Force vs B&I Lions - Wed. 5 Jun

[lewisr]

It seems the bulk of posters are suggesting that the Force have sacrificed the Lions game by naming a bad team so they can name their best team against the Waratahs.

Surely the reality is somewhere in between and both teams are a compromise to try and make both teams competitive.

I would have thought that was the only real way to do it. If you have two games in five days surely you have to try and field a decent team in both matches.

The correct way to do it is to maximize your benefits - benefits for both players, fans and the Force brand. This will not come from a dead rubber against this Tahs. The tahs game will not matter for next season contrary to what some people are saying - it means nothing. The blues last year and the reds in 2009 are both examples of how completely insignificant historical results are to success in a following season.

If you play your best team, the best players get the best experience of their lives against some world class opposition and this will be what helps them the most in seasons to come. Your fans will not be thinking 'what could have been' but rather what an amazing experience it was to cheer on their team against the BILs. And maybe, just maybe, you give them a shot at a boil over that they have shown they can achieve in the past.

So the only real way to do it is to play your best team against the Lions.

 

[gel]

Mate if you think you are the only one supporting your arguments then you are having a laugh, and clearly unable to comprehend the argument of others.

The only reason I restated my position is that you seem not to be able to understand it, such that you are altering it to suit your own ends.

But we are going around in circles here, and I have better things to do.
.

Dude, where the fuck did I say I was the only one supporting my arguments? I even said others have pointed out the same arguments.

You are very fucking quick to attack others and get all agro whenever anyone disagrees with you - then warn others whenever they get a bit heated.

Fine. Rule whatever the number is for when two people choose to disagree is what I am invoking. Out.

Go the Force. I hope they beat both teams.

 

[Braveheart81]

I still don't accept that their side is that much weaker than it could be.

There has been talk all year about people wanting to see Chris Tuatara-Morrison get a run. Now he has been named in this side and there is outrage. Reports are suggesting that Kyle Godwin is unavailable tonight due to injury.

Dane Haylett-Petty is playing on the wing. Most Force fans have been hoping he returns to the team and rate him. He's playing instead of Pat Dellit who is hardly a world beater.

Sam Norton-Knight is starting at 10 instead of Sias Ebersohn. This isn't the first time all season this has happened and is certainly a tossup.

Sam Christie is starting at 15. He was considered good enough to be in their starting side at the start of the season.

Ed Stubbs is young and has potential. He has played Super Rugby before and is replacing a journeyman in Ben Jacobs.

The Force backrow is close to their best without McCalman. Only Alcock is missing.

The Force's best lock is playing this game (Lynn). With Wyke's 2013 form, are the Force really missing that much without him?

The front row is weakened but they've got Ma'afu returning and Manu is alright. Pek Cowan is a notable omission though.

Hilterbrand is the reserve hooker and is starting this game.

Reading between the lines, it seems that most of the angst is because Godwin and McMeniman aren't playing yet reports suggest both are unavailable due to injury.

 

[Hell West & Crooked]

i see an article in the australian today by Mark Souster: Weakened teams threaten British and Irish Lions' future

nailing the Force for sending out a weakened team against the Lions... Woodward has also chipped-in, which makes me think it could all go horribly wrong for the tourists...

Personally, I have thought for a while that this Lions Tour was only ever going to be slightly less excruciating for us, than the coming Ashes series... but, I guess they now had better hope the Lions put the Force to the sword, or they are going to look pretty silly for having threatened to "cancel future tours' before a ball has even been kicked...

Id love to see some Force blokes play out of their skins tonight, and really put some flavour into this tour...

I also doubt Foley wants to see a cricket score against his name tonight - so I'm sure he has selected the best team he can. Foley's employers still pay him to win as many Super 15 Rugby matches as he can - (particularly while they are negotiating a new sponsorship deal) - and I doubt anyone from Force Management has taken him aside and said "Listen Mate, we just thought it might be easier if you know the Tahs Match doesn't matter..." It hasn't happened.

They say Australian Media is one of the poorest-quality medias in the Western World - but I think the UK Media still leave us behind in the hysteria stakes... I seem to recall UK Clubs refusing to release Samoan, Tongan, and Fijian players for a Rugby World Cup a couple of years ago?

 

[KevinO]

I feel sorry for the guys who's one chance to play against the Lions is this match, they miss out because the coach is worried about a dead grubber on Sunday.

They are playing a team with a match day squad of 23 Internationals and are giving guys there first game of Rugby for Force. What a joke, Lions by 100+

 

[qwerty51]

Why turn up any more Rebels games Kevin? They're all dead rubbers!

 

[Hell West & Crooked]

I feel sorry for the guys who's one chance to play against the Lions is this match, they miss out because the coach is worried about a dead grubber on Sunday.

