Jerry Guscott Lions XV

[flustered]

And who would make Jeremy Guscott's British Lions XV:
15 - Lee Byrne
14 - Tommy Bowe
13 - Brian O'Driscoll
12 - Gavin Henson
11 - Shane Williams
10 - Jonny Wilkinson
9 - Mike Phillips
8 - Jamie Heaslip
7 - David Wallace
6 - Tom Croft
5 - Paul O'Connell (capt)
4 - Simon Shaw
3 - Euan Murray
2 - Ross Ford
1 - Gethin Jenkins

JG: If I was to name a pack it would be, Euan Murray on the tighthead, Ross Ford at hooker, Gethin Jenkins at loosehead, Paul O'Connell in the second row with Simon Shaw along with David Wallace, Jamie Heaslip and Tom Croft in the back row - if people tell me that a pack like that can't compete with the best South Africa has, I would say they must be supporters of lacrosse or something!

In the backs, my ten would be Jonny Wilkinson if he's fit. Full-back would be Lee Byrne, my wingers would be Shane Williams and Tommy Bowe, centres would be (Gavin) Henson and (Brian) O'Driscoll. Fly-half would be Wilkinson if he's on the Tour, Stephen Jones if not, and my scrum-half would be Mike Phillips.

Paul O'Connell would be my skipper. You could have gone with someone like O'Driscoll, but he was captain on the last Tour and it didn't go well for him. Not just for that reason though, I just think it would be good for him to concentrate on being a player as he captains his country already, he could just concentrate on playing his best for the team this time around and not worry about the captaincy.

....not a bad selection from Jeremy!!! maybe swap AW Jones with Simon Shaw but a good side nonetheless!!!! any opinions

[Isaac4leinster]

Surprising from JG. I would have thought he have picked himself.

Shaw, Croft, Wilkenson... no.

[sarah_lennon]

Where's Josh Lewsey

[olaf the fat]

henson at 12 is almost as deserved as wilko at 10

[Isaac4leinster]

I don't think henson and drics would 'link up' too well either. Did they ever actually start together in 05, i can't remember.

[sarah_lennon]

Plus then there's the liking issue.

[true blue 06]

far from a form selection

[Fred Funk]

Croft has one good game and he is in, having a laugh.
Ferris has had 4 good games and would be one of my players of the tournament.

[simonno6]

Kearney in for Bowe on the wing.

[ceemec]

Croft has one good game and he is in, having a laugh.
Ferris has had 4 good games and would be one of my players of the tournament.

I reckon Croft has a very good chance of the 6 jersey. He's very athletic and a good lineout operator. The fact that he's English may play in his favour. If there are already a couple of Irish and Welsh in the pack and Murray at tighthead they'll be looking to have an Englishman in there somewhere. Croft may have only really impressed in one match but it's not his fault as that's the only start he has been given which is madness considering the back row they've been putting out. I'm a huge fan of Ferris but don't be surprised to see Croft in the reckoning.

[intothewest]

Kearney in for Bowe on the wing.

Kearneys not going to play right wing. Its full-back or left wing...sadly for him, its going to be tough to dislodge Byrne/Williams from these spots. Guscott has Wilkinson at 10 which is utterly pointless. The man is crocked. Far from being a biased selection, Croft is definitely a dark horse, if not for the XV then the XXII. Power and pace in abundance..not a strong as Ferris/Ryan Jones though. Ross Ford isn't up to it in my view either. Hooker is one of the positions that doesn't really have a stand out performer yet tho.

[suisse]

if people tell me that a pack like that can't compete with the best South Africa has, I would say they must be supporters of lacrosse or something!

How typically arrogant of the man....

One thing I will say about JG, he knows what it takes to win a Lions series in South Africa, when they are world champions, and during the pro era.

I'm presuimg he has Wilkinson there for the same reason as Neil Jenkins in '97 (albeit in different positions)..... kick the ball over bar every single time. The Lions might struggle with tries, so take every opportunity you can get, and Wilko will provide that. Wilko isn't in to set the back-line moving, or make telling breaks himself from 10 - when they're in and around the 22, step back, and kick a goal. Over and over again. They'll probably have him standing 10 meters behind Philips all day long. Just keep him out of reach of Burger, Smith and Spies.

Generally, he's right about the physicality - hence Bowe on the wing. Byrne and Henson will kick the ball down the pitch for 80 minutes, and Shane Williams, more of a luxury in South Africa, will be there to take whatever opportunites he can get.

It's not a form selection, but if you want to win the series playing a certain way, he may have a point with that team.

[jezzer]

Kearney in for Bowe on the wing.

Kearneys not going to play right wing. Its full-back or left wing...sadly for him, its going to be tough to dislodge Byrne/Williams from these spots. Guscott has Wilkinson at 10 which is utterly pointless. The man is crocked. Far from being a biased selection, Croft is definitely a dark horse, if not for the XV then the XXII. Power and pace in abundance..not a strong as Ferris/Ryan Jones though. Ross Ford isn't up to it in my view either. Hooker is one of the positions that doesn't really have a stand out performer yet tho.

Agree 100% with all of that.

Hooker may come down to bulk and Ford might just squeak the starting spot ahead of Best on his technique, but there are surprisingly few good hookers around in the world game at the moment.

[tate]

i was surprised by the lack of enlgish players tbh.

