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The three Saracens players ex-Lions skipper Warburton believes will '100 per cent go on tour'
Two-series Lions tour captain Sam Warburton has named the three Saracens players he believes will definitely be picked when Warren Gatland names his 2021 British and Irish Lions tor squad for South Africa on May 6. The Lions are planning for a three-Test series against the world champions Springboks that will commence on July 24.
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There are doubts about the form of the front-line Saracens players following England’s shocking fifth-place Guinness Six Nations finish, but 2013 and 2017 skipper Warburton doesn’t believe that this rustiness will be enough of an issue to count against the selection of Maro Itoje, Owen Farrell and Jamie George.
All three have returned to second-tier club action in the Championship with Saracens in recent weeks and despite that status, ex-Wales back row Warburton feels they have enough credit in the bank from previous times in their careers to now be given a leg-up by Gatland and be included when the tour squad is announced in 14 days’ time.
“Out of those Saracens boys, Jamie George, Maro and Owen will 100 per cent go on tour,” insisted Warburton after he launched the new Canterbury jersey the Lions will wear on their South African trip. “What Warren really backs is his training methods and getting players match-fit without having to play.
“He did it with a lot of players – including myself – over the years. He will take comfort in that he has got four or five games to get those guys ready for the first Test and it’s not really the first Test that is the thing.
The two-tour captain has nominated his successor and believes four forwards and two backs are dead certs for the Lions Test team XV https://t.co/tbU83Ez10b
— RugbyPass (@RugbyPass) April 21, 2021
“Everyone looks at that first Test as that Holy Grail of selection but actually the second and third Tests are arguably more important. So even if they are not ready for the first Test they could have three games under their belt and could rock up for the second Test, which is arguably the most important.
“Because he knows he has got that buffer he will take them and he has to take them because their ceiling is so high if they play well. I do worry about whether someone like Elliot Daly and Billy (Vunipola) might miss out… whether he thinks Elliot has fallen out of form and Billy might take too much time to get up to full speed from a fitness perspective.
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“Some guys can pick up that fitness a lot quicker than others. That is going to be a conversation he will have to have with Saracens’ fitness staff and the English fitness staff who will have those insights on those players. But if he thinks he can get the Saracens boys – including Billy – up to speed in the first three weeks he will take them but he will have to go off a lot of recommendations and chats with their coaches.
“To be honest, he needs those Sarries boys playing well to have a good chance as well, not even as starters – just to have them on the bench and involved in the tour. From knowing them personally and having played with and against them they are top players and that is why Maro is a top contender to be captain. He would have watched England wanting those guys to do well because he needs them.”
Warburton added that the aura of simply wearing the Lions jersey and being on tour can have an accelerating reaction in getting players back up to speed and firing. “I heard Jamie George’s quotes for the Six Nations. He said it was like a pre-season, it will be great and that was the same party line I used for both Lions tours because I got injured for two months and I was undercooked for the first three, four weeks…
“That is why I don’t think he [Gatland] will expect those guys to be hitting their straps when they are playing the South African clubs in the first few weeks. He has probably got the longer-term goal of first, second, third Test with those boys so as far as game time goes, they will hopefully get two starts and maybe one off the bench before they play a Test match and that will get the cobweb offs.
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“Plus when you play for the Lions, it’s no disrespect to anyone else, it brings out a different player, a different mentality and only certain players thrive off that. That is why for me, I can pretty much guarantee every one of the coaching staff will pick Owen Farrell to go on tour.
“You’d be foolish not to because he is just a leader to have around your environment even if he wasn’t going to start and if he plays himself into form, it’s a bonus. He is massively beneficial and it would be foolish if he is not going to go on tour. Warren will think he has got three, four games to get those guys up to speed and he will back himself to do that.”
- Sam Warburton was speaking as Canterbury launched the British and Irish Lions Test Jersey. Get yours from www.canterbury.com
The Springboks talisman has revealed whom he feels will wear the No4 and No5 Lions shirts and who will provide their Test bench back-up https://t.co/A70uIJhXwc
— RugbyPass (@RugbyPass) April 21, 2021
Comments on RugbyPass
No question they were the better team. But that is the beauty of sport isn’t it!
95 Go to commentsEveryone is into Hurling in Ireland according to Porter, but only 11 of Ireland's 32 counties enter a team into the national competition. Same old blarney.
1 Go to commentsLet’s be honest. The draw and scheduling in the World Cup was a joke but South Africa found a way after having to go the hard (nearly impossible) way to the Cup Final via France and England. NZ had a hard game against France (lost) and had 5 weeks to prepare for the Quarter, 3 weeks knowing it was Ireland. NZ theerfore had to win one big game against an Irish team who played SA and then Scotland 7 days before. They won and it was de facto a semi final because they were playing a relatively weak Argentina team and it was a walk over. In the final a very rested NZ team was playing a very tired SA team and still lost. They couldn’t score more than 11 points. Put another way SA had to find a way to win while tired and they achieved that. NZ should thank their lucky stars that they fixed the scheduling in 2015 otherwise they would be dealing with a Bok treble.
