Hook to replace Halfpenny

You heard it here first.
Hook to replace 1/2p
Im sure it isnt public yet.
They are clearly desperate now.with the 10 situation.

Darcy not being included is a joke.If this Lions team fails its because of the coaches.

They should have had
Hook>Flutey
Best>Mears
Darcy>Hook,Flutey,Shanklin
in the squad.
Mcgeechan will be shown up on this tour

Podge_irl

Billy Whining Ramp wrote: »

They should have had
Hook>Flutey
Best>Mears
Darcy>Hook,Flutey,Shanklin
in the squad.
Mcgeechan will be shown up on this tour

D'Arcy hadn't done anything to merit being called up at the time. Flutey most definitely had a better 6 Nations. D'Arcy is thankfully coming back into form now, but unfortunately too late for the tour. He's not a like for like replacement for Halfpenny, though if they had replaced Shanklin then I think he would have been the best choice.

Similarly, Hook is probably a better player than Flutey, but its not as if he's showed stellar form of late.

Podge_irl

Podge_irl wrote: »

D'Arcy hadn't done anything to merit being called up at the time. Flutey most definitely had a better 6 Nations. D'Arcy is thankfully coming back into form now, but unfortunately too late for the tour. He's not a like for like replacement for Halfpenny, though if they had replaced Shanklin then I think he would have been the best choice.

Similarly, Hook is probably a better player than Flutey, but its not as if he's showed stellar form of late.

Darcy is a far better player than Flutey who is bloody maori who has played against the Lions.
If ever there was a player that shouldnt play its him.
I for one hope he doesnt start 1 test,its a bloody disgrace.

Darcy is in fine form and should be starting 12

They arent calling him up because McGeechan doesnt like what he did in 05.

Form is temporary,class is permanent.If you judge at this stage Darcy should have been called.
If it wasnt for the Irish lads on tour I would hope they get stuffed,just to spite McGeechan.

He has basically admitted the mother of all ****ups with his 10 selections,with the recruitment of hook.

1/2p is a winger.
Is hook?

No,but he is calld because Ian made ****e of the 10 selections.

How in gods name can players like 1/2p and Earls go and you leave behind players like Darcy and Hook,hes a clown.

Podge_irl

Well McGeechan said that the replacement needed to be a kicker as Halfpenny was one of the only three real kickers in the squad, so that only really leaves Hook or Armitage as options.

I'm not sure I'm massively keen on Flutey going, but I don't know how you could possibly claim D'Arcy deserved a spot on tour given his performances up to whent the squad was announced. He was doing well for someone back from so long out, but Flutey is eligible and was clearly playing better at that point in time.

phog

Billy Whining Ramp wrote: »

They arent calling him up because McGeechan doesnt like what he did in 05.

I suppose McGeechan supporters will say that D'Arcy let the team down by refusing to play the last game and D'Arcy supporters will say that he knew he didnt fell he was okay for the match and the management team should have accepted this and the truth probably lies somewhere in the middle.

thomond2006

Yesterday, I heard that the Lions ordered 10kg of hair gel so the replacement mystery was solved before the announcement.

DonkeyPokerTour

Billy Whining Ramp wrote: »

Darcy>Hook,Flutey,Shanklin

Ehhh NO! I like D'Arcy but remember when the squad was picked he was only just edging out Paddy Wallace for the Ireland No. 12 spot and didn't show any form in the few matches he played for Leinster after the 6nations but before the lions squad was announced.

Shanklin was arguably the best center in the 6 Nations, definately the best no.12. A BOD Shanklin Center partnership would have been amazing in South Africa.

With the loss of O'Leary & Halfpenny the obvious selection was James Hook. He covers a multitude of positions (10, Center, arguably 15). Plus he can kick goals, something D'Arcy cant. I also think that O'Leary was the "Third 10" in the test squad. Obviously only there in bad times if the other two got injured/ the replacement got injured etc. So with losing him a third 10 was needed.

