Australia vs British and Irish Lions - 1st Test (Brisbane)

[Braveheart81]

I'm certainly happy to see Cuthbert in the starting side and no Zebo on the bench.

I think the Lions have also missed a trick in not having SOB on the bench. I think he's been close to their best player on tour.

Out of all the 6 and 7s they have on tour, I think the form of Croft, Warburton and Lydiate are probably the worst.

 

[Honest John]

I'm certainly happy to see Cuthbert in the starting side and no Zebo on the bench.

I think the Lions have also missed a trick in not having SOB on the bench. I think he's been close to their best player on tour.

Out of all the 6 and 7s they have on tour, I think the form of Croft, Warburton and Lydiate are probably the worst.

Agreed re Warbuton but Croft had a blinder against the Tahs. Good call re Alex Corbisiero, a much better technical scrummager than Vunipolo though the latter off the bench will hurt. No Zebo is interesting but I think that this squad will get the job done on Saturday

 

[Braveheart81]

If our tight five can match the Lions in physicality, I think our loose forwards will dominate the Lions at the breakdown.

 

[JSRF10]

Some poor selections by Warren there, not having SOB in the 23 is a big mistake the Lions forwards (including the reserves) are lacking a ball carrying threat. Corbserio will struggle if the scrum is referred properly, but I can see Rowntrees influence in that call. The Lydiate on the bench call is perplexing, the Lions no have zero game changers to come on. Leaving out Tipuric and SOB could end up as big a mistake as leaving out Rees and Jones in 2009.

Overall I think the Lions have picked a side not to lose, but Deans has picked nearly all his match winners with 2 more on the bench.

 

[Lee Grant]

So North is healthy. And Davies switched in to 12? I can't remember his playing there much. I would have switched BOD whose attributes are universal - he even played scrumhalf for Ireland this year.

Croft as a lineout specialist, and his skills, was expected after the Tahs match, but they have swapped a ball-running hard-bastard linebreaker in SOB, for a lineout man and wide runner.

The absence of Tipuric in a likely fast moving game, and the selection of not-in-great-form Warburton instead, looks odd.

Heaslip over Faletau would never have been picked a few months ago, but there's no denying that the Irishman is in prime form.

I thought Parling might have been picked as the lineout general for 80 minutes but Gatland has gone for the two old warriors in the 2nd row - and Croft for lineout content.

Corbiesero doesn't scare me at much as Adam Jones does at tight head prop. Fat Cat will have to get under him all night – and stay healthy for three test matches.
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[Honest John]

Australia: 15. B Barnes (NSW Waratahs) 14. I Folau (NSW Waratahs) 13. A Ashley-Cooper (NSW Waratahs) 12. C Leali'ifano (Brumbies) 11. D Ioane (Queensland Reds) 10. J O'Connor (Melbourne Rebels) 9. W Genia (Queensland Reds) 8. W Palu (NSW Waratahs) 7. M Hooper (NSW Waratahs) 6. B Mowen (Brumbies) 5. J Horwill (Queensland Reds, captain) 4. K Douglas (NSW Waratahs) 3. B Alexander (Brumbies) 2. S Moore (Brumbies) 1. B Robinson (NSW Waratahs)
Replacements: 16. S Fainga'a (Queensland Reds) 17. J Slipper (Queensland Reds) 18. S Kepu (NSW Waratahs) 19. R Simmons (Queensland Reds) 20. L Gill (Queensland Reds) 21. N Phipps (Melbourne Rebels) 22. P McCabe (Brumbies) 23. K Beale (Melbourne Rebels)

JSRF10 - ohh please - above is the Wobblies team - Matchwinners... hmm lest see. Front row is okay - Douglas is overrated along with Mowen. Palu needs a zimmer frame. JOC (James O'Connor) out of position. All matchwinners??? Lions by 10

 

[Lee Grant]

Some poor selections by Warren there, not having SOB in the 23 is a big mistake the Lions forwards (including the reserves) are lacking a ball carrying threat.

Corbserio will struggle if the scrum is referred properly, but I can see Rowntrees influence in that call.

Correct and correct. And hopefully the ref will notice where Vunipola's backside is pointing after the hit when he comes off the bench.

And when Coles comes on, it would be good if the ref noticed how he plants his hands on the ground in front of the ball to steady himself before he tries to poach it.
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[JSRF10]

I said Deans has picked his match winners, a player who I'd define as someone who has the potential to lift his team to victory with a superb performance, moment of brilliance etc. In the Australian team I'd classify Horwill, Hooper, Genia, JOC (James O'Connor), Ioane, Folau and Barnes in this category. In the Lions squad I'd say POC, Tipuric, SOB, Sexton, BOD and North in this category. The Lions have two of theirs out to accommodate an out of form and unfit Warburton, ditto Lydiate and Croft whose selection means your playing with a 7 man back and an 8 man back line for a lot of the time.

