Lions squad named

[Gloskarlos]

It is incredulous, when you get used to seeing what happens in the English Prem for each of those incidents, and to then see them paid nothing more than lip service to at best on the worlds biggest stage is baffling.

[Numbers]

I’m a bit concerned that the Russel haters will have all the evidence they need. Russell works best with Hogg coming from full back to give a second play maker option when Russell sucks in men to him.

Without that he won’t have a lot of option but to give it to aki - smash or henshaw - smash or Dropsy Dally

That’s if Murray even passes him that ball

For me this Gatland covering his own arse so that he can turn around and say I played Russell it didn’t work.

I also doubt the tactics will change. Both Williams and Adams are great but the team will get suckered into playing the same 60-70 min game as last week, then Russell will come on and everyone will revert to the first 10.

Only way this works well is if Russel does a Munster nutmeg and scores the winning try through FIIDIM

Firstly, anyone who hates the way Russell plays rugby doesn't like rugby, ditto Hogg, there are few to match their attacking prowess, however this doesn't mean that they don't have weaknesses.

To think we're going to play a different style is delusional, Russell is on the bench to mix things up if we are losing come 60 minutes, I don't buy into the Gatland covering his arse as he doesn't give a flying fuck what people say and that is a paranoid line of thinking, also Russell seems to be quite effective when he plays for Racing so I'm not sure he must have Hogg, Russells biggest strength is taking the ball to the gain line and picking a pass, with Aki and Henshaw as options I'm sure he could create some issues, and of course he could pass it to Liam Williams instead of Hogg as Liam Williams also knows how to pass the ball.

[Mellsblue]

No Duane, No Faf.

Reinach ridiculously quick - Price needs to be on his mettle.

Mostert to 6 very interesting.

Didn't they move him to 6 when De Jager came on in the second half on the weekend?

Yes, as a result of injury, but i'm not sure he's started 6 before. SA normally have a few back row options. Picking an out and out lock to start there is a departure for them.

Let’s hope it goes as well as S. Barrett at 6 in the World Cup semi.

[Mikey Brown]

Front row - Good to see Jones in, hopefully he can get more of a foothold than the other two did and Vunipola can do a great job from the bench. I really rate Sutherland in general but his confidence looks shot at this point. I hope this doesn’t carry over to Scotland. Not really sure what Owens has done to earn a spot, I hope he’s more reliable in the set piece because that’s a lot of physicality that could have been picked.

Lock - Yeah fine I guess. Jones is too key a player to swap him out for Henderson/Beard at this point.

Backrow - Fairly underwhelmed really. They’ve each had 1 pretty good half across 2 tests so far. Seems tough that Watson’s 1 dodgy tackle is the reason Curry gets 3 starts without doing a whole lot. Is there some plan for Conan to get him more involved? Is it different to how we’d plan to use Simmonds if he gets on? I didn’t see anything in the warm ups to suggest he’s going to be any more effective than a lukewarm Faletau. Would absolutely love to be proven wrong.

Halfback - Happy for Price but still unsure what game we’re wanting him to play and how that fits with Biggar at 10. If we weren’t willing to have a lash at the point we were 1-0 up, are we really going to attempt to do anything with the ball this week? It’s not as if Murray’s box kicking was even particularly good but you may as well stick with the kicking pair if that’s what the gameplan calls for.

It’s hard to picture Russell getting on the pitch if the game is tight, but are we really going to just let him go for it if we’re behind? With (presumably by that point) Murray’s service? Normally I like the bench pairing of a more controlled halfback and a real attacking threat, but I just can’t see what game Gatland is predicting where bringing Russell on is any more than a Hail Mary. It feels like this selection doesn’t really serve anybody except giving Biggar another chance.

Centre - Was Harris bad in defence? Was there some feeling that he actually could have done something in attack? I suppose I’d have to understand what we were actually trying to do with our centres to know if Aki would be a better choice. I get the impression he’s a fantastic hard-running option but I can’t say I’ve ever seen him look better at that than Henshaw does. He’s good over the ball but is he a good defender?

Hard to judge because I dislike him as a player due to his consistent use of the forearm/elbow in collisions, and I’m not convinced this is a good trade-off with Harris’s defence, but at least they might be on the same wavelength?

