Lions squad to face Cheetahs on sat

conf101

http://www.rugbyworldcupblog.com/cheetas-and-lions-line-up-for-saturday/

British & Irish Lions:
15 Lee Byrne 14 Leigh Halfpenny 13 Keith Earls 12 Luke Fitzgerald 11 Shane Williams 10 James Hook 9 Harry Ellis 8 Andy Powell 7 Joe Worsely 6 Stephen Ferris 5 Paul O’Connell (c) 4 Donncha O’Callaghan 3 Euan Murray 2 Ross Ford 1 Andrew Sheridan
Replacements: 16 Matthew Rees, 17 Adam Jones, 18 Simon Shaw, 19 Nathan Hines, 20 Mike Blair, 21 Ronan O’Gara, 22 Gordon D’Arcy.

Cheetahs:
15 Hennie Daniller 14 Danwel Demas 13 Corne Uys 12 Meyer Bosman 11 JW Jonker 10 Jacques- Louis Potgieter 9 Tewis de Bruyn 8 Hendro Scholtz (c) 7 Francois Uys 6 Heinrich Brüssow 5 David de Villiers 4 Nico Breedt 3 Kobus Calldo 2 Adriaan Strauss 1 Wian du Preez
Replacements: 16 Richardt Strauss 17 WP Nel 18 Frans Viljoen 19 Kabamba Floors 20 Gerrie Odendaal 21 Louis Strydom 22 Fabian Juries.

redmca

Very interesting centre partnership.
Would expect Darcy to play 2nd half.

budhabob

conf101 wrote: »

http://www.rugbyworldcupblog.com/cheetas-and-lions-line-up-for-saturday/

British & Irish Lions:
15 Lee Byrne 14 Leigh Halfpenny 13 Keith Earls 12 Luke Fitzgerald 11 Shane Williams 10 James Hook 9 Harry Ellis 8 Andy Powell 7 Joe Worsely 6 Stephen Ferris 5 Paul O’Connell (c) 4 Donncha O’Callaghan 3 Euan Murray 2 Ross Ford 1 Andrew Sheridan
Replacements: 16 Matthew Rees, 17 Adam Jones, 18 Simon Shaw, 19 Nathan Hines, 20 Mike Blair, 21 Ronan O’Gara, 22 Gordon D’Arcy.

Cheetahs:
15 Hennie Daniller 14 Danwel Demas 13 Corne Uys 12 Meyer Bosman 11 JW Jonker 10 Jacques- Louis Potgieter 9 Tewis de Bruyn 8 Hendro Scholtz (c) 7 Francois Uys 6 Heinrich Brüssow 5 David de Villiers 4 Nico Breedt 3 Kobus Calldo 2 Adriaan Strauss 1 Wian du Preez
Replacements: 16 Richardt Strauss 17 WP Nel 18 Frans Viljoen 19 Kabamba Floors 20 Gerrie Odendaal 21 Louis Strydom 22 Fabian Juries.

am.....that could be interesting.

redmca

Also subs look strange ... back row cover ????

copacetic

not really good for fitzgerald to go out in the centre. he is competing for the 11 shirt for the tests.

Stealdo

Kind of disappointed with Fitz at 12. Don't think he has a realistic chance of playing a test at 12, and so he's not really being given a chance to show what he can do in what has become his normal position. Hopefully Darce will be on after 50 or so for Williams with Fitz getting a chance to play on the wing. The more I think about it actually the more I think he's not getting a fair crack.

Also - who ever said that back rows are about balance? That's about the most lopsided one I've seen.

spoon

I imagine that D'Arcy will come on at half time for Williams and Fitz will come across to the wing.
I'm actually looking forward to the Earls - Fitz partnership, could be very exciting, or a complete nightmare!

Cuchulain

I cant see Lukey shifting Williams at 11. TBH I dont think he will make the test teams (barring injury) which is a huge shame as on current form he is playing much better stuff than Williams.

Diom

redmca wrote: »

Also subs look strange ... back row cover ????

Hines to 6/8? Has Hines ever played there before?

crisco10

Agree about fitz. Think he is never going to be at 12 in the Tests, he had the form of a lion at 11 not 12. This on top of him only playing his 1st game while most are playing their second. (I know he was injured).
Its also a very young back line (williams and byrne apart).

In fairness, this illustrates why Darce was called up. Flutey is carrying a knock, Roberts played on Wednesday and Saturday so needs a break, already running out of 12s! Again harsh that Luke needs to fill the hole.

Stealdo

Beaten to it there - but also a little tough (potentially) on Earls as well. He had a bit of an off day in his first game, and now has a chance to put it behind him and they put a guy playing out of position inside him.

Podge_irl

Stealdo wrote: »

Beaten to it there - but also a little tough (potentially) on Earls as well. He had a bit of an off day in his first game, and now has a chance to put it behind him and they put a guy playing out of position inside him.

Fitz is no more out of position than Earls to be honest. Fitz has even played 12 at international level. Both should be in the back 3.

Stealdo

Podge_irl wrote: »

Fitz is no more out of position than Earls to be honest. Fitz has even played 12 at international level. Both should be in the back 3.

