British and Irish Lions Tour 2013

[passedit]

The CCC would be proud of this one.

UPDATE 3-Rugby-Australia captain Horwill cleared of stamping

Sun Jun 23, 2013 3:26pm BST

* Accidental contact with head of Alun Wyn Jones

* Free to play second test (Updates with Horwill cleared of stamping)

By Nick Mulvenney

BRISBANE, June 23 (Reuters) - Australia captain James Horwill has been cleared of stamping during his side's loss to the British and Irish Lions in the first test in Brisbane, the Australian Rugby Union said.

The 28-year-old lock was cited for allegedly stamping or trampling on Lions counterpart Alun Wyn Jones early in the match at Lang Park on Saturday.

"After hearing all the evidence I could not find that when James Horwill's right foot came into glancing contact with Alun Wyn Jones' face, that he Horwill was acting recklessly," judicial officer Nigel Hampton said in a statement after the hearing in Melbourne on Sunday.

"I found that I could not reject as being implausible or improbable Horwill's explanation that as he was driving forward with his right leg raised he was spun off balance through the impact of Lions players entering the ruck from the opposite side.

"In an endeavour to regain his balance Horwill brought his right leg to the ground unknowing that Alun Wyn Jones' head was in that area, due to having his sight impeded by the presence of Michael Hooper and Tom Croft who were beneath him and over the top of Alun Wyn Jones."

The decision means Horwill will be free to play the second test in Melbourne on Saturday, a match his side must win to keep the three-match series alive.

Wyn Jones required stitches in his eye following the match, Lions coach Warren Gatland said in a news conference earlier on Sunday.

"The feeling from us is that it needed to be referred to the citing commission to have a look and for him to make a decision.

"For me, I played in the days when rucking was allowed and I've still got a few scars that bear the witness of some decent ruckings that I had. But the head was sacrosanct and you stayed away from that."

The Lions held on to win the game 23-21 after the Wallabies' replacement fullback Kurtley Beale missed two late penalties, the second on the stroke of fulltime that could have won the game for the hosts.

The Lions face the Melbourne Rebels in their final midweek clash of the tour on Tuesday. (Additional reporting by Greg Stutchbury in Wellington and Josh Reich in London; Editing by John O'Brien and John Mehaffey)

http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_detailpage&v=K2I8Fpk7FpQ

[Count 10]

Bad news


http://www1.skysports.com/rugby-union/news/16057/8789833/British-and-Irish-Lions-Paul-O-Connell-to-miss-the-remainder-of-the-tour

[Syferus]

If the series swings against the Lions in the second test it'll be hard to see them winning the third with all these injuries. Melbourne or bust?

[Count 10]

British and Irish Lions: 15 Leigh Halfpenny, 14 Tommy Bowe, 13 Brian O'Driscoll, 12 Jonathan Davies, 11 George North, 10 Jonny Sexton, 9 Ben Youngs, 1 Mako Vunipola, 2 Tom Youngs, 3 Adam Jones, 4 Alun Wyn Jones, 5 Geoff Parling, 6 Dan Lydiate, 7 Sam Warburton, 8 Jamie Heaslip.
Replacements: 16 Richard Hibbard, 17 Ryan Grant, 18 Dan Cole, 19 Tom Croft, 20 Sean O'Brien, 21 Conor Murray, 22 Owen Farrell, 23 Alex Cuthbert

[thewobbler]

Australia by around 12-15.

[Walter Cronc]

British and Irish Lions: 15 Leigh Halfpenny, 14 Tommy Bowe, 13 Brian O'Driscoll, 12 Jonathan Davies, 11 George North, 10 Jonny Sexton, 9 Ben Youngs, 1 Mako Vunipola, 2 Tom Youngs, 3 Adam Jones, 4 Alun Wyn Jones, 5 Geoff Parling, 6 Dan Lydiate, 7 Sam Warburton, 8 Jamie Heaslip.
Replacements: 16 Richard Hibbard, 17 Ryan Grant, 18 Dan Cole, 19 Tom Croft, 20 Sean O'Brien, 21 Conor Murray, 22 Owen Farrell, 23 Alex Cuthbert

Some big calls by the management for this one. Surprised to see Bowe straight in from the start. No natural 2nd row cover apart from Croft. Lydiate obviously selected to combat the threat of Genia sniping!