Back three - Gutted for Hogg/Watson but it just hasn’t been happening for them. Amazed VDM retains his spot, but he’s sure got massive biceps. Adams having an absolute stormer now would offer multiple layers of entertainment value.

Let’s hope we give them a bit more to work with both in terms of protection fielding kicks and maybe even a pass or two. This kind of pressure might be what Liam Williams thrives on. Hopefully this brings out the player of a few years back, because his recent form doesn’t really seem to have matched all the calls for his selection.

Bench - A lot to like in terms of potential impact, particularly in the front row. Beard’s big USP being his maul work I’m very interested to see if SA dominance in that area might mean an early introduction for him. Who knows what Simmonds will do but at least he’s got the ability to take advantage if the game does break up.

In theory that’s a great set of backs covering every position. They have lot of experience, some pace, attacking flair and some goal kicking options, but it just feels as if Gatland has backed himself in to a corner tactically. I’ll be very pleased if he manages to make good use of them.

I can’t believe I’m so excited for this after the horror of Saturday, but there we go.

[Mikey Brown]

[Sandydragon]

Front row - Good to see Jones in, hopefully he can get more of a foothold than the other two did and Vunipola can do a great job from the bench. I really rate Sutherland in general but his confidence looks shot at this point. I hope this doesn’t carry over to Scotland. Not really sure what Owens has done to earn a spot, I hope he’s more reliable in the set piece because that’s a lot of physicality that could have been picked.

Lock - Yeah fine I guess. Jones is too key a player to swap him out for Henderson/Beard at this point.

Backrow - Fairly underwhelmed really. They’ve each had 1 pretty good half across 2 tests so far. Seems tough that Watson’s 1 dodgy tackle is the reason Curry gets 3 starts without doing a whole lot. Is there some plan for Conan to get him more involved? Is it different to how we’d plan to use Simmonds if he gets on? I didn’t see anything in the warm ups to suggest he’s going to be any more effective than a lukewarm Faletau. Would absolutely love to be proven wrong.

Halfback - Happy for Price but still unsure what game we’re wanting him to play and how that fits with Biggar at 10. If we weren’t willing to have a lash at the point we were 1-0 up, are we really going to attempt to do anything with the ball this week? It’s not as if Murray’s box kicking was even particularly good but you may as well stick with the kicking pair if that’s what the gameplan calls for.

It’s hard to picture Russell getting on the pitch if the game is tight, but are we really going to just let him go for it if we’re behind? With (presumably by that point) Murray’s service? Normally I like the bench pairing of a more controlled halfback and a real attacking threat, but I just can’t see what game Gatland is predicting where bringing Russell on is any more than a Hail Mary. It feels like this selection doesn’t really serve anybody except giving Biggar another chance.

Centre - Was Harris bad in defence? Was there some feeling that he actually could have done something in attack? I suppose I’d have to understand what we were actually trying to do with our centres to know if Aki would be a better choice. I get the impression he’s a fantastic hard-running option but I can’t say I’ve ever seen him look better at that than Henshaw does. He’s good over the ball but is he a good defender?

Hard to judge because I dislike him as a player due to his consistent use of the forearm/elbow in collisions, and I’m not convinced this is a good trade-off with Harris’s defence, but at least they might be on the same wavelength?

Back three - Gutted for Hogg/Watson but it just hasn’t been happening for them. Amazed VDM retains his spot, but he’s sure got massive biceps. Adams having an absolute stormer now would offer multiple layers of entertainment value.

Let’s hope we give them a bit more to work with both in terms of protection fielding kicks and maybe even a pass or two. This kind of pressure might be what Liam Williams thrives on. Hopefully this brings out the player of a few years back, because his recent form doesn’t really seem to have matched all the calls for his selection.

Bench - A lot to like in terms of potential impact, particularly in the front row. Beard’s big USP being his maul work I’m very interested to see if SA dominance in that area might mean an early introduction for him. Who knows what Simmonds will do but at least he’s got the ability to take advantage if the game does break up.

In theory that’s a great set of backs covering every position. They have lot of experience, some pace, attacking flair and some goal kicking options, but it just feels as if Gatland has backed himself in to a corner tactically. I’ll be very pleased if he manages to make good use of them.

I can’t believe I’m so excited for this after the horror of Saturday, but there we go.

Agree with all of this. The starting team does block out some of the biggest problems of last week, but largely the same pack is a concern. Henderson can feel aggrieved.

