Lions Tour 2013

[qwerty51]

Poite for a potential decider is fucking scary.

 

[the plastic paddy]

I think the choice of Refs is absolutely hysterical!!! Especially L'idiot to take charge of the last although hopefully the Aussies will be two nil up by then so Clouseau can oversee the white wash and the final nail in the Lions coffin!!!! EDIT on the plus side, maybe Paulie will look at the clowns they have put in 'charge' and conclude he would be better off consolidating his fitness this summer at home or at worst playing for Ireland in North America.

 

[Big Paddy]

Lets be fair, it's going to be a lottery with any of the refs available. Poite has form for penalising the sh*t out of a scrum on the back foot so that will be interesting to see if lions tight 5 an upper hand.

 

[USARugger]

Most upsetting part of this all for me is that it lead to me finding out that Hong Kong is the only test Walsh will be given out of the 30~ tests this summer. Go fuck yourself England, seriously.

Lets be fair, it's going to be a lottery with any of the refs available. Poite has form for penalising the sh*t out of a scrum on the back foot so that will be interesting to see if lions tight 5 an upper hand.

Joubert scares me because if the Lions get the upper-hand in the first test and effectively "flip the script" in their favor it will most likely be the "script" he follows for that second test if you catch my drift. Poite scares me even more because watching him referee at times can be like watching an epileptic try to screw in a strobe light bulb. I fear for the sanity of everyone should we go into that final test tied at 1-1.

 

[JSRF10]

I dont actually mind Poites refereeing at scrum time, you know exactly what you are going to get. Whoever is going forward wins a penalty, he doesn't care about whether you're illegal or not so just do whatever you have to and go forward. Its cheating on one hand but it is also smart ref management on the other.
His refereeing of the breakdown and offside line is a different matter however.

 

[USARugger]

I dont actually mind Poites refereeing at scrum time, you know exactly what you are going to get. Whoever is going forward wins a penalty, he doesn't care about whether you're illegal or not so just do whatever you have to and go forward. Its cheating on one hand but it is also smart ref management on the other.
His refereeing of the breakdown and offside line is a different matter however.

His officiating style in the loose particularly is what reminds me of a man mid-seizure trying to direct traffic. Just whistle blasts and arms going in all kinds of directions for no apparent reason.

 

[p.Tah]

One of the betting agencies has the Lions to win the series

Why do they have odds when the squads haven't been picked?

 

[KevinO]

One of the betting agencies has the Lions to win the series

Why do they have odds when the squads haven't been picked?

Same reason they have odds for the next World Cup, they are about making money.

 

[JSRF10]

CAn't believe the Lions are favourites, I'll be having a punt on the Wobs at that price

 

[Hugh Jarse]

Does anyone know how IRB ranking will work for the Lions vs Wobs tests?

There was a bit of talk about it on the 6N thread, but IIRC it was inconclusive.

 

[qwerty51]

Or whether each Test will be 23 or 22 man teams?

 

[JSRF10]

Pretty sure it won't count towards rankings

I think the tests are 23 man squads

 

[Phil]

Had the pleasure over the weekend to watch highlights package on Setanta of the last Lions tour to Australia.Had forgotten what wonderful players we had in the Wallabies then.Besides the usual suspects,Eales,Gregan and Larkham,how good were Burke,Roff,Herbert and Finegan.Even Nathan Grey(who I was never a big fan of)played well.Wouldn't it be great to have some of them for this tour?
Also I noticed Gregan was so much sharper back then compared to his later years.Maybe coincidence that the 3rd test was McQueen's last as coach.

 

[KevinO]

Does not count towards IRB rankings, was not even considered a test cap until the the 90's as it is really just match against a tour side. A good tour side but still not a match against a test nation, luckily SA are not playing anyone who will help there test ranking, and as for NZ playing France it's not really going to have much effect because they are so far apart, unless France manage to get a win which after the 6 nations is highly unlikely.

 

[jollyswagman]

Had the pleasure over the weekend to watch highlights package on Setanta of the last Lions tour to Australia.Had forgotten what wonderful players we had in the Wallabies then.Besides the usual suspects,Eales,Gregan and Larkham,how good were Burke,Roff,Herbert and Finegan.Even Nathan Grey(who I was never a big fan of)played well.Wouldn't it be great to have some of them for this tour?.........

Well,we have one available in George Smith. God damn he is playing well. As much as I think highly of Pocock, Gill & Hooper there seems to be daylight between those three and George.

 

[Dave Beat]

Had the pleasure over the weekend to watch highlights package on Setanta of the last Lions tour to Australia.Had forgotten what wonderful players we had in the Wallabies then.Besides the usual suspects,Eales,Gregan and Larkham,how good were Burke,Roff,Herbert and Finegan.Even Nathan Grey(who I was never a big fan of)played well.Wouldn't it be great to have some of them for this tour?
Also I noticed Gregan was so much sharper back then compared to his later years.Maybe coincidence that the 3rd test was McQueen's last as coach.

Some awesome players listed there, you left out Rod McQueen. The coach enabled the talent through game plans. If Dingo coached that team would it have been as good, Roff, and Burke would never have seen the ball

 

[Inside Shoulder]

Does not count towards IRB rankings, was not even considered a test cap until the the 90's as it is really just match against a tour side. A good tour side but still not a match against a test nation, luckily SA are not playing anyone who will help there test ranking, and as for NZ playing France it's not really going to have much effect because they are so far apart, unless France manage to get a win which after the 6 nations is highly unlikely.

That is when they are most likely to win, of course!


Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk

 

[Set piece magic]

Does not count towards IRB rankings, was not even considered a test cap until the the 90's as it is really just match against a tour side. A good tour side but still not a match against a test nation, luckily SA are not playing anyone who will help there test ranking, and as for NZ playing France it's not really going to have much effect because they are so far apart, unless France manage to get a win which after the 6 nations is highly unlikely.

I disagree, given France were humiliated in the 6N I'm expecting them to beat the All Blacks by 70 odd

 

[Phil]

Some awesome players listed there, you left out Rod McQueen. The coach enabled the talent through game plans. If Dingo coached that team would it have been as good, Roff, and Burke would never have seen the ball

Actually,Dave,I did not leave out McQueen as I am certain he was a major influence on their success.As I mentioned in my post,did Gregan ever play to quite that standard again after Rod stepped down?

 

[Dave Beat]

Actually,Dave,I did not leave out McQueen as I am certain he was a major influence on their success.As I mentioned in my post,did Gregan ever play to quite that standard again after Rod stepped down?

As you did, a very good example of the impact a good coach can have on a game. It is the players that run out, and need to play at the required standard - but it is the coach that sets the plan.