[The Phantom]

The British and Irish Lions tour to South Africa began with a whimper yesterday, so I thought I’d make a thread for us to discuss all Lions related news and views. Will we be able to topple the Springboks in their own back yard? Or will the World Champions be too strong for us? Answers on a postcard please!

Here’s the fixtures/results:

30 May: Royal XV 25-37 Lions
Royal Bafokeng, Rustenburg

3 June: Golden Lions 10-74 Lions
Ellis Park, Johannesburg

6 June: Free State Cheetahs v Lions (1400 BST)
Vodacom Park, Bloemfontein

10 June: Sharks v Lions (1810 BST)
ABSA Park, Durban

13 June: Western Province v Lions (1400 BST)
Newlands, Cape Town

16 June: Southern Kings v Lions (1400 BST)
Nelson Mandela Bay Stadium, Port Elizabeth

20 June: South Africa v Lions (first Test) (1400 BST)
ABSA Park, Durban

23 June: Emerging Springboks v Lions (1810 BST)
Newlands, Cape Town

27 June: South Africa v Lions (second Test) (1400 BST)
Loftus Versfeld, Pretoria

4 July: South Africa v Lions (third Test) (1400 BST)
Ellis Park, Johannesburg

[The Phantom]

Originally Posted by BBC Sport

Golden Lions 10-74 Lions

The Lions laid down a firm challenge to the Springboks as they put the Golden Lions to the sword in Johannesburg.

The tourists were a totally different proposition from the side which stumbled through their opening match. A Jamie Roberts brace and tries from Brian O'Driscoll, Ugo Monye and Tom Croft helped them into a 39-10 half-time lead at Ellis Park. Tommy Bowe grabbed a double after the break and Monye, James Hook and Stephen Ferris completed the 10-try rout.

And although there was no one moment which stood out as dramatically on Wednesday night, the tourists produced many marvelous passages of play to put Saturday's shoddy opening display against the Royal XV firmly behind them.

The game was over as a contest by half time. As good as the British & Irish Lions were, the Golden Lions were equally as poor.

Mike Phillips, Stephen Jones, Jamie Roberts & Brian O’Driscoll were all superb. If they aren’t 9, 10, 12 and 13 for the test side then I’ll be very surprised. Tommy Bowe and Gethin Jenkins also put in good shifts, and are also looking likely for a test starting places.

Jamie Roberts’ two tries pleased me. He’s a great lad, and deserved all the opportunities he’s getting at the moment. I’d never have thought he’d be a British Lion when I lined up with him for our school rugby side 7 odd years ago. Those were the days!

Hopefully we’ll see more of the same from the Lions on Saturday against the Free State Cheetahs.

And in other news…

Originally Posted by LionsRugby.com

Ian McGeechan and Gerald Davies have called up Gordon D'Arcy to the 2009 Lions squad.

The Ireland centre has been added to the current touring party as a precaution because of injury concerns among the backline.

D’Arcy, who toured New Zealand with the Lions four years ago but did not win a Test cap, will arrive in South Africa this Thursday and will immediately join up with his new team-mates in Johannesburg.

"Gordon has been called up due to the fact that we have had a few injury concerns in the backs," explained head coach McGeechan

"While the injuries are being treated by the medical team we felt it prudent that we call up Gordon to provide us with extra cover in midfield."

McGeechan should have just included him in the initial squad. Lions squads always get injuries, and as much as people lambasted Sir Clive Woodward for taking a huge squad to New Zealand, but it was the right thing to do.

[Silleh Willeh]

I like Rugby Union alot and I am big fan of the British & Irish Lions still going on tbh. You actually knew Jamie Roberts wow!

[The Phantom]

Lions team to face the Cheetahs on Saturday:

15. Lee Byrne (Ospreys & Wales)
14. Leigh Halfpenny (Cardiff Blues & Wales)
13. Keith Earls (Munster & Ireland)
12. Luke Fitzgerald (Leinster & Ireland)
11. Shane Williams (Ospreys & Wales)
10. James Hook (Ospreys & Wales)
09. Harry Ellis (Leicester & England)

1. Andrew Sheridan (Sale & England)
2. Ross Ford (Edinburgh & Scotland)
3. Euan Murray (Northampton & Scotland)
4. Donncha O'Callaghan (Munster & Ireland)
5. Paul O'Connell (Munster & Ireland - capt)
6. Stephen Ferris (Ulster & Ireland)
7. Joe Worsley (Wasps & England)
8. Andy Powell (Cardiff Blues & Wales).

