Western Force v British & Irish Lions - 5/6/13

[Tony Manx]

Defence against this team is very, very poor!

 

[Feicarsinn]

Sexton-Tuilagi-BOD seems to be going well.

 

[Aristodemus]

That was awesome between BOD and Manu.

 

[dasNdanger]

Yay, Force!! Keep it interesting, guys...I hate yawners.

Also, RE: Halfpenny - under pressure or not, can we all just agree that he's quite fetching with that wee bit o' face fuzz?


das

 

[Tony Manx]

We've seen a few reasons why Tuilagi shouldn't play 12,

There is a good one why he should.....................!!

 

[Aristodemus]

The difference when Youngs came on at SH!

 

[Leonormous Boozer]

There is a good one why he should.....................!!

Yeah yeah fair enough!

 

[TRF Mr Fish]

Mathewson has also made a huge difference for the Force.

 

[TRF_Olyy]

B. Youngs playing well - I hope he starts the next game.

Parling in for a try

 

[Leonormous Boozer]

Lovely hands from SOB there! Mako's had a stormer after coming on for Healy.

 

[dullonien]

Lovely hands from SOB there! Mako's had a stormer after coming on for Healy.

Very impressed with both.

Faletau been good in the time he's been on the field as well with a turnover and a few good runs.

The competition in this squad is huge. I don't think I've ever seen anything like it before.

Edit. So who didn't impress in this game (easier than saying who did impress)?

Imo, Ian Evans had a very quiet game. I'm sure he worked hard, but he didn't do much to stand-out. Best wasn't great either with a few poor throws and not too prominent in open field. I was also expecting a more stand-out game from Alun-Wyn Jones, although I did notice him doing a lot of grunt work. Conor Murray had a mixed game, did some good things, but was also a little ponderous at times.

 

[Tony Manx]

B. Youngs playing well

Against a tired and beaten team......talk about lack of pressure!!

Pluses.....Vunipola, SOB, Heaslip (not Ferris as originally stated who is 10958.16 miles away), Halfpenny (mainly for his kicking), Tuilangi/BOD combo (a good start but need to see lot more) and Sexton who has removed any doubts there were about a starting 10.

Minuses....Defense, defense, defense, Best and, of course, poor old Healy's injury

 

[Aristodemus]

They shouldn't have allowed the Force to get 17 points but all in all not a bad day.

 

[Feicarsinn]

Now, which fiend said there weren't guys competing for test spots out there.

 

[TRF Mr Fish]

For my top Lions team, Lydiate would still be 6, Heaslip would probably be 8 with SOB on the bench (only over Faletau due to his extra versatility). Philips and Youngs would be my halfbacks (in that order), with Sexton the obvious 10. I'd probably favour Tuilagi over Roberts at 12 right now. Wingers would probably be the two that played tonight, with Maitland the back up.

 

[TRF_Olyy]

Against a tired and beaten team......talk about lack of pressure!!

F**ing hell, is anyone ever allowed to have a good game?!
You're obsessed with bloody pressure.

When Youngs is off form he passes terribly and makes poor mistakes - he did neither today which bodes well.

 

[Feicarsinn]

Youngs is a much better player than Murray, albeit incredibly inconsistent at times. I'd consider starting him in the tests tbh.

 

[UlsterRugby2012]

Against a tired and beaten team......talk about lack of pressure!!

Pluses.....Vunipola, SOB, Ferris, Halfpenny (mainly for his kicking), Tuilangi/BOD combo (a good start but need to see lot more) and Sexton who has removed any doubts there were about a starting 10.

Minuses....Defense, defense, defense, Best and, of course, poor old Healy's injury

He must be doing well considering he's 15,000km away from the pitch!

 

[SelimNiai]

Well that went well.

So many players stepped up and had a good game. Defense was a tad lacklustre at rucks within 5m line but otherwise good. Heaslip was a ***an, my MOM. This all pales into insignificance when you consider that on Tuesdays podcast cyRil predicted a score of 65-17. We are never going to the end of this.

 

[Tony Manx]

F**ing hell, is anyone ever allowed to have a good game?!
You're obsessed with bloody pressure.

When Youngs is off form he passes terribly and makes poor mistakes - he did neither today which bodes well.

I am not obsessed with pressure but it surely has to come into play and there is a huge difference in starting a game when you are not sure what is going to happen and coming on in the last 15 minutes with the game won.... a 15 minute cameo such as this does not convince and surely the try from Farrell proves my point!!

Youngs was a poor passer and did make poor mistakes, sure, but toward the end of the season he improved out of all recognition and this is me saying that!

I believe that it is between him and Phillips for the test squad (with Phillips in pole) and Murray will have to have a "Youngs" style improvemnt to get into the mix...