95 Go to commentsPerhaps if Bongi wasn’t targeted and removed from the game in the first 3 minutes it would have been quite a different game. Maybe if NZ also faced the same competition the Boks faced to their win NZ would have looked quite different. The final score shows who outplayed who.
95 Go to commentsRubbish article! Abuladze played most of Exeters matches when fit. He got injured against Glasgow a while ago and is out for the rest of the season, thats why he hasnt played for Exeter and Georgia recently. Do some proper research next time!
1 Go to commentsGotta love it when kids throw their toys out the pram and can’t hack it with the grown ups debate. Here’s looking at you turlough! 😉🤣
147 Go to commentsThey lost the game period move on
95 Go to commentsSpringboks won! Stop winging. You can change the game however much you and your rugby colonizing IRB want to and the Springboks will win you at that too. Your mind is colonized my friend get a life
95 Go to commentsBen, nobody gets fooled anymore by selective and biased data to support an hypothesis. Games are decided on such small margins these days that you win some and lose some, and dominance is a thing of the rugby past. Look at the RWC circle of fortune…. Ireland beats SA who beat France who beat NZ who beat Ireland. And so it goes on. Match officials help to eliminate real indiscretions. If they had been with us years before, no doubt results would have been different. Remember Andy Haden’s dive from a lineout in 1978 for which a match-wining penalty was awarded? Wales should have beaten the ABs that day. They took the loss like the gentlemen they were.
95 Go to commentsWith all the analysis and how good the all blacks were.The fundamental mistake with the ABs is that this is a test match and not an exhibition.There is no better team(country) in world rugby than the Boks that knows how to win a test match(we are post masters at this).We know our rules, we have the discipline, we tackle like beasts, we take our points and we never give up.I now have educated the ABs supporters(at least say thank you).Please stop “bitching” , accept what the outcome is and move along swiftly.
95 Go to commentsAnd they came from behind to win two big games before the final. No one can say what would have happened. Had the boks gone behind the game plan changes and the result may changes. Ifs and ands are irrelevant. The boks won. Neutral critics enjoyed the games they played. Its not a popularity contest. Get over it and move on.
95 Go to commentsI'm happy for the people of SA to get a second WC. And I mean that. I was very disappointed with this man's “stand on the hand” incident with Josh Van Der Flyer (Ireland). Ireland's downfall in the last WC was they did not rotate their first 15 as the head coach probably should have. That said, I'm happy for SA and genuinely hope it lifts the mood in their country. Ireland did beat them in the first match of the tournament. And before the trolls start trolling ….. please don't bother. Etzbeth said recently that the Irish players said after the match “see you in the final”…..this was actually wishing the SA team the best of luck in the rest, the Irish team were not dismissing the AB’s. This is what Etzbeth was implying. But he was wrong. I no longer live in Ireland. But I hope to see them lift that cup before I pass. Anyway, congratulations SA. 👍
12 Go to commentsMore bloody click bait. Dan Carter has said absolutely nothing. As he should do. Poor journalism again from a site that should know better
9 Go to commentsOh god please help these loosers get over it!!!! You lost. Doesn't matter how many times you dummies are gonna analyse the game, you still lost and we are still Rygby World Champions….get over it, you lost.
95 Go to commentsThe next Willie le Roux. SA are made not to use him.
3 Go to commentsDan has always been as controversial as tea with milk so we were never going to get any definitive answer. So DMac for the win.
9 Go to commentsGoodness. When are the All Blacks and New Zealand commentators going to stop complaining about how they could have won and just try to win next time 😂. In South Africa if you lose you get up and try again. Get over it.
95 Go to commentsHonestly, it doesn’t matter a whole lot. RSA has a ton of experienced talent in its leadership group. I am more interested in who is the new 8 man/8 men and the younger props. The captain may change but the system does not
1 Go to commentsBen, you are one of the most arrogant and self opionated rugby critics I have ever come across (next to Keohane). I hoped that after SA beating the best ranked teams in the world on their way to the WC (something not done before) that you might have the grace to admit that this is a special team that deserved the accolades coming their way. You have no humility and as has been been already pointed out, merely a troll to attract audience numbers. Count me out in the future.
95 Go to comments‘War of independence’. Such a grand name for a few skirmishes. Where were all the great battles of this ‘war’ ? Smith got goosebumps as he was being emotionally manipulated, another mushroom.
1 Go to comments