Hook was the obvious selection and now your slagging McGeechan off for selecting him? Remember Halfpenny is expected to return to the squad, calling in Hook is a precaution in case he doesn't and as a replacement to Shanklin.

thomond2006 wrote:

Yesterday, I heard that the Lions ordered 10kg of hair gel so the replacement mystery was solved before the announcement.

That worried me, but then I remembered it would have been 100kg of hair gel and 100kg of Fake Tan if Henson was going!

danthefan

D'Arcy would have challenged for a test place imo. 12 is not a position of strength for the Lions, seems mad to leave a Grand Slam winning 12 at home.

Jesus1222

On a more general note, anybody find it more than a bit disappointing that there is no Irish replacement for O'Leary, Quinlan or Flannery?

It would do wonders for a damaged Munster, and to a lesser extent, Irish morale going into the tour. Particularly with the captain associated with it.

There were candidates in each case and I think most strongly for Stringer who has been in excellent form, making key plays and tackles and who knows 11 of the touring party inside out, not least O'Gara. With Halfpenny and Shanklin also missing out they had 5 chances to find an Irish replacement (granted they needed a kicker for 1 of those).

danthefan

Jesus1222 wrote: »

On a more general note, anybody find it more than a bit disappointing that there is no Irish replacement for O'Leary, Quinlan or Flannery?

It would do wonders for a damaged Munster, and to a lesser extent, Irish morale going into the tour. Particularly with the captain associated with it.

There were candidates in each case and I think most strongly for Stringer who has been in excellent form, making key plays and tackles and who knows 11 of the touring party inside out, not least O'Gara. With Halfpenny and Shanklin also missing out they had 5 chances to find an Irish replacement (granted they needed a kicker for 1 of those).

It is disappointing the Irish contingent is down to 11 but for me Best was the only Irish player who was in the running to be called up. It's about calling up the best replacement, not maintaining the Irish contingent in the squad.

ongarite

Is Halfpenny out of the squad completely for the Lions or is Hook coming in as replacement for the start of the tour, possibly first test?
At first it was mentioned that Halfpenny would be out for 2 weeks but now the wording above sounds like he is out for the complete SA Lions Tour.

Podge_irl

He only out for the start of it (hopefully) but they decided to replace him all the same. Makes sense really seeing as the Leinster backs are unlikely to play the first game either.

More Welsh than Irish in the squad now.

leeroybrown

Jesus1222 wrote: »

On a more general note, anybody find it more than a bit disappointing that there is no Irish replacement for O'Leary, Quinlan or Flannery?

I'm disappointed for the Irish players who aren't going or who haven't been called up but I wouldn't say that I was disappointed by a lack of Irish replacements in general. If the Lions management thought like that then we'd have had nine Scots in the squad to begin with.

I think that Hook is a little lucky to be called up. Whenever I've seen him play it looks like he's been having a mediocre season at best.

Serenity Now!

Travelling with so little depth in the 10 position was crazy in the first place. Hook should have been there all along. Unless you all want it to stay as O'Gara and Jones holding the position week-in, week-out throughout the 7 weeks of the tour??

danthefan

Call me crazy but I'd have Cipriani ahead of Hook.

Serenity Now!

DonkeyPokerTour wrote: »

Shanklin was arguably the best center in the 6 Nations, definately the best no.12

He never played at 12 during the 6N. Not once.

Serenity Now!

danthefan wrote: »

Call me crazy but I'd have Cipriani ahead of Hook.

I really don't care all that much which but you can see why Hook was picked over the likes of Cipriani when you consider he has
1) the experience of touring Sth Africa
2) the experience of playing international level this season

danthefan

Serenity Now! wrote: »

I really don't care all that much which but you can see why Hook was picked over the likes of Cipriani when you consider he has
1) the experience of touring Sth Africa
2) the experience of playing international level this season

Ah yeah, I can see where they're coming from, just my personal opinion is Cipriani is the better player.

