Lions Predictions 2013

Very brave call by Gatland who would have been crucified by the media and exs if he'd fecked up.
 
Only thing I'd say is that the Australian scrum didn't collapse, as if it was all in their own hands; it was just utterly crushed.
 
It's a golden generation of Welsh players. So proud right now. Though it must be said, Sexton was awesome today. But come on, Adam Jones, what a legend that guy has been in his career and how underrated in the world of rugby. He helped us dominate those scrums.
 
sullydnl said:
Like I said, the way thing went O' Driscoll not being there didn't make a difference (though I wouldn't have thought his selection would have reduced the level of performance either). Imagine if the Australian scrum hadn't collapsed though, then we would've been in a situation where it might have made a difference. The problem with not selecting O'Driscoll (or having him on the bench) was that we didn't have a plan B if thing went wrong. As it happened, we didn't need that plan B. That doesn't mean it wasn't a mistake.

I supposed I'm biased in that I'm Irish, I genuinely don't think that's influencing my opinion here though. For example, I'm happy to admit Gatland made the right call in leaving Heaslip out and I didn't think Murray had necessarily done enough to start either. Not having BOD in the squad was a mistake though, one that might have been punished in other circumstances.

Generally speaking I don't agree with the idea that results vindicate all decisions. I think that's too black and white, mistakes can be made without changing the result. Like Iike I said, it's just my opinion. I'm sure I'm in the minority as most will say Gatland managed the tour brilliantly.
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I agree in the main though we'd have won that had BOD been playing or not. We won it because the scrum upped their game and dominated all match and Jamie Roberts with his power was immense in the breakdown. Sexton also had a sterling match and can understand his disappointment to get replaced but Farrell is the future so it was good to see him get a taster.
 
Sixpence said:
It's a golden generation of Welsh players. So proud right now. Though it must be said, Sexton was awesome today. But come on, Adam Jones, what a legend that guy has been in his career and how underrated in the world of rugby. He helped us dominate those scrums.
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Very true, this is a brilliant Welsh team, probably the most talented Welsh team I've seen. I had no problem with Gatland picking so many Welsh players, I just think there was even more to come from this very talented Lions side. You're right to be proud, it was the Welsh players that won the series for us (though, as you said, Sexton was excellent. The best fly half in the northern hemisphere, no doubt)

Sixpence said:
He made the calls and he won. He's now a legend forever. That's sport.
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That's true, I just don't think it means every decision was right. Some people will say he made the risky call and was proven right. I don't agree. I think his attitude was very conservative and he went with the players he knew best rather than allowing the squad to use its full potential. To be honest, my criticisms of Gatland are less about him dropping BOD and more that he pursued a style of play that made dropping BOD seem logical. I genuinely think the Lions could've won this within two games if they'd been more ambitious. As I've said, that's not down to a pro-Irish bias it's down to my assessment of the very talented squad we had at our disposal.
 
With the BBC's constant references to the "British Lions" I don't know why any Irishman worth his salt would bother with this team.
 
Sure... only one.
 
Clearly never been to Ireland then.
 
I think the result has justified Gatland's selection. Sure, there's always a touch of nostalgia in the Lions, it's innate to the whole set-up, but purely on rugby terms, O'Driscoll has had a poor tour by his standards and Gatland picked the players for the game. The only doubt for me was the lack of leadership in the 2nd test, and whether dropping one of your most experienced players was wise. Turns out AWJ led brilliantly from the front, the boys came good and both centres were instrumental in the victory.
 
Kearns sacked. I think it's a bit harsh over a lyons tour but whatever he was rubbish anyway.
 
Jiggs'Hamstring said:
I think the result has justified Gatland's selection. Sure, there's always a touch of nostalgia in the Lions, it's innate to the whole set-up, but purely on rugby terms, O'Driscoll has had a poor tour by his standards and Gatland picked the players for the game. The only doubt for me was the lack of leadership in the 2nd test, and whether dropping one of your most experienced players was wise. Turns out AWJ led brilliantly from the front, the boys came good and both centres were instrumental in the victory.
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I don't think BOD was any worse than Davies in the first two games, he was certainly better defensively as Davies missed a couple of crucial tackles. The dominance of the scrum was the crucial difference, BOD being there would have in no way worsened the team as things played out. If things had gone wrong though...
 
The DVD should be a good watch.



Going be a sad day when O'Driscoll retires at the end of the year.
 
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