Lions Team named for 3rd Test

[sarah_lennon]

8 changes, one positional!


British & Irish Lions (vs South Africa, 3rd Test)

15 Rob Kearney (Leinster / Ireland)
14 Ugo Monye (Harlequins / England)
13 Tommy Bowe (Ospreys / Ireland)
12 Riki Flutey (London Wasps / England)
11 Shane Williams (Ospreys / Wales)
10 Stephen Jones (Scarlets / Wales)
9 Mike Phillips (Ospreys / Wales)

8 Jamie Heaslip (Leinster / Ireland)
7 Martyn Williams (Cardiff Blues / Wales)
6 Joe Worsley (London Wasps / England)
5 Paul O’Connell (Munster / Ireland, Captain)
4 Simon Shaw (London Wasps / England)
3 Phil Vickery (London Wasps / England)
2 Matthew Rees (Scarlets / Wales)
1 Andrew Sheridan (Sale Sharks / England)

Replacements

16 Ross Ford (Edinburgh / Scotland)
17 John Hayes (Munster / Ireland)
18 Alun-Wyn Jones (Ospreys / Wales)
19 David Wallace (Munster / Ireland)
20 Tom Croft (Leicester Tigers / England)
21 Harry Ellis (Leicester Tigers / England)
22 James Hook (Ospreys / Wales)

[sarah_lennon]

D'arcy must really be in the bad books.

[suisse]

Fitzgerald dropped altogether? No place for Earls?

Nooooo.....not Shane Williams

[sarah_lennon]

Will find it hard to cheer that team on. Going to get mullered I think

Really have to question why he brought Earls. No intention of giving him a run at a test

[suisse]

5 Englishmen? 1 more than Irish? Press got what they wanted.

[Leinster Exile]

There are some really weird decisions in the backs. Williams for a start , Bowe going to centre (does he start many games there for Ospreys?)

[Scott]

That's a joke of a selection. Don't know which is worse S Williams starting or SIX English. Ian McGeechan's selections have been eyebrow raising all along but this shows the guy has a lot of questions to answer. Bangs on about how much the Jersey menas bla bla bla & then hand a start to Williams & put Bowe in at IC!!!! WTF

[sarah_lennon]

You Lose 2 centres. You have 4 potential centres left, Flutey, Fitzgerald, Earls and D'Arcy.

You pick one of these for your match 22.

[sarah_lennon]

Injuries forced the hand of British & Irish Lions coach Ian McGeechan to make eight changes to his side for the third and final Test in the Castle Lager Series against the Springboks this weekend.
With four players invalided out of the tour last weekend – Gethin Jenkins, Adam Jones, Brian O’Driscoll and Jamie Roberts – McGeechan has had to dig deep within his squad to field a competitive side.

“It is fair to say injuries have had an impact on the tour as you would expect including selection for the third Test as we were unfortunate to lose Brian O’Driscoll, Jamie Roberts, Gethin Jenkins and Adam Jones through injury last Saturday,” admitted McGeechan.

“However, the players coming into the starting XV are all talented international players and are as keen as ever to turn the tables on the Springboks. Last Saturday we were minutes away from winning and that is a huge positive to take into the Third Test.

“Andrew Sheridan, Joe Worsley and Martyn Williams will all be part of a Lions starting XV for the first time. Stephen Jones, Mike Phillips, skipper Paul O’Connell and Jamie Heaslip will earn the distinction of being in the starting XV for all three Test matches.

“As a squad, they have met many challenges on the tour including playing two matches per week, the inevitable injuries and two narrow Test losses. Despite this they have remained a tight, focussed squad and I know those playing in the Third Test will give their all to ensure that we achieve a victory on Saturday.

“A Lions tour is a unique experience for players in the busy, modern professional rugby calendar. The 2009 Lions have thrown themselves into the spirit of the tour, have interacted with the people of South Africa and shown themselves to be great ambassadors for northern hemisphere rugby.”

Tour manager Gerald Davies believes the Lions are determined to end their 10-match adventure on a high at Coca Cola Park and says the whole trip has been a great experience.

“The tour has been a wonderful experience and the team spirit has confirmed the best traditions of the Lions continues. The tour concludes on Saturday with the third and final Test in Johannesburg,” said Davies.

“The players are determined to ensure that all their hard work during the 10-match tour is rewarded with a Test victory. There is no doubt that little has separated the British & Irish Lions and the Springboks so far in what has been a tremendous series - Saturday should prove to be another great match.”

[suisse]

Why have we gone for a 5-2 split on the bench? What if that centre combination doesn't work early, what do we do then? There's one natural centre in the squad. Do we bring James Hook on to chase the game? They had to, had to, put someone like Earls or Fitzgerald on the bench.

You get shivers looking at that 9-14 combination. Why is Mike Phillips starting all three games?

It's a very constipated looking team

[sarah_lennon]

Why have we gone for a 5-2 split on the bench?

The whole bench versus the Boks bench? An attrition rate even half as bad as last week and it's going to be bad

[AidanSloan]

I'd love to have been a fly on the wall for that selection meeting. A glass or two of chardonnay too many perhaps? If anyone had predicted that team on this forum they'd have been torn apart.

[Hippo]

Shocking, genuinely.

[Clermont]

Only 2 backs on the bench and Harry Ellis is one of those, William starting, Luke dropped altogether, is this some sort of joke?
And that's before we talk about D'Arcy/Earls not even making the 22.

The Lions will get murdered & they deserve to with that team.

[Leinster Exile]

I'm still shocked after 20 mins of reading this team. I just don't understand it at all

[Hippo]

I'm still shocked after 20 mins of reading this team. I just don't understand it at all

Maybe if we leave the forum for an hour or so it'll be a different team when we come back?

[FrankBurke]

What did Luke do to get dropped from the squad????

Unless he has an eye injury........

[FrankBurke]

SIX English picked, including FOUR Wasps! Anything to do with SKY viewing figure I wonder!

[ronk]

I'm shaking my head here. Has McGeechan been replaced by Woodward. I can understand the front row given the injury situation and it'll be nice to see Hayes come on in a test match (as he surely will) but this has a real feel of rewarding the old heroes instead of looking to the future.

Vickery, Shaw, Worsley, Williams are all old players who's best days are behind them (not that they can't have good days left, as Shaw showed). I completely fail to see the reasoning behind having a 5-2 split when you have someone like Croft (and AWJ) on the bench. The Lions have hardly any options for injury replacements in the backs without a utility back.

There are 2 specialist wingers with no cover aside from moving Bowe wide and no suitable options at fullback. Can Hook play there? Bowe can but it's not his best position. He certainly did fine in the centre after replacing BOD.

I can only assume that Fitzgerald is injured (or borderline fitness). I guess it's no surprise that O'Gara got dropped (he's probably also injured) but Shane Williams was equally ineffective. 4 of 5 players (not Kearney) in the backline are selection risks but there is zero scope for tactical substitutions.

I guess this tour will be remembered more for the punishing attrition rate. 9 games and 3 of the 5 props brought are gone home with serious injuries. Is it 13 players out plus Quinlan with 3 players called up to provide cover for players only missing part of the tour (Payne, Hook and D'Arcy).

[Terraceman]

I wouldn't loose sleep over it to be honest. The test series is over and I think it's just a matter of giving a few different guys a run.

Shane Williams is the only selection which really annoys me, how geech thinks he is playing better than FItzGerald I don't know. However don't think Earls is at this level yet. He has been exposed in every game he has played on the tour.