The Super-Super-Duper Rugby Union thread!

[Loki]

Great article. I've often wondered what the hell happened. When I was a kid, you had to put the ball in straight or you gave away the put-in. And there was none of this touch-engage, you just got into the bind and waited for the ball to be put in. I briefly played as hooker and was essentially suspended between two lugs and my job was to hook back the ball in competition with the other hooker.

 

In this 6 nations, it seemed that the job was done when you drove forward far enough to get a penalty. I still don't really understand why those penalties were given - what's the opposing team done wrong exactly?

[Egg Shen]

yeh it's a joke now, the constant rule changes are destroying the sport.

[Slapnut]

So the Lions squad will be announced in the next hour, what are our predictions? I think it'll look something like this:

 

1. Jenkins

2. Best

3. Jones

4. Evans

5. Launchbury

6. Tupuric

7. Warburton

8. Heaslip

9. Phillips

10. Wilkinson

11. North

12. Roberts

13. O Driscoll

14. Cuthbert

15. Halfpenny

 

The choice of Wilkinson or Farrel is looking interesting, but I see Wilkinson starting. Regardless, with Halfpenny on the pitch neither of them are kicking.

[PowerButchi]

HOLY FUCK HOLY FUCK HOLY FUCK MY PENIS IS HARD RIGHT NOW. IKKLE SHANE IS BACK!

Former Wales wing Shane Williams has been drafted into the British and Irish Lions team for Tuesday's final warm-up game against ACT Brumbies in Canberra.Wales' record try-scorer, the 36-year-old is currently playing in Japan after quitting international rugby in 2011.Lions results & fixturesSat 1 June: 59-8 v Barbarians, Hong KongWed 5 June: 69-17 v Western Force, PerthSat 8 June: 22-12 v Queensland Reds, BrisbaneTue 11 June: 64-0 v Combined New South Wales-Queensland Country, NewcastleSat 15 June: 47-17 New South Wales Waratahs, SydneyTue 18 June: ACT Brumbies, CanberraSat 22 June: Australia, First Test, BrisbaneTue 25 June: Melbourne Rebels, MelbourneSat 29 June: Australia, Second Test, MelbourneSat 6 July: Australia, Third Test, SydneyThe shock call-up sees him feature in a team that also includes England backs Christian Wade and Brad Barritt, who have been called up as injury cover and will arrive in Australia on Monday.Ireland's Rory Best will be captain.Williams, a Test Lion in 2005 and 2009, was due to head to Australia to work as a radio pundit for the three-Test series, which starts on Saturday in Brisbane.But such is the extent of the injuries among the backline and the need to rest other players that he will join the squad for 48 hours - arriving on Monday, playing on Tuesday and leaving on Wednesday.Williams, currently in a second season with Mitsubishi Dynaboars in Japan, scored 58 tries in 87 Tests for Wales. His last Test appearance was against Australia 19 months ago, when he scored on the last play of the game."He is in pretty good nick," said Lions head coach Warren Gatland."He has been boxing as well, but hopefully that is not going to be needed on Tuesday. We know he is fit and in training and I am sure he will come in and do the jersey proud."Shane Williams factfileDoB: 26/2/77Height: 5ft 7inWeight: 12st 8lbPosition: WingClubs: Amman United RFC, Neath, Ospreys, Mitsubishi DynaboarsTest record: 60 tries (58 for Wales, 2 for Lions) from 91 Tests (87 for Wales, 4 for Lions)England trio Wade, Barritt and Billy Twelvetrees, who has already arrived in Australia, will all make their Lions debuts on Tuesday.Wade was withdrawn from England's second Test team in Argentina so he could travel to Australia in time to play on Tuesday, while Saracens centre Barritt - who was rested from the England tour - will arrive from a holiday in the United States.With Jamie Roberts' participation in the first Test - and perhaps the series - in some doubt pending a scan on a potential torn hamstring, Manu Tuilagi still suffering with a sore shoulder and Brian O'Driscoll needing to carefully managed, the Lions are short of centre options.Jonathan Davies, the fourth centre in the original squad, who starred in Saturday's 47-17 win over New South Wales Waratahs, has played more minutes - 265 - on tour than any other player.The Lions may now need him to start next Saturday's first Test, so he is rested for Tuesday's match, while Simon Zebo - a potential contender should George North's hamstring problem not heal in time - is left on the bench.Most of the replacements on Tuesday are likely to be involved in the first Test squad, but those selected to start will know their chances of starting against the Wallabies in Brisbane are remote.Rob Kearney will make his first start of the tour at full-back, while Scotland's Stuart Hogg gets a second outing at fly-half.Lock Richie Gray has recovered from a shoulder injury to start in the second row alongside Ian Evans. Toby Faletau starts at number eight, suggesting Jamie Heaslip has booked the Test starting spot.Lions team: Rob Kearney, Christian Wade, Brad Barritt, Billy Twelvetrees, Shane Williams, Stuart Hogg, Ben Youngs; Ryan Grant, Rory Best (capt), Matt Stevens, Ian Evans, Richie Gray, Sean O'Brien, Justin Tipuric, Toby FaletauReplacements: Richard Hibbard, Alex Corbisiero, Dan Cole, Geoff Parling, Dan Lydiate, Conor Murray, Owen Farrell, Simon Zebo

[Slapnut]

Lot of criticism about this across the board with people saying it's a completely pointless selection, but if you're following the Lions and you aren't excited about seeing Shane Williams putting on a shirt again then you're not fucking human.

