Test Team Announced - Robinson & Wilko to start - Farcical

monkeyman

British & Irish Lions: Jason Robinson; Josh Lewsey; Brian O'Driscoll (captain), Jonny Wilkinson, Gareth Thomas; Stephen Jones, Dwayne Peel; Gethin Jenkins, Shane Byrne, Julian White, Paul O'Connell, Ben Kay, Richard Hill, Neil Back, Martin Corry.
Replacements: Steve Thompson, Graham Rowntree, Danny Grewcock, Ryan Jones, Matt Dawson, Will Greenwood, Shane Horgan.


The fact that Wilkinson, Dawson & Robinson are even in the 22 is a farce. Typical stubborn Woodward sticking with the English even though they are playing crap.

No impact players on the bench. greenwood, dawson & horgan!!! Williams should have been on the bench for a bit of something different and he should have picked Henson who did more than enough today.

Not a hope of winning this one.




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PowerHouseDan

Up nice a early Monkey, i'd have to agree, Wilko Starting is a joke What has he done to deserve a spot on the Lions, Win England The World Cup in 2003 Woodward just wants to keep his English fans happy, The Lions Dont deserve a win with that team, Henson proved a point this morning in his game.

masterK

I find it astonsihing that a team that has proved inferior to both Ireland and Wales can have 8 of the 15 players in the starting line up. I'm sure it's just pure coincidince that the coach that picked them is also English.

MarVeL

Its not even 8 of the players on the team that finished behind Ireland and Wales. A lot of those 8 (most?) weren't even in the 6 nations. I just hope that Woodward has been seeing something in training that hasn't yet shown itself on the pitch.

Its forecast to be wet for the test so can we hope he was picking for the weather? Or am I just clutching at straws

RuggieBear

Sir Clive Full of **** Woodward (april 11) wrote:

if we had to pick a test XV tomorrow then the majority would be from Wales and Ireland, two from England and one from Scotland

Really......? And all of a sudden another 6 english have forced their way into the Test Team and 13 out of the 22man squad....must be some ****ing training sessions...coz we ain't seeing it in the ****ing matches

Sgtshaft

.....a feckin disgrace, Robinson, Robinson!!!! Good jesus whats that all about??? The guy´s a busted flush, its all over for him. Wlkinson at centre, my God its a travesty, if I was Welsh I´d be supporting the All Blacks at this stage. What happened to selection on form not reputation, a cornerstone of the Lions?
The back row, all English, how the fcuk can this be? Greenwood on the bench, what the fcuk is this? Clive´s version of jobs for the boys? The guy´s living in the past. They´ll get trolleyed, which will be entirely a good thing, then maybe he´ll be forced to put ut a decent bloody team.

PowerHouseDan

Straws i'd say.

You'd feel sorry for henson all the same he was almost crying at the man of the match interview this morning, And even Worse thr Fact that wilko is on i HATE him with passion...

As bad as it sounds i hope they loss dont want woodward getting credit for nothing, if i were the welsh and Irish coachs i would of walked out by now

MarVeL wrote:

Its not even 8 of the players on the team that finished behind Ireland and Wales. A lot of those 8 (most?) weren't even in the 6 nations. I just hope that Woodward has been seeing something in training that hasn't yet shown itself on the pitch.

Its forecast to be wet for the test so can we hope he was picking for the weather? Or am I just clutching at straws

Davei141

Get ready for a 9-6...either way.

Mighty_Mouse

On his form , one the best of our generation. Off form and crocked........looks dubious.

unless wilko was holding back i cant see him last 90 mins with flankers and NZ centres running at him!

Maybe he'll try doing the ROG slow them down tackle but cant see that working either.

Cant believe Henson is not at least on the SUBs bench as backup should Johnny be on his way to hospital after 5 mins

Souless

Sgtshaft wrote:

.....a feckin disgrace, Robinson, Robinson!!!! Good jesus whats that all about??? The guy´s a busted flush, its all over for him. Wlkinson at centre, my God its a travesty, if I was Welsh I´d be supporting the All Blacks at this stage. What happened to selection on form not reputation, a cornerstone of the Lions?
The back row, all English, how the fcuk can this be? Greenwood on the bench, what the fcuk is this? Clive´s version of jobs for the boys? The guy´s living in the past. They´ll get trolleyed, which will be entirely a good thing, then maybe he´ll be forced to put ut a decent bloody team.

