British and Irish Lions vs Melbourne Rebels, 25th June 2013, Sky Sports 10.40am

irishbucsfan

Tox56 wrote: »

Go on?

Its basic Gatty ball!

I really don't want to repeat myself again, I said it repeatedly before the test and it must be getting boring. But its what they fought for and they achieved it. To have a phase count like that and gainline success of 72% shows just how good the pack were. Its Gatty ball and it worked up front.

Now we just need the backs on board and a ref who will let us compete a little more in defense.

andrewdcs

Melbourne Rebels

subfreq wrote: »

The enduring image I have of Phillips from the match is him jogging behind Genia as he makes the break for the first Falou try.

Other Lions are busting a gut to catch him and the way the play develops Phillips probably would have influenced play had he been chasing hard but he is just cantering behind him, no urgency.

He was a good 4 seconds behind a few rucks as well. Was wondering if he was being taken out off the ball / etc. but looked like he just didnt have it in him.

Maybe he was sick. He really should bench on Saturday. Dont think Murray did himself any favours today.

Hagz

andrewdcs wrote: »

Dont think Murray did himself any favours today.

In what way? I thought he had a good game. His delivery was nice and smooth and he recycled the ball quickly. Couple of mistakes here and there, but overall it was one of his best games.

I think this tour has really done him the world of good. He's looked much more mature and neater, and I'm looking forward to seeing him coached by Schmidt next season.

Buer

Hagz wrote: »

In what way? I thought he had a good game. His delivery was nice and smooth and he recycled the ball quickly. Couple of mistakes here and there, but overall it was one of his best games.

He was really smooth and snappy in his passing mostly but those mistakes were real black marks.

Can you imagine the reaction if the Lions had possession and their scrum half kicked the ball to touch on his 22 incorrectly thinking the clock had gone 40? There would be a meltdown by some. Those errors don't get brushed over at test level.

I think his service was far better than anything we've seen from Phillips since the Barbarians match but he needed to be flawless to leapfrog him. Youngs won't lose his place in the 23, he was good also.

Hagz

Still, I don't think he did himself harm. This was a mid-week game, players were asked to play a game that they wouldn't have licence to play in a Test. They were expected to keep tempo up and play a more risk filled game, so I think mistakes can be expected and go along with the territory. O'Brien made a handful of his own mistakes along with a good few other players.

With regard to the clock situation. That was pretty silly. I can only imagine that the stadium clock said 40 and he went by that. The half-time hooter is more of a Southern Hemisphere thing. Still a silly error, but I don't think it's fair to point to it and say "he didn't do himself any favours today", when the rest of his game was beautiful.

Buer

I wouldn't say it was beautiful. It was good. Nice and smooth. There were one or two passes that Farrell had to check to take in the second half. He was very good in the first half. Overall, I would say he had a good game with a few mistakes. Not enough to force himself into the 23.

SOB was similar. He was trying too much at times. Threw some heavy handed offloads, silly penalty conceded and spilled one in contact. His early departure suggests he's in the mix though.

Murray staying on another spell suggests he's out of the reckoning though. He has had a good tour and played well. He'll learn a lot and will surely come back a better player. Still might force his way into the 23 for the final test if depending on how this weekend goes.

Hagz

Buer wrote: »

Not enough to force himself into the 23.

Yeh but how did he not do himself any favours today?... He didn't come out of the game in a worse position than he went into it in my opinion.

Buer

Hagz wrote: »

Yeh but how did he not do himself any favours today?... He didn't come out of the game in a worse position than he went into it in my opinion.

I didn't say that he did, that was another poster. I'd say his status hasn't been improved or worsened by today.

andrewdcs

Melbourne Rebels

Hagz wrote: »

In what way? I thought he had a good game. His delivery was nice and smooth and he recycled the ball quickly. Couple of mistakes here and there, but overall it was one of his best games.

I think this tour has really done him the world of good. He's looked much more mature and neater, and I'm looking forward to seeing him coached by Schmidt next season.

I thinkhe's been better than Phillips, and deserves a spot in one of the match day squads, but he needed a tear away, scruff of the neck game, he was always a long shot to displace Phillips (wrongly) and Youngs.

i.e. I think some players need to go way above and beyond to change mindsets, SOB and Murray for instance, (not an Irish thing, I just pay them closer attention) and I didnt think he got there today.

