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Gatland hints what he will do with Lions captaincy with AWJ back
Warren Gatland has hinted that the Lions tour captaincy will be taken from Conor Murray and given back original skipper Alun Wyn Jones after he rejoins the squad on Thursday in Cape Town following his miracle recovery from the shoulder dislocation he suffered versus Japan on June 26. Jones was ruled out of the tour within an hour of the full-time whistle at Edinburgh, leaving Gatland to call up Adam Beard as a second row replacement and appoint Murray as the tour captain.
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However, Murray only finally got to skipper the Lions on Wednesday night in what was their fourth match on South African soil and just his first start out there. Gatland had given the matchday captaincy to Stuart Hogg, Iain Henderson and Jamie George in the games versus the Sigma Lions and the Sharks (two matches) and it was only against South Africa A that Murray finally got to lead the team out.
He had been chosen to do in last week’s first encounter with the Sharks in Johannesburg but he was ruled out as a close contact where a virus crisis enveloped the Lions squad, leaving the scrum-half waiting another week before he finally got to captain on a matchday.
In the meantime, it was announced that Jones had been recalled to the Lions squad just 18 days after he suffered his shoulder dislocation in Scotland and Gatland has now admitted talks will be had about the captaincy after Jones arrives in Cape Town on Thursday.
“We will have a conversation with Conor and Alun Wyn when Alun Wyn gets out here and we will talk about that,” said Gatland in his pre-match TV interview on Wednesday night.
Ian McGeechan and Sam Warburton have had their say on the tour return of Alun Wyn Jones 18 days after his shoulder dislocation #LionsRugbyhttps://t.co/Ok1AtdxbW4
— RugbyPass (@RugbyPass) July 14, 2021
“There is a good chance that Alun Wyn will resume as tour captain and I think Conor will be pretty happy with that because none of us expected he [Jones] was going to be able to make the recovery to come out. We will just have a chat with both guys. They are both extremely diligent and professional and we will just make the best decision for the squad.”
Gatland insisted that Jones was coming to South Africa with a view to playing against the Springboks in the three-game Test series which starts on July 24, not to provide some type of background support to the squad, but he won’t be available for selection for this Saturday’s final preparation match versus the Stormers. “He wouldn’t be coming out here unless he was coming to play. In his mind, he feels he is back fully fit, so he will arrive here tomorrow [Thursday] and will be back in training on Monday and in contention for Test selection.”
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Gatland was speaking after the Lions were forced into two late selection changes versus South Africa A, Liam Williams replacing Josh Adams and Owen Farrell coming in at out-half for Dan Biggar. Adams’ partner had gone into labour back in Wales and he was following the birth via Zoom while Biggar was excluded as an injury precaution.
“He [Biggar] just rolled his ankle slightly in the captain’s run yesterday [Tuesday]. If we really pushed him he could have played tonight but it wasn’t worth the risk and Owen Farrell has recovered from the slight abdominal strain so he comes in at 10.”
"There was a possibility that something like this could happen. You don’t want it to happen but…"#LionsRugbyhttps://t.co/gQJyLwAbuz
— RugbyPass (@RugbyPass) July 14, 2021
Comments on RugbyPass
A wallaby front-row of Bell, Blake and Tupou…now that would be hefty
1 Go to comments“But with an exceptional pass accuracy rating “ Which apart from Roigard is not a feature of any of the other 9s in NZ. Kind of basic for a Black 9 dont.you. think? Yet we keep seeing FC and TJ being rated ahead of him? Weird if it’s seen as vital to get our backline beating in your face defences.
1 Go to commentsThanks BeeMc! Looks like many teams need extra time to settle from the quadrennial northern migration. I think generally the quality of the Rugby has held up. Fiji has been fantastic and fun to watch
13 Go to commentsLets compare apples with apples. Lyon sent weak team the week before, but nobody raised an eyebrow. Give the South African teams a few years to build their depth, then you will be moaning that the teams are too strong.
41 Go to commentsDid footballs agents also perform the scout role at some time? I’m surprised more high profile players haven’t taken up the occupation, great way to remain in the game and use all that experience without really requiring a lot of specific expertise?
