Irish and Welsh Lions

[papachino]

Ok, so six days until the 35 man squad is announced... and planet rugby have already named there team that should go...with a captain!!!

http://www.planetrugby.com/Story/0,1825 ... 00,00.html

Backs: Lee Byrne, Rob Kearney, Tommy Bowe, Luke Fitzgerald, Leigh Halfpenny, Mark Cueto*, Thom Evans, Shane Williams, Jamie Roberts*, Tom Shanklin, Brian O'Driscoll, Stephen Jones, Toby Flood*, Ronan O'Gara, Mike Phillips, Harry Ellis*, Mike Blair (captain*).

Forwards: Ryan Jones, Jamie Heaslip, Martyn Williams, David Wallace, Joe Worsley, Stephen Ferris, Paul O'Connell, Simon Shaw*, Alun Wyn Jones, Steve Borthwick*, Adam Jones, Euan Murray, John Hayes, Ross Ford, Jerry Flannery, Lee Mears*, Gethin Jenkins, Andrew Sheridan.

[* = wrong] - (what i think anyways)

Planet Rugby have come up with about 5 different sets of "our choice" squads now since the start of the season, with an abundance of English "non dissevers"

and can i just say, the captaincy is WAY off.... Blair has been cr@p all season, i don't even think he should be on the squad, let alone be captain!!! (its between Paul O'Connell and Brian O'Driscoll)

any suggestions?!

[LeRouxIsPHat]

Ok, so six days until the 35 man squad is announced... and planet rugby have already named there team that should go...with a captain!!!

http://www.planetrugby.com/Story/0,1825 ... 00,00.html

Backs: Lee Byrne, Rob Kearney, Tommy Bowe, Luke Fitzgerald, Leigh Halfpenny, Mark Cueto*, Thom Evans, Shane Williams, Jamie Roberts*, Tom Shanklin, Brian O'Driscoll, Stephen Jones, Toby Flood*, Ronan O'Gara, Mike Phillips, Harry Ellis*, Mike Blair (captain*).

Forwards: Ryan Jones, Jamie Heaslip, Martyn Williams, David Wallace, Joe Worsley, Stephen Ferris, Paul O'Connell, Simon Shaw*, Alun Wyn Jones, Steve Borthwick*, Adam Jones, Euan Murray, John Hayes, Ross Ford, Jerry Flannery, Lee Mears*, Gethin Jenkins, Andrew Sheridan.

[* = wrong] - (what i think anyways)

Yeah,put it in the right section please!!!!!!

Yeah,put it in the right section please!!!!!!
Planet Rugby have come up with about 5 different sets of "our choice" squads now since the start of the season, with an abundance of English "non dissevers"

and can i just say, the captaincy is WAY off.... Blair has been cr@p all season, i don't even think he should be on the squad, let alone be captain!!! (its between Paul O'Connell and Brian O'Driscoll)

any suggestions?!

[Disquieting Presence]

Mike Blair as captain is blatant mischief making

[papachino]

This would be my Squad....

Back's: Rob Kearney, Lee Byrne, Tommy Bowe, Luke Fitzgerald, Shane Williams, Thom Evans, Keath Earls, Brian O'Driscoll(Captain), Riki Flutey, Gordon Darcy, Tom Shanklin, Ronan O'Gara, Stephen Jones, Danny Cipriani, Tomas O'Leary, Mike Philips, Chris Cusiter.(17)

Forward's: Jamie Heaslip, Ryan Jones, David Wallace, Martyn Williams, Joe Worsley, Stephen Ferris, Tom Croft, Paul O'Connell(Vice Captain), Leo Cullen, Donncha O'Callaghan,Alun-Wyn Jones, Euan Murray, Phil Vickery, John Hayes, Jerry Flannery, Matthew Rees, Gethin Jenkins, Andrew Sheriden.(18)

[Kyle]

Steve Borthwick! what a joke!

also i'm not a big fan of Flutey going, i jus think it would dilute the Lions tour and what it stands for.

[papachino]

Steve Borthwick! what a joke!

also i'm not a big fan of Flutey going, i jus think it would dilute the Lions tour and what it stands for.

yea hes not even from england...

Borthwick Cueto Shaw and Flood..... better not be on that List!!!

[Woody01]

Reading Shaun Edwards piece today in Guardian you would have to wonder are we Irish going to be disappointed. Could be more Welsh than we think and also possibly Cipriani (players outside the Six Nations squads as mentioned below).

Also his mention of Shanklin and Halfpenny below could impact on Darcy and Bowe if they were to be selected. O'Driscoll and Flutey look to be certs for centre slots so they may mix and match all the centres they bring.

Obviously all open to interpretation and we really wont know until Tuesday but I fear we may not get as many as we hope.

Would hope for Flannery, O'Connell, Ferris, Heaslip, Wallace, (Still think Leamy could be surprise pick), ROG, Luke, BOD, Darce and Kearney.

"
Expect surprises when Ian McGeechan picks Lions

The emphasis on form not reputation means there is still room for last-minute surprises

This is going down to the wire. I don't want to sound corny but there are four days left before the Lions squad is announced and places are still in the air. Games this weekend, particularly the Anglo-Welsh Cup final at Twickenham tomorrow, will be a big deal for some players.

