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Force vs B&I Lions - Wed. 5 Jun

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Woodenspoon

Herbert Moran (7)
I'm surprised with the talk of the lions. A lot of people and experts are saying how good they are. ATM I could not agree.
I agree. It was simply too easy for them to beat the Force, nobody can say how strong they are until the series against the Wallabies.
 

Hugh Jarse

Rocky Elsom (76)
Tonight the Lions just did simple things well. The Force simply let them.

The Lions attack wasn't really pressured by the Force defence which went for a holiday for much of this match.
 

RedsHappy

Tony Shaw (54)
One thing is for sure: the Reds players and coaches working on Saturday's plans will be buoyed by that BIL performance. They'll reckon they'll be in with a shot if their defence holds up without their Wallabies.
 
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Moono75

Guest
The Force could have pushed the Lions a lot closer with their best team. Whilst I had pride wearing the Force jersey to the gound I was dissapointed that we were showing up hamstrung. Our best team may not score as consistently as other teams but we have got the ability to lock teams down defensivley and that was needed tonight. A team with players thrown in aren't going to have the continuity required to tackle the Lions. A big defensive game tonight may have benefited the other provinsional teams and Wallabies down the track by exacting a physical toll on the oppostion. War of attrition. And this is what the Lions tour is....a war of attrition. The line was broken at Subiaco. I hope the ARU and other super rugby sides commit to repelling the invaders. Should we lose to the Warratahs on Sunday...what lesson do we take out of this round.
 

qwerty51

Stirling Mortlock (74)
The Force could have pushed the Lions a lot closer with their best team.

No doubt but the score was 69-17. Would a few extra 1st choice players made it any more respectable? (not having a a go at the Force, Tahs will lose by a similar score)
 
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Moono75

Guest
No doubt but the score was 69-17. Would a few extra 1st choice players made it any more respectable? (not having a a go at the Force, Tahs will lose by a similar score)

Force went into a knife fight, but the Lions had a gun. In the end it comes down to how you want your team to be perceived by others. We didn't put our best foot forward and that just grinds on me. Results earn the respect of opposition teams and supporters.

Early in the tour, Lions still developing combos, we could have put up a better effort. Sunday will show if it was worth the sacrifice..
 

Bruwheresmycar

Nicholas Shehadie (39)
No doubt but the score was 69-17. Would a few extra 1st choice players made it any more respectable? (not having a a go at the Force, Tahs will lose by a similar score)

There was little team chemistry out there. Fundamental errors in attack and defence was the result. So often players found themselves out of place and there were gaps out wide.

So yea I think it made it a totally different game. If Tahs can start with close to 15 that are from their usual matchday 22, they will get a hugely better result from the game.
 

Bruwheresmycar

Nicholas Shehadie (39)
News to me. Good luck then, you guys need it. May as well field a First grade team really, because the Lions play such nice footy you need a strong team structure to compete. That's why the Baa Baa's got trashed despite the fact they were actually trying pretty hard to win that one.
 

Slim 293

Stirling Mortlock (74)
Are the Aussie players tested for doping given Australia's predilection for using banned substances in sport?

Excuse me?

850.jpg
 

The Red Baron

Chilla Wilson (44)
Hodgson and Cottrell were very impressive against the Lions last night. They both got through a mountain of work, and Cottrell was very physical at the breakdown. I think that kid has a pretty bright future.
 

JSRF10

Dick Tooth (41)
From a Lions perspective:

Healy: Was going well until he got injured, not sure he has much answer with the citing, looked like Sheehan tried to elbow him and his finger has ended up in his mouth. Johan Muller got a similar citing and got off last season
Best: Missed a big oppurtunity to lay down a stake in the test team. Didn't produce anywhere near his best in the loose. His lineout throwing was straight but it looked like the jumpers were out of sync
Cole: Decent but not outstanding, Adam Jones still well ahead for the test jumper
Jones, Evans: Bit of a meh performance from both locks, thought AWJ could have been one of the tours stars but hasn't started well
Croft: Did his usual trick of standing out wide and got rewarded with a try, the one time he tried to do the work of a 6 he got knocked out. Far from a test match animal and a luxury at this level
SOB: Didn't make much of an impression at the breakdown but did his usual fair share of carrying. Should be in the front running for the test 6 jersey but i think he'll be on the bench
Heaslip: Lions MOM, some really good carries, good defence and finished his try nicely. Made a decent impression at the breakdown but it didn't affect his carrying game.
Murray: Another missed oppurtuntity. Box kicks were always about 10 metres too long, picked the wrong option a couple of times, carried a bit too much. Looked like he was trying too hard to be Mike Phillips, needs to concentrate on his own game
Sexton: Looked in control the whole game. Played some nice rugby, Lions are fucked if he gets injured
North: Looked busy on his wing, came in for some really good carries. Hopefully he can develop more of an understanding with Sexton as they could dovetail well together
Manu: Played well but didn't have the impact Roberts had, that said he was dealing with a more organised and more committed defence.
BOD: Finished well, defended well, even managed to get AWJ yellow carded for his breakdown work. Ruchie McCaw would be proud
Bowe: Showed some lovely touches early on, brings a bit of nous that Cuthbert doesn't should be ahead of him in the running now
Halfpenny: Kicked well made zero impression in the loose. That would be enough for Gatland but the Lions need more of an attacking edge from their fullback a robotic kicking leg isn't enough.

The bench was emptied late on, Vunipola aside who was decent, no one really made an impression
 

Braveheart81

Will Genia (78)
Staff member
I enjoyed the game last night.

I thought the Force put in a good effort and the Lions were good in patches. Their execution let them down but they put on some slick moves and scored some solid tries. The forward pack weren't as dominant as I expected except for Heaslip who was just immense. Vunipola was excellent when he came on.

Whilst the Force would have no doubt been better with a couple more of their first choice players, I think we're talking about getting beaten by 30 rather than 50. All in all it wouldn't have made that much difference to to the flow of the game in my opinion.

For the Force, I thought Sam Norton-Knight was superb in defence. I had no idea he could tackle so well.

Ed Stubbs showed some flashes of quality and I thought both wingers were good. DHP in particular was really solid. He'll be good for the Force next year.

In the forwards, Hodgson was superb and Cottrell was good.
 
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