 

[Zander]

Mowen on his debut will outplay Croft. I'd take the everyone of Australian backrow over the Lions' one.

 

[Slim 293]

Australia: 15. B Barnes (NSW Waratahs) 14. I Folau (NSW Waratahs) 13. A Ashley-Cooper (NSW Waratahs) 12. C Leali'ifano (Brumbies) 11. D Ioane (Queensland Reds) 10. J O'Connor (Melbourne Rebels) 9. W Genia (Queensland Reds) 8. W Palu (NSW Waratahs) 7. M Hooper (NSW Waratahs) 6. B Mowen (Brumbies) 5. J Horwill (Queensland Reds, captain) 4. K Douglas (NSW Waratahs) 3. B Alexander (Brumbies) 2. S Moore (Brumbies) 1. B Robinson (NSW Waratahs)
Replacements: 16. S Fainga'a (Queensland Reds) 17. J Slipper (Queensland Reds) 18. S Kepu (NSW Waratahs) 19. R Simmons (Queensland Reds) 20. L Gill (Queensland Reds) 21. N Phipps (Melbourne Rebels) 22. P McCabe (Brumbies) 23. K Beale (Melbourne Rebels)

JSRF10 - ohh please - above is the Wobblies team - Matchwinners. hmm lest see. Front row is okay - Douglas is overrated along with Mowen. Palu needs a zimmer frame. JOC (James O'Connor) out of position. All matchwinners??? Lions by 10

Overrated?

How is that?

 

[BDA]

Re the starting front rows, they appear to have gone with scrum strength over mobility (typical NH approach). It makes sense but it might give us an edge. IF Robinson/Moore/Alexander can hold their own at scrum time, I give us a distinct advantage around the field and at the breakdown. If the Lions really are looking to play a high-octane style of game, a guy like Vunipola would offer a lot more than Corb imho.

We also have them on experience up front.
Lions Front row test caps = 115
Wallabies Front row combined = 180

 

[Honest John]

In the Australian team I'd classify Horwill, Hooper, Genia, JOC (James O'Connor), Ioane, Folau and Barnes in this category. In the Lions squad I'd say POC, Tipuric, SOB, Sexton, BOD and North in this category. The Lions have two of theirs out to accommodate an out of form and unfit Warburton, ditto Lydiate and Croft whose selection means your playing with a 7 man back and an 8 man back line for a lot of the time.

Okay - Horwell is a beast - given and a good leader. Hooper I am still unsure of at this level. Genia is great, given time and a pack going formward. Scrag him all day and have the pack going backwards and he starts to whine like a bore (see QLD re Force). JOC (James O'Connor) will have little effect at 10.. great player but needs space to work his magic. Folau... not yet and Barnes..... oh please. I hope that they bring him on as it will stop any back line creativity dead. Diggers is a true weapon and one to be worried about.

Re Warburton... cold not agree more. A disastrous pick, but when you have photos of the coach with various farm animals.... what do you expect. This is of course supposition though I can see no other reason for him being Gat's love child. Lions by 10 still

 

[Zander]

If you're a Pom you shouldn't be unsure of Hooper. MoM at Twickenham last year.

 

[Lee Grant]

When I first saw the Oz team and the locks being Horwill and Douglas I thought: who of them is going to call the lineouts (and plan the defence in them)? Then I saw Mowen's name at 6 and I cheered up.

Make no mistake: Mowen is going to be an important player at lineout time and it is obvious Deans' strategy to replace Sharpe – perhaps the only one, as I don't think Dennis has been much chop in that role at the Tahs, and Simmons is yet to earn my imprimatur.

Maybe it was Sharpe's strategy to replace Sharpe.

Barnes at fullback surprised a few and it sounds good to have a kicker there but, for as much as he kicks, he is not the greatest at it.

The Lions have an edge with Halfpenny's kicking from hand or tee. I hope that Alexander and Moore, or even Kev, don't have brain snaps giving away cheap points – or Saia F and Kepu when they come on.

Most of the benefits they expect to gain by their infractions are marginal anyway, otherwise you would shrug your shoulders instead of scream at the TV.
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[tigerland12]

Don't really rate that Lions forward pack.

Corbieserio is pretty average, I know they've been knocked at loosehead without Healy and Jenkins, but sheesh that's a poor replacement.

Tom Youngs is the best of a bad bunch, Lions came out with 2 poor hookers and 1 decent one, the decent one is now suspended and has been replaced with another poor hooker.

