Search results for query: *

Whoever was in charge of the Williams decision made the coaching error of the tour so far. It was a bit daft to think that Williams couldn´t play fullback when he was Wales´ best player when he played there against the ABs last summer.

I think Gatland is pretty good at the improvising aspect of putting together a Lions team, but his lack of clearsightedness in not giving Liam Williams a runout at fullback until now is surely the coaching mistake of the tour so far.

Yes, I went for what I would like to see Gatland do though, and I think the last time he played a second-five eight was when James Hook was still doing his thing. Unfortunately I think his conservatism here will lead to Halfpenny getting the full-back slot, as he will probably want either...

Here´s the best Lions Test selection I could expect at this point: 15. Williams 14. North 13. Payne 12. Henshaw 11. Daly 10. Sexton 9. Murray 8. Faletau 7. Warburton 6. Stander 5. Kruis 4. Itoje 3. Furlong 2. George 1. McGrath 16. Owens 17. Vunipola 18. Sinckler 19...

Well, no one could call Eddie Jones boring. I bet there is no one on this forum who has seen all those players play, so he can´t be faulted on his scouting either. I think I´m starting to see the logic in the selection too. I think not including Robson, Devoto, Yarde, Taylor etc. is to prove a...

I guess my main problem would be with Warburton as captain. Unless the Kiwis are somehow not being honest, they (Henry and McCaw) see O´Brien as the better player, and since neither of them is good at jumping in the lineout it seems like we won´t get both in the team. The same seems to go for...

I shall have my annual say then. I don´t have too many problems with this squad. I mean, I wouldn´t have picked it, and I don´t think Eddie Jones or Vern Cotter or even Joe Schmidt would have picked it, but then they weren´t picked to coach the Lions, so what did you expect? It should be...

Instead of each of us pushing the claims of our favourite players, how about a different angle? Which players who are currently in the team do you think Jones sees as indispensable? Here are mine: Hartley (as captain not hooker, although he is good enough there for us not to lose much). Cole...

I agree with Raggs up to a point. I think if BV stays in place, Ewers won´t be picked for the starting team. They are not completely similar, but they have similar shortcomings (lack of lineout ability and do not attack the wide channels). I agree with Tigs Man that Mike Williams is a better...

I don´t think Jones is as predictable or as one-track minded as you are making out. If playing Itoje at 6 is the best move for the team, that is what he will do, just as playing Haskell at 7 was. I can definitely see him playing there against a team like SA, who have a real lineout threat. - -...

He did play him there, in the second half of the 3rd test, and there was talk about him playing there from the off in the 1st. If we go on Jones´current selections, Ewers would do well to get in the squad, never mind team! Sure, I think we just notice different things when we watch rugby...

I think Itoje will be the long term 6, with Launchbury and Lawes at lock, if Lawes can learn to call the line out as well as Kruis. The fact that Jones took Kruis off for Lawes early on in both of the 2nd and 3rd tests suggests that he isn´t that far away. Oh, and I don´t agree that Ford was...

Well, I wouldn´t say that, and I think Haskell will only be replaced when Underhill is ready. Ewers has zero chance of becoming Exeter´s 7, never mind England´s. You didn´t answer the question. I thought it was a good analogy: both had shown they were excellent players in the seasons before...

It´s not just about weight, but height too. All those players are considerably taller than Ewers (apart from Haskell, who is lighter than Ewers and only a decent jumper), and the only one that is as heavy as him is about 6 inches taller! If you want to understand what it takes to be a good...

So you didn´t watch the Six Nations either? From Jones´ comments it´s clear he disagrees with you, and I know whose judgement I would back on this... How could Ewers not be? Because he is at least 120kg? Why isn´t Vunipola as good at jumping as Robshaw? They are the same height...Also...

I think Farrell is ultimately more dispensable than Ford. Exeter have shown that, with a long-range kicker such as Slade, a decent short-range kicker like Stevenson (or Ford) can get close to Farrell´s level of accuracy. The trick is getting a good long-range kicker, so you don´t suffer there...

Umm, did you watch any of the recent England games? Haskell is in the team purely because of his massively physical defence - Jones has talked about how hard he hits. If he just wanted someone with a high workrate he could put Robshaw there, which he did in the 3rd test against Australia because...

I think Wales´ real problem is the same as England´s - they have one very dependable 10 who isn´t much of an attacking threat, and one who is a real attacking threat who isn´t very dependable.

Roberts has worked rather well on two Lions tours. Wales´ centre combination is still superior to ours in my estimation, and I expect it to be the Lions´ combination in NZ. The crucial thing is balance - Davies provides the footballing talent and Roberts the physicality. They will have to up...

There was a much better option than Robshaw at 7 - switching him with Haskell at 6!