B&I Lions 2017
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@Catogrande said in B&I Lions 2017:
@infidel said in B&I Lions 2017:
Warburton out for six weeks with knee injury.:cartwheel:
Bugger.
This is going to make both the captaincy and selection interesting though.
Screws up many of those pundit selections as well.
I really can't see the other tourists accepting Hartley as any other than the midweek captain (IMO he doesn't get a starting spot in the test side).
AWJ is under an injury cloud as well isn't he?
@Crucial said in B&I Lions 2017:
@Catogrande said in B&I Lions 2017:
@infidel said in B&I Lions 2017:
Warburton out for six weeks with knee injury.:cartwheel:
Bugger.
This is going to make both the captaincy and selection interesting though.
Screws up many of those pundit selections as well.
I really can't see the other tourists accepting Hartley as any other than the midweek captain (IMO he doesn't get a starting spot in the test side).
AWJ is under an injury cloud as well isn't he?
Yeah, there's not really a stand out captain at all. Both AWJ and Warburton, if fit, would no doubt do a good job but (IMO) neither is nailed down for a test spot. In all honesty I don't see that many that are nailed on just yet. Plenty are good enough to be but are in positions of strength and depth.
Of the national captains I don't really see either Laidlaw or Best as being the top choice in their positions and poor old Best has the baggage of having a very poor tour last time out. Hartley should probably be second choice at best for England now, let alone the Lions and let's face it, he's not intelligent enough of a player and has the additional baggage of being born a Kiwi and having a notoriously short fuse, neither of which is a plus point in a tour to NZ.
So, perhaps a bolter as skipper? Unlikely with Gatland - he knows what he likes and he likes what he knows. But, but if there was to be a bolter I would lay down the name Itoje (cue howls of derision).
No, he's not nailed on as a starter but he IS in many people's test side. He has very good captaincy credentials with England at under 20 and is an intelligent player as well as an 80 minute player. As has been stated on here previously though, he needs to keep the high tackles and niggle in check.
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@Catogrande said in B&I Lions 2017:
@infidel said in B&I Lions 2017:
Warburton out for six weeks with knee injury.:cartwheel:
Bugger.
This is going to make both the captaincy and selection interesting though.
Danny Wilson not that worried
"Wales' Sam Warburton has been ruled out for the rest of the domestic season after suffering a medial knee ligament injury against Ulster on 7 April.
But the Cardiff Blues flanker is likely to be fit for the British and Irish Lions tour of New Zealand in June.
Lions head coach Warren Gatland names his tour party on 19 April, with Warburton tipped to be captain.
"Sam has a low grade strain which will put him out for approximately six weeks," said Blues coach Danny Wilson.
"It won't interfere with the Lions.
"If we were fortunate enough to make the second European [Champions Cup qualifying] play-off game, we would envisage him being available for that.
"So he shouldn't have any problems regarding the Lions."
@MiketheSnow Woodward got slated just for taking a recently injured Wilkinson on tour in 2005. Can Gatland risk naming a guy as skipper who is out injured? Even if he ought to be fit in time to travel?
Big call if so.
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I think Tadgh Furlong should be the captain.
He's in 99.5% of everyone's squads and he'd keep the captaining/media duties to a minimum.
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I think Tadgh Furlong should be the captain.
He's in 99.5% of everyone's squads and he'd keep the captaining/media duties to a minimum.
@Pot-Hale said in B&I Lions 2017:
I think Tadgh Furlong should be the captain.
He's in 99.5% of everyone's squads and he'd keep the captaining/media duties to a minimum.
Would he be able to talk to a referee rather than grunt though?
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@Crucial said in B&I Lions 2017:
@Catogrande said in B&I Lions 2017:
@infidel said in B&I Lions 2017:
Warburton out for six weeks with knee injury.:cartwheel:
Bugger.
This is going to make both the captaincy and selection interesting though.
Screws up many of those pundit selections as well.
I really can't see the other tourists accepting Hartley as any other than the midweek captain (IMO he doesn't get a starting spot in the test side).
AWJ is under an injury cloud as well isn't he?
Yeah, there's not really a stand out captain at all. Both AWJ and Warburton, if fit, would no doubt do a good job but (IMO) neither is nailed down for a test spot. In all honesty I don't see that many that are nailed on just yet. Plenty are good enough to be but are in positions of strength and depth.
Of the national captains I don't really see either Laidlaw or Best as being the top choice in their positions and poor old Best has the baggage of having a very poor tour last time out. Hartley should probably be second choice at best for England now, let alone the Lions and let's face it, he's not intelligent enough of a player and has the additional baggage of being born a Kiwi and having a notoriously short fuse, neither of which is a plus point in a tour to NZ.
So, perhaps a bolter as skipper? Unlikely with Gatland - he knows what he likes and he likes what he knows. But, but if there was to be a bolter I would lay down the name Itoje (cue howls of derision).