Lol dont have to be welsh to support the all blacks next saturday mate Id rather see them win aswell so Clive will get his head ou of his arse and send most of the english has been players back home:- Wilko,Robinson,Greenwood,Thompson,Dawson, Rountree and the infamous 37 year old Back but to name a few of the ****e english playes who dont derserve to be there.

On a note of good news considering this is a travisty of a team I hear on sky sports news that Mc Caw has pulled something in his back and may not be able to play on saturday

andrew.donohoe

Ever since the tour started Woodward said that form not reputation that would get your place. If that was the case the starting 15 would be

1: Jenkins, 2: Byrne, 3: White, 4: Kay, 5: O'Connell, 6: Easterby, 7: Williams, 8: Ryan Jones, 9: Peel, 10; S. Jones, 11: S. Williams, 12: Henson, 13: O'Driscoll, 14: Thomas, 15:Lewsey

Subs: Sheridan, Bulloch, Owen, O'Callaghan, Murphy, Shanklin, Hodgson

sleepwalker

cussiter and henson should be on the bench at least. good to see horgan got a spot in the squad as he deserves it. dawson shouldnt be there neither should greenwood. robinson is a great player but hes off form so his selection is dubious and the all english backrow is a bit much surely easterby, williams or jones between them deserve a place there.

the team is a fairly conservative choice but then again i think its a team that will work playing in conditions that are gonna be wet and windy, hes not an idiot he knows what hes doing have a little faith. will be funny to see what people will be saying if we actually win the match ! if we lose im sure he'll switch it up to a more welsh/irish team especially in the backs.

bring on saturday

Danger_Dave

Cussiter should be on the bench, and all tho i hate to say it, Henson should be at 12. Robinson shouldnt even be on the bench let alone playing. Cant believe he's been picked above Murphy?

However Dawson may have no form, but he is a good impact player as is thompson, Whether they preform is another story,

Like to see Shanklin come on for wilko in 2nd half.

Well its risky from SCW but its not Totally off the wall. Lets just hope a we find touch well and challenge in the line-out + scrum.Going to be close sloppy game.

Nukem

Clive you walking lying sack of Sh!te "I'll only play players that are on form" - HA. My arse the guy is completly one sided towards England. Robinson WTF,Greenwood WTF..................................people are predicting a 15point loss or more ; can see why.

SCW = Fool

evil_seed

Could Shane horgan be the suprise package like Henderson was in Oz. The Lions need someone for a crash ball up the middle. And Ryan Jones should definately be starting instead of Hill, he's f-in past it. Me thinks the All Black back row (try saying that 10 times fast) is going to destroy the Lions at rucks and will give Stephen Jones a hell of a time.
The spread is New Zealand by 9. I think maybe a bit more

mike dee

A f****** disgrace. Why do the celts even bother with this sh!te. I hope the ABs win to stick it up CW proverbial knighted ar$e. I think NZ by 7.

mike dee

If you want a laugh read the BBC scrum V website. The english fans comments are hilarious.

[Jackass]

Haha...what a crock!!

I cant wait to see the most one sided humiliating tour in it's history. Absolute hockey scores will be put up against us. Did anyone watch the 91-0 demolition of Fiji? These lads are very serious about this test series, and with an all English back row, and an absolutly shocking back line, especially when you consider what is available to him! Lost for words....but with this selection policy, all the hipocrytical comments, and what will be an absolute whitewash, record breaking defeat series, i look forwarded to seeing clive woodwards reputation in the game destroyed just as he leaves.

Murphy, Henson and Williams...not 1 of them even makes the 22!! :eek: unbelieveable, they would all be starting in my team. ROBINSON!!! GREENWOOD!!! OMG! What is this lad on????