[johnneycool]

British and Irish Lions: 15 Leigh Halfpenny, 14 Tommy Bowe, 13 Brian O'Driscoll, 12 Jonathan Davies, 11 George North, 10 Jonny Sexton, 9 Ben Youngs, 1 Mako Vunipola, 2 Tom Youngs, 3 Adam Jones, 4 Alun Wyn Jones, 5 Geoff Parling, 6 Dan Lydiate, 7 Sam Warburton, 8 Jamie Heaslip.
Replacements: 16 Richard Hibbard, 17 Ryan Grant, 18 Dan Cole, 19 Tom Croft, 20 Sean O'Brien, 21 Conor Murray, 22 Owen Farrell, 23 Alex Cuthbert

Some big calls by the management for this one. Surprised to see Bowe straight in from the start. No natural 2nd row cover apart from Croft. Lydiate obviously selected to combat the threat of Genia sniping!

Mike Philips gone completely from the match day squad, that's some fall from grace..

[screenexile]

British and Irish Lions: 15 Leigh Halfpenny, 14 Tommy Bowe, 13 Brian O'Driscoll, 12 Jonathan Davies, 11 George North, 10 Jonny Sexton, 9 Ben Youngs, 1 Mako Vunipola, 2 Tom Youngs, 3 Adam Jones, 4 Alun Wyn Jones, 5 Geoff Parling, 6 Dan Lydiate, 7 Sam Warburton, 8 Jamie Heaslip.
Replacements: 16 Richard Hibbard, 17 Ryan Grant, 18 Dan Cole, 19 Tom Croft, 20 Sean O'Brien, 21 Conor Murray, 22 Owen Farrell, 23 Alex Cuthbert

Some big calls by the management for this one. Surprised to see Bowe straight in from the start. No natural 2nd row cover apart from Croft. Lydiate obviously selected to combat the threat of Genia sniping!

Mike Philips gone completely from the match day squad, that's some fall from grace..

Serious call but I think it's the right one. It's as bad a game I've seen him play and he didn't look up to the pace at all.

Paddy Power have paid out on a Lions series win already??!!

[Walter Cronc]

I fancy the Aussies big time for this one. The key to their backline didnt last 30 seconds last week and is back on Saturday! Lealiifano is an excellent distributor and will prove an excellent foil for O'Connor.

The Lions are unable to build phases of play and rely on flashes of individual brilliance to win games. That will only last so long!

[Declan]

Had a chuckle at this tweet
Brendan Fanning ‏@BrendanFanning
Congrats to Tommy Bowe for answering with straight face when asked if there was any daily activity ruled out by his hand injury!

[Declan]

This was good as well


So good old Paddy responded with

[deiseach]

Sportsbet win for the look on the face of the lion.

[screenexile]

All the better considering Paddy Power own Sportsbet!!

[deiseach]

All the better considering Paddy Power own Sportsbet!!

Fair enough. 'Paddy' has the knack of being all things to all punters, you can be sure the ad bragging about England winning the Ashes won't appear much on Irish IP addresses.

[CorkMan]

Lydiate ahead of Croft? I can see the obvious argument for starting him to combat Genia, but Tom Crofts athleticism and line-out ability make him a better option for me. I agree with the call to drop Mike Phillips but I thought Conor Murray would be a better option than Ben Youngs. Alex Cuthbert can feel fairly aggrieved imo. He got a good try the last day out and was solid enough defensively, but, I suppose, when you have a player of Tommy Bowes quality available, you can't leave him out.