Lions Tour

Clegg · 06-06-2021 12:22pm

Leinster confirm that it's a toe injury.

https://twitter.com/leinsterrugby/status/1401495415543971842?s=09

Ruggabugga101 · 06-06-2021 1:08pm

Hes misses a Lions your all for a micky mouse rainbow cup game - poor bastard.

youcancallmeal · 06-06-2021 1:33pm

Gutted for him. Reminds me of Cian Healy getting injured in the first game in Australia, so much promise for a great Lion's tour cut short

joseywhales · 06-06-2021 4:42pm

Ruggabugga101 wrote: »

Hes misses a Lions your all for a micky mouse rainbow cup game - poor bastard.

Blessing in disguise maybe. Will miss out on the growth opportunity but he will be in better shape for ireland next year. Also we get to spread the risk keeping one tight head at home.

Burkie1203 · 06-06-2021 4:46pm

Biggar and Simmonds off injured today

OneLungDavy · 07-06-2021 9:24am

joseywhales wrote: »

Blessing in disguise maybe. Will miss out on the growth opportunity but he will be in better shape for ireland next year. Also we get to spread the risk keeping one tight head at home.

Gutted when I heard the news because I want Irish lads on tour, but I'm starting to think we are better off. We won the 6 Nations in 2014 and 2018 after having less guys than our rivals.

kildare lad · 07-06-2021 9:31am

joseywhales wrote: »

Blessing in disguise maybe. Will miss out on the growth opportunity but he will be in better shape for ireland next year. Also we get to spread the risk keeping one tight head at home.

It might be a blessing in for Ireland , but I'd say on a personal level he must be gutted, most players want to experience being a lion and to miss his chance due to a nothing cup must be very demoralizing. He's only 25 so hopefully he'll make the next one .

Ciaran-Irl · 07-06-2021 10:10am

Burkie1203 wrote: »

Biggar and Simmonds off injured today

Wonder if Sexton gets the nod if Biggar misses out. He hasn't played since the squad announcement. George Ford is the other option I guess.

Stander and Vunipola are possible options at number 8 I guess. If he still wants to go for a more like for like replacement for Simmonds, he could go for Fagerson maybe.

AbusesToilets · 07-06-2021 11:22am

Ciaran-Irl wrote: »

Wonder if Sexton gets the nod if Biggar misses out. He hasn't played since the squad announcement. George Ford is the other option I guess.

Stander and Vunipola are possible options at number 8 I guess. If he still wants to go for a more like for like replacement for Simmonds, he could go for Fagerson maybe.

He'd have to. Gatland would be nuts to not call him up at that point.

kildare lad · 07-06-2021 12:00pm

Ciaran-Irl wrote: »

Wonder if Sexton gets the nod if Biggar misses out. He hasn't played since the squad announcement. George Ford is the other option I guess.

Stander and Vunipola are possible options at number 8 I guess. If he still wants to go for a more like for like replacement for Simmonds, he could go for Fagerson maybe.

If sexton is fit , there's no way Warren would pick Ford over him

irelandrover · 07-06-2021 12:01pm

AbusesToilets wrote: »

He'd have to. Gatland would be nuts to not call him up at that point.

Gatland said he wasnt brought as he wasnt reliable enough to be fit throughout. That hasnt changed.

AbusesToilets · 07-06-2021 12:40pm

irelandrover wrote: »

Gatland said he wasnt brought as he wasnt reliable enough to be fit throughout. That hasnt changed.

Gatland wants to win . Think the injury stuff was a convenient excuse

pickarooney · 07-06-2021 2:32pm

irelandrover wrote: »

Gatland said he wasnt brought as he wasnt reliable enough to be fit throughout. That hasnt changed.

Biggar could be less reliable if he's injured now

septictank · 08-06-2021 7:35am

Bad timing lads.

https://www.the42.ie/munster-players-fire-pit-accident-burns-5460140-Jun2021/

Or was it a set up lol.

stephen_n · 08-06-2021 8:54am

Sexton is only listed as a maybe for the game against Dragons and hasn’t played in nearly 2 months. Gatland would be mad to consider bringing a player who has unresolved confusion issues.

pickarooney · 14-06-2021 11:42am

Ronan Kelleher with a bit of a curate's egg of an invitation

https://insider-voice.com/ronan-kelleher-joins-british-and-irish-lions-training-camp-in-jersey-as-a-prostitute-front-rugby-union-news/

Irish prostitute Ronan Kelleher has joined a Lions training camp as cover, due to a shortage of prostitutes.

