British and Irish Lions vs Barbarian FC, Sat 1 June 12:30pm; Sky Sports 1

thomond2006

15 Stuart Hogg, 14 Alex Cuthbert, 13 Jonathan Davies, 12 Jamie Roberts, 11 Sean Maitland, 10 Owen Farrell, 9 Mike Phillips,
8 Toby Faletau, 7 Justin Tipuric, 6 Dan Lydiate, 5 Paul O'Connell (c), 4 Richie Gray, 3 Adam Jones, 2 Richard Hibbard, 1 Mako Vunipola.

Replacements: 16 Tom Youngs, 17 Cian Healy, 18 Matt Stevens, 19 Alun Wyn Jones, 20 Jamie Heaslip, 21 Conor Murray, 22 Johnny Sexton, 23 George North.





15 Jared Payne, 14 Joe Rokocoko, 13 Elliot Daly, 12 Casey Laulala, 11 Taku Ngwenya, 10 Nick Evans, 9 Dimitri Yachvili,
8 Sergio Parisse (c), 7 Sam Jones, 6 Samu Manoa, 5 Dean Mumm, 4 Marco Wentzel, 3 Martin Castrogiovanni, 2 Schalk Brits, 1 Paul James.

Replacements: 16 Leonardo Ghiraldini, 17 Duncan Jones, 18 Jim Hamilton, 19 Imanol Harinordoquy, 20 Andrea Lo Cicero, 21 Kahn Fotuali'i, 22 James Hook, 23 Mike Tindall.

Date: Saturday June 1
Venue: Hong Kong Stadium, Hong Kong
Referee: Steve Walsh (Australia)
Assistant referees: Lourens van der Merwe (South Africa), Angus Gardner (Australia)
Television match official: Matt Goddard (Australia)

totallegend

Barbarians by 1-10

Maybe worth noting that live commentary is also being carried on 2FM if anyone can't be in front of a TV.

Anyway, happy enough with that selection, once you took out the Leinster, Ulster and Leicester players plus Jenkins and Warburton, there weren't too many hard calls to be made.

peterako

Barbarians by 1-10

Eeek! That's a strong Baa Baa team.....

Buer

peterako wrote: »

Eeek! That's a strong Baa Baa team.....

Yes, but it's the Baa Baas. They'll be there for a jolly as their last game of the season. They'll want to throw the ball around, have a bit of fun and won't be interested in committing themselves too much regardless of the opposition. The Lions know that this is their first opportunity to impress and will be putting in the physicality.

Lions by 25.

Tox56

That's one hell of a bench the Lions have got themselves there

Teferi

I think Hogg will end up being a star of this game. He's very good in broken play.

thomond2006

I'm surprised Halfpenny isn't on the bench, I thought Hogg might get some time at 10.

.ak

thomond2006 wrote: »

I'm surprised Halfpenny isn't on the bench, I thought Hogg might get some time at 10.

Ideal game for him to play 10 or 20 min at 10. Dunno why Sexton is there tbh. This is a nothing game.

Although having said that, I'm very giddy.

Dave_The_Sheep

If the Lions get into the "throwing the ball around" mood, this could be great fun. It'd be great to have an entertaining game as a appetiser for the tour proper.

Odd to see Sexton there alright. You'd think he could do with a bit of a rest - even if there is an injury to Farrell, you still have others who can back up that position - for such a nothing game it makes sense.

I don't know what it is about the Lions, every time it rolls by, the anticipation is far more than the WC/6N for me. And I haven't even been watching that much Sky Sports to hype it up.

wawaman

Buer wrote: »

Yes, but it's the Baa Baas. They'll be there for a jolly as their last game of the season. They'll want to throw the ball around, have a bit of fun and won't be interested in committing themselves too much regardless of the opposition.

Havent they imposed an alcohol ban to make them more competitive after the beating against england last week

trouttrout

Buer wrote: »

Yes, but it's the Baa Baas. They'll be there for a jolly as their last game of the season. They'll want to throw the ball around, have a bit of fun and won't be interested in committing themselves too much regardless of the opposition. The Lions know that this is their first opportunity to impress and will be putting in the physicality.

Lions by 25.