That backrow doesn't really look to be much of a threat to be honest. Heaslip was been good but he isn't a game changer. Croft is very much the same, has played good, but goes missing a lot. Warburton has been fairly average. The fact that neither Sean O'Brien or Justin Tipuric have been included on the bench is a massive mistake by Gatland. Hooper & Gill in tandem will have a field day late in the game.

The backs on the other hand look pretty good. I rate Jonothan Davies very highly and think he is constantly seen in the shadow (literally) of Jamie Roberts. We know how good O'Driscoll is, Phillips and Sexton are both good players as is Halfpenny. Cuthbert will do a decent job, but Tommy Bowe will be missed in defence.

George North is Australia's biggest threat. He is an absolute machine.

Wallabies by 5

 

[JSRF10]

Having digested the Lions short comings, here is where I think they can attack the Wallabies:

- POC is a line out tactician, an even better one than Parling for me. If he can decode the Australian lineout we'll be stopping them getting both attacking and defensive platform. Its been a while since he has done this at international level, but it has also been a while since his form was this good. Also POC has been in phenomenal form at the breakdown this tour, more of the same please.
- Jonny Sexton has been the premier 10 in the NH for a while, Phillips needs to give him good ball. Once the Lions get over the gain line an recycle quickly the ball has to go to Jonny as quickly as it can. Sexton range of passing and his kicking out of hand poses multiple threats. The two main ones to look out of Saturday are the inside ball to North and the cut out pass to BOD.
- Leigh Halfpenny has looked in fine touch off the tee and defensively in this tour. He has been prone to the odd kicking shocker, Saturday is not the time to have one. He also must be prepared to counter attack, he can't just boot the ball long as he tends to do for Wales. When he does counter attack the Lions need to get Sexton, BOD, Davies and North behind the ball as quickly as possible to maximize the options
- Warburton has to captain well, his own game isn't great but he needs to at least work hard and tackle everything that moves. If the Wallabies are on the rack he needs to go for the killer blow, the Lions won't win this in multiples of 3 and when the chance comes he needs to kick the corner and go for the jugular.
- The Lions need luck injury wise. Is North full fit for 80 minutes of a test match? Can Sextons hamstrings hold up? Given Lydiate is on the bench if St Sam or Heaslip go down early the Lions are even more f***** in the back row. Those 4 in particular need to stay fit, the first 2 because the drop in quality to their replacements is massive, the second 2 for the balance of the pack.
- Gatlands use of the bench. I've never been a fan of how he uses the bench for Wales and he has to get this right. If Youngs is struggling in the scrum/line out early he needs to be called ashore we cant have any repeats of 2009. Vunipola and Ben Youngs need to be given 20 minutes minimum to make an impact. If Tom Croft can't get his line out game going and the Lions are getting beasted in the tight early, a call needs to be made to bring on Lydiate.

 

[barbarian]

Not sure about Davies at 12. How often does he play there?

We often agitate about guys who are natural 13s being put into 12, seems to me the Lions have done just that.
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[jay-c]

apparently hes played 12 all his life and only played 13 since roberts locked in 12 for the welsh several years ago

 

[Scoey]

Australia: 15. B Barnes (NSW Waratahs) 14. I Folau (NSW Waratahs) 13. A Ashley-Cooper (NSW Waratahs) 12. C Leali'ifano (Brumbies) 11. D Ioane (Queensland Reds) 10. J O'Connor (Melbourne Rebels) 9. W Genia (Queensland Reds) 8. W Palu (NSW Waratahs) 7. M Hooper (NSW Waratahs) 6. B Mowen (Brumbies) 5. J Horwill (Queensland Reds, captain) 4. K Douglas (NSW Waratahs) 3. B Alexander (Brumbies) 2. S Moore (Brumbies) 1. B Robinson (NSW Waratahs)
Replacements: 16. S Fainga'a (Queensland Reds) 17. J Slipper (Queensland Reds) 18. S Kepu (NSW Waratahs) 19. R Simmons (Queensland Reds) 20. L Gill (Queensland Reds) 21. N Phipps (Melbourne Rebels) 22. P McCabe (Brumbies) 23. K Beale (Melbourne Rebels)

JSRF10 - ohh please - above is the Wobblies team - Matchwinners. hmm lest see. Front row is okay - Douglas is overrated along with Mowen. Palu needs a zimmer frame. JOC (James O'Connor) out of position. All matchwinners??? Lions by 10

Hey! HEY! We're allowed to say shit like this about our boys but when a Lions supporter does it...... it...... uhhh.... actually it makes you realise we had a pretty fucking solid team there! Go the WALLABIES!!!

 

[Braveheart81]

apparently hes played 12 all his life and only played 13 since roberts locked in 12 for the welsh several years ago

Wales used to select Davies at 12 and Roberts at 13.