Richie_Rich89 · 14-06-2021 12:00pm

pickarooney wrote: »

Ronan Kelleher with a bit of a curate's egg of an invitation

https://insider-voice.com/ronan-kelleher-joins-british-and-irish-lions-training-camp-in-jersey-as-a-prostitute-front-rugby-union-news/

hmmm, lol

It's like that time Tyson Gay became Tyson Homosexual https://www.mirror.co.uk/news/weird-news/tyson-gay-becomes-tyson-homosexual-1229134

blackwhite · 14-06-2021 12:01pm

pickarooney wrote: »

Ronan Kelleher with a bit of a curate's egg of an invitation

https://insider-voice.com/ronan-kelleher-joins-british-and-irish-lions-training-camp-in-jersey-as-a-prostitute-front-rugby-union-news/

Someone used google translate from a French article then

Burkie1203 · 14-06-2021 1:14pm

pickarooney wrote: »

Ronan Kelleher with a bit of a curate's egg of an invitation

https://insider-voice.com/ronan-kelleher-joins-british-and-irish-lions-training-camp-in-jersey-as-a-prostitute-front-rugby-union-news/

Not really.

LCD and George not available yet. One gets injured or suspended and the replacement is already up to speed in the set up

aloooof · 14-06-2021 1:33pm

Burkie1203 wrote: »

Not really.

LCD and George not available yet. One gets injured or suspended and the replacement is already up to speed in the set up

I think you need to read the comment again.

PTH2009 · 15-06-2021 3:06pm

Squad doing Altitude training

Can someone give me a quick overview of why that is ?. Would the climate be that different in South Africa even in there winter

Captain_Crash · 15-06-2021 3:09pm

PTH2009 wrote: »

Squad doing Altitude training

Can someone give me a quick overview of why that is ?. Would the climate be that different in South Africa even in there winter

Altitude training isnt anything to do with climate, it’s related to oxygen levels with regards to height above sea level. As Jo’Burg is several thousand ft above sea level, any team that tours in SA will do this prior to departure. I think even the ‘97 touring squad done such training.

It’s an underestimated advantage SA have in the series that most of their squad will be well used to playing at height. It’s no coincidence that two tests are in Jo’Burg!

Cookiemunster · 15-06-2021 3:14pm

PTH2009 wrote: »

Squad doing Altitude training

Can someone give me a quick overview of why that is ?. Would the climate be that different in South Africa even in there winter

Most of the tour will be played over a mile above sea level. There's around 20% less oxygen in the atmosphere at that altitude than at sea level, so it's harder to breath, especially when your playing rugby.

The weather has nothing to do with it.

Quin_Dub · 15-06-2021 3:17pm

PTH2009 wrote: »

Squad doing Altitude training

Can someone give me a quick overview of why that is ?. Would the climate be that different in South Africa even in there winter

Johannesburg and Pretoria are both at fairly high altitude (~1700M and ~1300m above sea level respectively) so playing in both locations for players typically based 1000M+ lower in Europe would have an impact on Oxygen levels and intakes.

Basically , when you spend extended time at Altitude you produce more red blood cells to allow you to process/extract oxygen more efficiently as there is less oxygen per breath at those heights.

So - Someone just arriving from Dublin or London and hoping to play at 1700M above Sea level could expect to be completely gassed by half-time as they don't have enough red blood cells to extract the same amount of oxygen that they'd be getting at sea level.

Hence the need for preparation . In the past the tours were much longer so they could acclimatize somewhat naturally.

Equally , those moving from High to low altitude find it much easier on their systems as their high Red Blood cell count means they are super efficient with the higher oxygen levels available at sea level.

It's why all the distance runners do Altitude training before big competitions.

sprucemoose · 15-06-2021 3:27pm

Quin_Dub wrote: »

It's why all the distance runners do Altitude training before big competitions.

isnt the new thing to train at sea level and recover at altitude? cant for the life of me remember where i heard it being discussed but i have a recollection of this being the new theory, could have been on one of the rugby podcasts or maybe rogan (less likely as i dont really listen to him much anymore)

youcancallmeal · 15-06-2021 3:41pm

Did they do altitude training prior to the 2009 tour?

Lost Ormond · 15-06-2021 3:44pm

youcancallmeal wrote: »

Did they do altitude training prior to the 2009 tour?