The bench is more likely to rescue a losing cause. But only if Gatland will throw caution to the wind if we are a bit behind coming into the last quarter.

[Cameo]

Front row - Good to see Jones in, hopefully he can get more of a foothold than the other two did and Vunipola can do a great job from the bench. I really rate Sutherland in general but his confidence looks shot at this point. I hope this doesn’t carry over to Scotland. Not really sure what Owens has done to earn a spot, I hope he’s more reliable in the set piece because that’s a lot of physicality that could have been picked.

Lock - Yeah fine I guess. Jones is too key a player to swap him out for Henderson/Beard at this point.

Backrow - Fairly underwhelmed really. They’ve each had 1 pretty good half across 2 tests so far. Seems tough that Watson’s 1 dodgy tackle is the reason Curry gets 3 starts without doing a whole lot. Is there some plan for Conan to get him more involved? Is it different to how we’d plan to use Simmonds if he gets on? I didn’t see anything in the warm ups to suggest he’s going to be any more effective than a lukewarm Faletau. Would absolutely love to be proven wrong.

Halfback - Happy for Price but still unsure what game we’re wanting him to play and how that fits with Biggar at 10. If we weren’t willing to have a lash at the point we were 1-0 up, are we really going to attempt to do anything with the ball this week? It’s not as if Murray’s box kicking was even particularly good but you may as well stick with the kicking pair if that’s what the gameplan calls for.

It’s hard to picture Russell getting on the pitch if the game is tight, but are we really going to just let him go for it if we’re behind? With (presumably by that point) Murray’s service? Normally I like the bench pairing of a more controlled halfback and a real attacking threat, but I just can’t see what game Gatland is predicting where bringing Russell on is any more than a Hail Mary. It feels like this selection doesn’t really serve anybody except giving Biggar another chance.

Centre - Was Harris bad in defence? Was there some feeling that he actually could have done something in attack? I suppose I’d have to understand what we were actually trying to do with our centres to know if Aki would be a better choice. I get the impression he’s a fantastic hard-running option but I can’t say I’ve ever seen him look better at that than Henshaw does. He’s good over the ball but is he a good defender?

Hard to judge because I dislike him as a player due to his consistent use of the forearm/elbow in collisions, and I’m not convinced this is a good trade-off with Harris’s defence, but at least they might be on the same wavelength?

Back three - Gutted for Hogg/Watson but it just hasn’t been happening for them. Amazed VDM retains his spot, but he’s sure got massive biceps. Adams having an absolute stormer now would offer multiple layers of entertainment value.

Let’s hope we give them a bit more to work with both in terms of protection fielding kicks and maybe even a pass or two. This kind of pressure might be what Liam Williams thrives on. Hopefully this brings out the player of a few years back, because his recent form doesn’t really seem to have matched all the calls for his selection.

Bench - A lot to like in terms of potential impact, particularly in the front row. Beard’s big USP being his maul work I’m very interested to see if SA dominance in that area might mean an early introduction for him. Who knows what Simmonds will do but at least he’s got the ability to take advantage if the game does break up.

In theory that’s a great set of backs covering every position. They have lot of experience, some pace, attacking flair and some goal kicking options, but it just feels as if Gatland has backed himself in to a corner tactically. I’ll be very pleased if he manages to make good use of them.

I can’t believe I’m so excited for this after the horror of Saturday, but there we go.

Agree with all of this. The starting team does block out some of the biggest problems of last week, but largely the same pack is a concern. Henderson can feel aggrieved.

The bench is more likely to rescue a losing cause. But only if Gatland will throw caution to the wind if we are a bit behind coming into the last quarter.

Yeah, same. I'm still in shock about that stat about Biggar only passing three times. If that doesn't change, the attacking potential of the outside backs is largely irrelevant.

Backrow v lucky too.

[Sandydragon]

Agree about back row. None of the number 8s has been amazing, Conan deserves his place overall. Curry is a bit fortunate in my opinion. I suppose Lawes still has credit in the bank.

[Spiffy]

Front row - Good to see Jones in, hopefully he can get more of a foothold than the other two did and Vunipola can do a great job from the bench. I really rate Sutherland in general but his confidence looks shot at this point. I hope this doesn’t carry over to Scotland. Not really sure what Owens has done to earn a spot, I hope he’s more reliable in the set piece because that’s a lot of physicality that could have been picked.

