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The last word – I asked Lions fans what they thought about Warren Gatland
What has made this British & Irish Lions tour so memorable? The rugby has been OK (come on, admit it), the press conferences have been amazingly boring, and the weather has been inclement.
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As always, the special part of a Lions tour is the fans. So, to acknowledge the part they’ve played, I hit a few bars on Ponsonby Road and asked the traveling fans what they thought about their chances. I also asked them about what they thought about coach Warren Gatland – the results were somewhat polarising.
Nathan – Ebbw Vale, Wales: I reckon the Lions have it 14-12. Game will be won up front. (on Gatland) He’s average. I don’t want him to be Welsh coach, I want that to change. I want them to play more expansive rugby.
Mark – Ebbw Vale, Wales: I was here in 2005 when the All Blacks won 3-0. We scored the first try in the second test but then the All Blacks just smashed us. I think the Lions are now more professional in their approach. There’s a lot more talent in this squad than in 2005. They’ve built momentum and I really think they can turn over the All Blacks today. (on Gatland) He’s very shrewd. We have to trust him and he’s done well in the last series.
Anne – Glasgow, Scotland: The Lions are gonna win because we’re the greatest! They’ll have a big second half. I think they’re all awesome, but I’m not happy with there not being any Scots in the team. (on Gatland) He’s done what he thinks is right for the team, so I cannae criticse that.
Alex – England: I want the Lions to win but as long as it’s a good game of rugby I don’t mind. I think the All Blacks are going to get a few more tries than the Lions. (on Gatland) He’s…alright.
Steve – London, England: I think it’s going to be very close. I don’t even think Hansen or Gatland knows either. Our forwards need to front up again like they did in Wellington, they stopped the 9 and 10 and halted the All Blacks. It’ll be different tonight, Hansen’s picked a side that will attack from the wings and it’ll be an open rugby game. (on Gatland) I think he’s been great. He had a great win in Australia, now he’s pulled this one back too. It’s a big credit to him that he picked the team to do that last week.
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Tony – Limerick, Ireland: They just need to smash them up front and keep attacking. I have to be honest with you mate, we got lucky last week with the red card. Thanks Sonny Bill! (on Gatland) I have to be honest, I’m still a bit upset over him dropping BOD four years ago. But if they win tonight, I’ll forgive him.
Squeak – South Wales: I couldn’t give a **** who wins, I’m gonna get blotto. (On Gatland) He’s a ****. I think the ****ing New Zealand team are gonna have a big game.
Comments on RugbyPass
Amazing. The losing team’s ratings are higher than the winning team’s. Mallia definitely didn’t deserve a y. What game were you watching? Should have got a w or an x. ADP hardly featured in that second half. At one point I wondered when he’d been subbed. Seems to me as if he gets an automatic 9 just for getting onto the team sheet.
1 Go to commentsI’m sorry. That second half was far from enthralling. It was painful to watch.
1 Go to commentsVery generous! If you’d missed the game, reading this you’d conclude that it was the Quins front row that cost them the game. Marler getting a blanket 6 for his demented contribution to the game. Puzzling.
1 Go to commentsCan’t see Toulouse beating Leinster at this rate.
7 Go to commentsADP was having a very average game until winning that penalty for Toulouse, sticking his big head in the way. “The head of God”?
7 Go to commentsHarlequins doing their best to do as little damage as possible with all the possession. Looks like they skipped catch and pass drills this week.
7 Go to commentsSeeing pictures of Jacques high-fiving it with Irish players breaks my heart. Too soon. I need more time.
1 Go to commentsquins is all over the place. The minute they get the ball they panic. Quins can still win tho just need to win all rucks otherwise just don't bother.
7 Go to commentsGreat wins for the male & female kiwi sides. Ireland not far away..
1 Go to commentsWhy is this dude getting so much coverage? Usually knobs like this get cancelled.
2 Go to commentsWow. What was that? A 3 million word meandering article about what exactly?
2 Go to commentsNice piece of writing. And yes the Sharks pulled a rabbit from the hat and were a little lucky with that penalty try that wasn’t given… however the Sharks (with their resources) should be way more consistent and should be putting teams like Claremont away for breakfast. I expect more from them and hope they kick on now.
8 Go to commentsJust what the Sharks needed to get things going in the right direction Defence on the outside really creates havoc for the whole team and needs to be addressed.
8 Go to commentsWell done guys both teams will be ready to play knockout rugby.
1 Go to commentsSurprised that Ramos isn't starting at 15. But what a squad of galacticos!
2 Go to commentsWhy is it a snub? What journalistic garbage is that? Sure the guy is a great player, but there are plenty of loose forwards and not all of them can be Springboks. Also, I know of no-one who doubts Rassie’s judgment. South Africa has a conveyor belt of loose forwards that just keeps producing, so the competition is intense. I certainly wish him well, but there is no entitlement and there is no snub.
17 Go to commentsSkelton may be brought back for the Wallabies so that would be the only reason that may hinder Wilson. Easily the form, most skilful and game IQ of any Oz 8. Valentini’s best and favourite position is 6, but lineouts may be an issue with Skelton, Valentini and Wilson. Will be interesting what Schmidt goes for but for me Wilson should be picked on form. Schmidt rewards work rate, skill and consistency. All that glitters every so often won’t be in contention. Greely is one of those players that has a knack of making the right decision. A coach is going to love him because he knows week in week out he’s going to get the job done. The second try Greely wasn’t the guy who made the initial break it was Flook, Greely was at the bottom of the ruck when Flook was off along the sideline. Greely got up and made the effort to catch up with play but also read the play nicely and hit the pass from Campbell at pace and then held the pass beautifully to Ryan.
6 Go to commentsSpot on Ben. Dead right. Havili looked great at 10. Easily the highest rugby IQ of any NZ player these days. Getting a kick charged down is a result of getting used to adjusting your depth to the line at 10, which he will sort out with time. But other than that it was an outstanding first effort in that position this year. I think the NZ media has misunderstood this directive from Razor. Havili might rank behind B Barrett this year, but Beuden is 33 this month and won't last much longer. DMaC is great but flaky and not really a test match animal (his efforts in Dunedin versus Aus last year for example). If Razor can't have Mounga, DMaC is too unstructured for Razor (and is just too small for test rugby). Havili will end up our first choice first five, and in partnership with Jodie will be excellent. Two triple threat operators in tandem, and big bodies and tough tacklers to boot. Jordoe will be the ABs goal kicker. I am an Aucklander and Blues (and Warriors) fan, but Havili at 10 is going to be sensational in time… he can be the best first five in the world by the end of this year. No question.
6 Go to commentsSharks deserved to be far further back by the last quarter. Their tackling was awful, their set pieces were disappointing, their defensive organization was poor (especially on the Kok side of the D line), they kept making unnecessary errors, and they never looked like cracking the Clermont defense during those first 60m. Masuku kept them in touch, with some help from the Clermont generosity on penalty opportunities. Agree with the writer of this article. It was belligerence, and ability to raise their pressure game just enough, that turned the last quarter into a Bok-style shutout. Clermont have a reputation of not playing the full 80m, and there was a bit of that for sure. But, quite often when the intensity of a team drops off in the last quarter credit is due to the opponent for tiring them out. At 60m, with the Kok try, you thought that just maybe the game was on. At 70m, with the Mapimpi contribution, one felt that Clermont were fading, while facing a team that would maintain the pressure game through the final whistle. Good win in the end, but the Sharks are still playing way below their potential. And with their resources, and a coach that has had enough time to figure things out, they are running out of excuses.
8 Go to commentsGood riddance
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