Lions

[Big D]

Dell out for the weekend. Not that it would make a difference.

McCallum at LHP.

[Adder]

Dell out for the weekend. Not that it would make a difference.

McCallum at LHP.

Wrong thread I guess. Are you going to dare to watch?

[Big D]

Aye wrong thread. I might have to work so probably will miss it.

[whatisthejava]

Vieo of gatland talking about the back row

is it me or is he describing

CJ Stander
Tuperic
Falateau

[Mikey Brown]

My god he makes this all seem very unexciting.

[Mellsblue]

If Warburton doesn't start I'd be very suprised.

[whatisthejava]

Lots of rugby to be played, get on tour early and have a big impact and the press will push for it. SOB was very good today so Watson tour unless it's as injury cover.

[Eugene Wrayburn]

Well that's fucked any chance of Russell touring. damned shame. I still think I'd still pick him to tour ahead of Biggar and Farrell but there's no way Gatland will pick him now and there will be barely a murmur in the press when he doesn't.

[switchskier]

Well that's fucked any chance of Russell touring. damned shame. I still think I'd still pick him to tour ahead of Biggar and Farrell but there's no way Gatland will pick him now and there will be barely a murmur in the press when he doesn't.

I agree it's a shame but for two slightly different reasons. First i think that he's great to watch and as such an instinctive player he'd really suit a scratch team with great players. I also think that it would be the making of him. Right now he's very good but mercurial and am hoping he just becomes consistently excellent.

[ARM]

Couple of missed kicks to touch today were pretty unhelpful. Probably wouldn't have made any difference with Sarries playing the way they were but he does need to tighten up on these details.

[hugh_woatmeigh]

Enjoyable game today and all the Scots gave it their all - 110% but still came up well short. I think that's us with a single Lion - Hogg.

[Mikey Brown]

Strange how it could have been so close for Brown, Nel, Gray, Watson, Russell, Seymour, Hogg and now probably just Hogg.

[Digby]

Vieo of gatland talking about the back row

is it me or is he describing

CJ Stander
Tuperic
Falateau

It'd be a very impressive unit in many ways. I do though think back to what SA did to NZ in the semi-final and how SA could have quite easily won that game but for the lineout, NZ might well have the best lineout of any top team and taking them on without a real third jumper could see you forced into attack patterns you don't want.

[whatisthejava]

Its a bit mental that you compare Scotland now to 4 years ago

Since then we have risen from 9th to 5th in the world
Beaten Australia, Argentina, been within a whisker of a RWC semi final
Had a team at the challenge cup final
Won 3 games in the 6N
Beaten everyone bar England in the 6N

and there is a strong possibility we could have 1 scot in the initial 37, in fact i think you could add an extra player to every position and still make a decent argument for taking no scots apart from Hogg,

Just think Hogg takes a knock and we would have zero lions.

edit
To be clear I think several scots deserve to go but without a sponsor in the lions coaching teams its clear others will be preffered, this isnt nepotism or favortism its just coaches back players they know and scotland getting stuffed inside and outby England will really not have helped them at all.

[ARM]

Its a bit mental that you compare Scotland now to 4 years ago

Since then we have risen from 9th to 5th in the world
Beaten Australia, Argentina, been within a whisker of a RWC semi final
Had a team at the challenge cup final
Won 3 games in the 6N
Beaten everyone bar England in the 6N

and there is a strong possibility we could have 1 scot in the initial 37, in fact i think you could add an extra player to every position and still make a decent argument for taking no scots apart from Hogg,

Just think Hogg takes a knock and we would have zero lions.

edit
To be clear I think several scots deserve to go but without a sponsor in the lions coaching teams its clear others will be preffered, this isnt nepotism or favortism its just coaches back players they know and scotland getting stuffed inside and outby England will really not have helped them at all.

I'm going to be a pedant but when did we beat Aus in the last four years?

[hugh_woatmeigh]

2012... I remember it well.

[whatisthejava]

Its a bit mental that you compare Scotland now to 4 years ago

Since then we have risen from 9th to 5th in the world
Beaten Australia, Argentina, been within a whisker of a RWC semi final
Had a team at the challenge cup final
Won 3 games in the 6N
Beaten everyone bar England in the 6N

and there is a strong possibility we could have 1 scot in the initial 37, in fact i think you could add an extra player to every position and still make a decent argument for taking no scots apart from Hogg,

Just think Hogg takes a knock and we would have zero lions.

edit
To be clear I think several scots deserve to go but without a sponsor in the lions coaching teams its clear others will be preffered, this isnt nepotism or favortism its just coaches back players they know and scotland getting stuffed inside and outby England will really not have helped them at all.

