Lions Team named for 3rd Test

[LeRouxIsPHat]

5-2 split on the bench and Bowe was only 50-50 to make it? hmmmm

Luke out the squad when apart from bowe there isn't much versatility in the backs, he played well last week and Williams has been rubbish all tour? hmmmmmm

Earls in good form and offers versatility but isn't picked? hmmmmmmmmmm

D'arcy brought out for no good reason and and not in the squad when the first choice centres were both injured? hmmmmmm

That selection really angers me actually and I reckon it's going to get destroyed. On the plus side I'm happy for Martyn Williams even though the game is a dead rubber.

[tinker]

If Morne Syeyn has missed that kick last week and this game on Saturday was to level or win the series would the management still have picked the same side??

[sarah_lennon]

We are thinking it so I'm going to say it.

I'm cheering on the Lions so that S.Jones cannot write about how if Vickery, Worsley and Flutey had played they'd have won tests 1&2

[Mauler]

We are thinking it so I'm going to say it.

I'm cheering on the Lions so that S.Jones cannot write about how if Vickery, Worsley and Flutey had played they'd have won tests 1&2

Dont you mean the Bokkes?

[LCD_Blue]

A joke of a selection very hard to be interested in this team. I know that SA made changes but some of our selections are unjustified by any of the tour matches. I would be worried that we could be hammered.That would be a poor end to the season for our boys.

[LeRouxIsPHat]

We are thinking it so I'm going to say it.

I'm cheering on the Lions so that S.Jones cannot write about how if Vickery, Worsley and Flutey had played they'd have won tests 1&2

Admittedly I read this on the planet rugby forum and there wasn't any sources to support it but apparently Peter O'Reillys match report was used in the ST thoughout the UK and Ireland and that Jones was giving out about it so fingers crossed that that's true and he'll resign and find a new career.....possibly as the British ambassador to Ireland

[RichardP]

The Boks have already built in their excuses with their joke selection. This game casts doubt on the legitimacy of the Lions to claim any sort of redemption, regardless of the result.

[ronk]

We are thinking it so I'm going to say it.

I'm cheering on the Lions so that S.Jones cannot write about how if Vickery, Worsley and Flutey had played they'd have won tests 1&2

Vickery did play, disastrously.

I'll still be shouting for the Lions because SJ will always be an idiot but I support the Lions. We should just be glad that Heaslip is one of only 4 players to start all the tests and has been one of the stars for the Lions against the much touted Springbok backrow, possibly the best in the world.

He's now firmly established his reputation as one of the finest backrow players in the NH. According to many pundits his place was under threat from Powell

[sarah_lennon]

We are thinking it so I'm going to say it.

I'm cheering on the Lions so that S.Jones cannot write about how if Vickery, Worsley and Flutey had played they'd have won tests 1&2

Dont you mean the Bokkes?

Dr Freud alive and well.

Yes Boks

[Isaac4leinster]

If it wasn't a dead rubber before, the two put out by both Lions and SA have made it one. I predict it will be a messy, sh!t match

[AidanSloan]

If it wasn't a dead rubber before, the two put out by both Lions and SA have made it one. I predict it will be a messy, sh!t match

Not so sure, there are plenty of Boks who will be hoping to make a statement for the Tri-Nations. They will also want to win the series 3-0. I think bringing in the new guys will help keep up the intensity, and it's my guess that they'll stick to a rigid game plan. It's not like a normal, end of tour Baa-Baas game where anything goes

[tones]

I can honestly say after looking at that team I'm not too bothered about Saturday. I'll watch it but not passionately, McGeechan has lost his aura in my book.

[dipper]

Bizarre selection. This was a chance for the Lions to win their first test match in 8 attempts. Cheap Lions test cap being given to a few players.

[Clermont]

We are thinking it so I'm going to say it.

I'm cheering on the Lions so that S.Jones cannot write about how if Vickery, Worsley and Flutey had played they'd have won tests 1&2

Admittedly I read this on the planet rugby forum and there wasn't any sources to support it but apparently Peter O'Reillys match report was used in the ST thoughout the UK and Ireland and that Jones was giving out about it so fingers crossed that that's true and he'll resign and find a new career.....possibly as the British ambassador to Ireland

that'd be such a result, SJ is a tosser & i'd love to pick up the Sunday Times and not see his name over articles...

We all got shafted for this 3rd test, for D'Arcy & Luke to be left out is inexplicable & our country cousins can't be happy with Earls/ROG/Donkey also left out of the 22...

[Dublinner]

We are thinking it so I'm going to say it.

