Rob Kearney - Irish and possible Lion player of the series?

Superdub2

Haha on a less controversial note.....

What did you think of R Kearneys performance over the two tests?

Firstly O Driscoll was brilliant but O Driscoll was O Driscoll and he did what i expected him to do, not that he doesnt deserve credit for it.

Just think Kearney was inspirational in his fielding of the high ball, i dont think ive ever seen a more impressive display, and he was exceptional in everything else he did for me!

I am a big fan of his and think when that young buk Luke Fitz broke onto the international scene i think R Kearney was overshadowed a little bit unfairly and think he deserves all the credit he gets now!

CatFromHue

He was very good on the weekend. its very hard to pick a player of the tour though, its still not over yet.
I thought Jamie Roberts was pretty good. In all the games he played he looked sharp and made an impact.

thomond2006

I think Shaw, Roberts, BOD and Kearney are all candidates for MVP (:D:D).

Bowe unfortunately didn't bring his warm-up form into the test series.

spoon

Player for the tour would have to be Bowe, he was incredable in all the games he played. His performances dropped a bit in the tests however. If you were to go purely on the tests, it would be Kearney or Roberts for me.

zAbbo

If you think of it in terms of players who have come out with their reputation enhanced, then

Tommy Bowe
Rob Kearney
Jamie Roberts
Tom Croft
Adam Jones
Stephen Ferris
Lee Byrne

and those who will have to take a look at themselves after a disappointing tour

Paul O'Connell
Ronan O'Gara
Phil Vickery
Andy Powell
Mike Blair
Shane Williams

We all know players like O'Driscoll & Jenkins are top quality, and performed to the level you'd expect.

Looking at rest of the squad, players like Earls you can't judge harshly as expectations were low, this tour will certainly stand to him, similar for Monye as well.

Riskymove

spoon wrote: »

Player for the tour would have to be Bowe, he was incredable in all the games he played. His performances dropped a bit in the tests however. If you were to go purely on the tests, it would be Kearney or Roberts for me.

+1

solid in all games

Aidric

zAbbo wrote: »

If you think of it in terms of players who have come out with their reputation enhanced, then

Tommy Bowe
Rob Kearney
Jamie Roberts
Tom Croft
Adam Jones
Stephen Ferris
Lee Byrne

and those who will have to take a look at themselves after a disappointing tour

Paul O'Connell
Ronan O'Gara
Phil Vickery
Andy Powell
Mike Blair
Shane Williams

Looking at rest of the squad, players like Earls you can't judge harshly as expectations were low, this tour will certainly stand to him, similar for Monye as well.

I'd agree with this analysis. I'd probably add Simon Shaw to the enhanced reputation list.

Riskymove

zAbbo wrote: »

If you think of it in terms of players who have come out with their reputation enhanced, then

Tommy Bowe
Rob Kearney
Jamie Roberts
Tom Croft
Adam Jones
Stephen Ferris
Lee Byrne

and those who will have to take a look at themselves after a disappointing tour

Paul O'Connell
Ronan O'Gara
Phil Vickery
Andy Powell
Mike Blair
Shane Williams

Looking at rest of the squad, players like Earls you can't judge harshly as expectations were low, this tour will certainly stand to him, similar for Monye as well.

1. Earls - I dont understand this view that he did not have a good tour, he had a bad nervy 20 mins in the first game and played well thereafter including some nice tries; i think his reputation definetly increased as a result. AIL to Lions in a season? keep it up

2. Tommy Bowe, Rob Kearney, Jamie Roberts, Tom Croft, Adam Jones, Stephen Ferris, Lee Byrne

agree with this especially croft as he probably should have gone in original squad.

But I would include Shaw who played very well

I suppose we can't include BOD as his reputation simply cannot get any higher, the tour was a further example of how brilliant a player he is

3. Paul O'Connell, Ronan O'Gara, Phil Vickery, Andy Powell, Mike Blair
Shane Williams

williams has not been in form for over a year so no surprise. I would not include ROG for one error - no matter how stupid, I think he played well in the mid-week games, he simply does not have the size needed for those type of test matches

I never thought much of Powell anyway and I would include Martyn Williams, of whom I expected a lot more

zAbbo

I'd agree with the comments on Shaw, I should have included him, he stepped it up when needed.

I don't think Earls was poor, just had low expectations - so no need to over analyse it, experience will stand and we'll see that over the next 2 years.

ROG, will come under analysis for his mistakes in the last test, and was always going to tour but I think he's the type of player who doesn't suit a Lions tour, evident in his 3 tours, no test starts. I'll bite my lip on Ronan, rather remember him for kicking us the GS than losing a lions tour.

gcgirl

thomond2006 wrote: »

I think Shaw, Roberts, BOD and Kearney are all candidates for MVP (:D:D).

Bowe unfortunately didn't bring his warm-up form into the test series.

I nearly choked on me tea with your ''MVP'' who'd you think he is fecking tom brady

Riskymove

zAbbo wrote: »

ROG, will come under analysis for his mistakes in the last test, and was always going to tour but I think he's the type of player who doesn't suit a Lions tour, evident in his 3 tours, no test starts. I'll bite my lip on Ronan, rather remember him for kicking us the GS than losing a lions tour.

But that comes down to managerial issues than ROG himself does it not?

The lions tour needed a certain type of player but after Jones and Hook are there that many type of outhalf outthere?

plus there simply was not enough cover for all the injuries but you cannot plan for such a level of attrition that occurred..personally I would have had d'arcy on the bench instead of williams

zAbbo

Yeah I agree, the biggest influence a coach can have is on selection, and Geech made a few mistakes - initially with the touring squad, and on match day 22's.