They are playing a team with a match day squad of 23 Internationals and are giving guys there first game of Rugby for Force. What a joke, Lions by 100+

Braveheart's player analysis above seems to indicate that this argument just doesn't hold water... Still, never let the facts get in the way of a good argument.

 

[barbarian]

The problem now is this team can't win, unless they actually do.

If they play out of their skins and lose in a close one, everyone will be saying 'imagine what would have happened if you had picked your full strength team'.
.

 

[Hell West & Crooked]

The problem now is this team can't win, unless they actually do.

If they play out of their skins and lose in a close one, everyone will be saying 'imagine what would have happened if you had picked your full strength team'.
.

despite all the bleating, no-one is going to remember the minor fixtures... The Tests are The Tests are The Tests... and we need to do all we can to win the Tests...

If the Tour is all so god-awful important, we should never have been playing Super Rugby teams in the same week as the Tour Fixtures - but we are, and so thats just the way it is.

If the situation were reversed, the Brits would be doing exactly the same thing.

 

[Moono75]

Well in the end we still get to see some of the best rugby players in the world. Time to wrap up work and get home to don the Force jersey. Subi here we come.....beer please!

GO the Force!

 

[Braveheart81]

I feel sorry for the guys who's one chance to play against the Lions is this match, they miss out because the coach is worried about a dead grubber on Sunday.

Bernard Foley and Matt Lucas will miss out on playing the Lions because they'll be training for the Sevens World Cup.

I guess sometimes part of being a professional sportsman is that you don't always get to play the matches you want to play.

 

[dabiged]

Carn the Force!

 

[rugbysmartarse]

Clive Woodward has come out and said they should look at dropping the lions tour to Aus if we are going to run out weakend provincial sides and treat them with disrespect. Hard to disagree.

is that the same Clive Woodward who toured a no name england squad to Australia in 98 and got done 76-0?

 

[Braveheart81]

is that the same Clive Woodward who toured a no name england squad to Australia in 98 and got done 76-0?

The Push Up Boys would probably be able to tell you.

 

[Hell West & Crooked]

The Push Up Boys would probably be able to tell you.

actually, it is - the exact same bloke! he is older now, and apparently has memory loss.. But to be fair - that was a different situation; THAT was a Test Match - NOT a mid-week Warm-up Match. Errr... no- umm - hang on...

 

[Happy]

Go the Force!

 

[Bowside]

I still don't accept that their side is that much weaker than it could be.

There has been talk all year about people wanting to see Chris Tuatara-Morrison get a run. Now he has been named in this side and there is outrage. Reports are suggesting that Kyle Godwin is unavailable tonight due to injury.

Dane Haylett-Petty is playing on the wing. Most Force fans have been hoping he returns to the team and rate him. He's playing instead of Pat Dellit who is hardly a world beater.

Sam Norton-Knight is starting at 10 instead of Sias Ebersohn. This isn't the first time all season this has happened and is certainly a tossup.

Sam Christie is starting at 15. He was considered good enough to be in their starting side at the start of the season.

Ed Stubbs is young and has potential. He has played Super Rugby before and is replacing a journeyman in Ben Jacobs.

The Force backrow is close to their best without McCalman. Only Alcock is missing.

The Force's best lock is playing this game (Lynn). With Wyke's 2013 form, are the Force really missing that much without him?

The front row is weakened but they've got Ma'afu returning and Manu is alright. Pek Cowan is a notable omission though.

Hilterbrand is the reserve hooker and is starting this game.

Reading between the lines, it seems that most of the angst is because Godwin and McMeniman aren't playing yet reports suggest both are unavailable due to injury.

I think I said it earlier but I will reiterate. Godwin and MMM are no doubt legitimately injured, but blokes play injured every week. If Foley (and the Force CEO) wanted them to play, I'm sure they would have.

Foley picked a team missing 7 or so top line players. It's still an okay side, but there is no doubt that the force have not put themselves in the best position to win this game.

 

[Bairdy]

The weather is fine in the West today, and the talk in the media will no doubt fire up the Force.

Only an hour and a half til kick off.
Expecting to see a lot of handbags thrown.

Go the Force!

 

[JSRF10]

Lets hope the agro doesn't step over line, last thing this game needs is another Duncan McRae incident.

Looking forward to seeing the Irish backs with Manu and Halfpenny, expecting big games from Sexton and Bowe. Hopefully Jonny is given the place kicking duties, think he is a better bet than Halfpenny. That said both have missed their fair share of kicks in international rugby

 

[gold heart]

I'm looking forward to this match despite a slightly weakened team...oh and I hope there is some blues