From a quick google. they had plans to do a warm weather training camp at altitude in Spain but it didnt happen due to player unavailability

PTH2009 · 15-06-2021 9:30pm

Thanks for the answers

Would the Southern Hempisphere teams do similar training for the Nov Internationals when they head here

thomond2006 · 15-06-2021 9:53pm

PTH2009 wrote: »

Would the Southern Hempisphere teams do similar training for the Nov Internationals when they head here

Altitude training?

Cookiemunster · 15-06-2021 9:56pm

PTH2009 wrote: »

Thanks for the answers

Would the Southern Hempisphere teams do similar training for the Nov Internationals when they head here

I don't think you understood the answers. There is only one team that plays games at altitude. That is SA when playing on the High Veldt. Other teams need to acclimatise to the reduced levels of oxygen at altitude before travelling and playing at altitude. You don't need to do it at sea level (or close to it) where everyone else North and South plays because oxygen levels are normal.

So no, nobody needs to acclimatise to head North.

15-06-2021 9:57pm

Cookiemunster wrote: »

I don't think you understood the answers. There is only one team that plays games at altitude. That is SA when playing on the High Veldt. Other teams need to acclimatise to the reduced levels of oxygen at altitude before travelling and playing at altitude. You don't need to do it at sea level (or close to it) where everyone else North and South plays because oxygen levels are normal.

So no, nobody needs to acclimatise to head North.

Higher oxegen level in the blood would help shirt term.even if they came north to be fair. I'm not sure how long it lasts though

Cookiemunster · 15-06-2021 9:59pm

Juan Rough Bread wrote: »

Higher oxegen level in the blood would help shirt term.even if they came north to be fair. I'm not sure how long it lasts though

But they don't need to acclimatise to travel North, which was the question. And the Aussies, NZ and Argentina definitely don't because the don't play at altitude anyway.

TRC10 · 15-06-2021 10:55pm

Cookiemunster wrote: »

I don't think you understood the answers. There is only one team that plays games at altitude. That is SA when playing on the High Veldt. Other teams need to acclimatise to the reduced levels of oxygen at altitude before travelling and playing at altitude. You don't need to do it at sea level (or close to it) where everyone else North and South plays because oxygen levels are normal.

So no, nobody needs to acclimatise to head North.

But surely travelling North is going higher up, so it would be beneficial for SH teams to acclimatise to playing at altitude before November tests.

:pac::pac:

KevinK · 16-06-2021 8:06am

TRC10 wrote: »

But surely travelling North is going higher up, so it would be beneficial for SH teams to acclimatise to playing at altitude before November tests.

:pac::pac:

Nope, because they are in the southern hemisphere things are inverted, so when they come to play here in November they are actually going down - so no altitude worries

16-06-2021 8:28am

KevinK wrote: »

Nope, because they are in the southern hemisphere things are inverted, so when they come to play here in November they are actually going down - so no altitude worries

Altitude is height above sea level, irrespective of whether it is northern or Southern Hemisphere. If any of the venues are high above sea level, altitude may be an issue as air is thinner.

pickarooney · 16-06-2021 8:31am

Cookiemunster wrote: »

I don't think you understood the answers. There is only one team that plays games at altitude. That is SA when playing on the High Veldt. Other teams need to acclimatise to the reduced levels of oxygen at altitude before travelling and playing at altitude. You don't need to do it at sea level (or close to it) where everyone else North and South plays because oxygen levels are normal.

So no, nobody needs to acclimatise to head North.

Argentina sometimes play in Salta which is similar in altitude to Pretoria

Cookiemunster · 16-06-2021 9:03am

Dav010 wrote: »

Altitude is height above sea level, irrespective of whether it is northern or Southern Hemisphere. If any of the venues are high above sea level, altitude may be an issue as air is thinner.

Whoosh!

crisco10 · 16-06-2021 9:34am

sprucemoose wrote: »

isnt the new thing to train at sea level and recover at altitude? cant for the life of me remember where i heard it being discussed but i have a recollection of this being the new theory, could have been on one of the rugby podcasts or maybe rogan (less likely as i dont really listen to him much anymore)

I heard Sonia O'Sullivan chatting about it a few weeks ago on a running podcast. I think it's more about not training TOO high that your performance drops so much that it's useless. A lot of altitude training camps have the accommodation as high as possible to maximise the oxygen deprivation during recovery and rest, but actual sessions are a bit down the mountain (so still at altitude).

16-06-2021 9:42am

Cookiemunster wrote: »

Whoosh!

Sorry, I did wonder if it was serious and didn’t read lead up, my bad.

KevinK · 16-06-2021 9:59am

Dav010 wrote: »

Sorry, I did wonder if it was serious and didn’t read lead up, my bad.