[PowerButchi]

It was just a call up of convenience really anyway. He was in Australia as it was with Talk Sport, time's not on their side to sort out a replacement so he'll probably only play this game while their stuck. I still want him to score ten tries and crack the Test Squad though!!!!

[Statto]

It's things like this that make me love The Lions. Like Andy Nicol ending up on the bench for the 3rd test in 2001 because he was over in Australia leading one of those Gareth Chilcott-esque piss-up tours. IIRC, they pretty much knocked him from his bed on the morning of the game & threw a book of set plays at him - you've got 8 hours to learn those, old son.I think I had a debate earlier in the thread about the Lions & it's future, and conceded I was an old fuddy-duddy, but I love when things so wonderfully old-fashioned as this still happen, in the face of the march of ultra-professionalism.The Lions is my absolute favourite thing in world sport. The embody what I believe to be the proper spirit of rugby - blokes who spend most of their life beating the shit out of each other coming together as mates to beat the shit out of Antipodeans. I pray they don't get washed away to be replaced by a third-tier European club competition or more England tours to Argentina.

[PowerButchi]

To be honest, I think why I moaned so much about the Lions in this thread is the bad taste left in my mouth by the Sir Clive Gets Found Out tour of 2005. Really left me bitter towards the whole Lions thing. But, because I'm fickle, the return of Shane Williams on the basis he's there for Talk Shite has made me think they're brilliant again.

[mikey]

I've always gone the other way and thought it a pointless anachronism, held over from the old days, like the Baa-Baas. These players play a truckload of rugby as it is, why make them play more just to fill the corporate coffers of sponsors?

[King Coconut]

Nobody's making them do anything. It's a dream for every one of them to tour with the Lions (at least according to their interviews) and none of them are forced.

[mikey]

Of course, I know I take the minority viewpoint because all the hardcore RU guys I talk to say it's the elite of the sport. The shine came off it for me when England beat the Aussies and Kiwis on the same tour ten years back and then won the World Cup. It exploded the myth that Northern Hemisphere teams couldn't beat them consistently on a world stage. It's not the elite of the game, the World Cup is and if it's not the elite of the game, what's the fucking point of it?

[King Coconut]

It's not the elite of the game

But it is, isn't it. If we'd sent the Lions to the World Cup instead of the home nations we'd have won most of them.

ten years back... exploded the myth that Northern Hemisphere teams couldn't beat them consistently

That's not how I would describe consistently though. It was one untouchable group of players, not an untouchable rugby nation, if you know what I mean. They came, they went.

[mikey]

It's not the elite of the game

But it is, isn't it. If we'd sent the Lions to the World Cup instead of the home nations we'd have won most of them.

Since the Rugby World Cup started in 1987, there have been only two test series wins by the Lions; 1989 in Australia, 1997 in South Africa. They've won only one test series in New Zealand ever. This is partly due to incompatible rugby cultures between the Home Nations.

ten years back... exploded the myth that Northern Hemisphere teams couldn't beat them consistently

That's not how I would describe consistently though. It was one untouchable group of players, not an untouchable rugby nation, if you know what I mean. They came, they went.

You're probably right. I guess what I'm trying to get at is that it's a combination of things. When this was an "amateur" game, it was a tremendous honour to be selected for an overseas tour because you might get over there once a decade. To be selected as the best from the British Isles and to tour overseas, it was even moreso. Now we tour all the time. The Scots, Welsh and Irish toured Australasia last summer, while England went to South Africa. In the last 10, there have been 5 tours of Australasia by England. How is it special anymore? Simply put, it isn't. The SH nations tour every non-World Cup year, you can go and watch England play Australia and New Zealand in November. When you consider the amount of rugby these guys are asked to play, how the Lions rarely win, the amount we now all play SH nations, it just strikes me as a pointless exercise, living off former glories and prestige to make a lot of money for corporations and the SH unions.I say wait until the next round of NRL TV contracts. Pretty soon, it will become the richest competition in the world and then watch the ARU/NZRU shit a brick. We'll be sending the Lions over there on even-numbered years.

[Statto]

Each to their own, but it's still very, very special to me, dammit. It's an intangible I can't explain. Agreed they play too much rugby, but I'd much rather the Lions & the Barbarians than the LVequals Cup.

[Slapnut]

So Gatland has dropped Brian O'Driscoll from the third test. I didn't catch the second test but I heard he was very unremarkable. The midfield partnership hasn't worked very well thus far so it makes perfect sense to reunite a proven effective partnership in Davies and Roberts. The Irish want Gatland's head on a stick now.

 

Thoughts?