9 - i would love to see Peel or Cusiter starting a few more high profile games to see where they're at. Always felt they were the best two scrummies available for lions selection, but they aint starting so that must say something. Possibly have tomás in there, but not philips.

10 - wilko? madness, the guy isnt even in his own 6N squad. ROG or Jones will get it, although i would have Hook over Jones and ROG over him myself

11 - i fear williams could be found out defensively big time. Could one of those Evans chaps play there? Wouldnt really want him there though. England have a few flyers, but not Sackey, a nothing player

12 - Not a fan of Henson at 12, he drifts far too much and Drico wont have any space to do anything. Possibly have the other welsh guy, jamie something, in there instead. Or Darce if he gets back to where he was two years ago

13 - drico, obviuosly

14 - bowe is doing well. No other stand out wingers really. An other possibly.

15 - Byrne or Kearnage - either way is good with me although i would prefer Rob obviously

Props look good to me, the bull probably warrants a start though for his sheer size for lineout time

2 - Ross Ford isnt assured enough on the lineouts for my money. Either flannery or best or whoever plays there for Wales

4 & 5 - Shaw? Joke pick surely. Gotta have almost any other second rower in there instead. POC obviously

6 - ferris has done very well, but croft has been good

7 - mary williams. The guy is the 6N answer to Richie. Has to be there

8 - wally, heaslip or jones (the welsh cpt) anyone of these would be a great choice

[darkside lighteside]

jeremy guscott is probably the single worst analyst at the bbc, and that's saying something - that said, i was surprised that his selection isn't even worse!!

nevertheless - shawe an honest enough operator in his day, but even against france on saturday (by my reckoning the worst ever first-half, proportionate to talent, in 6 nations history) he looked absolutely rubbish!! wilkinson i know the 10 spot isn't exactly a-bubble with options or form in the home nations, but we may as well wish for the return of jack kyle! henson - sorry but the guy has never proven that he is even international class at 12, never mind lions starter. I like him as a player, and think he gets a bit of a tough rap as a bloke, but i'm not even sure he'll make the squad. croft I quite like - but ferris has been far and away the best 6 in the tournament so far, and i would even go for leamy in fact (ryan jones is too slow and ponderous). am I the only person to think that shane williams is outrageously over-rated? he's done little so far this season that any international winger couldn't, and also coughed up a load of possession and missed a couple of tackles. i would be concerned if he starts...

[BlueArmyOriginal]

jeremy guscott is probably the single worst analyst at the bbc, and that's saying something - that said, i was surprised that his selection isn't even worse!!

nevertheless - shawe an honest enough operator in his day, but even against france on saturday (by my reckoning the worst ever first-half, proportionate to talent, in 6 nations history) he looked absolutely rubbish!! wilkinson i know the 10 spot isn't exactly a-bubble with options or form in the home nations, but we may as well wish for the return of jack kyle! henson - sorry but the guy has never proven that he is even international class at 12, never mind lions starter. I like him as a player, and think he gets a bit of a tough rap as a bloke, but i'm not even sure he'll make the squad. croft I quite like - but ferris has been far and away the best 6 in the tournament so far, and i would even go for leamy in fact (ryan jones is too slow and ponderous). am I the only person to think that shane williams is outrageously over-rated? he's done little so far this season that any international winger couldn't, and also coughed up a load of possession and missed a couple of tackles. i would be concerned if he starts...

Williams is one of the most prolific try scorers in the world tho, I'd have him in there despite his defensive frailties, he's one of the only available players capable of matching Habana, Pieterson et al for pace.

[Danthefan]

45+ international tries say Shane Williams is a decent winger.

[intothewest]

Seeing as how a few others are hinting at it.... I wouldn't have Shane Williams in the team (probably not even the squad). I feel when he is closed down he will get murdered in the tight by the boks. JP Pietersen may be no legend, but i reckon he will handle Williams and exploit his defensive weakness. I just feel defense is going to be so important in the Test matches that ANY weakness could be fatal. To be fair, Geech has a history of being very pragnmatic, as in picking the likes of Alan Tait and John Bentley during the 1997 tour...not flashy wingers, but always stood up defensively (RL background helping obviously). The few tries the Boks did get, came from their pack (which was a bloody good pack) or little mistakes from the likes of Jenkins at 15, but he more than compensated for that of course. As Ieuan Evans said, "We put a red rag to them and said, i bet you can't run through us...and they fell for it". Just talking about this makes me sad that I can't travel this summer...at least we have a GS and H-cup to keep us going..i hope.

[Darce]

Lee Byrne is so overrated on form this championship.

Kearney is pretty much streets ahead of him

[suisse]

Lee Byrne is so overrated on form this championship.

Kearney is pretty much streets ahead of him

unfortunately, I completely disagree - Lee Byrne has the Lions 15 jersey stitched to his back. I think he's a class act, in attack and defense, and I reckon the Lions will be a better team with him in it, than out of it. I'd love to see Kearney involved, but I don't see him making the 22.

On a totally unrelated topic, since you're talking about the 15 jersey Darce, do you reckon the dark horse is Mr. Lewsey, a man who retired from international rugby partly because he couldn't commit himself to the time away from home, yet believes he is primed for a few weeks in South Africa? Reckon he's nailed on for a tour slot.