Lions Tour

Lost Ormond · 28-06-2021 10:23AM

OneLungDavy wrote: »

Interesting to see Nigel Owens on the panel too, does he usually do analyses/punditry?

He has on a few occasions. No harm if we get a bit of perspective from an officials pov.

sprucemoose · 28-06-2021 10:24AM

Cookiemunster wrote: »

They're not actually launching anything. They'll just be renaming one of their 8 sports channels for the period of the tour (and I see from the press release it's Sky Sport Action). They do it all the time. Sky Sports Ryder Cup will happen in September and I wouldn't be surprised if one of the channels got renamed Sky Sports The Open for the week that's on.

no no i know that, but i just think the amount of content for a lions tour compared to the other ones mentioned would be fairly minimal. apart from the tour documentaries since 97 and the few ones covering previous tours in general id imagine itll just be old matches

thomond2006 · 28-06-2021 10:25AM

sprucemoose wrote: »

no no i know that, but i just think the amount of content for a lions tour compared to the other ones mentioned would be fairly minimal. apart from the tour documentaries since 97 and the few ones covering previous tours in general id imagine itll just be old matches

It doesn't help the back catalogue of footage that the 2005 tour to NZ was cancelled and never happened.

sprucemoose · 28-06-2021 10:27AM

thomond2006 wrote: »

It doesn't help the back catalogue of footage that the 2005 tour to NZ was cancelled and never happened.

.....era, in a way it does

Former Former Former · 28-06-2021 10:46AM

https://www.irishtimes.com/sport/rugby/south-african-government-says-lions-tour-will-go-ahead-1.4605579

SA govt says tour will go ahead

Yeah_Right · 28-06-2021 11:32AM

thomond2006 wrote: »

It doesn't help the back catalogue of footage that the 2005 tour to NZ was cancelled and never happened.

I was in the States for most of that tour. Last match I saw was against Wellington and we didn't get back to NZ till late July. Found bars to watch all the tests but obviously missed all the media hype. I've downloaded the documentary on Sky. Watching it tonight.

Dave_The_Sheep · 28-06-2021 12:14PM

Watched all three 2005 tests last week. It was ... yeah. Rough. Handy reminder to never take Clive Woodward seriously on anything though.

"The Power of Four", f*cking hell.

Watching 2009 this week was also rough but for different reasons. Test 3 tonight though, happily enough.

awec · 28-06-2021 12:32PM

Was 2005 the one where the squad was split into two teams basically?

TomsOnTheRoof · 28-06-2021 12:42PM

awec wrote: »

Was 2005 the one where the squad was split into two teams basically?

That's the one. Midweek and test sides.

prawnsambo · 28-06-2021 03:41PM

And they've arrived.

lawrencesummers · 28-06-2021 07:37PM

I’ve an awful feeling that red cards are going to completely dominate this tour.

The only thing that might reign them in is not having a crowd in the stadia

TRC10 · 28-06-2021 07:59PM

lawrencesummers wrote: »

I’ve an awful feeling that red cards are going to completely dominate this tour.

The only thing that might reign them in is not having a crowd in the stadia

They've become a lot more lenient on headshots in recent months I've noticed.

Only giving reds where there's clearly no mitigating factors.

In some cases where there's mitigation they're not even giving penalties, even if theres clear direct head contact.

Sheep Shagger · 28-06-2021 08:50PM

Sounds like it's going to be a bag of laughs for the lads on tour....

Seems anyone outside the match 22 won't be allowed in the stadium on match day and players won't be doing a lot of the social activities you'd normally see on tour.

salmocab · 28-06-2021 08:52PM

Sheep Shagger wrote: »

Sounds like it's going to be a bag of laughs for the lads on tour....

Seems anyone outside the match 22 won't be allowed in the stadium on match day and players won't be doing a lot of the social activities you'd normally see on tour.

No sharing rooms, all the socialising will be in the team room in the hotel. It sounds really tough.

Cosmo Kramer · 28-06-2021 09:17PM

Sheep Shagger wrote: »

Sounds like it's going to be a bag of laughs for the lads on tour....

Seems anyone outside the match 22 won't be allowed in the stadium on match day and players won't be doing a lot of the social activities you'd normally see on tour.

When you take into account that the last midweek games is 10 days before the first test you're going to have a dozen or so players running training drills and not doing a lot else for the last three weeks of the tour. Going to be a slog for those lads.

TRC10 · 28-06-2021 09:21PM

Cosmo Kramer wrote: »

When you take into account that the last midweek games is 10 days before the first test you're going to have a dozen or so players running training drills and not doing a lot else for the last three weeks of the tour. Going to be a slog for those lads.