I dont know that anyone did...

Hagz

Buer wrote: »

I didn't say that he did, that was another poster. I'd say his status hasn't been improved or worsened by today.

Yeh but that's the only thing I'm disputing. I don't think he did enough to force himself into the 23, nor do I think he put in a man of the match performance. But I don't think he did his chances harm today.

SlickRic

after Sky bigged up everyone but SOB on air, he got MOTM on the Sky website.

Seán O'Brien

The Irishman was a surprise omission from the squad for the first Test and he took his anger out on the Rebels. He was seemingly everywhere as he carried nine times, looked to offload and made 10 tackles. He fully deserved his try. 9

astonaidan

Melbourne Rebels

I know hes coming back from injury and all, but I was disappointed with Rob Kearney today, he really never looks for the pass

LostArt

astonaidan wrote: »

I know hes coming back from injury and all, but I was disappointed with Rob Kearney today, he really never looks for the pass

that's nothing new to be honest

Hagz

astonaidan wrote: »

I know hes coming back from injury and all, but I was disappointed with Rob Kearney today, he really never looks for the pass

Agreed. I think he new it was probably his last game on tour and he looked a little frustrated. He definitely looked to be lacking in composure whenever he got the ball.

.ak

Hagz wrote: »

Agreed. I think he new it was probably his last game on tour and he looked a little frustrated. He definitely looked to be lacking in composure whenever he got the ball.

Probably should've just enjoyed himself and forget about the tests.

Easier said than done, I suppose.

.ak

.ak wrote: »

Probably should've just enjoyed himself and forget about the tests.

Easier said than done, I suppose.

move all these new posts to today's match thread you goof

:pac:

.ak

Deleted User wrote: »

move all these new posts to today's match thread you goof

:pac:

Ugh, I'm even confused myself. Moved.

Rightwing

I thought SOB & Gray were the 2 best on the field, both should get a bench spot on the back of it.

.ak

SlickRic wrote: »

after Sky bigged up everyone but SOB on air, he got MOTM on the Sky website.

Any chance of posting the rest of the ratings? I'm in work...

sydthebeat

astonaidan wrote: »

I know hes coming back from injury and all, but I was disappointed with Rob Kearney today, he really never looks for the pass

Amazingly he actually was our biggest ball carrier with 90 meters from eight carries....

Statistics eh

astonaidan

astonaidan wrote: »

I know hes coming back from injury and all, but I was disappointed with Rob Kearney today, he really never looks for the pass

tried too hard to impress.

Needed an absolutely sublime performance to even put the thoughts of him starting a test with Halfpenny playing so well, and considering he was left out of the game for large parts (wasn't attacked at all by the Rebels) so only had a bit part to play.

Pity for him, not a stellar season by his standards, but he will feel hard done by

.ak

sydthebeat wrote: »

Amazingly he actually was our biggest ball carrier with 90 meters from eight carries....

Statistics eh

Well even the worst FBs will have massive carry stats due to the space they work with....

Hagz

It's not unusual for a full-back to make the most metres carried. After all, they can just eat up the metres when they receive kicks.

Rightwing

.ak wrote: »

Any chance of posting the rest of the ratings? I'm in work...

15 Rob Kearney

The Ireland international will be pleased with his run out and will be in contention for a place on the bench on Saturday. He was always looking to get involved, made 90m with the ball in hand and linked up well with the wingers. 7
14 Sean Maitland

The winger enjoyed his best match on the tour to date. He scored one try and made good yardage with the ball in hand. Unlikely to break into the Test XV, though, while there is intense competition for a place on the bench. 8
13 Manu Tuilagi

Another player who took his chance. Tuilagi needed a big performance after being sidelined with a shoulder injury and he duly delivered. Made the sort of inroads going forward the Lions will be looking for while he also showed greater awareness to pass. 7
12 Brad Barritt

A quietly effective performance from the England centre. He is not going to be threatening the Test team but his defence certainly deserves credit. He made eight tackles and was happy to act as a link man in attack. 6
11 Simon Zebo

