Australia v British & Irish Lions, 3rd Test (Sydney)

[Spieber]

I'm as excited as a very excitable person who has a special reason to be excited!
(apologies to Lt George) - only one more big sleep to go.

 

[vismyr]

I think the reality tomorrow night will be that the stadium will still be chock-a-block full of Lions fans who will all be making a ton of noise.

I think any Irish person who has a ticket to the game will be well and truly over any angst or upset they're feeling about the BOD decision and will be pumped tomorrow night. I think it's pretty much impossible not to be.

I really don't think any Irish Lions supporters will be turning up tomorrow night to cheer for the Wallabies.

Totally agree. Right now, they're just running on emotion. It was pretty clear going into this series that Roberts was going to be first choice centre anyway (as he should be) so really, what is the complaint again? Full respect to BOD -- he's been great, but the Lions should have put this series away already, but the players haven't been good enough. Hence the six changes.

But I have no doubt, come tomorrow night, all Lions supporters will be feverishly backing their team to win the decider, no matter the how many of their countries players are in the team. How could it be any other way?

And just to clarify, I hope the Wallabies win, but my gut says the Lions will take it out. Looking forward to a great spectacle tomorrow night!

 

[Ghibli]

They could easily have just had him coming off the bench for the last 30 and they then could have gone a 5/3 split.

I hope it doesn't bite us.

Provided he is fit, and with Pocock out, Smith is the best 7 in the country.
Why should he play only in the last 30.

 

[JSRF10]

Welcome to the forums ShireRugby84

Another Blog, Whiff of Cordite, was talking about how a lot of Irish were refusing to support the Lions now and how hard it is already for Ireland and Scotland supporters to get behind the Lions.

I think the WoC point was more that they wouldn't be cut up if the Lions lost and it'd be better for the sport if the Wallabies won given they are the only team trying to play rugby

 

[BDA]

I'm curious as to what proportion of the fans at the game on Saturday will be Wallabies fans and vice versa. 50/50?

 

[Braveheart81]

I'm curious as to what proportion of the fans at the game on Saturday will be Wallabies fans and vice versa. 50/50?

I'd guess somewhere between 30 and 50% Wallabies fans based on last week.

It will sound like it is 20% Wallabies fans vs 80% Lions fans.

The problem we face is that everyone in the stadium not wearing gold or red is probably a Wallabies fan.

 

[JSRF10]

Braveheart81 said: ↑

I think the reality tomorrow night will be that the stadium will still be chock-a-block full of Lions fans who will all be making a ton of noise.

I think any Irish person who has a ticket to the game will be well and truly over any angst or upset they're feeling about the BOD decision and will be pumped tomorrow night. I think it's pretty much impossible not to be.

I really don't think any Irish Lions supporters will be turning up tomorrow night to cheer for the Wallabies.​

I'm pissed off that BOD wasn't picked, more so that it signals that the Lions are going back to Howley and Warrens boshing style of play. Which is boring to watch and pretty negative rugby. By not selecting skillful players in the squad like Murray, Tipuric and BOD they've sucked all the excitement out of the Lions play.

However I'll take the approach I take to all Lions games, go to the pub make a day of it, get sufficiently lubricated for the game, shout my head off, win lose or draw I'll be back in the pub after. Now if it was Ireland/Leinster who'd lost that last game by a point I'd be in a shocking mood all week but I got over it pretty quickly because to me the Lions games are about the social side of things and the rugby comes second, especially when its the defensive kind we've seen in the series so far. Make no mistake about it if it were 10 Irish on the team my attitude to the Lions would be exactly the same

 

[Tex]

I'm curious as to what proportion of the fans at the game on Saturday will be Wallabies fans and vice versa. 50/50?

Plenty more Wallabies fans. I came to the conclusion that the Lions fans are highly visible and audible on the streets because a) they're in red, b) they're living out of a suitcase and have little better to do than get cozy in bars, and c) they're bloody loud.

Take away the Lions shirt and they're not much more than a travelling horde of homeless inebriates, really.

 

[Braveheart81]

However I'll take the approach I take to all Lions games, go to the pub make a day of it, get sufficiently lubricated for the game, shout my head off, win lose or draw I'll be back in the pub after. Now if it was Ireland/Leinster who'd lost that last game by a point I'd be in a shocking mood all week but I got over it pretty quickly because to me the Lions games are about the social side of things and the rugby comes second,

I ended up in an Irish pub called The Limerick last Saturday night in Melbourne.

It was pretty hard to tell if any of the Lions fans in there were overly upset. They were all in great spirits (literally and metaphorically)!

 

[BDA]

Provided he is fit, and with Pocock out, Smith is the best 7 in the country.
Why should he play only in the last 30.

Yes plus his inclusion appears to have given our team a bit of a mental edge going into this game. A lot of the guys (Genia, Palu, etc) are talking about how they feel extra confident/comfortable with Smitty in the run on side for the weekend. It's hopefully given our forwards an extra spring in their step. I think at this stage in the series, winning the mental battle will go a long way to winning the war. That is certainly supported by the notion that the team that wins the second game in the series generally carries that momentum into the third and takes the cake.