Lock - Yeah fine I guess. Jones is too key a player to swap him out for Henderson/Beard at this point.

Backrow - Fairly underwhelmed really. They’ve each had 1 pretty good half across 2 tests so far. Seems tough that Watson’s 1 dodgy tackle is the reason Curry gets 3 starts without doing a whole lot. Is there some plan for Conan to get him more involved? Is it different to how we’d plan to use Simmonds if he gets on? I didn’t see anything in the warm ups to suggest he’s going to be any more effective than a lukewarm Faletau. Would absolutely love to be proven wrong.

Halfback - Happy for Price but still unsure what game we’re wanting him to play and how that fits with Biggar at 10. If we weren’t willing to have a lash at the point we were 1-0 up, are we really going to attempt to do anything with the ball this week? It’s not as if Murray’s box kicking was even particularly good but you may as well stick with the kicking pair if that’s what the gameplan calls for.

It’s hard to picture Russell getting on the pitch if the game is tight, but are we really going to just let him go for it if we’re behind? With (presumably by that point) Murray’s service? Normally I like the bench pairing of a more controlled halfback and a real attacking threat, but I just can’t see what game Gatland is predicting where bringing Russell on is any more than a Hail Mary. It feels like this selection doesn’t really serve anybody except giving Biggar another chance.

Centre - Was Harris bad in defence? Was there some feeling that he actually could have done something in attack? I suppose I’d have to understand what we were actually trying to do with our centres to know if Aki would be a better choice. I get the impression he’s a fantastic hard-running option but I can’t say I’ve ever seen him look better at that than Henshaw does. He’s good over the ball but is he a good defender?

Hard to judge because I dislike him as a player due to his consistent use of the forearm/elbow in collisions, and I’m not convinced this is a good trade-off with Harris’s defence, but at least they might be on the same wavelength?

Back three - Gutted for Hogg/Watson but it just hasn’t been happening for them. Amazed VDM retains his spot, but he’s sure got massive biceps. Adams having an absolute stormer now would offer multiple layers of entertainment value.

Let’s hope we give them a bit more to work with both in terms of protection fielding kicks and maybe even a pass or two. This kind of pressure might be what Liam Williams thrives on. Hopefully this brings out the player of a few years back, because his recent form doesn’t really seem to have matched all the calls for his selection.

Bench - A lot to like in terms of potential impact, particularly in the front row. Beard’s big USP being his maul work I’m very interested to see if SA dominance in that area might mean an early introduction for him. Who knows what Simmonds will do but at least he’s got the ability to take advantage if the game does break up.

In theory that’s a great set of backs covering every position. They have lot of experience, some pace, attacking flair and some goal kicking options, but it just feels as if Gatland has backed himself in to a corner tactically. I’ll be very pleased if he manages to make good use of them.

I can’t believe I’m so excited for this after the horror of Saturday, but there we go.

Agree with all of this. The starting team does block out some of the biggest problems of last week, but largely the same pack is a concern. Henderson can feel aggrieved.

The bench is more likely to rescue a losing cause. But only if Gatland will throw caution to the wind if we are a bit behind coming into the last quarter.

Yeah, same. I'm still in shock about that stat about Biggar only passing three times. If that doesn't change, the attacking potential of the outside backs is largely irrelevant.

Backrow v lucky too.

Biggar has developed quite a good passing game since moving to Saints.
He can do it, but is obviously playing to Gatland's orders not to.
The Lions do not appear to have the flexibility to change tactics on field and try something different when the game plan does not work.
Even if they do try to move the ball (if they get some) in the final test, I'm not sure they have the backs to do much damage, though I hope Henshaw can find a little extra space at 13, his best position.

[whatisthejava]

Firstly, anyone who hates the way Russell plays rugby doesn't like rugby, ditto Hogg, there are few to match their attacking prowess, however this doesn't mean that they don't have weaknesses.

To think we're going to play a different style is delusional, Russell is on the bench to mix things up if we are losing come 60 minutes, I don't buy into the Gatland covering his arse as he doesn't give a flying fuck what people say and that is a paranoid line of thinking, also Russell seems to be quite effective when he plays for Racing so I'm not sure he must have Hogg, Russells biggest strength is taking the ball to the gain line and picking a pass, with Aki and Henshaw as options I'm sure he could create some issues, and of course he could pass it to Liam Williams instead of Hogg as Liam Williams also knows how to pass the ball.