The Irish winger brings something different to the party and there is a buzz when he has the ball. He covered 75m with the ball in hand, unselfishly passed to put Maitland over and was constantly trying to find a way through. Turnovers are a worry, though. 7
10 Owen Farrell

Asked to play on the gainline rather than sitting deep, Farrell showed a different side to his game. He looked lively with the ball in hand a showed a greater awareness to what was going on around him. 7
9 Conor Murray

The Ireland scrum-half put in a solid shift but it will not be enough to displace Mike Phillips from the Test time. He was alert enough to snaffle the opening score and got the Lions moving over the gainline. 7
1 Ryan Grant

He has been tipped as a possible starter against the Wallabies and he showed his strength up front in the scrum, however he did come up short in the loose. If Alex Corbisiero is missing then Warren Gatland has a real headache. 7
2 Richard Hibbard

It was a disappointing night for the Wales hooker, who would have wanted to make a bigger impression ahead of the second Test. He missed three of his throws - although he did attempt to mix things up a little - and four tackles, but he did carry well. 6
3 Dan Cole

The Lions scrum was impressive throughout and Cole played his part in that. However he did not do anywhere near enough to close the gap between himself and Test tighthead Adam Jones. 7
4 Richie Gray

In a straight shoot out for a place on the Test bench with Ian Evans and Gray just edged it with an all-round display. He carried impressively, he won his six lineouts and put in an impressive shift defensive. 8
5 Ian Evans

The Wales internationals did his best to force his way in to the Test equation and got stuck into the breakdown. He was also a menace to the Rebels' lineout, snaffling three throws. 7
6 Dan Lydiate

The captain faces an all-out war to claim a place in the Test squad however he cannot be faulted for his display. He does all the dirty, unseen work on the deck, while his tackle count is something special.8
7 Sean O'Brien

The Irishman was a surprise omission from the squad for the first Test and he took his anger out on the Rebels. He was seemingly everywhere as he carried nine times, looked to offload and made 10 tackles. He fully deserved his try. 9
8 Toby Faletau

The Wales No 8 was a colossus as he formed part of an impressive back-row combination. Made 60m from 16 carries, while he also weighed in with 13 tackles and three lineout takes as he put pressure on Jamie Heaslip. 8
Replacements

16 Rory Best (Did everything that was asked of him)
17 Tom Court (A 20-minute run out foer the late call-up)
18 Matt Stevens (He defended well but little else.)
19 Tom Croft (Had a hand in the last try and got stuck in)
20 Justin Tipuric (Lively introduction, especially at the breakdown)
21 Ben Youngs (A try-scoring appearance)
22 Billy Twelvetrees (Stepped in at fly-half and did little wrong)
23 Stuart Hogg (Put the nightmare of seven days ago behind him)

Fireball07

Melbourne Rebels

Hope Tuilagi starts, give us a bit of go-forward ball.

SlickRic

Lydiate, SOB, Heaslip is the form backrow.

you can talk about balance, captains, mistakes, etc all you like. that unit will have you going forward, and it will give you solidity around the fringes at the breakdown.

obviously SOB won't start, but if it truly was on form and impact, he'd be there.

Fireball07

Melbourne Rebels

Has that Zebo interview been posted? Kinda funny... he can't stop laughing through it.

Buer

astonaidan wrote: »

I know hes coming back from injury and all, but I was disappointed with Rob Kearney today, he really never looks for the pass

Thought he threw one great one off his left on their 22. He can pass but never looks for the offload enough. He's much more of a tactical full back than an exciting one. If you get sucked into a kicking match with him, generally he'll end up gaining good yardage. If he runs it, he's most likely to take contact and set up a quick recycle. Very pragmatic but not exactly exciting. He's becoming more like Girv each year!

SlickRic

wonderfullife wrote: »

The problem isnt just Warburton hasnt justified his selection and is not in peak form. The problem is his guaranteed selection means Gatland has to base the entire "balance" of the backrow around him.

that sentence is perfection.

beautifully articulated, and gets to the crux of the matter IMO.

simonmln

Fireball07 wrote: »

Has that Zebo interview been posted? Kinda funny... he can't stop laughing through it.

Missed everything because of work. What was he saying?