Ah was a silly comment on my behalf, the previous comment had made me smile and figured why not add to it.... but not really adding much to the thread.

TRC10 · 16-06-2021 4:56pm

KevinK wrote: »

Nope, because they are in the southern hemisphere things are inverted, so when they come to play here in November they are actually going down - so no altitude worries

inverted.jpeg

16-06-2021 6:26pm

KevinK wrote: »

Ah was a silly comment on my behalf, the previous comment had made me smile and figured why not add to it.... but not really adding much to the thread.

It reminded me of a funny clip I saw with a South African player talking about some of the funny things that happened during his career. He mentioned a scene on a bus during SA’s trip to play Ireland, as the players were driving along the coast from their hotel to Landsdowne Road, Percy Montgomery (the SA version of Trigger McAteer) asked if anyone knew if the game was being played at altitude. There was silence, then an eruption on the bus as the guy behind him turned Percy’s head to face the sea which was a few meters away.

sydthebeat · 17-06-2021 2:45pm

if anyone's interested in joining a predictor game for the Lions Tour....

Join boards.ie Lions Tour, my Lions Tour Predictor league on @Superbru! You can find my pool here:

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sagotaps

Lost Ormond · 17-06-2021 3:14pm

theres another boards.ie group on superbru for predicting results

code to join pool is emitiris

liosnagceann75 · 17-06-2021 5:48pm

Odds on the outhalf for the 1st test v Sa have changed. Biggar is now at even money and Farrell is 2/1. Seems the odds are leaning more towards Farrell. Any thoughts on who'll start at 10?

lawrencesummers · 17-06-2021 9:11pm

liosnagceann75 wrote: »

Odds on the outhalf for the 1st test v Sa have changed. Biggar is now at even money and Farrell is 2/1. Seems the odds are leaning more towards Farrell. Any thoughts on who'll start at 10?

Considering gats is picking and Farrell was poor in the 6 nations is playing rugby against plumbers and milkmen I’m surprised Farrell is 2/1.

I’m wondering would he consider playing Simmons at 6. He could be a real handful at 6.

liosnagceann75 · 17-06-2021 10:12pm

lawrencesummers wrote: »

Considering gats is picking and Farrell was poor in the 6 nations is playing rugby against plumbers and milkmen I’m surprised Farrell is 2/1.

I’m wondering would he consider playing Simmons at 6. He could be a real handful at 6.

Farrell is 2nd favourite to start in the centre after Henshaw. Based on his form in the 6 nations I don't think he merited a place in the squad.

Can't see Simmonds starting at 6. I think Beirne will start because of his work at the breakdown and he's also a line out option

lawrencesummers · 17-06-2021 11:29pm

liosnagceann75 wrote: »

Farrell is 2nd favourite to start in the centre after Henshaw. Based on his form in the 6 nations I don't think he merited a place in the squad.

Can't see Simmonds starting at 6. I think Beirne will start because of his work at the breakdown and he's also a line out option

I don’t think Simmons is going to be first choice to play in the tests. It’s one thing bringing him on tour. It’s another giving a fella his first international game in years in a lions test.

Beirne on the other hand has a great chance of starting in the tests

TRC10 · 17-06-2021 11:58pm

lawrencesummers wrote: »

I don’t think Simmons is going to be first choice to play in the tests. It’s one thing bringing him on tour. It’s another giving a fella his first international game in years in a lions test.

Beirne on the other hand has a great chance of starting in the tests

Yeah I think it's very telling that there's no "out and out" 6s in the squad....yet there's 6 locks, 4 of whom can play at blindside (Itoje, Henderson, Lawes and Beirne).

The make up of the 2nd row and back row is going to be the most fascinating selection IMO.

I think "Out and out 6s" are becoming a thing of the past a bit really. Most teams are moving away from a Ruddock/O'Mahony/Robshaw/Kaino/Elsom type player, and using either a 3rd Lock like Lawes/Fardy/Du Toit/Beirne or playing with a 2nd Openside like Pocock/Curry/Navidi/Savea.

Buer · 18-06-2021 8:20am

I think blindside is a straight shoot out between Lawes and Beirne. Lawes is a real dark horse to be in the 6 jersey. Gatland is a fan and he was a test Lion in 2017. All of his recent caps for England have come at blindside and given his injury interrupted season, he's going to be fresh and raring to go when they touch down in SA.

With the options that the Lions have selected at 7 and 8, I can't see the Lions going with anything but a big unit at blindside against PSDT and co.

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