The Rooster

Cipriani at his best is better than Hook at his best. But when they are both playing their average game, then Hook is better, safer, more reliable. Like Danny Care at scrum half, he would have been the exciting option, a game changer, but if you're 6 points up with 10 minutes to go and he's called on, Cipriani could be a game loser.

I now expect Hook to play more test minutes than O'Gara on this tour.

thomond2006

danthefan wrote: »

Call me crazy but I'd have Cipriani ahead of Hook.

You're crazy.

robgloster

thomond2006 wrote: »

You're crazy.

+1 not that he is a bad player but if most of the english team dislike him i dont think he'd do the lions any good. Hook hasn't been playing well for a while . Been on the wrong end of 2 trashing by munster. Needs to step up his game to hope of a place in the test 15

Stev_o

Tbh i would of had Sam Vesty instead of Hook.

DonkeyPokerTour

Serenity Now! wrote: »

He never played at 12 during the 6N. Not once.

Wasn't aware of that, but he had 0 chance of getting the 13 shirt with a certin someone nailing that one down. I thought Shanklin started at 12 in the Ireland game but obviously my mistake.

Regards
Ian

danthefan

DonkeyPokerTour wrote: »

Wasn't aware of that, but he had 0 chance of getting the 13 shirt with a certin someone nailing that one down. I thought Shanklin started at 12 in the Ireland game but obviously my mistake.

Regards
Ian

Henson started at 12, but had to go to 15 when Byrne went off. Shanklin could have gone to 12 then, not sure.

Serenity Now!

danthefan wrote: »

Henson started at 12, but had to go to 15 when Byrne went off. Shanklin could have gone to 12 then, not sure.

Hook went to fullback. Henson stayed at centre.

danthefan

Serenity Now! wrote: »

Hook went to fullback. Henson stayed at centre.

I don't think so, pretty sure Hook didn't get on the field at any stage. Henson was definitely at fullback when Bowe scored. Roberts came on for Byrne.

andyman

Serenity Now! wrote: »

Hook went to fullback. Henson stayed at centre.

No he didn't. Henson went Full-Back and Roberts came on instead of Byrne...

Serenity Now!

andyman wrote: »

No he didn't. Henson went Full-Back and Roberts came on instead of Byrne...

My mistake.
I had Roberts in my mind but for some reason had Hook on.

curts82

danthefan wrote: »

D'Arcy would have challenged for a test place imo. 12 is not a position of strength for the Lions, seems mad to leave a Grand Slam winning 12 at home.

P Wallace I thought never had a chance of going!
Also Earls does deserve to go!!

duckysauce

danthefan wrote: »

Call me crazy but I'd have Cipriani ahead of Hook.

you are crazy

danthefan

curts82 wrote: »

P Wallace I thought never had a chance of going!
Also Earls does deserve to go!!

I never said anything about Earls.

gcgirl

Darcy should be going GS and now a HEC medal !!

Stev_o

gcgirl wrote: »

Darcy should be going GS and now a HEC medal !!

He had a poor game, if any centre put their hand up today it was Hipkiss.

DonkeyPokerTour

DonkeyPokerTour wrote: »

Shanklin was arguably the best center in the 6 Nations, definately the best no.12.

Em no he wasnt.

He isnt fit to lace Bods boots and Flutey was better than him.
He plays 13,so how can he be the best 12?


Hes a good player but thats it,hes nothing special.

CowboyTed

Billy Whining Ramp wrote: »

Em no he wasnt.

He isnt fit to lace Bods boots and Flutey was better than him.
He plays 13,so how can he be the best 12?


Hes a good player but thats it,hes nothing special.

Darcy deserves to go... He has looked good since he came back and offers some thing in center... He handled Mafi against Munster who was rated as the best No. 12 in europe this year...

Hook? Ciprani? Vesty? On form and strictly on form Sexton has them all beat... He has shown he can handle the pressure...

anonymous_joe

CowboyTed wrote: »

Darcy deserves to go... He has looked good since he came back and offers some thing in center... He handled Mafi against Munster who was rated as the best No. 12 in europe this year...