I can’t ever recall seeing LW playing as a second play maker,

I’m not against the changes but if you wanting to have a change in style in the last 20 , changing the 10 isn’t going to do it when the rest stays the same.

Racing also guarantees him front foot ball. That isn’t guaranteed.

And I do think this is Gatland covering his arse, he picked this strategy and brought guys like Russell , Zammit and Adams along to give him an alternative attack but at no point did he ever think outmussling the bokkes wouldn’t work which is why we have pretty much the same team with minimum changes and Russell.

Picking LW tells the boks that plan A won’t change.

[Numbers]

Front row - Good to see Jones in, hopefully he can get more of a foothold than the other two did and Vunipola can do a great job from the bench. I really rate Sutherland in general but his confidence looks shot at this point. I hope this doesn’t carry over to Scotland. Not really sure what Owens has done to earn a spot, I hope he’s more reliable in the set piece because that’s a lot of physicality that could have been picked.

Lock - Yeah fine I guess. Jones is too key a player to swap him out for Henderson/Beard at this point.

Backrow - Fairly underwhelmed really. They’ve each had 1 pretty good half across 2 tests so far. Seems tough that Watson’s 1 dodgy tackle is the reason Curry gets 3 starts without doing a whole lot. Is there some plan for Conan to get him more involved? Is it different to how we’d plan to use Simmonds if he gets on? I didn’t see anything in the warm ups to suggest he’s going to be any more effective than a lukewarm Faletau. Would absolutely love to be proven wrong.

Halfback - Happy for Price but still unsure what game we’re wanting him to play and how that fits with Biggar at 10. If we weren’t willing to have a lash at the point we were 1-0 up, are we really going to attempt to do anything with the ball this week? It’s not as if Murray’s box kicking was even particularly good but you may as well stick with the kicking pair if that’s what the gameplan calls for.

It’s hard to picture Russell getting on the pitch if the game is tight, but are we really going to just let him go for it if we’re behind? With (presumably by that point) Murray’s service? Normally I like the bench pairing of a more controlled halfback and a real attacking threat, but I just can’t see what game Gatland is predicting where bringing Russell on is any more than a Hail Mary. It feels like this selection doesn’t really serve anybody except giving Biggar another chance.

Centre - Was Harris bad in defence? Was there some feeling that he actually could have done something in attack? I suppose I’d have to understand what we were actually trying to do with our centres to know if Aki would be a better choice. I get the impression he’s a fantastic hard-running option but I can’t say I’ve ever seen him look better at that than Henshaw does. He’s good over the ball but is he a good defender?

Hard to judge because I dislike him as a player due to his consistent use of the forearm/elbow in collisions, and I’m not convinced this is a good trade-off with Harris’s defence, but at least they might be on the same wavelength?

Back three - Gutted for Hogg/Watson but it just hasn’t been happening for them. Amazed VDM retains his spot, but he’s sure got massive biceps. Adams having an absolute stormer now would offer multiple layers of entertainment value.

Let’s hope we give them a bit more to work with both in terms of protection fielding kicks and maybe even a pass or two. This kind of pressure might be what Liam Williams thrives on. Hopefully this brings out the player of a few years back, because his recent form doesn’t really seem to have matched all the calls for his selection.

Bench - A lot to like in terms of potential impact, particularly in the front row. Beard’s big USP being his maul work I’m very interested to see if SA dominance in that area might mean an early introduction for him. Who knows what Simmonds will do but at least he’s got the ability to take advantage if the game does break up.

In theory that’s a great set of backs covering every position. They have lot of experience, some pace, attacking flair and some goal kicking options, but it just feels as if Gatland has backed himself in to a corner tactically. I’ll be very pleased if he manages to make good use of them.

I can’t believe I’m so excited for this after the horror of Saturday, but there we go.

That's a big presumption, you could easily infer that if we are up then Murray could be brought on for his tactical kicking and if we are behind then Russell could be brought on to add some attacking guile, it seems as though there is a misnomer that the halfbacks have to be changed as a pair and indeed all the backs used from the bench.

[Numbers]

Firstly, anyone who hates the way Russell plays rugby doesn't like rugby, ditto Hogg, there are few to match their attacking prowess, however this doesn't mean that they don't have weaknesses.