I also find it innepropriate to use what is the all star tour of the northern hemisphere (excluding france of course) and, for most of these players, the highlight of their careers, to use the first test to carry out his ambition from when he was English coach, to experiment with wilko (who has hardly played a game since 2003) at 1st center, without even using the warm ups to even try it out!! And insult to injury, deny henson, my player of the tournament in the 6N....unbelieveable....what a self serving, arrogant twat.

[edit] On a seperate note, is it just my imagination, or did BO'D play at full back on the last tour or something like that, During the warm up games? He didnt play there on a test though did he?[/edit]

KnowItAll

evil_seed wrote:

Could Shane horgan be the suprise package like Henderson was in Oz. The Lions need someone for a crash ball up the middle.

Nope, Will 'clive's buddy' Greenwood is the center on the bench. Horgan is only on the wing.

The sensible thing to do would be to pick Shane Williams and Shane Horgan but Clive needs his buddies.

Amazotheamazing

Lads, I understand the grief but what omitted players stood up and
deserved to be on the team? The only player who has really been
shafted is Shanklin, but seeing as playing him would involve moving
O'Driscoll to first centre I'd say it was too much of a change.
Henson may become a great player, but currently he isn't a top
class centre. I'd have liked to see him tried at fullback, where he
has played a fair bit of rugby. As a first centre he is not given
to looking to pass outside him, and too often goes alone when he
should pass. That might work against weaker teams but the All
Blacks will isolate him and win turnovers.
You have to consider the fact that the English players have played
in a much more competitive league this season, they are used to
high pressure matches. The Celtic League isn't very competitive,
apart from a handful of games.
Wilkinson may have a fragile body but he has a rock solid nerve, he
missed 5 drop goals in the RWC final and still had the guts to try
for a 6th, most outhalfs would have wilted long before then. When
he was fit he was one of the biggest tacklers on the pitch, though
I'd rather have a better passer at first centre.
BTW does anyone know why D'Arcy was brought as a 1st centre when he
mostly played outside O'Driscoll last season? A rigid dicta the
O'Driscoll must play 2nd centre is overly restrictive.
Greenwood is the only selection I'd be amazed at, and maybe Dawson
ahead of Cuissiter. Greenwood was instrutmental in getting
Harlequins related, a first centre who can't/won't tackle isn't
much use.
I actually expect the Lions to do well this weekend, they should
have a solid lineout, and in Jones and Wilkinson they have 2 great
kickers. Lewsey and O'Driscoll can probably break from anywhere,
and Thomas is just a shade below those 2 players. I don't expect
pretty rugby, plenty of lineouts in the opposition 22, secure ball,
Peel to keep the All Blacks honest at the fringes and the outside
backs to stretch the defense, possibly drop Wilkinson back into the
hole to try for drop goals

CJhaughey

O'Driscoll wears 13 but usually plays in the IC position.
As a player said recently the only thing a number on your back does is explain where you stand at set pieces.
Shanklin would have been a far better choice for IC than Wilkinson, as most of an IC's job is tackling and running straight at the opposition.
Neither of which Wilko is really able for at the moment.
SCW gameplan is basically a repeat of the RWC 2003 performance and he has selected much of the same team to do it.
I await the game with interest.

daveirl

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RuggieBear

i totally agree with you grumpyhead!!!

daveirl

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macG

Bang on Dave... I will say though Wilkinson is a risk, and I think everyone recognises that including Slaphead. Weather forecast to be really bad, so that will suit Lions. Cant have robinson at full back in bad weather, cant have him on in current from full stop... he cant kick to save his life, and sure he's only a wee lad god bless him, under a garryowen would u bet on him?

BogOak

agree with all that... what about jones for hill? otherwise, this henson thing is ridiculous. i don't even want to say this but i have this nagging notion that if he didn't have sticky-up hair or charlotte church and all the media attention that they grab... well he's certainly never overly impressed me. shanklin and horgan (however bad his handling has been historically) have been the centres (wings, i know) in form on the tour. wilkinson simply must be showing something in training that he hasn't shown in the matches.

vorbis

Wilinson is playing because he won Woodward the world cup, simple as that. Nothing to do with form. I don't get what people's problems with Henson is. He is over rated but is still to me a quite decent player who would be my first choice IC (closely followed by Shanklin). This stuff about him being lacking defensively is pure crap. I've seen several matches with him playing and I don't remember him being shown up in such a way.


