B&I Lions tour 2025
Discussion
Farrell is spoiled for choice at 6/7/8. I reckon he could pack all 8 spots on the bench with replacements just for those positions.
I’m not wholly sold on DvdM. He has an uncanny ability to walk through English defences. But he can go walkabout for long periods of a game. Also not won over by Russell at 10. He is too unpredictable for his own good. and when he makes a mistake they rarely seem to be small.
Biggest hope? The Wallabies actually make a good fist of it. It feels like this is definitely the easiest of the three Lions destinations, and Australia aren’t exactly flying high at the moment.
I’m not wholly sold on DvdM. He has an uncanny ability to walk through English defences. But he can go walkabout for long periods of a game. Also not won over by Russell at 10. He is too unpredictable for his own good. and when he makes a mistake they rarely seem to be small.
Biggest hope? The Wallabies actually make a good fist of it. It feels like this is definitely the easiest of the three Lions destinations, and Australia aren’t exactly flying high at the moment.
Edited by BlackTails on Monday 17th March 16:25
BlackTails said:
Farrell is applied for choice at 6/7/8. I reckon he could pack all 8 spots on the bench with replacements just for those positions.
I’m not wholly sold on DvdM. He has an uncanny ability to walk through English defences. But he can go walkabout for long periods of a game. Also not won over by Russell at 10. He is too unpredictable for his own good. and when he makes a mistake they rarely seem to be small.
Biggest hope? The Wallabies actually make a good fist of it. It feels like this is definitely the easiest of the three Lions destinations, and Australia aren’t exactly flying high at the moment.
Speaking as a Scotland follower, I'm with you on Duhan and Finn. I'd still pick Duhan mind you, but I'd be leaving Russell at home. Would like to see Tuipulotu in the side - hopefully he's match fit soon.I’m not wholly sold on DvdM. He has an uncanny ability to walk through English defences. But he can go walkabout for long periods of a game. Also not won over by Russell at 10. He is too unpredictable for his own good. and when he makes a mistake they rarely seem to be small.
Biggest hope? The Wallabies actually make a good fist of it. It feels like this is definitely the easiest of the three Lions destinations, and Australia aren’t exactly flying high at the moment.
Skodillac said:
BlackTails said:
Farrell is applied for choice at 6/7/8. I reckon he could pack all 8 spots on the bench with replacements just for those positions.
I’m not wholly sold on DvdM. He has an uncanny ability to walk through English defences. But he can go walkabout for long periods of a game. Also not won over by Russell at 10. He is too unpredictable for his own good. and when he makes a mistake they rarely seem to be small.
Biggest hope? The Wallabies actually make a good fist of it. It feels like this is definitely the easiest of the three Lions destinations, and Australia aren’t exactly flying high at the moment.
Speaking as a Scotland follower, I'm with you on Duhan and Finn. I'd still pick Duhan mind you, but I'd be leaving Russell at home. Would like to see Tuipulotu in the side - hopefully he's match fit soon.I’m not wholly sold on DvdM. He has an uncanny ability to walk through English defences. But he can go walkabout for long periods of a game. Also not won over by Russell at 10. He is too unpredictable for his own good. and when he makes a mistake they rarely seem to be small.
Biggest hope? The Wallabies actually make a good fist of it. It feels like this is definitely the easiest of the three Lions destinations, and Australia aren’t exactly flying high at the moment.
Googie said:
I think the Aussies will be competitive as Schmidt is an excellent coach-apparently the Brumbies beat the Blues recently which is a good sign. Even with my green tinge, I hope that Ireland are not over represented due to a Farrell selection bias-does this extend to selecting Owen?!
Chances are most of the team will be Irish and the coaching staff largely from the Irish team too, but the downside of an imbalanced team can be mitigated by having a non-Irish captain.I also think the Aussies will be competitive.
there is one thing that, may, need mentioning. England started out quite (very?) poor but got steadily better, the other home nations seemed to be the reverse.