To think we're going to play a different style is delusional, Russell is on the bench to mix things up if we are losing come 60 minutes, I don't buy into the Gatland covering his arse as he doesn't give a flying fuck what people say and that is a paranoid line of thinking, also Russell seems to be quite effective when he plays for Racing so I'm not sure he must have Hogg, Russells biggest strength is taking the ball to the gain line and picking a pass, with Aki and Henshaw as options I'm sure he could create some issues, and of course he could pass it to Liam Williams instead of Hogg as Liam Williams also knows how to pass the ball.

I can’t ever recall seeing LW playing as a second play maker,

I’m not against the changes but if you wanting to have a change in style in the last 20 , changing the 10 isn’t going to do it when the rest stays the same.

Racing also guarantees him front foot ball. That isn’t guaranteed.

And I do think this is Gatland covering his arse, he picked this strategy and brought guys like Russell , Zammit and Adams along to give him an alternative attack but at no point did he ever think outmussling the bokkes wouldn’t work which is why we have pretty much the same team with minimum changes and Russell.

Picking LW tells the boks that plan A won’t change.

The style of play won't be changed it'll just add a creative player into the mix, as I said in my original post if you think we will play differently you are kidding yourself.

[Mikey Brown]

That's a big presumption, you could easily infer that if we are up then Murray could be brought on for his tactical kicking and if we are behind then Russell could be brought on to add some attacking guile, it seems as though there is a misnomer that the halfbacks have to be changed as a pair and indeed all the backs used from the bench.

It’s a presumption yes, not sure it’s a massive one or makes much difference to my overall point. I’d hope Gatland plays it by ear, depending on how the game is going, but I’m not holding my breath.

Trying to be optimistic though- perhaps Price on from the start keeping things moving a little quicker (and Gatland has surely made his opinions heard on 60+ minute halves) may tire the SA forwards a little more than just standing at guard while Murray/Faf practice rolling the ball backwards along the ground.

I’m sure their fitness is improving but it was a stark difference in the SA energy between the second halves of the first two tests. If we can really work them around a bit then maybe it’s not so crazy to think this bench could cut loose a bit.

[Puja]

FB_IMG_1628071236677.jpg

Puja

[switchskier]

Firstly, anyone who hates the way Russell plays rugby doesn't like rugby, ditto Hogg, there are few to match their attacking prowess, however this doesn't mean that they don't have weaknesses.

To think we're going to play a different style is delusional, Russell is on the bench to mix things up if we are losing come 60 minutes, I don't buy into the Gatland covering his arse as he doesn't give a flying fuck what people say and that is a paranoid line of thinking, also Russell seems to be quite effective when he plays for Racing so I'm not sure he must have Hogg, Russells biggest strength is taking the ball to the gain line and picking a pass, with Aki and Henshaw as options I'm sure he could create some issues, and of course he could pass it to Liam Williams instead of Hogg as Liam Williams also knows how to pass the ball.

I can’t ever recall seeing LW playing as a second play maker,

I’m not against the changes but if you wanting to have a change in style in the last 20 , changing the 10 isn’t going to do it when the rest stays the same.

Racing also guarantees him front foot ball. That isn’t guaranteed.

And I do think this is Gatland covering his arse, he picked this strategy and brought guys like Russell , Zammit and Adams along to give him an alternative attack but at no point did he ever think outmussling the bokkes wouldn’t work which is why we have pretty much the same team with minimum changes and Russell.

Picking LW tells the boks that plan A won’t change.

The style of play won't be changed it'll just add a creative player into the mix, as I said in my original post if you think we will play differently you are kidding yourself.

Liam Williams is more creative than Hogg? Surely not. Agree with MB that the selection is a reaction to the SA tactics rather than trying to force them to react to the lions.

[Numbers]

That's a big presumption, you could easily infer that if we are up then Murray could be brought on for his tactical kicking and if we are behind then Russell could be brought on to add some attacking guile, it seems as though there is a misnomer that the halfbacks have to be changed as a pair and indeed all the backs used from the bench.

It’s a presumption yes, not sure it’s a massive one or makes much difference to my overall point. I’d hope Gatland plays it by ear, depending on how the game is going, but I’m not holding my breath.

Trying to be optimistic though- perhaps Price on from the start keeping things moving a little quicker (and Gatland has surely made his opinions heard on 60+ minute halves) may tire the SA forwards a little more than just standing at guard while Murray/Faf practice rolling the ball backwards along the ground.