Just don't think that's the attitude the Babaa's will have for this game. They were lax last week in what was an absolute dud fixture

They've a better team out and this team and you can bet the likes of Parrise, Castro and co are going to relish the opportunity to play against the Lions

trouttrout

That is a horrible backline the Lions have out. Hogg at 13 and Halfpenny at 15 and it looks a lot better

Leslie91

Teferi wrote: »

I think Hogg will end up being a star of this game. He's very good in broken play.

He is but for me he is crap defensively, he'll be found out on that score on this tour.

bilston

Buer wrote: »

Yes, but it's the Baa Baas. They'll be there for a jolly as their last game of the season.

Lions by 25.

Not sure about that Buer.

This will be a huge deal for some of these guys. The Italians and French guys (if not the whole team) will never get another opportunity to play the Lions.

Judgement Day

Matt Williams

I'm looking forward to the Baa Baas throwing it around and running out winners. A Joe Rokocoko hat-trick or alternatively a Sean Maitland one would be fun - and profitable.

.ak

Can't see either team clicking, but I figure the fact the Lions have been together a bit longer and it'st mostly an alternative Welsh side then they should get close to it, and thus be too much for the Baabaas.

sock puppet

Judgement Day wrote: »

I'm looking forward to the Baa Baas throwing it around and running out winners. A Joe Rokocoko hat-trick or alternatively a Sean Maitland one would be fun - and profitable.

Hasn't Rokocoko scored something like one try in the past few years?

Mahatma Geansai

.ak wrote: »

Can't see either team clicking, but I figure the fact the Lions have been together a bit longer and it'st mostly an alternative Welsh side then they should get close to it, and thus be too much for the Baabaas.

There isn't too much that needs clicking. Most of the core of the team is Welsh. Should be an exciting game; the baabaas have a great team.

Judgement Day

Matt Williams

sock puppet wrote: »

Hasn't Rokocoko scored something like one try in the past few years?

He's equal second all-time highest try scorer for the All Blacks - just three behind Doug Howlett. He's been in poor form, playing out of position (?), and is long overdue a big game. His last memorable try was the 76th minute match winner against Munster in 2008. I don't think that he has managed a try since his arrival at Bayonne but Thomond could probably give us an update.

the baby bull elephant

Rockoco has one try in the league in two years for Bayonne but has scored a few in the Amlin I think.

Really excited about this. By the sound of it the heat's going to be something else, probably leading to a real loose game.

Garseys

Barbarians by 1-10

no poll no? :pac:

I'd be surprised if the baa baa's won it. Lions by +7

thomond2006

Garseys wrote: »

no poll no? :pac:

Sorry Garseys, I let my standards slip!

fixed

Stev_o

Barbarians by more than 10

Meh, that midfield is just devoid of creative ideas. Will be interesting though seeing how Farrell gets on with a 12 that can get over the gainline but Christ almighty having Davis at 13 is just dumb.

Digifriendly

Lions by 1-10

Are there any FTA highlights of this game? I can't find any on TV listings.

bilston

Stev_o wrote: »

Meh, that midfield is just devoid of creative ideas. Will be interesting though seeing how Farrell gets on with a 12 that can get over the gainline but Christ almighty having Davis at 13 is just dumb.

Davies can be a good player, however he just cant pass, I wonder if we will see his famous pass to touch today?

the baby bull elephant

I have a feeling some players are going to look a lot better than they are in what'll probably be a really loose game.

Buer

the baby bull elephant wrote: »

I have a feeling some players are going to look a lot better than they are in what'll probably be a really loose game.

Yup. I expect some players to tear it up today and subsequently hear/read multiple calls for them to be in the test team. I see today as a nothing game. Alcohol ban or not, the Barbarians are a team on a jolly. They're all on a beach somewhere 48 hours after this game. They'll try to throw it around, put on a show and score a few tries.

The likes of Stuart Hogg, Vunipola, Tipuric and Maitland are going to have a ball.

thomond2006

Lions preview show on SS1 now.

mr_edge_to_you

Anyone see the short clip of BOD on the ship just before the ad break?

Sky are in a league of their own when it cones to rugby coverage and analysis.

desertcircus

Signed up for Sky Sports yesterday, and the difference in quality of coverage is embarrassing. I'm not actually certain I'd prefer the Six Nations to remain free to air if a shift to Sky meant goodbye to McGurk and Hook and hello to cogent analysis backed up with match footage.

Stev_o

Barbarians by more than 10

Dean Richards sheading some light on Gatlands attack philosophy, some good research there.