I think Tom Croft is just that bit too light to face the Boks back row. McGeechan promised to pick on form, and the only player in the 37 not in decent form at the moment is Shane Williams. Fair play to McGeechan for standing up to them all. Never mind Francis, I can't wait to hear what Brian Moore thinks!

Test team:

Byrne, Bowe, Roberts, O'Driscoll, Halfpenny, Jones, Phillips

Jenkins, Flannery, Murray, O'Connell, Wyn-Jones, Ferris, Wallace, Heaslip

Not one England player in the 15. Perhaps Monye, maybe Worsley. But I definitely think it has to be the Irish backrow.

I'd be starting Williams too (instead of Halfpenny), I can see why you mightn't, but his try scoring record is unbelievable.

Youse are all a bit slow.