1 Go to commentsSuper rugby is struggling but that has little to do with sabbaticals. 1. Too many teams from Aust and NZ - should be 3 and 4 respectively, add in 2 from Japan, 1 possibly 2 from Argentina. 2. Inconsistent and poor refereeing, admittedly not restricted to Super rugby. Only one team was reffed at the breakdown in Reds v H’Landers match. Scrum penalty awarded in Canes v Drua when No 8 had the ball in the open with little defence nearby - ideal opportunity to play advantage. Coming back to Reds match - same scrum situation but ref played advantage - Landers made 10 yards and were penalised at the breakdown when the ref should have returned to scrum penalty. 3. Marketing is weak and losing ground to AFL and NRL. Playing 2 days compared with 4. 4. Scheduling is unattractive to family attendance. Have any franchises heard of Sundays 2pm?
11 Go to commentsAbsolutely..all they need is a chance in yhe playoffs and I bet all the other teams will be nervous…THEY KNOW HOW TO WIN IM THE PLAYOFFS..
2 Go to commentsI really hope he comes back and helps out with some coaching.
1 Go to commentsI think we are all just hoping that the Olympic 7s doesn’t suffer the same sad fate as the last RWC with the officials ruining the spectacle.
1 Go to commentsPersonally, I’ve lost the will to even be bothered about the RFU, the structure, the participants. It’s all a sham. I now simply enjoy getting a group of friends together to go and watch a few games a year in different locations (including Europe, the championship, etc). I feel extremely sorry for the real fans of these clubs who are constantly ignored by the RFU and other administrators. I feel especially sorry for the fans of clubs in the Championship who have had considerable central funding stripped away and are then expected to just take whatever the RFU put to them. Its all a sham, especially if the failed clubs are allowed to return.
10 Go to commentsI’m guessing Carl Hayman would have preferred to have stayed in NZ with benefit of hindsight. Up north there is the expectation to play twice as many games with far less ‘player management’ protocols that Paul is now criticising. Less playing through concussions means longer, healthier, careers. Carter used as the eg here by Paul, his sabbatical allowed him to play until age 37. OK its not an exact science but there is far more expectations on players who sign for Top 14 or Engl Prem clubs to get value for the huge salaries. NZR get alot wrong but keeping their best players in NZ rugby is not one of them. SA clubs are virtually devoid of their top players now, no thanks. They cant threaten the big teams in the Champions Cup, the squads have little depth. Cant see Canes/Chiefs struggling. Super has been great this year, fantastic high skill matches. Drua a fantastic addition and Jaguares will add another quality team eventually. Aus teams performing strongly and no doubt will benefit with the incentive of a Lions tour and a home RWC. Let Jordie enjoy his time with Leinster, it will allow the opportunity for another player to emerge at Canes in his absence.
11 Go to commentsLove that man, his way to despise angry little men is so funny ! 😂
4 Go to comments“South African franchises would be powerhouses if we had all our overseas based players back in situ. We would have the same unbeatable aura the Toulouses, Leinsters or Saracens of this world have had over the last decade or so.” Proof that Jake white does not understand the economics of the game in SA. Players earning abroad are not going to simply come back and represent the bulls. But they might if they have a springbok contract.
24 Go to commentsA lot of fans just joined in for the fun of it! We all admire O'Gara and what he has done for La Rochelle
4 Go to commentsThe RFU will find a way to mess this up as usual. My bet is there will be no promotion into the the Premiership, only relegation into National League One. Hopefully they won’t parachute failed clubs into the league at the expense of clubs who have battled for promotion.
10 Go to commentsWell that’s the contracts for RG and Jordie bought and paid for. Now, what are the chances we can persuade Antoine to hop over with all the extra dosh we’ll have from living at the Aviva & Croke next season…??? 🤑🤑🤑
35 Go to commentsWow, that’s incredible. Great for rugby.
35 Go to commentsYou probably read that parling is going to coach the wallaby lineout but if not before now you have.
17 Go to commentsIf someone like Leo Cullen was in O’Gara’s place I don’t hear Boo-ing. It’s not just that La Rochelle has hurt Leinster and O’Gara is their Irish boss. It’s the needle that he brings and the pantomime activity before the game around pretending that Munster were supporting LaRochelle just because O’Gara is from Cork. That’s dividing Irish provinces just to get an advantage for his French Team. He can F*ck right off with that. BOOOOO! (but not while someone is lying injured)
4 Go to commentsDid the highlanders party too hard before the game? They were the pits.
1 Go to comments