I'm cheering on the Lions so that S.Jones cannot write about how if Vickery, Worsley and Flutey had played they'd have won tests 1&2

Dont you mean the Bokkes?

Dr Freud alive and well.

Yes Boks

Im really dissapointed with that bizarre selection. No Luke, Tommy Bowe in the centre, Williams for Wallace. I cant understand the selection at all. Its got nothing to do with keeping the press happy.
I couldnt give two shites about what Stephen Jones thinks or says and I could not cheer for the Boks in a million years against the Lions no matter how cr@p the selection!

[Terraceman]

We all got shafted for this 3rd test, for D'Arcy & Luke to be left out is inexplicable & our country cousins can't be happy with Earls/ROG/Donkey also left out of the 22...

FitzGerald and DOC can feel hard done by but come on ROG?? He lost the Lions the test series, don't think even Galwey would argue for his inclusion, Keith Earls has shown some impressive form but there was just too many errors in his game to deserve a test spot.

[Donny B.]

Poor team selection. However it still has four Irishmen on it including two Leinstermen so I definitely wil be shouting for them. And I'd certainly never shout for those filthy, scumbag Springboks.

[Oscar]

If Morne Syeyn has missed that kick last week and this game on Saturday was to level or win the series would the management still have picked the same side??

Somebody asked the same question on PR, and this was my reply there;

"Well injuries did force 4 of the changes (props and centres), so yes we would have seen some of them no matter what.

And I think it's plain to anyone that something had to change in the backrow to legislate for Brussouw; hence bring in Nugget for deck work/continuity, and Worsley for Croft, to make up for the drop-off in power from Wallace to Williams. And the backrow changes had the knockon effect of altering the makeup of the bench, so the 5-2 split comes about, and ROG can't have any part of that bench.

So I think the only change that might not have been made is Williams for Fitz, which really is a shot in the dark and hoping against hope that Ickle can wind back the clock to 2008. I would not only have picked Fitz, Earls or D'Arcy over Williams, I would have Blair, Flutey or even Croft out of position there over him."

Adding to that, I would say that Bowe is in the best form on tour of any of the players who can cover centre, so it makes sense to play him there. He did well when he switched in the 2nd test. Flutey vs D'Arcy for his partner is a judgement call, neither have been electric so far. I would have gone for D'Arcy because the breakdown is going to be so important, but Flutey does bring a kicking dimension.

The thing this lineup does tell us is how costly the injuries have been to the team. The 22 would be so much stronger with Murray, O'Leary, Halfpenny, Ryan Jones, Flannery and Ferris in place.

[hugonaut]

D'arcy and Flutey didn't play well together as a centre combination against the SCK - they're both 12s and didn't play off each other or put each other into space at all, so I can see why they're not picked as a centre partnership. Bowe is a better bet at 13 than either Fitz or Earls on the evidence of the tour so far in my opinion: Earls is too slight to play against Fourie or Olivier, and Fitz hasn't shown anything at all on tour as a centre. Flutey and Bowe together will provide a physical partnership, with Flutey particularly aggressive and chippy.

Can't see why Williams is in on the wing: a thank you from the coaches for trying all the time, even though he has played like sh¡t? Luke is unlucky to be dropped, maybe they thought he'd be the target for some niggle. Don't really understand the selection. Monye obviously prefers to carry the ball in his right hand, so with Bowe moved inside, he's the best bet for the 14 jersey. He's a big physical player, and went well in the tour apart from his finishing in the first test. Hopefully he can step up to the mark this time around and leave SA on a high.

Worsley is in to bosh Saffas all day, Williams is in to counter Brussouw – both simple selections, and both deserve a chance to start a Lions test after such distinguished careers for their respective countries. Vickery has been given a chance to fight for his reputation with a better scrummaging hooker [Rees] and second row [Shaw] behind him. As I said in a previous post, if it was Vickery's height and long back that were the problem against The Beast [along with the latter's legally dubious technique], Hayes wasn't going to do any better. Vickery had played very well up until the first test, and to my mind deserves the chance to salvage his rep. If he's getting minced, just bring Hayes on.

This selection is obviously dominated by the players who can't be selected through injury - Jenkins and Murray [most people's first-choice props pre-tour], Adam Jones, Ferris, O'Driscoll and Jamie Roberts [the latter two the players of the tour on the Lions side]: when you combine that with the early losses of Flannery, O'Leary, Quinlan and Shanklin, it's easier to see why it looks like such a ram-shackle team.

[RnR]

An odd selection in many respects. No sign of Nathan Hines? Now there's a man who would be a huge asset for us (LR).