RugbyRebels

The Lions' defensive speed has been very impressive and seems to have rattled the Cru into making errors.

Useful to know for Super Rugby playoffs.

Howley laughing his arse off in the box. 3 games, 2 tries. What else can you do but laugh?

Crusaders contained, but too many points passed up by the Lions on attack.

I wouldn't be surprised if someone started a petition to get these weaker teams removed from super rugby.

I R Geech wrote:Props to Papa Faz and Wig, but why Howley is looking so pleased with himself is beyond me.

He's just got a joke that Gatland told him 4 years ago in Oz.

Ready for the Farrell wank fest?

WaspInWales wrote:Ready for the Farrell wank fest?

It will be over the top but, that missed penalty aside, he was actually pretty good today. The tactical kicking from him, Sexton and Murray was vastly improved today.

16th man wrote:

WaspInWales wrote:Ready for the Farrell wank fest?

It will be over the top but, that missed penalty aside, he was actually pretty good today. The tactical kicking from him, Sexton and Murray was vastly improved today.

Aye, he was ok. Some very nice touch finders and moved the ball on well enough.

Seemed like every one of the cru hard a dreadful case of hard hands. Nothing stuck, all night.

canta_brian wrote:Seemed like every one of the cru hard a dreadful case of hard hands. Nothing stuck, all night.

Needed a couple of Blues players to show them how to perform in the big matches...

Much better in almost all areas.

Good to see Farrell and Sexton combining well. I think that's a combo for the tests and Murray at scrum half is a huge plus. Shame for JD2 who looked alright before going off injured, but I thinkTeo is making one of the centre shirts his.

We definitely need much more in attack though. Hats off to the defence and the forwards, but we just couldn't score tries. I doubt the ABs will have the same problem.

Did we learn anything from that?

Honestly, it really feels like the Lions best shot is with as many English players as possible...Mako, George, Kruis, Farrell, Te'o and Watson all did well.

After the 3 matches so far, I think I'd likely go for something like:

Mako
George
Furlong
Itoje
Kruis
SOB? I'm unsure on 6, tbh.
Warburton
Faletau
Murray
Farrell
North
Te'o
Joseph
Daly
Watson


Best, McGrath, Sinckler, AWJ?, Tipuric, Webb, Sexton, LWilliams

Sandydragon wrote:Much better in almost all areas.

Good to see Farrell and Sexton combining well. I think that's a combo for the tests and Murray at scrum half is a huge plus. Shame for JD2 who looked alright before going off injured, but I thinkTeo is making one of the centre shirts his.

We definitely need much more in attack though. Hats off to the defence and the forwards, but we just couldn't score tries. I doubt the ABs will have the same problem.

Seriously? Passing when he shouldn't to break down one try scoring oppo, and then failing to hold on to a breadbasket pass with the line beckoning. I'd say that was pretty crap...

Has there been any news on whether Hogg is alive or does nobody there give a shit?

Yo. Missed this match. Reading the updates here, is it fair to summarise as cru poor, lions better leaving a fair few points begging? There several injuries? Hogg and jd2? So the game finished with sexton and farrell? Did sexton look a bit back to his old self?

Gats making a point about the kick that wasn't given.

To me, it didn't look like it went between the posts...it was over the pole. Tjs called it correct imo.

Mr Mwenda wrote:Yo. Missed this match. Reading the updates here, is it fair to summarise as cru poor, lions better leaving a fair few points begging? There several injuries? Hogg and jd2? So the game finished with sexton and farrell? Did sexton look a bit back to his old self?

Sounds about right really. Sexton better but not 100%

Stander' performances are slightly conc RBI g when we've been banking on his carrying so heavily in Vunipola's absence. I think Obrien looked a bit like his old set though.

Looked to me like the Crusaders are used to physically bullying teams and against that particular Lions team they ran into a side that wasn't going allow that. In fact, second half Lions really battered the Crusaders in defence.

Maybe the Lions might actually struggle more with some of the other franchises that play in a different way.

A win against NZ's best S15 team is not to be sneezed at. the Lions did a lot right and were easily the better side. With more precision and composure when in try scoring positions the score could have been a lot more decisive. Its here where the work needs to be done. Several times over the first three game the Lions have established good attacking positions 5-10 meters out from the tryline, yet have failed to score.

Mikey Brown wrote:

Mr Mwenda wrote:Yo. Missed this match. Reading the updates here, is it fair to summarise as cru poor, lions better leaving a fair few points begging? There several injuries? Hogg and jd2? So the game finished with sexton and farrell? Did sexton look a bit back to his old self?

Sounds about right really. Sexton better but not 100%

Stander' performances are slightly conc RBI g when we've been banking on his carrying so heavily in Vunipola's absence. I think Obrien looked a bit like his old set though.

Stander is looking like a dirt tracker...

Tah, chaps.

Timbo wrote:Looked to me like the Crusaders are used to physically bullying teams and against that particular Lions team they ran into a side that wasn't going allow that. In fact, second half Lions really battered the Crusaders in defence.

That's largely how it goes. In tough games their pack grinds down the opposition with the offloads appearing when the opposition tires. Their backs have mostly been better this year than they have for a while, but the pack is certainly their cornerstone. Especially at the set piece.

Timbo wrote:Maybe the Lions might actually struggle more with some of the other franchises that play in a different way.

The other four franchises tend towards having more talented running backs, and are more comfortable with offloading in general, but don't have packs as strong and/or consistent as the Crusaders. See the Blues, for example. Mostly knocked around in the forwards but still bullsh*tted their way to the win via x-factor (for want of a better word). The Highlanders will be without Aaron and Ben Smith, but will play in a manner more akin to the Blues than Crusaders. Same goes for the Chiefs and Hurricanes.

Will be interesting to see if it's down to style or if the Blues were more lucky to get the Lions early up with their full squad.

Great defensive effort - good omen for tests in terms of walkoverfest potential.
Hopefully, BIL will also be remembered for some useful attacking and try-scoring prowess too.

Stom wrote:

Mikey Brown wrote:

Mr Mwenda wrote:Yo. Missed this match. Reading the updates here, is it fair to summarise as cru poor, lions better leaving a fair few points begging? There several injuries? Hogg and jd2? So the game finished with sexton and farrell? Did sexton look a bit back to his old self?

Sounds about right really. Sexton better but not 100%

Stander' performances are slightly conc RBI g when we've been banking on his carrying so heavily in Vunipola's absence. I think Obrien looked a bit like his old set though.

Stander is looking like a dirt tracker...

Stander started the 6N well but performance dropped as the matches went on. Certainly not the the top of his game,he has been worked out by a few teams.
I thought O' Mahoney put his hand up...he is a good line out option and just so nuggety in the loose.
The back line that they ended up with had a good look.about them ..and playing Teo at 13 is very interesting and may be something but Joseph is a quality player.
Watson was top at 15 ...best performance in that slot yet.
O'Brien back in harness was a big tick as was North's defence .
A good starting point but lots to work on.

Much better performance by the Lions, and a win is good for the tour as a whole. Really well-organised defence, and fast defensive line speed. Looked just about offside sometimes, but got away with it so well-played.

Woeful from the Crusaders. Poor hands, aimless kicking, rattled by the organised and solid Lions D. Hardly fired a shot. IIRC they didn't try any kind of creative short kicking through that fast flat defensive line until the 79th minute. Mo'unga was dreadful.

Credit to the Lions for the pressure they put on the Crusaders. Boo to the Cru for coping so poorly.