Lions Vs Reds

[Cameo]

I thought that was their best, most coherent performance, and I thought that after 17 minutes when they were still down.

Weird though the number of individual mistakes. To me that was all that was holding them back. Started with Freeman taking high ball then immediately losing it in contact, but most of them were in the pack. Both starting props had some bad missed tackles. Tom Curry missed at least two glaring one and also had another random drop. Morgan had a good carry then was stripped, and also missed a bad tackle.

Worked out well in the end playing Russell. Played 50 mins and is absolutely purring. Maybe give him a rest on the weekend though.

Morgan the first Lion to really get on top at the breakdown. I'm a fan anyway, but he'd be my starting 7.

Think wing selection will be the most controversial as everyone sees/wants different things. Freeman very involved today, but I wasn't as impressed as some. VDM always looks a bit lost (though I think that is partly just how he looks/runs), but dynamite given a bit of space, and I think that is so valuable. Personally I still mourne the absence of Darcy Graham, but that ship may have sailed. Even if Daly is out, which I hope he isn't, Tom Jordan is probably the obvious utility option.

Agreed, although the refs so far have seemed very anti-jackal. There were three occasions where Itoje locked in on the ball for a good 2-3 seconds and the ref just ignored him until he was eventually cleaned out. If that's going to be the trend throughout, then it might be worth picking Chessum/Beirne at 6 to up the power/lineout, and just abandoning competition at the breakdown altogether. I'd still probably pick Morgan in that situation, but it does change what's valuable.

Puja

I noticed those Itoje ones. I think there are some refs who don't like how he jackals in general. Gets hands on the ball, but sometimes doesn't look like he really is in a position to pull if that makes sense.

A trend to watch with the refs. Australia are keen on the jackal so will want a conpetition.