2021 Lions

[TrapperChamonix]

The lions a bit sloppy on the weekend, davies at 9 had a shocker although I didn't think murray was great when he came on either

George was excellent my motm , beirne and laws not far behind and van der merwe and Watson both looked v dangerous when they got the ball

Biggar was poor first half but grew into the game and was very good when the sharks went down to 14 men, now Russell is all but out of the tour it's a straight shoot out between him and farrel , I hope dan gets the nod but I am biased.

The boks preparation must be all over the shop and the lions really should win this series now

I thought Watson only came to life when the game opened up. Seemed slow to chase back a couple of times in the 1st half. I'd say Liam Williams is the only nailed on certainty in the back 3.

[Degz]

There's no way he can leave Josh Adams out.

[JB1973]

Adams is a cert to play imo the other 2 are wide open, van der merwe offers a big physical threat but looks a bit shaky in defence especially on the outside , lrz has the most out and out pace and a huge boot anyone but can sometimes let the game drift by him and needs to up his workrate

Watson Williams Hogg are all proven test players and all have big game experience and I get the feeling 2 of those three will play alongside adams

[betty swallocks]

I agree JB. I would see Williams at 15, Watson at 14, with Adams at 11. With Henshaw and Aki inside them at centre, Biggar at 10, and Murray at 9 you've got a decent backline there. With Price, Farrell, and E Daly on the bench.

[OneLungDavy]

I really hope they go with Hogg at 15, he's such a quality player, but probably not as reliable as Williams. Watson and Adams will probably take the two wing spots, they've no real weakness and in quality form.

[cormac]

Kelleher call-up confirmed

[cormac]

Lions taken a bit of a physical beating in that first half. Terrible decision making at the end of the half too.

[ronk]

Lions taken a bit of a physical beating in that first half. Terrible decision making at the end of the half too.

Yeah, at least AWJ will fix that

[wixfjord]

Hard to see who Lions starting 9/10 should be.

Murray was back to his bad stuff tonight and Farrell was chronic.

But there are no real 9 options and Biggar isn't fully fit.

The more you look at that 9-13 selection the less inspiring it becomes (beside Robbie).

[MylesNaGapoleen]

great game of rugby. thought it was inspired for rassie to wear a water bottle bib to chat with the team on the pitch.

we looked very ragged. Murray was talking too much to the ref in the first half but did okay overall for me.
curry did really wall as did faletau.
Farell didn't seem at the game. most of the bad stuff stemmed with him.
I think SA learnt more tonight than we did....but in the same breath, I think it was unfair to name so many internationals in the "A" team.

[JB1973]

That was a hard game of rugby yesterday, first half we were over powered especially at breakdown got back into it and should have won really, why didn't we go for the scrum when they were 2 players short, those tapped pens and keeping it narrow was daft

I thought both props went well, itoje vs good second half and curry was good all game

Beard and Daly both added something to the team

Our 9 and 10 were both poor and Murray didn't captain well

Here is the team for the weekend , good to see henshaw is fit and adams is back in the team

https://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/rugby-union/57848768

[hugonaut]

Peyper's refereeing of that match was seriously skew-whiff - like a throwback to the old tours I've read about with home referees giving everything to the home side.

I watched most of the game last night, and the Boks are very physical but ran out of puff very early in the second half. No surprise there really – they have only played one game together since early November 2019, which is an incredibly long time ago. Peyper gave them everything, but the Lions were unbelievably ham-fisted.

The Sky coverage is difficult to get over, even from people I normally like – Geech, Warburton, Greenwood etc. They have been blowing up this big hype balloon over one-sided walk-overs in empty stadiums and Greenwood in particular is beginning to sound almost hysterical. It is seriously wearing ... every single thing is over-sold, over-sentimentalised, over-wrought.

[JB1973]

Du toit went off with a hia, if he misses the first test it's a big blow for the boks, the guy is top class

[cormac]

Peyper's refereeing of that match was seriously skew-whiff - like a throwback to the old tours I've read about with home referees giving everything to the home side.

I watched most of the game last night, and the Boks are very physical but ran out of puff very early in the second half. No surprise there really – they have only played one game together since early November 2019, which is an incredibly long time ago. Peyper gave them everything, but the Lions were unbelievably ham-fisted.

The Sky coverage is difficult to get over, even from people I normally like – Geech, Warburton, Greenwood etc. They have been blowing up this big hype balloon over one-sided walk-overs in empty stadiums and Greenwood in particular is beginning to sound almost hysterical. It is seriously wearing ... every single thing is over-sold, over-sentimentalised, over-wrought.

Greenwood is getting worse than Scott Quinnell. They've also got too many co-commentators with Warburton, Greenwood and Owens.

[hugonaut]

Greenwood is getting worse than Scott Quinnell. They've also got too many co-commentators with Warburton, Greenwood and Owens.

Owens should be in the studio, or have his own booth in the same manner as the NFL refereeing consultant. I really like the idea of having a ref available to let the viewers know the reasons behind certain decisions. He has to be able to tell his co-commentators that they are wrong though, not allow them to muddle hi input.

Will Greenwood is a nice guy, but he has probably been cooped up too long over the last year or so. He sounds mental.

[ronk]

Greenwood is getting worse than Scott Quinnell. They've also got too many co-commentators with Warburton, Greenwood and Owens.

Owens should be in the studio, or have his own booth in the same manner as the NFL refereeing consultant. I really like the idea of having a ref available to let the viewers know the reasons behind certain decisions. He has to be able to tell his co-commentators that they are wrong though, not allow them to muddle hi input.

Will Greenwood is a nice guy, but he has probably been cooped up too long over the last year or so. He sounds mental.

The NFL ref consultant is covering multiple games.

[Experimental]

Tbh, I quite like greenwood, and his knowledge of the game is really really good. Hes probably gone mad in the last year, but who hasnt in fairness. I honestly couldnt believe what I was hearing from Nidge for that double movement non-try. Thought Murray has continued his mediocre form and didnt really get quick enough to the breakdowns, we kicked very poorly and Farrell was pretty bad at 10. As much as I love Ken Ownes, he looked a bit underpowered in open play against the boks. Navidi was quietish. I think our best starting team at the moment is:

Furlong
George
Jones
Itoje
Henderson
Watson
Beirne
Conan
Murray
Biggar
Henshaw
Daly
Adams
Watson
Williams/Hogg (depending on Williams hia)

Wouldnt start AWJones in the first test, I think it would be a mistake, better to keep him up our sleeves if things go wrong in the first test. Faletau, has definately upped his game, but I still think Conan is having more impact on the games. The loose head is toss of a coin really, I think they all offer very similar things. Not sure if Aki has done enough, I think he was very much one of those people who needed a big game against SA 'A' and id say he didnt punch the holes Gatland was hoping. he might still make it, but I think the Henshaw Daly combo will have to be bad on Saturday for that to happen. I think if we can get the maul defense right and not kick to their back three they are totally beatable.

[ronk]

Nigel was right. The 2nd move was allowed. The third was a penalty. I thought it was a clear grounding on the 2nd attempt though.

[JB1973]

The team I would pick (not what I think gats will pick)

Watson Adams Henshaw Aki Van der merwe Biggar Murray

Wyn jones George furlong
Itoje LawEs
Beirne Curry Toby f


bench Synkler Sutherland Owens Beard Naividi (solely cos he covers 6 7 and eight) Price Farrell Daly

I do rate this smith at 10 and he is in really good form if he has a good game Saturday I'd drop Farrell from the 23 , if price plays well I'd consider him to start at 9 as well

[Hippo]

Smith looks like the real deal, well worth a punt ahead of Farrell.