I’m sure their fitness is improving but it was a stark difference in the SA energy between the second halves of the first two tests. If we can really work them around a bit then maybe it’s not so crazy to think this bench could cut loose a bit.

I think the stoppages helped them a lot.

[Mikey Brown]

Yeah that’s what I meant re: Gatland making a lot of noise about the length of the game and stop/start nature.

I’d also assume you were referring to Russell, rather than Williams, as the creative player to be introduced within the same plan. I’d agree we won’t see a u-turn in tactics, but there’s at least potential for a side that will take advantage of any gaps that might open up later on.

[morepork]

Lions fans...has any of this been worth it for you? Public health crisis, civil unrest in SA, spiteful social media tactics, no crowds, and the dullest rugby seen for a long time. Would winning this series really vindicate all of this for you? Yes, I am a negative Nellie, but jaysus, what will the benefits of this be?

[Croft_No.5]

The only benefit (from a purely selfish POV) I expected from the jamboree (for me it should have been delayed or cancelled with the cycle of tours shifting 4 years) was to get the chance to watch some exciting top class rugby on the TV.................

[Which Tyler]

Lions fans...has any of this been worth it for you? Public health crisis, civil unrest in SA, spiteful social media tactics, no crowds, and the dullest rugby seen for a long time. Would winning this series really vindicate all of this for you? Yes, I am a negative Nellie, but jaysus, what will the benefits of this be?

Nope - still haven't really got interested in it. I've tried, but it's just not grabbing me.

Gatland as Head Coach
Should have been cancelled
Whole season affected by Covid
TV Channels I don't have
Poor selection
Poorer warm-up fixtures
Poorest tactics
Uninspiring opposition (despite being rightful World Champions)

Haven't watched a full match yet

[Mr Mwenda]

I'd have had no issues with it being cancelled. I'll still watch it though. Long term the quality on offer will contribute to my increasing disinterest with televised sport.

[fivepointer]

Lions fans...has any of this been worth it for you? Public health crisis, civil unrest in SA, spiteful social media tactics, no crowds, and the dullest rugby seen for a long time. Would winning this series really vindicate all of this for you? Yes, I am a negative Nellie, but jaysus, what will the benefits of this be?

I wasnt much of a fan before the series started. Nothing i've seen makes me think this whole enterprise hasnt been a colossal waste of time and energy.

[Puja]

Lions fans...has any of this been worth it for you? Public health crisis, civil unrest in SA, spiteful social media tactics, no crowds, and the dullest rugby seen for a long time. Would winning this series really vindicate all of this for you? Yes, I am a negative Nellie, but jaysus, what will the benefits of this be?

Pretty much exactly the same as Which's reasons. My sole interest in the series now is to hope that we win because Erasmus has turned into a giant fucktrombone and I'd prefer for him not to have nice things.

Puja

[Numbers]

Yeah that’s what I meant re: Gatland making a lot of noise about the length of the game and stop/start nature.

I’d also assume you were referring to Russell, rather than Williams, as the creative player to be introduced within the same plan. I’d agree we won’t see a u-turn in tactics, but there’s at least potential for a side that will take advantage of any gaps that might open up later on.

Yep, sorry I didn't make that very clear.

[Mikey Brown]

Lions fans...has any of this been worth it for you? Public health crisis, civil unrest in SA, spiteful social media tactics, no crowds, and the dullest rugby seen for a long time. Would winning this series really vindicate all of this for you? Yes, I am a negative Nellie, but jaysus, what will the benefits of this be?

Nope - still haven't really got interested in it. I've tried, but it's just not grabbing me.

Gatland as Head Coach
Should have been cancelled
Whole season affected by Covid
TV Channels I don't have
Poor selection
Poorer warm-up fixtures
Poorest tactics
Uninspiring opposition (despite being rightful World Champions)

Haven't watched a full match yet

My list looks just like yours with the additional shame and self-loathing from actually watching all of it in spite of those points above. Mismatches and turgid arm-wrestles are just a reality of the game I suppose, but this has been on another level. I like rugby less because of Warren Gatland. I think the lack of a crowd also really amplifies the issues with the game at the moment. I gave up on the second test midway through the second half, yet I'm somehow still excited to watch the third.