The Rugby Thread

[Chazza]

Gutted for BOD he may not have been at his best but surely his leadership would have been useful to have even from the bench.

Again the replacements look light on anyone who can change the game in the backs. Manu is a plus but if Roberts cannot break holes in the aussie defence then he may not be able to either.

Happy with the front of the pack and Faletau getting a start, just hope we have worked hard on the lineout's as they have been piss poor on the whole so far.

As for the number of Welsh starting I suppose Gatland was always going to go with what he knows in this sort of one off game.

Saw this tweet and thought it was interesting.

Alex Payne @SkySports_AlexP
Thought.
1. Lions set up to physically batter Aus?
2. SA most physical side in world rugby?
3. Aus have beaten SA in 7 of last 9 meetings.

[Chazza]

Former Lions hooker Keith Wood says the decision to drop centre Brian O'Driscoll for Saturday's deciding Test with Australia is a "terrible mistake".

Ireland's O'Driscoll, 34, was expected to be named captain in Sam Warburton's absence, but has been omitted from the squad by Lions coach Warren Gatland.

"O'Driscoll has been quiet. But he has been the clarion call once [lock] Paul O'Connell got injured," Wood said.

He added on BBC Radio 5 live that the XV picked left him "totally at a loss".
The series is currently level at one game apiece after Australia hit back with a gritty 16-15 second Test victory following the Lions' 23-21 win in the first Test.

Gatland - who also coaches Wales - has made six changes to the team beaten in Melbourne, with 10 Welshmen set to start in Sydney in the third and final Test.

England prop Alex Corbisiero and Ireland flanker Sean O'Brien come into the pack while four Welshman - fit again centre Jamie Roberts, hooker Richard Hibbard, scrum-half Mike Phillips and number eight Toby Faletau - complete the changes.

Lock Alun Wyn Jones captains the side while the 10-strong contingent equals the record for Wales - the previous occasion was the first Test against Australia in 1950 - while England hold the overall record with 12 players in the 1880s.

The direct approach favoured by Gatland has been dubbed "Warrenball" by sections of the Australian media and Wood - who played on two Lions tours and featured 58 times for Ireland - admitted he was concerned about the tourists' lack of creativity.

The 41-year-old said: "You could say he is picking on form, but he has picked an unbelievably direct team, with very little guile, specifically to play this game-plan.

"The Lions is about getting the best of quality out of the players of these islands, not having an intransigent game plan that is low on subtlety but simplistic from the start.

"I just feel it has been incredibly hard watching because we are not seeing that spark we are used to seeing from the Lions because it is trying to play a game-plan that I do not know suits a lot of the players.

"It suits the Welsh players, and that is why there are 10 of them playing. It is really, really frustrating."

On the Lions tour to South Africa in 2009 O'Driscoll enjoyed a fruitful partnership with Roberts in the centres and Wood is disappointed that now the 6ft 4in Welshman has recovered from a hamstring injury, the pair have not been reunited.

Wood said: "A huge amount rests on Jamie Roberts's shoulders, and they were crying out for him in the last two weeks.

"I just think Brian O'Driscoll's subtlety off him would have worked. It is not about just one player, but you are asking them to pulverise a team and the Lions are at the end of virtually 12 months of a season.

"All these guys are pretty tired, and you are looking for the absolute maximum for it to work for them. It can happen, I want it to happen, but I am just a little bit disappointed in the manner in which I think tradition has been treated."


Ian Robertson
BBC rugby union correspondent
"You just wonder if they got a lucky bag and picked some names out. The Lions won the first Test and made eight changes to their squad. The Wallabies won the second and probably won't make any changes. The Lions lose by one point and there are six changes in the team and three guys on the bench who were nowhere near the team for the second Test. I was convinced Brian O'Driscoll should have been named as captain. It's catastrophic leaving him out. He's still one of the top centres in world rugby. He's a fantastic guy and has been on four tours and knows it all inside out. It's a massive mistake."

http://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/0/rugby-union/23157223

[Liverpel]

Irish rugby world up in arms about BOD. It's kinda funny. Part of me enjoys rugby but part of me really enjoys seeing Ireland lose or the lions lose. I think it's because of Leinster rugby and the obnoxious D4 fans.

Not all Leinster fans are from D4.

[Liverpel]

The view from outside Ireland.


Wallabies legend David Campese believes Warren Gatland has "handed the series" to Australia by omitting Brian O'Driscoll from this weekend's crucial series decider in Sydney.


Campsese, celebrated in the Northern Hemisphere for gifting the 1989 Lions a famous series win with his huge mistake, believes Gatland's Lions will fall because they have no "match winner".

Campese wrote on twitter: "Lions team info. Sorry but you have just handed to series to Australia. 7 changes and still no real match winner."

The 50 year old's calamitous error in his own 22 gifted Iuen Evans a try that ultimately led to Australia's defeat in the final test in 1989 and a series victory for the Lions.

All Black Dan Carter, without question the world's best fly-half, said that BoD should have skippered the Lions this weekend, and wrote: "There must be some angry Irish out there waking up to see @BrianODriscoll not playing this weekend. #ShouldBeTheCaptain."

Brian Moore and Will Greenwood, both former Lions, were similarly shocked. "BoD not even being on the bench is a strange call," wrote ex-hooker Moore, while World Cup winner Greenwood said: "Incredible range of opinions re Selection ... Gatland will do his own explaining but 'Ballsy' re Bod is an understatement."

http://www.independent.ie/sport/rugby/lions-tour/david-campese-gatland-has-handed-the-series-to-australia-29392556.html

[Liverpel]

O'Driscoll's omission hasn't gone down well in Cairo.

[badpiggy]

Not all Leinster fans are from D4.

Ah yeah I know that. But it's Leinster heartland both geographically and spiritually and the ****** count is staggering.

[RichC]

Not long now!

[Chazza]

Indeed

Pel might have to keep this going on his own today.

[Aj34]

Brilliant in the scrum

[5europeancups]

Brilliant in the scrum

are there any streams for this match?

[Red_Polo]

http://www.nutjob.eu/ss1tv.html

[Zapater]

Another from Lealeafano (great player). Aussies come out to play in this second half, back them to take the game from here.

[Aj34]

13 point turn around in les than 6 minutes

[Red_Polo]

Sexton and Halfpenny have been class

[Zapater]

Halfpenny is amazing.