The Rugby Union Thread

VimFuego

great to see so many Chiefs in amongst that lot, Simmonds selection one in the eye to Eddie? Was surprised to see so many Sarries in there, I guess Gats has seen something in the championship. Gutted for Johnny Gray, he's been outstanding all season for Exeter, gotta wonder what he has to do to get selected. 

sev112

All of the pundits got it wrong with Sinckler then. (Or Ryan)

Bundee Aki as a bolter!  No-one had him

personally I don’t think project players like McMerwe should be on Lions squads, but maybe I’m wrong. Him and Aki are not the first and presumabky won’t be the last.  But I hope they do well.


wonder what I did with my selection of 15 lions qualified players for the test who are all South Africans .... I’ll have to find that.


overall some really good selections on form such as Porter, Sutherland, Wyn Jones etc 

fretmeister

How the hell did Daly get in?

crunchman

fretmeister said:

How the hell did Daly get in?

Can cover multiple positions - not that it's the right decision.  I wouldn't have included him.

Why is Mako in?  SA are very good in the scrum.  Mako will be a liability.  I don't know so much about the other nations' props, but as an Englishman, Marler should have been in ahead of Mako.

I think Sinckler has been very hard done by as well.

scrumhalf

I can't wait for Farrell to try one of his cheap shots and become the first rugby player in space.

As for the rest, well, not sure about Aki but I'll back Gats given his track record. Once a Wasp, always a Wasp. (Unless you're Daly, there are limits. ) 

kjdowd

Aki is a walking card. Slade unlucky to miss out. Daly prob goes as much for this boot as anything and I agree Mako is a liability at scrum time and would have preferred Marler

Rocker

There are always heated discussions about who got left out of the Lions squad.  This time Johnny Gray, Johnny Sexton and Keith Earls must feel (more than slightly) agrieved at being omitted.

Why is it that England always seem to have the largest number of squad members.  In the recent 6N, England finished below mid table so it would seem obvious that Wales would get the nod number wise, Scotland,Ireland and England filling the rest of the places more or less evenly across the three Unions.  Not so.

VimFuego

Rocker said:

There are always heated discussions about who got left out of the Lions squad.  This time Johnny Gray, Johnny Sexton and Keith Earls must feel (more than slightly) agrieved at being omitted.

Why is it that England always seem to have the largest number of squad members.  In the recent 6N, England finished below mid table so it would seem obvious that Wales would get the nod number wise, Scotland,Ireland and England filling the rest of the places more or less evenly across the three Unions.  Not so.

they probably do it to trigger you.

crunchman

Rocker said:

There are always heated discussions about who got left out of the Lions squad.  This time Johnny Gray, Johnny Sexton and Keith Earls must feel (more than slightly) agrieved at being omitted.

Why is it that England always seem to have the largest number of squad members.  In the recent 6N, England finished below mid table so it would seem obvious that Wales would get the nod number wise, Scotland,Ireland and England filling the rest of the places more or less evenly across the three Unions.  Not so.

England were in the World Cup Final 18 months ago. Those players haven't become bad players overnight.

There is always controversy about Lions squads.  Even as an Englishman, I wouldn't have picked Eliott Daly, Mako Vunipola, or Johnny Hill. On the other hand, I would have picked Kyle Sinckler, Joe Marler, and Johnny May.

VimFuego

crunchman said:

Rocker said:

There are always heated discussions about who got left out of the Lions squad.  This time Johnny Gray, Johnny Sexton and Keith Earls must feel (more than slightly) agrieved at being omitted.

Why is it that England always seem to have the largest number of squad members.  In the recent 6N, England finished below mid table so it would seem obvious that Wales would get the nod number wise, Scotland,Ireland and England filling the rest of the places more or less evenly across the three Unions.  Not so.

England were in the World Cup Final 18 months ago. Those players haven't become bad players overnight.

There is always controversy about Lions squads.  Even as an Englishman, I wouldn't have picked Eliott Daly, Mako Vunipola, or Johnny Hill. On the other hand, I would have picked Kyle Sinckler, Joe Marler, and Johnny May.

I suppose my question for Rocker is how does he know more about rugby and team selection than the coaching staff of the lions, not one of whom is English. 

sev112

But he is right about Earls.:)

VimFuego

I think wing and 2nd row are probably the most hotly contested positions, there was always going to be someone let down. Looks like Gats has gone for bulk on the wing.

sev112

Yes, I think May might feel a bit miffed to be dropped below a South African project player 

MagicPigDetective

We can all find selections we might not agree with. One thing I learnt with Gatland as a Wales fan though; he knows what’s for the best and almost always is proved right in the long term; during rough times he had many knocking him during certain periods of his Wales reign but in the end he proved he knew better than anyone what he was doing and, for Wales, left after great success. That’s not mentioning his Lions test record. Trust Gats! 

sev112

But he does play very boring rugby does Mr Gatland  

fretmeister

No takers for the documentary...

https://www.therugbypaper.co.uk/latest-news/rugby-paper/336344/four-major-broadcasters-turn-down-lions-tour-documentary-rights/?fbclid=IwAR1zvWswvlZx3QPiJD7WVneLyryftiKR_vGDL_4TfOvDRt0x3g283dLuV7o

Neill

We can argue about this all night long but can someone explain how Jonny Hill gets on the plane ahead of James Ryan and Johnny Gray?  

VimFuego

Neill said:

We can argue about this all night long but can someone explain how Jonny Hill gets on the plane ahead of James Ryan and Johnny Gray?  

how many of us do you think gats contacted before making his selections?

kjdowd

Ryan has not been on brilliant form. Gray maybe more right to feel aggrieved but Hill has been perhaps a little more imposing for Exeter and has more intimidating hair 

tbm

No complaints really. Conan is a big surprise for me. When he's on form he's class, and has been in good shape recently, but  - like POM - he can go missing. Would be surprised to see him near the test side. Ryan and Ringrose haven't been good enough the last few months, but neither has Daly. How is Slade not in there? Not bringing Gray seems daft. he doesn't miss tackles. Ever. Like, EVER. He's a freak. 

Think a 12/13 of Aki and Henshaw is a possibility. Aki has a couple of reds recently for Ireland, needs to get lower in the tackle, but he's a unit with great hands. I can see the logic in bringing him v the Boks.