British and Irish Lions vs Queensland Reds Sat 8 June 10:30am; Sky Sports 1

sydthebeat wrote: »

I don't know.
Warburton may get two more starts to prove himself and maybe today was down to rustiness.

No way will Warburton be left out, no way.

irishbucsfan wrote: »

Sexton Actually went to 10 and Farrell shifted across, as you'd expect really given Farrell is a very good center.

But the Lions were clearly happy to use the pack. Probably protecting Sexton a bit.

Going through the replay now. So Sexton lines up 10 and Farrell at 12. Lions game plan switches to a tighter game.


Summary. Sexton didn't get as many touches, ball went to the forwards. Reds dominated possession from the 60 min mark, Lions don't manage to construct much phases for him to do much with.. Sexton and Farrell don't kick from there on in Young box kicks everything.

JRant wrote: »

By giving him 2 more starts other form players are being left on the bench though.
SOB may get very little game-time between now and the first test.

I think he'll get two more; one at openside, one at blindside.

Am I missing something about Hibbard? Granted his set piece work is the best of the three hookers, I just don't see any work rate from him whatsoever.

Damn.

Michael Corcoran ‏@MichaelC_RTE 1m
Breaking: looks like Tommy Bowes tour is over, Warren Gatland has confirmed he believes Bowe has a broken bone and needs operation

****

sydthebeat wrote: »

gatland himself had said that nobody is guaranteed.

He wouldn't be the first captain not starting the first test.....

I have a feeling Warburton may pick up a slight 'injury' if his form does not improve.

wonderfullife wrote: »

Bowe and Healy are huge losses and not just for what they offer on the field.

I'm a bit of a Lions nerd and i follow all the players on Twitter and read a lot of interviews with squad members - and they all seem to say Bowe and Healy are funny feckers and great craic around camp.

I know it might be a trivial point but i'm sure their loss will be felt on and off the pitch.

It's definitely not trivial - it's a big part of touring in anything in life, the funny people leave a big absence if they are gone.


Gethin Jenkins is a huge loss too - poor chap has no luck

Unlucky Tommy Bowe, absolute legend.

Thoughts on the game.

Apart from the third twenty minutes or so, a very entertaining game. The Reds really flew out of the blocks, showed how they wanted to play (perfect for a man like Cooper) and didn't compromise that throughout. They totally deserved their initial 7-3 lead, probably more, and the Lions did well to come back into in the first half. Tackling, a few notable exceptions, was very good, stopped the carrier in his tracks. A try at the end of the first half would have killed the game, but the Lions couldn't manage it. The first 20 of the second half was ... disjoined to say the least. Subs, knock ons, dodgy scrums etc, conspired to turn the game to a bit of a mess. The last 20 picked up a lot, and again was very entertaining to watch - the Reds hung in there, through determination, a bit of luck, and the Lions not putting the foot down until late on to give us a decent last few minutes.

Farrell, overall had a good game. Decent kicking at goal, though his kicking from hand wasn't great. Distribution, patchy but overall decent as well. Two games in from him, and he's no world beater, he's an able backup. I wouldn't rely on him to orchestrate a Lions victory in a tight match though. Sexton, who had a good game, still holds complete dibs on the Test Jersey, tm.

Vanipolu, North, Bowe and Ben Youngs also had good games. Bowe, who I really really really hope isn't injured, showed some great awareness, as did North. When you make the choice to run it from deep, you either make a good run and get the plaudits or you get caught deep - like Hogg did, repeatedly - and get slated. North made a few decisions to run it that I didn't agree with, but he pulled them off and made serious yards. Unlucky that Warburton couldn't finish his break, same for Cuthbert (who overall was poor but made a damn good attempt to finish Bowe's break) for Bowe. North and Bowe are the test starters at this point in time. Things can change though.

On the subject of Youngs try ... I thought it should have been a penalty try for a deliberate knock on (slap down) of the ball by the defender. After that I thought it was a knock on by Youngs (though no angle, to be fair, could be seen by the TMO) but he finished well, and two wrong decisions in my mind ended up with the right result. So I can't complain at all there.

On Warburton, he attacked well, his lines were good, he was supporting well, but he did give away a few penalties. That said, what 7 doesn't during the course of a game? He comes out of this in the positive, just, but after the barnstorming performances by Tipuric, Heaslip and O'Brien over the last two (easier) games, he'll have to do better - assuming Gatland hasn't already nailed him onto the test side.

Overall, we did well to win in a game where we were below par for a lot of it. I'm concerned about our defense a bit. But there's still a fair few games to get it right. Also, given the first game was a nothing game, the second was ... also a nothing game and this one was a second string Lions squad, not a whole lot can be read into them. We'll want a series of consistent "tests" as well as getting a few of the first choice players out there from now on to truly tell us how players work together, as well as how the fringe players are performing ahead of the favourites.

Devastated for Tommy Bowe.

Sky has just lost all its viewership for women who were watching before the injury.