Yeah, fair enough comment

Ironically the 12/13 is the only part of the line up that looks exciting.

subfreq

Rumours around the web since last weekend have been that Flutey is more injured than they are letting on. Looks like they want to see if Fitzy is a real option for them at 12 before they give D'Arcy a go.

I would have liked see him start on the wing first but I am sure he will get his chance in the match. If he clicks with Earls it will be electric. Seems a lot of pressure to put two very young inexperienced Lions.

Interesting to see them hold ROG back. Must be to start him with Phillips in the midweek.

themont85

Two lads from the underage schools class of 2006 in at centre for the Lions. Can only be exciting for us when we have probably the best centre in the world still on the books.

Interesting back row. Worsley didn't do a whole heap versus the Royal XV. He is a tackle machine but won't make 6 in front of Croft or Ferris imo. At 7 is interesting, can he play that role like a pseudo David Wallace and Martin Williams? 8, Powell will probably end of on the test bench just because his one dimensional game could prove handy in the last 20.

Otacon

Lee Byrne, Leigh Halfpenny, Keith Earls, Luke Fitzgerald, Shane Williams, James Hook, Harry Ellis...

If that backline clicks, it could be one hell of a show.

Amabokke

Does this mean the Lions are already cracking under the pressure....i.e mountain of injuries and so far after Saturday they would've played the worst 3 teams in SA.

Lions very young backline indeed and should be interesting to see what game plan the Cheetahs come up with. They usually are very good or very bad on the day, with a few star performers in: Meyer Bosman, Jonker, Hendro, Francois, Heinrich, Adriaan and Fabian.

If the Cheetahs can bring their A game it will be a tough afternoon for the Lions otherwise another thumping could be on hand.

Grey College is under the top 3 rugby schools in SA in Bloemfontein and deliver 90% of Craven week players every year yet their provincial side is at the bottom two.

copacetic

Amabokke wrote: »

Does this mean the Lions are already cracking under the pressure....i.e mountain of injuries and so far after Saturday they would've played the worst 3 teams in SA.

Clearly they are. Sure that's what one injury always means.

Podge_irl

Otacon wrote: »

Lee Byrne, Leigh Halfpenny, Keith Earls, Luke Fitzgerald, Shane Williams, James Hook, Harry Ellis...

If that backline clicks, it could be one hell of a show.

It could also be a complete and utter train wreck.

Does this mean the Lions are already cracking under the pressure....i.e mountain of injuries and so far after Saturday they would've played the worst 3 teams in SA.

Its not a mountain of injuries, its basically just Flutey, while BOD is just being kept for the tests mainly.

spoon

It could also be a complete and utter train wreck.

Either that or it could be amazing to watch. The back 5 can all be game breakers on their day.

chupacabra

Hmm... didnt expect this center partnership today.. as exciting as it looks on paper, everything tells me its going to be a disaster on the day. Donners and POC together again should be positive and Halfpenny in his rightful position. If anyone has seen any of the Welsh age grade games that Halfpenny was involved in, he was stellar at full back.

EDIT: I swear im going blind in my old age...

Stealdo

Agree with above that the backline has the potential to be incredible, in Hook, Fitz, Earls and 1/2p you have 4 of the most exciting young players in Europe. I just have that feeling that playing all of them together means you'll either get a somewhat lucky everything comes off for you harlem globetrotters type display or as said you'll have an utter train wreck and Earls unfortunately will be the one whose confidence is most fragile. I really think he could have done with getting a game with a few experienced campaigners around him after last week. (Although obviously you can't manage a tour that way) Let's just hope that they do all work well together. This could easily be 4 of the starting backs in test matches for the next two Lions tours.

Disagree with there being anything positive about the backrow (other than Ferris being there). Worsley and Powell are horribly one dimensional players and I'd never have them in the same team at 8 and 6 but far worse at 8 & 7.

Stev_o

The whole backline are game breakers and i think the worry about them is that they could be very headless in some respect. That or they could be akin to Fiji but we shall find out nonetheless.

Nemesis

This lions selection is giving me headaches for my fantasy rugby.

Maybe I'll pick the cheetahs Kicker...whoever he will be.

[Jackass]

The fact that Fitzgerald is playing in centre and hasn't appeared until the 3rd game indicates to me that he is a squad player and is not even in contention or consideration for test matches...which is a mistake.

The wing is where options need to be found, the centre partnership is already set in stone in O'Driscoll and Roberts. Fitz is just being given a run for the sake of it at 12.

