British and Irish Lions vs Western Force, Wed 5 June 11am; Sky Sports 1

.ak wrote: »

I counted three turn overs from SOB, but the ref was playing advantage every time for WF, I think your 're reading into stats too much, SOB broke the gain line every time he got crash ball, was a thorn in their side at ruck time, was extremely efficient on the deck, his link play was easily the best of any back rows, and was a direct result in a lot of tries today.

Even the little things like when the lions were on the backfoot he took the ball and buried himself a meter past the ruck to allow some breathing room for a clearance.

Listen, I'm a massive Halfpenny fan, but in no way did he put a motm performance in, all those nailed on kicks mean very little when your beating a team off the park with tries. He wouldn't be entirely happy with his game off the tee either.

I gotta say I disagree, Tipuric was far superior and I have had time to watch that game back.

Theres no way Sean O'Brien was MOTM.

On any day that kicking performance alone would be worthy of MOTM.

This is key to us winning the series, Sexton being forced to kick under pressure is to be feared.

If they had been under the posts, thats a different matter.

And he was the class Full pack so far. Thats against what I reckon wasn't even the best No 7 performance so far.

So he wont start, possibly the bench.

You are talking about 3 great players here, it's no shame to be the 3rd in the line playing out of position.

thomond2006 wrote: »

SOB was outstanding but an 11/11 kicking record is virtually unheard of. Halfpenny deserved the MOTM award IMO.

I don't think too many have a major issue with that. It's the claim that SOB wasn't anything special today which people find bewildering. Stats highlighting mistakes, claiming a lack of impact and that he's bottom of the pecking order after today; that's what's in question.

.ak wrote: »

Who did actually get motm? Some sources saying HP, some SOB, some sexton etc?

Sky gave it to 1/2penny.

Leslie91 wrote: »

Sky gave it to 1/2penny.

Sky are fair and balanced in their analysis. They must be right

Ruck Inspector wrote: »

:rolleyes::rolleyes::rolleyes::rolleyes::rolleyes::rolleyes::rolleyes:

.ak wrote: »

Oh yeah, cus Sexton has trouble kicking all those points in hcup finals...

What are you basing that on? The fact he missed a few tricky kicks in 35+degree heat and 90% humidity?

None of his kicks were tricky by international standards and please don't be making excuses for him. His technique is poor at the top level and comes unstuck far too easily.

This is the Lions, not a club game, he needs close to perfection, 4 out of 5 at least

He has good days and bad days.

He is the 3rd best kicking option we have, maybe 4th, havent seen much of Hogg.

monkeybutter wrote: »

hahaha, I love the Leinster Bias.

He needs to outshine Tipuric for one, which he hasn't. And he'll also need to outshine the Captain, which he still might. But he still wont start.

He had an ok game, but 7 just aint his position.

This was the B forward pack today I'm afraid and only Heaslip stood out. Today was a fight for the benc for these guys.

B forward pack with the A fly half, the A fullback, and the A Center

Today's game was one where WF would rely on isolating players at a breakdown with the hope stifling open play, turning over and catching the defense on the back foot, winning penalty ball or a mix of all three; in short it's a day for hard running loose forwards as distinct to requiring a vintage open side disrupting the 5/8 feed.

When it comes to playing the isolated game there are few better in the world than SOB, which is why he and Heaslip were picked today and precisely why they both had big games. If the game needs a forward to play vintage 7 then SOB can do that. However, the modern game has evolved and today open side is more a general skill set for all the back row to employ than a specialist position that it once was.

On that note it follows that SOB wouldn't shine as a out and out 7 from todays game should you choose to typecast him as one. Had Tipuric played today he'd not have fitted into your stiff mould either

There was no official sky MOTM. Greenwood and Barnes were the only ones I heard talking about it and they said they'd give it to sob. The official MOTM came from the host broadcaster (fox sports) who gave it to BOD.

Whilst it was a great kicking performance he didn't do much else at all in the game and was undeserving of the MOTM IMO

monkeybutter wrote: »

Look at his kicks for Wales, he is Neil Jenkins reborn

Halfpenny is 82% for Wales this season. He's a very good kicker. Not amazing.

Three cheers for Leigh Halfpenny. Very good. Very good.

I don't get the obsession with 'Man of The Match'.

It's not an official award, It's usually just the opinion of one bloke. And at most games different broadcasters and Journalists give it to different players (usually on the home team).