No, he's not nailed on as a starter but he IS in many people's test side. He has very good captaincy credentials with England at under 20 and is an intelligent player as well as an 80 minute player. As has been stated on here previously though, he needs to keep the high tackles and niggle in check.
@Catogrande said in B&I Lions 2017:
So, perhaps a bolter as skipper? Unlikely with Gatland - he knows what he likes and he likes what he knows. But, but if there was to be a bolter I would lay down the name Itoje (cue howls of derision).
No, he's not nailed on as a starter but he IS in many people's test side. He has very good captaincy credentials with England at under 20 and is an intelligent player as well as an 80 minute player. As has been stated on here previously though, he needs to keep the high tackles and niggle in check.
For Itoje's sake this is not the case unless you want to end the poor chaps career. The tour and specifically the British media could eat him alive.
Calls for a leadership group are solid and in this day and age the only solution. From there you need to select a day game captain who the extra workload and press effects the least - only Gats would have an idea who that is but almost certainly not Itoje.
You don't really want Warburton shouldering the additional workload of captaincy if he has additional rehab and physio nursing an injury to be in peak condition.
Been seeing a bit of a late push for Conor Murray. That would be attractive to me given the current options, giving the captaincy to someone who has to be substituted in the modern game means you can give one of these guys a spell too, but if they don't warrant selection in the second test based on performance there won't be a media shit storm when they are dropped.
If in doubt go the halfback.
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@Catogrande said in B&I Lions 2017:
So, perhaps a bolter as skipper? Unlikely with Gatland - he knows what he likes and he likes what he knows. But, but if there was to be a bolter I would lay down the name Itoje (cue howls of derision).
No, he's not nailed on as a starter but he IS in many people's test side. He has very good captaincy credentials with England at under 20 and is an intelligent player as well as an 80 minute player. As has been stated on here previously though, he needs to keep the high tackles and niggle in check.
For Itoje's sake this is not the case unless you want to end the poor chaps career. The tour and specifically the British media could eat him alive.
Calls for a leadership group are solid and in this day and age the only solution. From there you need to select a day game captain who the extra workload and press effects the least - only Gats would have an idea who that is but almost certainly not Itoje.
You don't really want Warburton shouldering the additional workload of captaincy if he has additional rehab and physio nursing an injury to be in peak condition.
Been seeing a bit of a late push for Conor Murray. That would be attractive to me given the current options, giving the captaincy to someone who has to be substituted in the modern game means you can give one of these guys a spell too, but if they don't warrant selection in the second test based on performance there won't be a media shit storm when they are dropped.
If in doubt go the halfback.
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@rotated I originally read that as Conor MacGregor and was thinking about the havoc he would wreak.
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@Catogrande said in B&I Lions 2017:
So, perhaps a bolter as skipper? Unlikely with Gatland - he knows what he likes and he likes what he knows. But, but if there was to be a bolter I would lay down the name Itoje (cue howls of derision).
No, he's not nailed on as a starter but he IS in many people's test side. He has very good captaincy credentials with England at under 20 and is an intelligent player as well as an 80 minute player. As has been stated on here previously though, he needs to keep the high tackles and niggle in check.
For Itoje's sake this is not the case unless you want to end the poor chaps career. The tour and specifically the British media could eat him alive.
Calls for a leadership group are solid and in this day and age the only solution. From there you need to select a day game captain who the extra workload and press effects the least - only Gats would have an idea who that is but almost certainly not Itoje.
You don't really want Warburton shouldering the additional workload of captaincy if he has additional rehab and physio nursing an injury to be in peak condition.
Been seeing a bit of a late push for Conor Murray. That would be attractive to me given the current options, giving the captaincy to someone who has to be substituted in the modern game means you can give one of these guys a spell too, but if they don't warrant selection in the second test based on performance there won't be a media shit storm when they are dropped.
If in doubt go the halfback.
@rotated Murray is not a bad call.
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@rotated Murray is not a bad call.
@Catogrande said in B&I Lions 2017:
@rotated Murray is not a bad call.
And he's not British so the British media could have a field day, have a row with Irish media and everyone forgets about the Lions. Genius!
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@Pot-Hale said in B&I Lions 2017:
I think Tadgh Furlong should be the captain.
He's in 99.5% of everyone's squads and he'd keep the captaining/media duties to a minimum.
Would he be able to talk to a referee rather than grunt though?
@Crucial said in B&I Lions 2017:
@Pot-Hale said in B&I Lions 2017:
I think Tadgh Furlong should be the captain.
He's in 99.5% of everyone's squads and he'd keep the captaining/media duties to a minimum.
Would he be able to talk to a referee rather than grunt though?
I think he'd regard that as optional.