Nevertheless this is going to be a game of inches. I wont be so bold as to predict a Wallabies win as this game, like the others will probably come down to a moment of brilliance by one player, or a silly penalty being conceded. But I'm pretty confident we've got a team that can go out and win this game provided we execute.

I think the game rests on how we perform in the scrum and at the breakdown. The Lions have chosen a strong scrum. We've shown this series that we have a pretty decent scrum, but I expect the Lions will get the upper-hand. The question is whether they can dominate enough to get the referee involved. The same goes for both sides at the breakdown. I have a horrible feeling that a yellow card might make an appearance at some point, handing the series to one team

 

[Tangawizi]

Plenty more Wallabies fans. I came to the conclusion that the Lions fans are highly visible and audible on the streets because a) they're in red, b) they're living out of a suitcase and have little better to do than get cozy in bars, and c) they're bloody loud.

Take away the Lions shirt and they're not much more than a travelling horde of homeless inebriates, really.

Yes, I think Wallabies fans definitely outnumbered the Lions fans in Brisbane but getting "Lions, Lions, Lions" out of your mouth takes about a 3rd of the time "Wallabies, Wallabies, Wallabies" does.

Very much looking forward to shouting it a lot tomorrow night though.

 

[JSRF10]

I ended up in an Irish pub called The Limerick last Saturday night in Melbourne.

It was pretty hard to tell if any of the Lions fans in there were overly upset. They were all in great spirits (literally and metaphorically)!

It was a similar atmosphere in the Celtic Club in Melbourne after the game, although a replay was on everyone was in great spirits!

 

[Braveheart81]

Apparently there is an official player of the series that is awarded based on the votes of 6 journalists from the UK, Ireland and Australia on a 3-2-1 basis for each test. The tally after two tests is:

DHL Man of the Series Award (standings after two Tests):
1 - Will Genia 19
2 - Israel Folau 15
3 - Leigh Halfpenny 11
4 - George North 11
5 - Sam Warburton 7
6 - Benn Robinson 3
7 - Jonathan Sexton 2
8 - Adam Ashley-Cooper 2
9 - Christian Leali’ifano 1
10 - James O’Connor 1

 

[Zander]

Way too many backs.

 

[BarneySF]

I hope we go further with corner kicks for Folau. The leagie's play-book of trucking it up the middle for a bit, then a precision kick to the corner, would be hard to defend against Folau, even if you knew it was coming.
The one we tried was not precise, and Folau had to almost go back, before forward again; and it still nearly worked. If it had gone where it was intended it would have been shut the gate.
We could try our hand, but if getting no-where after multiple phases, go for this play.

I would even suggest to get him involved in some restarts to get him some early touches.

 

[Dean Hyde]

Apparently there is an official player of the series that is awarded based on the votes of 6 journalists from the UK, Ireland and Australia on a 3-2-1 basis for each test. The tally after two tests is:

DHL Man of the Series Award (standings after two Tests):
1 - Will Genia 19
2 - Israel Folau 15
3 - Leigh Halfpenny 11
4 - George North 11
5 - Sam Warburton 7
6 - Benn Robinson 3
7 - Jonathan Sexton 2
8 - Adam Ashley-Cooper 2
9 - Christian Leali’ifano 1
10 - James O’Connor 1

Which muppet Journo put a vote in for JOC (James O'Connor). Suprise no votes for Mowen, Moore or Horwill.

 

[Wales Fan]

Apparently there is an official player of the series that is awarded based on the votes of 6 journalists from the UK, Ireland and Australia on a 3-2-1 basis for each test. The tally after two tests is:

DHL Man of the Series Award (standings after two Tests):
1 - Will Genia 19
2 - Israel Folau 15
3 - Leigh Halfpenny 11
4 - George North 11
5 - Sam Warburton 7
6 - Benn Robinson 3
7 - Jonathan Sexton 2
8 - Adam Ashley-Cooper 2
9 - Christian Leali’ifano 1
10 - James O’Connor 1

Surprisingly no Adam Jones there, he's not been out of this world but is integral to the Lions play. Usually when he leaves the field their platform gets a little more shaky shall we say.
Makes you wonder with journalists sometimes.
Do a bit of flashy nonsense in the backs and you get a vote, but no kudos for the guy upfront winning you the ball.
It's always been the same though I guess.


Sent from my HTC One using Tapatalk 2

 

[cyclopath]

Which muppet Journo put a vote in for JOC (James O'Connor). Suprise no votes for Mowen, Moore or Horwill.

Perhaps the journos are all backs, easily dazzled by flashing lights, loud noises and sparkly things?
I was a back.

 

[Forcefield]

Very surprised about none for Mowen. I reckon he'd be Australia's second best after Genia.

 

[JSRF10]

Surprisingly no Adam Jones there, he's not been out of this world but is integral to the Lions play. Usually when he leaves the field their platform gets a little more shaky shall we say.
Makes you wonder with journalists sometimes.
Do a bit of flashy nonsense in the backs and you get a vote, but no kudos for the guy upfront winning you the ball.
It's always been the same though I guess.


Sent from my HTC One using Tapatalk 2

Adam Jones is hard done by I think as is Ben Mowen and maybe Hooper too. I think North and Halfpenny probably have a few votes too many, as do JOC (James O'Connor) and Sexton.