I'm going to be a pedant but when did we beat Aus in the last four years?

Apologies, thought that was after the last lions.

5 years in June , thought it was the year after the lions

[Matt Ha]

You could also add that the Scottish backs have been the most dangerous and effective over the last two 6Ns but the Lions could end up taking only one of them.

[whatisthejava]

You could also add that the Scottish backs have been the most dangerous and effective over the last two 6Ns but the Lions could end up taking only one of them.

Gatland has destroyed welsh backs, his plan is to beat the all blacks by scoring 3. It will fail.

[Lizard]

Two teams have beaten the All Blacks 3-0. Wales in 1905 (only defeat of the Originals, with controversy over Bob Deans' "try") and France in 1954.

[af73]

edit
To be clear I think several scots deserve to go but without a sponsor in the lions coaching teams its clear others will be preffered, this isnt nepotism or favortism its just coaches back players they know and scotland getting stuffed inside and outby England will really not have helped them at all.

Nepotism or favouritism by any other name....

A current active national coach will favour the players he knows and look for reasons to select them. Gatland (in particular) doesn't like Scottish players, never has and consciously or sub-consciously looks for reasons not to select them.

Put it this way. Our game at Twickenham was bad but will the Wales players who gave up 20 unanswered points at Murrayfield see their chances similarly scuppered?
What does favourites Ireland giving up 3 tries to us in the 1st half then failing to close out from a winning position say about their mental state and ability to play away from home?

Under present circumstances I think we are as well out of Gatland's regime & better off touring with the new coach or getting a summer rest.

[Lizard]

You could revive the 1908 "Anglo Welsh" team (retrospectively regarded as a Lions Touring side for some reason).

[af73]

"Dr Tom Smyth's 1910 team to South Africa dark blue jerseys, were introduced with white shorts and the red socks of 1908. The jerseys also had a single lion-rampant crest" (Wikipedia)

Gatland still wouldn't find a Scottish player to fill one.

[Eugene Wrayburn]

edit
To be clear I think several scots deserve to go but without a sponsor in the lions coaching teams its clear others will be preffered, this isnt nepotism or favortism its just coaches back players they know and scotland getting stuffed inside and outby England will really not have helped them at all.

Nepotism or favouritism by any other name....

A current active national coach will favour the players he knows and look for reasons to select them. Gatland (in particular) doesn't like Scottish players, never has and consciously or sub-consciously looks for reasons not to select them.

Put it this way. Our game at Twickenham was bad but will the Wales players who gave up 20 unanswered points at Murrayfield see their chances similarly scuppered?
What does favourites Ireland giving up 3 tries to us in the 1st half then failing to close out from a winning position say about their mental state and ability to play away from home?

Under present circumstances I think we are as well out of Gatland's regime & better off touring with the new coach or getting a summer rest.

I'm afraid neither of those things is even vaguely comparable to your humiliation against England.

For all some of you seem to think Scotland were a much stronger attacking force than Ireland, you scored the same number of tries with fewer clean breaks and defenders beaten.

[hugh_woatmeigh]

edit
To be clear I think several scots deserve to go but without a sponsor in the lions coaching teams its clear others will be preffered, this isnt nepotism or favortism its just coaches back players they know and scotland getting stuffed inside and outby England will really not have helped them at all.

Nepotism or favouritism by any other name....

A current active national coach will favour the players he knows and look for reasons to select them. Gatland (in particular) doesn't like Scottish players, never has and consciously or sub-consciously looks for reasons not to select them.

Put it this way. Our game at Twickenham was bad but will the Wales players who gave up 20 unanswered points at Murrayfield see their chances similarly scuppered?
What does favourites Ireland giving up 3 tries to us in the 1st half then failing to close out from a winning position say about their mental state and ability to play away from home?

Under present circumstances I think we are as well out of Gatland's regime & better off touring with the new coach or getting a summer rest.

I'm afraid neither of those things is even vaguely comparable to your humiliation against England.

For all some of you seem to think Scotland were a much stronger attacking force than Ireland, you scored the same number of tries with fewer clean breaks and defenders beaten.

Bang on the money here, Eugene. Both in the aftermath of the game and weeks later I am still absolutely astounded as the denial I see on this board. That was the single worst performance in living memory for me and I was watching many of the Matt Williams era games. They trounced us like a tier 3 nation.

England were superb but their heads dropped the minute one major call did not go their way. That shows a serious mental fragility that means most of our players are not Lions quality. Watson is the only guy who game out of that game with any credit really and it's no surprise that he's probably our second best shot at a Lions tourist.