As for some of the names... is Aki the force he used to be, for example? Finn Russell may still tour but is he a better team player than Finn Smith or a better 'Jack in the box' than Marcus Smith? etc etc
As for some of the names... is Aki the force he used to be, for example? Finn Russell may still tour but is he a better team player than Finn Smith or a better 'Jack in the box' than Marcus Smith? etc etc
I actually wonder if Faz may well go for an orchestrator 10 - FS, as opposed to a virtuoso 10 in FR. He can play others in around him then and be a more consistent string puller.
I actually wonder if Pollock might not be the better option as the hybrid Flanker turned centre. Something to ponder.
I actually wonder if Pollock might not be the better option as the hybrid Flanker turned centre. Something to ponder.
Without trying to sound like a fanboy, Finn Russell has by far the best game management of all the Lions contenders at 10. He is also a very underrated defender who tackles well. Despite his bad day with the boot vs England he was still within 1% of all the other kickers apart from Thomas Ramos. In the Champions Cup he was at 92%. It's why he has earned the big bucks for years now.
DocJock said:
Without trying to sound like a fanboy, Finn Russell has by far the best game management of all the Lions contenders at 10. He is also a very underrated defender who tackles well. Despite his bad day with the boot vs England he was still within 1% of all the other kickers apart from Thomas Ramos. In the Champions Cup he was at 92%. It's why he has earned the big bucks for years now.
I agree however on the downside he’s become far more lippy towards refs and that would cost us down under. DocJock said:
Without trying to sound like a fanboy, Finn Russell has by far the best game management of all the Lions contenders at 10. He is also a very underrated defender who tackles well. Despite his bad day with the boot vs England he was still within 1% of all the other kickers apart from Thomas Ramos. In the Champions Cup he was at 92%. It's why he has earned the big bucks for years now.
I’m not his biggest fan. But he has to play high risk / high reward rugby for Scotland as we don’t have a dominant forward line so making breaks and yards is primarily the responsibility of the backs. Playing that way always means the occasional mistake. Behind a strong set of forwards he’ll thrive. DodgyGeezer said:
there is one thing that, may, need mentioning. England started out quite (very?) poor but got steadily better, the other home nations seemed to be the reverse.
As for some of the names... is Aki the force he used to be, for example? Finn Russell may still tour but is he a better team player than Finn Smith or a better 'Jack in the box' than Marcus Smith? etc etc
Marcus Smith isn't an international fly half presently. He flatters to deceive with his running but he doesn't make effective use of his back line. He's too much of an individual contributor for England where the players don't have enough time with him to figure out which lines to run for him. Even at club level his teammates playing with him week in, week out struggle to keep up with him. This has contributed to the ineffectiveness of the English back line being the less than the sum of their parts in recent times. He's also been defensively suspect, needlessly flying up out of the line and leaving gaps that opposition have exploited for tries, especially in the autumn.As for some of the names... is Aki the force he used to be, for example? Finn Russell may still tour but is he a better team player than Finn Smith or a better 'Jack in the box' than Marcus Smith? etc etc
He doesn't add any value either as a utility back over others who can cover 10 or 15.
The Lions need a fly half who will be able to play with any backline with limited practice. Prendergast feels crowbarred in at the moment. Fin Smith might be capable giving his recent showings. Finn Russell certainly is given his experience at multiple clubs, for Scotland, the Lions and also the Barbarians.
DocJock said:
Without trying to sound like a fanboy, Finn Russell has by far the best game management of all the Lions contenders at 10. He is also a very underrated defender who tackles well. Despite his bad day with the boot vs England he was still within 1% of all the other kickers apart from Thomas Ramos. In the Champions Cup he was at 92%. It's why he has earned the big bucks for years now.
I don’t overly disagree Doc. I’d say the shirt is FR’s to lose, however, and unfortunately, he IS capable of losing it. He should be the favourite for the starting berth though, but a lot depends on his attitude because FR is also capable of starting a fight with his own shadow.
Apparently the bulk of the coaching team has been leaked...
https://www.ruck.co.uk/british-irish-lions-coaches...
https://www.ruck.co.uk/british-irish-lions-coaches...
Gassing Station | Sports | Top of Page | What's New | My Stuff