Yeah I really didn't like how they scrapped the last 2 midweek games.

And that was before Covid.

Sheep Shagger · 28-06-2021 10:13PM

TRC10 wrote: »

Yeah I really didn't like how they scrapped the last 2 midweek games.

And that was before Covid.

Expect more games outside of the tests to be cancelled.

The tests are what matters for the commercials, the extras are just that.

TRC10 · 28-06-2021 10:35PM

Sheep Shagger wrote: »

Expect more games outside of the tests to be cancelled.

The tests are what matters for the commercials, the extras are just that.

The provincial games are an integral part of Lions tours, particularly for the host nation.

I absolutely love watching the Lions play against the Waratahs or the Crusaders or The Bulls or a select XV from their domestic league, and seeing which players play themselves into the test team and watching non-internationals give it absolutely everything and get stuck into a team of world class players.

Without midweek games, Liam Williams and Eliiot Daly would never have been in the test team 4 years ago and the Lions lose the series.

I would lose a lot of love for the Lions if they scrapped them and just played the 3 tests. They're a key component in the uniqueness and romance of Lions tours.

Lost Ormond · 28-06-2021 10:39PM

Sheep Shagger wrote: »

Expect more games outside of the tests to be cancelled.

The tests are what matters for the commercials, the extras are just that.

The tests wont happen without the other games though and the commercials get plenty from the other games as well

TXPTGR1 · 28-06-2021 10:47PM

salmocab wrote: »

No sharing rooms, all the socialising will be in the team room in the hotel. It sounds really tough.

Must be good odds some of them will set each other on fire , these lads are pretty dense

awec · 28-06-2021 10:54PM

Think the players are going to be bored off their face for the next month or so, and I think it'll affect performances. Probably the same for the Springboks.

Hope I'm wrong but I think this might be a fairly dull series.

Burkie1203 · 29-06-2021 06:21AM

https://twitter.com/FrontRowGrunt/status/1409743848440483840?s=19

Squidgy Black · 29-06-2021 08:08AM

awec wrote: »

Think the players are going to be bored off their face for the next month or so, and I think it'll affect performances. Probably the same for the Springboks.

Hope I'm wrong but I think this might be a fairly dull series.

It'd be impossible for it not to affect performances tbh, the mental aspect side of things will be ridiculous. Would take a lot of shine off the tour for players, considering you mostly hear players reminisce about the nights out and the other trips out with the team.

Quin_Dub · 29-06-2021 08:17AM

Sheep Shagger wrote: »

Sounds like it's going to be a bag of laughs for the lads on tour....

Seems anyone outside the match 22 won't be allowed in the stadium on match day and players won't be doing a lot of the social activities you'd normally see on tour.

salmocab wrote: »

No sharing rooms, all the socialising will be in the team room in the hotel. It sounds really tough.

surely once they are in the "Bubble" they should be fine?

Also - Why aren't they all vaccinated ?

The UK are already well down into the 20-30 age cohort and the Irish lads could have been sorted when in Jersey surely?

salmocab · 29-06-2021 08:25AM

Quin_Dub wrote: »

surely once they are in the "Bubble" they should be fine?

Also - Why aren't they all vaccinated ?

The UK are already well down into the 20-30 age cohort and the Irish lads could have been sorted when in Jersey surely?

I think they are all vaccinated, vaccination doesn’t 100% stop Covid. They would be fine in the bubble but there are hotel staff etc and opposition players that they will have some contact with.

Cookiemunster · 29-06-2021 08:30AM

Quin_Dub wrote: »

surely once they are in the "Bubble" they should be fine?

Also - Why aren't they all vaccinated ?

The UK are already well down into the 20-30 age cohort and the Irish lads could have been sorted when in Jersey surely?

All the original squad members got the Pfizer vaccine when the met up in London a month ago and were due to receive their second dose when the squad met up in Jersey last week. I'm not sure if the replacements have been vaccinated.

The SARU have also said that their squad is vaccinated.

Burkie1203 · 29-06-2021 12:39PM

https://twitter.com/stephenjones9/status/1409789399118880770?s=19

prawnsambo · 29-06-2021 02:28PM

Burkie1203 wrote: »

https://twitter.com/stephenjones9/status/1409789399118880770?s=19

Stephen Jones. In a tent. Outdoors in South Africa. What could go wrong?

lawrencesummers · 29-06-2021 02:50PM

Burkie1203 wrote: »

https://twitter.com/stephenjones9/status/1409789399118880770?s=19

That’s just what they are telling him hoping he will leave.

Cosmo Kramer · 29-06-2021 05:22PM

Perhaps there's a welcoming township somewhere around Johannesburg that Jones could be dropped off in for a few nights.

Lions Tour

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