On ROG, he's had a very successful few years, and is a 85%+ kicker, important for the tour - but I think he really wasn't going to suit the gameplan in SA. Anyway, there were so many issues on this tour, it's probably best not to get too in depth on Ronan.

I guess it's very easy to see that now though

d'Oracle

Kearney was stupendous in the second test.

Finest fullback performance I have ever seen.

remus808

d'Oracle wrote: »

Kearney was stupendous in the second test.

Finest fullback performance I have ever seen.

I'm not sure he beat even his own best performance: he was the best player on the pitch in NZ in the lashing rain last year.

soundsham

how boring and predictable this boards yapitty yap gets
sooner the stupid over rated exibition tour is over the better..............yawn

would rather see a good local junior game

Depp

the irish/overall player of the tour has to be tommo, ne exception

SpAcEd OuT

Depp wrote: »

the irish/overall player of the tour has to be tommo, ne exception

I disagree simply because he hasn't performed in the tests. If you're going to talk about overall player of the tournament then it has to be either BOD or Roberts.

WeeBushy

Eh, Cameron Jowitt, obviously.

ALH-06

d'Oracle wrote: »

Finest fullback performance I have ever seen.

Wow really? Solid under the high ball and did really well for the try but I definitely wouldn't go that far!

Does anyone else think that Kearney is a tad over-rated? He's unbeatable at the high ball as mentioned and can be a very effective kicker, but there are still major question marks over his defence, and I think he lacks the pace and step to be a truly world class 15.

davyjose

ALH-06 wrote: »

Wow really? Solid under the high ball and did really well for the try but I definitely wouldn't go that far!

Does anyone else think that Kearney is a tad over-rated? He's unbeatable at the high ball as mentioned and can be a very effective kicker, but there are still major question marks over his defence, and I think he lacks the pace and step to be a truly world class 15.

Yeah, like that crappy try he got last saturday.

Disagree mate, I think his pace is underrated.

Superdub2

To be honest when i posted the topic i was referring to the tests rather than the mickey mouse warm up matches as i think they are the only thing that matters.

Outside of the tests the player of the tournament would have to be Tommy Bowe and dont agree that he didnt perform in the tests. Just thing he didnt get enough ball or opportunities but fair play to him he kept looking for the ball.

I actually think BOD's reputation somehow came out of this enhanced, probably due to his last Lions tour, definitely in parts of the UK anyway

d'Oracle

ALH-06 wrote: »

but there are still major question marks over his defence, and I think he lacks the pace and step to be a truly world class 15.

I would have to disagree with that.
Particularly with the step, pace and defence bit.

thomond2006

Fergus Slattery must feel pretty stupid at the moment. :D:D

razorblunt

Would have to be BOD for me, Bowe did well in the builups but the Tests are where its at and BOD with Roberts took the game to Boks in the first to show the silver lining needed.

I thought Mike Phillips had a great tour as well.

d'Oracle

razorblunt wrote: »

I thought Mike Phillips had a great tour as well.

Unfortunately, his permanent association with his own mouth usually stands against him.

Teg Veece

d'Oracle wrote: »

Kearney was stupendous in the second test.

Finest fullback performance I have ever seen.

I take it you haven't seen much rugby before then.

ManFromAtlantis

i dont rate two team events. lions tour, ryder cup are just two examples.
a list of the best golfers and rugby players, that is enough.
i mean a two team tournament wow. u either win or come second. over rated media hype.

premierstone

ManFromAtlantis wrote: »

i dont rate two team events. lions tour, ryder cup are just two examples.
a list of the best golfers and rugby players, that is enough.
i mean a two team tournament wow. u either win or come second. over rated media hype.

A fine analysis of Rob Kearney right there :rolleyes:

Kearney was immense on saturday and certainly didnt deserve to be on teh loosing team agreed. To say it was the best performance ever from a FB is probably one of the most redic. things I've ever seen posted here (thats saying something) I suggest to whoever said that, that they watch a few videos of Blanco, JPR and a few others before indulging in the hyperbole

ALH-06

d'Oracle wrote: »

I would have to disagree with that.
Particularly with the step, pace and defence bit.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cl5mxow0c8g

That's just one of the times I can remember when Kearney could have done A LOT better in defence. You might point to the initial hand-off by Healy, and it was definitely a well-finished try. But the fullback needs to be better at one-on-ones than that.

As for pace, I've never noticed Kearney ever being that quick. He often seems to look for contact and try spin out of tackles rather than stepping, and definitely doesn't hit the line as well as Byrne, Nacewa or even Earls.

twinytwo

Drico or Roberts simple as i dont thing anyone else on the tour even came close... prob best centre pairing in a long time if not ever

d'Oracle

ALH-06 wrote: »

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cl5mxow0c8g

That's just one of the times I can remember when Kearney could have done A LOT better in defence. You might point to the initial hand-off by Healy, and it was definitely a well-finished try. But the fullback needs to be better at one-on-ones than that.

Fair enough, but I think you are making light of a really well timed dummy step there.

Plus, please dont laud nacewa.
Someone might hear you.:D

crisco10

twinytwo wrote: »

Drico or Roberts simple as i dont thing anyone else on the tour even came close... prob best centre pairing in a long time if not ever

Gibbs and Guscott in '97?

Amabokke

crisco10 wrote: »

Gibbs and Guscott in '97?

I believe Tait, Greenwood and Bateman were better. Gusgott wasn't great at defending and for the Lions first professional tour to SA he wasn't one of the best centres. Anyone could've kicked a winning drop goal incl. Wilkison, Stransky, etc.