Lions Tour

Buer wrote: »

For this reason, I think Williams is going to be the starter for the Lions. He's not lacking in ability going forward but is a far more solid option under the high ball. It's an area where Hogg has been attacked and exposed in recent months. I reckon it was a key reason as to why he lost his spot for Exeter also in the last few weeks.

SA play a high pressing game with a focus on territory and a hard chase. Hogg might be able to bring a lot from an attacking and kicking perspective but I've no doubt they'd go after him in the air.

Also, if the test games are moved to sea level, the booming kicks aren't going to be as prevalent.

Yeah I think Gats goes with Williams too.

For that reason I think Farrell needs to play 12. A backline without Hogg at 15 and with Aki at 12 lacks tactical awareness and decision makers IMO.

4 years ago the Lions improved immeasurably when Farrell was pushed to 12 and Sexton came in. They had a cutting edge that wasn't there before, it caused NZ a lot of problems. Henshaw is a fine distributor in his own right but can also get you gainline when needs be. If they still feel the backline lacks power without Aki, there's the option of playing VDM and using him as the crash ball option off 1st phase.

sydthebeat wrote: »

who was it that was saying LCD was injured????

LCD was out cold for a while in the premiership final. Very surprised to see he made the team for this match, was thinking maybe the next one

TRC10 wrote: »

Must say, I didn't notice any glaring errors. That being said, I haven't watched it back yet. I know there are huge question marks over his defense.

i listened to the game and only saw the highlights but it was mentioned a few times and a few of the pieces ive read picked it out. in fairness its probably a system error as much as anything and hes just getting picked out over it. on the other hand i personally dont think he should be on the tour let alone anywhere near the test team but thats just imo

TRC10 wrote: »

He's basically James Lowe who plays for a country that can attack.

true and also a bit harsh on ireland, when henshaw and ringrose are on form they can be devastating but unfortunately thats a rare occurrence and the other combinations dont offer anywhere near them in attack (again imo)

sydthebeat wrote: »

who was it that was saying LCD was injured????

Dunno. But we can surely expect a sharp display.

Would be some story

https://twitter.com/TelegraphSport/status/1410712549730000900

TRC10 wrote: »

Big vote of confidence in Murray from Gatland right there haha

Yes. Shame Twitter cropped the rest of the quote, where Gatland went on to admit the sole reason he wants AWJ back is his lack of faith in Conor Murray.

topdecko wrote: »

No way he can return from a dislocated shoulder for this tour...surely that is not possible. seems like clickbait from the Telegraph.

Not really in fairness to them here's the full quote:

"So he's kind of optimistic that a miracle may happen, and then he can get himself right. We're just going to assess it and see how the next couple of weeks goes in terms of that. I think the specialist said, when he had to look at it, that it wasn't quite as bad as he thought it would be.

“But not good enough, obviously, to come on tour to start with, and, and we needed a replacement otherwise we would have put too much pressure on him and the other second rows.

"We're going to monitor that and as we come towards the end of the tour, or if we pick up an injury and he's making amazing progress, something can happen - you never know. So it's kind of one of those just wait and see situations.”

TRC10 wrote: »

Talking about how you hope someone else can lead out the team, isn't exactly showing faith in your current captain

Saying that you want your original captain to recover in time to play is hardly saying he doesn't have faith in Murray.

TRC10 wrote: »

The original captain was ruled out for the tour and Murray appointed captain.

The headline say's he wants him to "lead the team". I'm not sure if that's the exact quote, but talking to the press about how you want AWJ to come back and "lead the team" is surely a massive kick in the teeth to the new captain.

Of course he wishes AWJ can recover. But surely he should be telling the press that he's backing the new captain and has faith in him, not going on about how much he hopes the old captain makes a miraculous recovery and can lead the team. It's an odd one.

Where to start with this.... maybe it might be an idea to be sure of the quote before you go leaping to conclusions??

TRC10 wrote: »

Well the headline directly misquotes him in that case.

I took the quote on face value

Surely picking Murray as captain, who isn't his club or country captain, shows the faith that Gatland has in his leadership abilities within this group.

Saying he hopes that the person he originally picked to lead the team can come back and lead the team doesn't undermine Murray IMO.

You also don't know what he actually said, or what question he was answering when he said it.