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The British & Irish Lions Weekly round-up, brought to you by The Famous Grouse
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TEAM NEWS
Warren Gatland was dealt a hammer blow to his plans over the weekend when his captain and most experienced player Alun Wyn Jones was ruled out of the tour after dislocating his shoulder only seven minutes into the Lions’ opening match against Japan. The 157-cap skipper has been replaced as captain by Ireland’s Conor Murray, while fellow Welshman Adam Beard replaces him in the squad.
Less than 15 minutes after Jones left the BT Murrayfield pitch on Saturday, his compatriot Justin Tipuric was also walking down the tunnel holding his arm with what is another tour-ending shoulder injury. The flanker, who was selected for his third tour, has been replaced by Wales’ Josh Navidi in the squad.
The Lions beat the Brave Blossoms 28-10 courtesy of tries from debutants Josh Adams, Duhan van der Merwe and Tadhg Beirne, as well as 2017 tourist Robbie Henshaw.
OFF THE PITCH
A day after their win in Edinburgh, the Lions set off for Johannesburg, where they will take on the Emirates Lions on Saturday. Exeter Chiefs quartet Luke Cowan-Dickie, Jonny Hill, Sam Simmonds and Stuart Hogg also arrived in the Scottish capital on Sunday following their Gallagher Premiership final loss to Harlequins at Twickenham on Saturday.
Meanwhile, South Africa cancelled training on Sunday and have moved into a bio-secure bubble after three positive Covid-19 test results were confirmed in the squad. The three players are Vincent Koch, Herschel Jantjies and Sbu Nkosi. The Springboks are set to take on Georgia on Friday.
STAT OF THE WEEK
The victory against Japan meant the Lions are now unbeaten in the opening match of their last 13 tours. The last time they lost their first match was in 1971 against Queensland, although they did draw with Argentina in 2005.
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TOURIST OF THE WEEK
Conor Murray admitted that when Gatland told him he would be taking the reins as tour captain, it blindsided him. “Warren asked me just before the cap ceremony and it was surreal. I still don’t have my head around it, but it’s an unbelievable honour. It’s something that I never thought would be possible,” said Murray. “I didn’t think about it long. I said, ‘absolutely, it’ll be a massive honour. Thank you very much for this opportunity’.”
TWEET OF THE WEEK
Reflecting on the loss of Alun Wyn Jones, Jonny McGinty tweeted: “Rugby needs more storylines so how about this…the Test series is drawn 1-1, just before the anthems in the 3rd test all the lights go off, The Undertaker’s music starts, flames erupt and suddenly AWJ is standing at the head of the team to lead the Lions to victory?”
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Rugby needs more storylines so how about this…the Test series is drawn 1-1, just before the anthems in the 3rd test all the lights go off, The Undertaker's music starts, flames erupt and suddenly AWJ is standing at the head of the team to lead the Lions to victory?
— Jonny McGinty (@spacemanjonny) June 27, 2021
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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