If he gets a half on the wing and D'Arcy gets a half in centre then maybe Fitz has a hope, but it's a very disadvantaged point to plead his case from so I'd say he can make dinner plans for the nights of the tests now.

copacetic

[Jackass] wrote: »

The fact that Fitzgerald is playing in centre and hasn't appeared until the 3rd game indicates to me that he is a squad player and is not even in contention or consideration for test matches...which is a mistake.

jeez, was the fact that he wasn't available until now not an issue then? :rolleyes:

Stealdo

copacetic wrote: »

jeez, was the fact that he wasn't available until now not an issue then? :rolleyes:

It may be the reason he hasn't appeared, but it's a short tour and he won't have as many chances at this stage as things are starting to take shape. By the end of next week he will at best have played 1 game on the wing, which is his only realistic shot a test. The fact that he hasn't appeared until now, regardless of the reason has hugely dented his chances.

niceoneted

Lads,
I think what you are all forgetting is that these games are used to try out as many combinations as possible so as to come up with the best team fro the test matches. It could easily have been that O Driscoll and Roberts didn't gel in the last match but they did. They were amazing for not having played together before.
It might also be a possibility that Fitzy is a shoe in for the wing in at least one of the tests but that they want to try him at centre as they know O Driscoll/Roberts will be possible targets and may get injured.
It's about looking at the bigger picture.

bleg

[Jackass] wrote: »

The fact that Fitzgerald is playing in centre and hasn't appeared until the 3rd game indicates to me that he is a squad player and is not even in contention or consideration for test matches...which is a mistake.

The wing is where options need to be found, the centre partnership is already set in stone in O'Driscoll and Roberts. Fitz is just being given a run for the sake of it at 12.

probably not actually. they're probably having a look at fitzgerald in the centre to see how he does with a view to putting him on the bench.

also they had no real options for centre (with d'arcy only linking up recently) unless they put hook in there, but geech wants to try him at out half and he's dead right.

copacetic

Stealdo wrote: »

It may be the reason he hasn't appeared, but it's a short tour and he won't have as many chances at this stage as things are starting to take shape. By the end of next week he will at best have played 1 game on the wing, which is his only realistic shot a test. The fact that he hasn't appeared until now, regardless of the reason has hugely dented his chances.

maybe so but thats a different thing altogether, and I actually agree with you and posted same on front page.

RadioGaGa

Didn't Fitzgerald play centre for Rock back in the day? Obviously I'm not comparing a Lions tour to schools rugby but I'm not really too flustered by this
decision, it should be quite interesting. I'm pretty sure Jamie Roberts has nailed down his test spot so a bit of experimenting can't be too bad. Better doing it now than in a test match like Wilko at 12 in 2005.

I really hope Keith Earls gets his act together after a poor performance last Saturday. Hopefully the nerves have gone and he can relax. Shane Williams hasn't impressed so far, so he'd want to put in a good performance.

It'll be a tough match but I'm fairly confident of a Lions win.

RadioGaGa

RadioGaGa wrote: »

Didn't Fitzgerald play centre for Rock back in the day? Obviously I'm not comparing a Lions tour to schools rugby but I'm not really too flustered by this
decision, it should be quite interesting. I'm pretty sure Jamie Roberts has nailed down his test spot so a bit of experimenting can't be too bad. Better doing it now than in a test match like Wilko at 12 in 2005.

I really hope Keith Earls gets his act together after a poor performance last Saturday. Hopefully the nerves have gone and he can relax. Shane Williams hasn't impressed so far, so he'd want to put in a good performance.

It'll be a tough match but I'm fairly confident of a Lions win.

He played in the centre against NZ with ireland,he is well capable of it but its just dissapointing that he didnt get a chance on the wing,where he has the best chance.McGeechan said he wanted to play centre but it does give him the worst chance of breaking the team.

He is gona become the Irish Isa Nacewa,a guy who can play 15-11 and probably 10 if they put him there.:(

Clearly his best postions in order are
15-13-12-11-14

He is a victim of his versatility.

Podge_irl

Felipe Agreeable Ambassador wrote: »

Clearly his best postions in order are
15-13-12-11-14

He is a victim of his versatility.

Fitz? Think its pretty clear he's a better winger than centre.

Podge_irl

Podge_irl wrote: »

Fitz? Think its pretty clear he's a better winger than centre.

He is wasted on the wing imo.

He is a fullback out and out,he could be a 13 but I think he is wasted on the wing.

Look at Bowe,hes a fantastic wing but he isnt 10th as talented as Fitz.He is wasted on the wing.

jayteecork

Seems to me that Fitzy is going to be on the bench as 3/4 cover for the tests, much like Horgan was in 2005.

It's a shame as he's worth a starting slot.

Williams is the most overrated player in world rugby - no defense.

Podge_irl

Felipe Agreeable Ambassador wrote: »

He is wasted on the wing imo.

He is a fullback out and out,he could be a 13 but I think he is wasted on the wing.

Look at Bowe,hes a fantastic wing but he isnt 10th as talented as Fitz.He is wasted on the wing.

Think that's exceptionally harsh on Bowe. Fitz is an excellent finisher and is hungry enough for work that he isn't wasted on the wing imo. He was tried in the centre a number of times and it never worked.

Podge_irl

Podge_irl wrote: »

Think that's exceptionally harsh on Bowe. Fitz is an excellent finisher and is hungry enough for work that he isn't wasted on the wing imo. He was tried in the centre a number of times and it never worked.

It is very harsh on Bowe,who I think is nearly world class.
Its more of a representation of how good I think Fitz is.

dewdrop

Apart from the live tv of the match is it shown on any other channel later on