It would make for interesting media interviews though - can you tell us about your approach to the first test, Tadgh?
No.
Er okay, thanks very much. -
@Catogrande said in B&I Lions 2017:
So, perhaps a bolter as skipper? Unlikely with Gatland - he knows what he likes and he likes what he knows. But, but if there was to be a bolter I would lay down the name Itoje (cue howls of derision).
No, he's not nailed on as a starter but he IS in many people's test side. He has very good captaincy credentials with England at under 20 and is an intelligent player as well as an 80 minute player. As has been stated on here previously though, he needs to keep the high tackles and niggle in check.
For Itoje's sake this is not the case unless you want to end the poor chaps career. The tour and specifically the British media could eat him alive.
Calls for a leadership group are solid and in this day and age the only solution. From there you need to select a day game captain who the extra workload and press effects the least - only Gats would have an idea who that is but almost certainly not Itoje.
You don't really want Warburton shouldering the additional workload of captaincy if he has additional rehab and physio nursing an injury to be in peak condition.
Been seeing a bit of a late push for Conor Murray. That would be attractive to me given the current options, giving the captaincy to someone who has to be substituted in the modern game means you can give one of these guys a spell too, but if they don't warrant selection in the second test based on performance there won't be a media shit storm when they are dropped.
If in doubt go the halfback.
@rotated said in B&I Lions 2017:
Been seeing a bit of a late push for Conor Murray. That would be attractive to me given the current options, giving the captaincy to someone who has to be substituted in the modern game means you can give one of these guys a spell too,
Even some of the pundits pushing for AWJ as the captain are saying he would still be substituted.
Is Murray guaranteed to start? The advantage is that you would have an Irish 9-10 combo if Sexton is at 1st 5 but, again, a lot think Webb will start and Murray comes off the bench.
Farrell might be as close to a certainty as any player. Does he have any captaincy experience for Saracens?
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Isn't Gatland on record as saying he thinks AWJ is too much heart, not enough head for a captain, or something like that?
Far from assured his Test place too, for me.
Murray is an interesting call, has he captained much before?
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@rotated said in B&I Lions 2017:
Been seeing a bit of a late push for Conor Murray. That would be attractive to me given the current options, giving the captaincy to someone who has to be substituted in the modern game means you can give one of these guys a spell too,
Even some of the pundits pushing for AWJ as the captain are saying he would still be substituted.
Is Murray guaranteed to start? The advantage is that you would have an Irish 9-10 combo if Sexton is at 1st 5 but, again, a lot think Webb will start and Murray comes off the bench.
Farrell might be as close to a certainty as any player. Does he have any captaincy experience for Saracens?
@Bovidae said in B&I Lions 2017:
@rotated said in B&I Lions 2017:
Been seeing a bit of a late push for Conor Murray. That would be attractive to me given the current options, giving the captaincy to someone who has to be substituted in the modern game means you can give one of these guys a spell too,
Even some of the pundits pushing for AWJ as the captain are saying he would still be substituted.
Is Murray guaranteed to start? The advantage is that you would have an Irish 9-10 combo if Sexton is at 1st 5 but, again, a lot think Webb will start and Murray comes off the bench.
Farrell might be as close to a certainty as any player. Does he have any captaincy experience for Saracens?
I think at the moment Murray is as close to a dead cert to start as there can be. Webb has been playing very well but brings an awful lot of niggle and unnecessary penalties. This is a shame as he has pretty good service and is always a running threat too.
I'm not sure if Farrell has much captaincy experience although he has been touted as the England captain in waiting. I'm not so sure. I don't think I've seen enough from him as a communicator to see him as skipper material just yet. Sure he can boss a game and leads by example - just not always a good example.
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@rotated I originally read that as Conor MacGregor and was thinking about the havoc he would wreak.
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Warburton is a done deal as captain judging by the amount of "leaked" reports on him and his injury status.
Here's the latest from today's Telegraph
@Pot-Hale said in B&I Lions 2017:
Warburton is a done deal as captain judging by the amount of "leaked" reports on him and his injury status.
Here's the latest from today's TelegraphThat article is nearly as bad as something you'd find on "Stuff"... not a single piece of actual new information justifying the headline.
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@Pot-Hale said in B&I Lions 2017:
Warburton is a done deal as captain judging by the amount of "leaked" reports on him and his injury status.
Here's the latest from today's TelegraphThat article is nearly as bad as something you'd find on "Stuff"... not a single piece of actual new information justifying the headline.
@Kruse said in B&I Lions 2017:
@Pot-Hale said in B&I Lions 2017:
Warburton is a done deal as captain judging by the amount of "leaked" reports on him and his injury status.
Here's the latest from today's TelegraphThat article is nearly as bad as something you'd find on "Stuff"... not a single piece of actual new information justifying the headline.
Pretty much copied the BBC piece I posted earlier