Hook? Ciprani? Vesty? On form and strictly on form Sexton has them all beat... He has shown he can handle the pressure...

There's your problem - Sexton's not had an opportunity internationally to do that, nor has Vesty.

Most people expected a Munster Cardiff final, clearly McGeech and co did looking at the team selections.

subfreq

I think it a brilliant selection for the lions. ROG and Jones are essentially the same player and without Hook they didn't have a running option at flyhalf. The problem being he is way out of form.

I am guessing after a week of watching patterns in training they felt they needed a running option in a specialist position.

I don't think D'Arcy will get a call up unless they look to do a straight swap for Roberts as he is stuck in one position compared to other players who can also play in the back three.

Given another 12 months and I think Jordan Turner-Hall would have been a wild card selection. I really think he is going to be a world class player.

twinytwo

great first croft and now hook.... what good is a 3rd fh when we may not even need him.. HPenny is a huge loss.... if things keep going like this it will be up to BOD and POC to win the series

irishbucsfan

subfreq wrote: »

I don't think D'Arcy will get a call up unless they look to do a straight swap for Roberts as he is stuck in one position compared to other players who can also play in the back three.

D'arcy can and has played every position from 12-15. I agree that he's not been good enough to merit a Lions call-up since coming back from injury though.

He had a poor game, if any centre put their hand up today it was Hipkiss.

+1
Best player on the pitch, bar Elsom.

what good is a 3rd fh when we may not even need him..

But what if ROG went down and then Jones went down immediately afterwards, that would have meant flying out an OH to play for a team he didn't even know for the most part. He wouldn't even have known the calls for the backline.

It was stupid to name 2 in the first place IMO.


Also, what happened to Cipriani being "on standby" for the Lions? I never heard the Hook was "on standby"

leeroybrown

irishbucsfan wrote: »

Also, what happened to Cipriani being "on standby" for the Lions? I never heard the Hook was "on standby"

That's presumably because Hook - unlike Cipriani - didn't go blabbing to the media about it.

twinytwo

CowboyTed wrote: »

Darcy deserves to go... He has looked good since he came back and offers some thing in center... He handled Mafi against Munster who was rated as the best No. 12 in europe this year...

Hook? Ciprani? Vesty? On form and strictly on form Sexton has them all beat... He has shown he can handle the pressure...

getting a bit ahead of yourself arnt we... he played one game against a team that didnt really test him... big step up to international.. and there is a massive difference between leicester and the boks... id rather stick with the tried and tested even if it is hook

anonymous_joe

twinytwo wrote: »

getting a bit ahead of yourself arnt we... he played one game against a team that didnt really test him... big step up to international.. and there is a massive difference between leicester and the boks... id rather stick with the tried and tested even if it is hook

Munster aren't that bad, dude.

Neither are Leicester Tigers.

Podge_irl

twinytwo wrote: »

getting a bit ahead of yourself arnt we... he played one game against a team that didnt really test him... big step up to international.. and there is a massive difference between leicester and the boks... id rather stick with the tried and tested even if it is hook

What, out of curiosity, would be your definition of "testing" him? He played exceptionally well in a high intensity, high pressure game. Two of them in fact. Of course he has also played numerous excellent games in the ML.

(The Lions talk is ridiculous though).

anonymous_joe

Podge_irl wrote: »

What, out of curiosity, would be your definition of "testing" him? He played exceptionally well in a high intensity, high pressure game. Two of them in fact. Of course he has also played numerous excellent games in the ML.

(The Lions talk is ridiculous though).

Ah yeah, I'd have Hook over Sexton for the Lions, but Sexton's gone a long way to proving himself.

As I said before in this thread amongst drunken rabble,I like Hook.
I would have defo brought him and might have even played him at 12 but I just feel they made some insane choices when picking their players and this is an example.
No other 10's brought so they panic.
We now have 1 recognised outside centre and a bunch of young players that have the capability of Playing there.