Lions selection is down to one man: Ian McGeechan. He has the final word but is obviously bouncing ideas off and taking advice from the coaches that are going to South Africa with him; and after our most recent three-hour huddle – in a hotel near Heathrow this week – it is obvious that Ian is sticking by his word: he will pick on form and not reputation. Some big players who have been there and done it before, won Six Nations or Heineken Cups, might be in for a shock next Tuesday.

And then again there will, as there always seem to be in Lions selections, those whom the pundits – and wait for them to list their favourites over the next few days – will have overlooked. Some of those currently in the reckoning may not have made their national teams in the Six Nations which ended less than a month ago. Others may have caught the eye with performances in last weekend's Heineken quarter-finals.

I'm not going to betray confidences but Ian has said that, while he has been pretty certain for some time about the core of the squad, it will be the last 10 selections that decide whether the tour is a success. So there are guys at Twickenham tomorrow like Olly Morgan of Gloucester and Tom Shanklin and Lee Halfpenny of Cardiff who can book themselves one of the 36 places on the flight south or can join the list of players on stand-by. It's wide open.

The first thing to be decided was the way in which the Lions intend to play. Having in mind that the Springboks are unlikely to be selecting anyone smaller that 6ft 5in in either the back row or the second row and that they have probably the most efficient defence in world rugby, do we try to match them size for size, do we try boshing the ball up the middle or do we try to find other ways of unpicking a path to the line?

Then there are things over which we have no control. We have two games at altitude, so how does that affect our planning and, while most of the experimental laws may be on their way out (small cheer) they will still be in use in South Africa over the summer, so how does that influence selection? There will be plenty of kicking, that's for sure, and the ball goes miles at altitude, so how heavy is the premium on picking guys who are good under the high ball and who can ping it 60 metres down field? In the Six Nations Declan Kidney, the Irish coach, proved himself an innovative thinker by selecting two full-backs and only one specialist winger in his back three. We are lucky in having plenty of guys who fit that bill but just how many do we take? It's a problem which runs through selection.

Do you take two No10s or three and run the risk of having one of them go eight weeks without enough game time? And how is the balance changed if one of those fly-halves can play at inside centre?

You need three hookers and five props because of the demands of the replacements' bench but should there be four or five locks and what about the back row, especially as there are plenty of guys around who proved during the Six Nations that they can play at six, seven or eight? And how important do we see the role of a specialist No7?

The good thing is that Cape Town is just an overnight flight from Heathrow and that there is little or no problem with time zones. It is not like those days when the Lions boarded a liner at Southampton and vanished over the horizon, out of sight if not out of mind, until the start of the following season. Guys can be replaced at 12 hours' notice and probably will be.

For now, though, I just hope that most of the 36 named on Tuesday survive the remainder of the domestic season, the play-offs, the Heineken semi-finals and final and make the flight on 24 May in one piece."

[Comer Toes]

This would be my Squad....

Back's: Rob Kearney, Lee Byrne, Tommy Bowe, Luke Fitzgerald, Shane Williams, Thom Evans, Keath Earls, Brian O'Driscoll(Captain), Riki Flutey, Gordon Darcy, Tom Shanklin, Ronan O'Gara, Stephen Jones, Danny Cipriani, Tomas O'Leary, Mike Philips, Chris Cusiter.(17)

Forward's: Jamie Heaslip, Ryan Jones, David Wallace, Martyn Williams, Joe Worsley, Stephen Ferris, Tom Croft, Paul O'Connell(Vice Captain), Leo Cullen, Donncha O'Callaghan,Alun-Wyn Jones, Euan Murray, Phil Vickery, John Hayes, Jerry Flannery, Matthew Rees, Gethin Jenkins, Andrew Sheriden.(18)

Not a bad effort papachino. I’d gamble on Earls and Cipriani as well. However I’d take out Leo, D’Arce, TOL, Cusiter and Ryan Jones and replace with Hines, Roberts, Care, Peel and Leamy. And since 36 is the confirmed number the addition of a 3rd hooker as mentioned by Edwards which will be Mears even though I’d bring Best. Don’t mind who gets the captaincy – BOD or POC, maybe BOD could do with a break from the spotlight…

Some of the English media are losing the plot in the last couple of weeks, and the daft selections just snowball into supposed highly rational calls after a few mentions e.g. Shaw, Nick Easter, Borthwick

[tones]

Would say Edwards was hinting at ROG there! Maybe DOC (Don't agree with that). One thing that scares me is Olly Morgan on a Lions tour.

[Disquieting Presence]

This would be my Squad....