The fact is I think people don't like him simply because he loves himself and is cocky and arrogant. So what. He backs up the guff and is most certainly a big game player.

Williams (I'm guessing Shane??) has done nothing in the 6 nations or elsewhere to merit his inclusion.

Sorry that is frankly ridiculous. Williams was probably wales biggest offensive threat in the 6N. He did get caught out defensively but provided loads going forward.

Davei141

You're kidding right, you're watching the same Geordan Murphy as me? I love the guy but he's playing absolutely appauling rugby. It's painful to watch and Henson was shown up in the Wellington game. he's also a liability with his inability to tackle. People are finally figuring that out and he's giving away penalities for that body check he pretends is a tackle. Williams (I'm guessing Shane??) has done nothing in the 6 nations or elsewhere to merit his inclusion. Howlett would run straight over him and Rico Gear who I rate higher would do much the same.

Geordan murphy playing appauling rugby? I think your just pissed off at all the whinging and are going to the other extreme. Shane williams is a good player. gavin henson is a good solid player, albeit extremely over hyped, thats not his fault.

mike dee

daveirl you have picked what must be the slowest back-row in recent history. They'll all be looking for their free bus passes after 50 min. unbelievable. For me the only english players who dserve to be picked are Lewsey and White, possibly Corry. There are considerably better players for the other places.

tap28

Some of the overreactions on this thread are unbelievable, with people saying they are going to support the AB's and hope the lions get stuffed, just because they don't agree with the team selection. Heck, I don't agree with the all the selection, but I will be shouting all the team tomorrow and will continue to do so in all the tests.

I would have played shanklin, jones and murphy for wilko, hill and robinson.

If it were purely on form so far in the tour the 10 would be Hodgson
Come on the lions!!!

daveirl

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Chucky the tree

so robinson was the right choice at 15? i would of had murphy over him anyday. Murphy might have been poor form through 6 nations and the lions tour, but robinsons has been brutal. Only play one tour match didnt he?

daveirl

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[Jackass]

In fairness Dave....everything i said was correct. A record humiliation by the all blacks, no penetration what so ever in the back line without BOD...Murphy, Henson and Shane Williams all offer vital attacking options...if your trying to go by 6 Nations form and justify Robinson, Wilkonson (how can you pick a player who has no match fitness, never mind ability...and against NZ! Even his so called world class talent with the boot was average at best.) Greenwood... English back row (non-existant)!! Shocking selection! And it showed!
Clearly you cant beat these guys by tackling and taking your kicks for 2 good reasons. They don't give away penalties and as i suspected, that defence (although it played as well as it possibly could..even according to SCW) it leaked tries and had no means of hitting back.
To be honest he can do what he wants with his selection...3-0 white wash and NZ by 25 points in the next test.

England finished fourth in the 6N for a reason....so how can they dominate the selection with 8 in the first 15! And 13 of the 22!! Did i miss something? did they win the GS or something?? That's an absolute farce and everyone knows it...

I stand by my point, SCW is a self serving arrogant twat, and after that selection, followed by that performance, nobody can argue with me on that point! He'll get what he deserves over there. NZ can be arrogant for a reason, they're playing the northhan hemisphere "dream team" excluding france, and they dont even need to get out of second gear to beat them by 3 clear scores, break a 60 year old winning margin record, and hardly break a sweat.

omb0wyn5ehpij9

After watching that appauling match, i will stand back and hold me hands up and say fair play to wilkinson. Forget about his kicking out of hand for a minute........he was one of the very few players that i saw repeatedly put their bodies on the line. He was playing with PRIDE......there was little or no pride out there from most of the team. I moaned about wilkinson being in centre before the match, but that was the only risk that woodward took that worked out.