Back's: Rob Kearney, Lee Byrne, Tommy Bowe, Luke Fitzgerald, Shane Williams, Thom Evans, Keath Earls, Brian O'Driscoll(Captain), Riki Flutey, Gordon Darcy, Tom Shanklin, Ronan O'Gara, Stephen Jones, Danny Cipriani, Tomas O'Leary, Mike Philips, Chris Cusiter.(17)

Forward's: Jamie Heaslip, Ryan Jones, David Wallace, Martyn Williams, Joe Worsley, Stephen Ferris, Tom Croft, Paul O'Connell(Vice Captain), Leo Cullen, Donncha O'Callaghan,Alun-Wyn Jones, Euan Murray, Phil Vickery, John Hayes, Jerry Flannery, Matthew Rees, Gethin Jenkins, Andrew Sheriden.(18)

Leo Cullen, great servant to Leinster but come on papa, he's not at that level.

[papachino]

This would be my Squad....

Back's: Rob Kearney, Lee Byrne, Tommy Bowe, Luke Fitzgerald, Shane Williams, Thom Evans, Keath Earls, Brian O'Driscoll(Captain), Riki Flutey, Gordon Darcy, Tom Shanklin, Ronan O'Gara, Stephen Jones, Danny Cipriani, Tomas O'Leary, Mike Philips, Chris Cusiter.(17)

Forward's: Jamie Heaslip, Ryan Jones, David Wallace, Martyn Williams, Joe Worsley, Stephen Ferris, Tom Croft, Paul O'Connell(Vice Captain), Leo Cullen, Donncha O'Callaghan,Alun-Wyn Jones, Euan Murray, Phil Vickery, John Hayes, Jerry Flannery, Matthew Rees, Gethin Jenkins, Andrew Sheriden.(18)

Leo Cullen, great servant to Leinster but come on papa, he's not at that level.

I know yes, great performance at the stoop at what not.... i'm just a hopeful!

[LeRouxIsPHat]

Would say Edwards was hinting at ROG there! Maybe DOC (Don't agree with that). One thing that scares me is Olly Morgan on a Lions tour.

If Andy Titterell can make one then there's hope for us all!

[LeRouxIsPHat]

Also,i'm beginning to think Kearney won't tour.

[tackle-bag]

Backs: Lee Byrne, Rob Kearney, Tommy Bowe, Luke Fitzgerald, Leigh Halfpenny, Mark Cueto, Thom Evans, Shane Williams, Jamie Roberts, Tom Shanklin, Brian O'Driscoll, Stephen Jones, Toby Flood, Ronan O'Gara, Mike Phillips, Harry Ellis, Mike Blair (captain).

Forwards: Ryan Jones, Jamie Heaslip, Martyn Williams, David Wallace, Joe Worsley, Stephen Ferris, Paul O'Connell, Simon Shaw, Alun Wyn Jones, Steve Borthwick, Adam Jones, Euan Murray, John Hayes, Ross Ford, Jerry Flannery, Lee Mears, Gethin Jenkins, Andrew Sheridan.

The selection of Mike Blair as captain when he probably doesn't even deserve to travel, based on form, completely undermines the credibility of the selection. TOL didn't have the best six nations but he has been immense in the last few rounds of the HEC. I would have him in there ahead of Ellis and Blair but behind Phillips and possibly Peel.

Halfpenny still has a bit to prove in my opinion but I wouldn't necessarily exclude him on that basis alone.

Shaw and Borthwick ahead of DOC must be some sort of unfunny joke - O'Callaghan may not be having his best season but he still deserves to travel ahead of an old man and a leper. People have scoffed at the suggested inclusion of Leo Cullen but if he puts in two more performances like last Sunday en route to becoming the H-Cup winning captain, McGeechan may look like a fool for excluding him.

I would also have Best ahead of Mears.

People have been very cautious about not picking too many Irish guys as a reflex to our recent success. While there is a need to remain as level-headed as possible, we have a bloody good team who have shown their capabilities this season. There isn't a single player who featured for Ireland during the Six Nations, with the possibly exception of Mick O'Driscoll, who would be out of place on a Lions midweek side. The squad selection should reflect this fact.

[papachino]

Also,i'm beginning to think Kearney won't tour.

I'm beginning to think that as well!!! hasn't had great form at all this season... it could be just the amount of kicking instead of running that hes doing though(ELV influenced)

[LeRouxIsPHat]

Also,i'm beginning to think Kearney won't tour.

I'm beginning to think that as well!!! hasn't had great form at all this season... it could be just the amount of kicking instead of running that hes doing though(ELV influenced)

Plus Armitage's form and versatility could mean he's surplus to requirements but i hope i'm wrong!

[Terraceman]

Can someone tell me the last time Steve Borthwick had a half decent game. I thought that even the English media didn't like him.
If there looking at the ELV's and the aerial ping-pong Kearney would be very likely to travel I think. Think Darce blew any chance of going he had last night unfortunately.

[Vamos los azules]

If Shane Williams wasn't Welsh I'd be inclined to think he could be one of the surprising omissions. He seems to have lost half a yard of pace this season, which is making his lack of size more of an issue because he's getting caught more often. Watching him get driven back 10 yards may have been amusing when he's in a Welsh or Ospreys shirt but will be a lot less so when cheering on the Lions

[dipper]

Steve Borthwick They are having a laugh right?

As for the captaincy the reason they give for not picking an Irish captain is ridiculous.

[dipper]

Also I forgot to add that Ireland must have a minimum of 12 tourists by my calculations. There should be another 5 on standby.