Replacements: Matthew Rees (Scarlets & Wales), Adam Jones (Ospreys & Wales), Simon Shaw (Wasps & England), Nathan Hines (Perpignan & Scotland), Mike Blair (Edinburgh & Scotland), Ronan O'Gara (Munster & Ireland), Gordon D'Arcy (Leinster & Ireland).

Humm... not the strongest of sides, the backs are a lot weaker than last Wednesdays team. The Welsh back three of Byrne, Halfpenny and Williams should be solid, and perform well. Keith Earls needs to put the first game behind him, after an awful début.

I expect the forwards to get a battering. Paul O'Connell needs to show some real leadership this weekend. O'Driscolls' midweek side have raised the bar, and now O'Connell needs to take it up another level again.

Much like the first one, this game will be close. But I have the Lions to win it by 5 points.

[The Phantom]

Originally Posted by BBC Sport

Cheetahs 24 - 26 British & Irish Lions

The British and Irish Lions survived a severe test by the Free State Cheetahs in Bloemfontein to cling on for the third win of their South Africa tour.

The tourists romped into an early lead with tries from Stephen Ferris and Keith Earls, converted by James Hook. Hook also kicked four penalties but with Ferris sin-binned, Danwell Demas and Wian Du Preez scored for the hosts.

Corne Uys's intercept try from a Shane Williams pass with eight minutes left saw the Lions hanging on desperately. They might have lost if replacement fly-half Louis Strydom's drop-goal attempt a minute from time had not sailed narrowly wide.

Too much of a close contest for my liking, and the Cheetahs were a team who finished bottom of the Super 14!

The first 20mins were good, and after being 20 points up the game should have been dead and buried. No one in the side put their hands up for test places in my opinion; and that includes captain Paul O’Connell.

[PeaceSells]

So lucky not to lose yesterday. Thought that drop goal was going to drop tbh.

Really poor performance after the first 20 minutes like you say Phantom. Disappointing stuff.

[The Phantom]

Here’s the Lions team to face the Natal Sharks on Wednesday:

15. Lee Byrne (Ospreys/Wales)
14. Shane Williams (Ospreys/Wales)
13. Brian O'Driscoll (Leinster/Ireland)
12. Jamie Roberts (Cardiff Blues/Wales)
11. Luke Fitzgerald (Leinster/Ireland)
10. Ronan O'Gara (Munster/Ireland)
09. Mike Phillips (Ospreys/Wales)

01. Gethin Jenkins (Cardiff Blues/Wales)
02. Lee Mears (Bath/England)
03. Adam Jones (Ospreys/Wales)
04. Alun-Wyn Jones (Ospreys/Wales)
05. Paul O'Connell (Munster/Ireland, capt)
06. Tom Croft (Leicester Tigers/England)
07. David Wallace (Munster/Ireland)
08. Jamie Heaslip (Leinster/Ireland).

Replacements: Matthew Rees (Scarlets/Wales), Phil Vickery (London Wasps/England), Simon Shaw (London Wasps/England), Joe Worsley (London Wasps/England), Mike Blair (Edinburgh/Scotland), Riki Flutey (London Wasps/England), Leigh Halfpenny (Cardiff Blues/Wales).


That looks far more like a test match team than any of the others’ that have been selected thus far in the tour. It’s a great opportunity for some of those guys to well and truly put their hand up for test selection. The Lions need a good convincing win in the run up to the test matches, and this is a team that I can see doing it. The centres are key, if they have a good game then the Lions will perform well. Stephen Jones played very well against the Golden Lions, so O’Gara needs to be on top of his game in order to compete with him.

Unfortunately I’m going to miss this game due to work commitments, but hopefully it’ll be a better performance than the one against the Cheetahs.

[The Phantom]

Originally Posted by BBC Sport

Sharks 3-39 Lions

The Lions continued their unbeaten start to the tour of South Africa with a five-try win over the Sharks.

The tourists dominated the first half but only had a try from Lee Mears to show for their efforts, while Rory Kockott kicked a penalty for the hosts.

But the Lions did improve, with Mike Phillips claiming a well-worked try with Luke Fitzgerald adding another.

Lee Byrne claimed a fine sole effort while Jamie Heaslip completed the scoring right at the whistle.

The performance was an improvement from the one that saw off the Cheetahs last weekend, but head coach Ian McGeechan still has plenty of work to do before the first Test against South Africa on 20 June.

I didn't see the game yesterday as I was working, but I hope to catch some highlights today. On the face of it, it seems like a good result for the Lions. Performances seem to be improving game on game, and the test side is taking shape.

On a side note from this game, it's a great shame Leigh Halfpenny has had to fly home injured. I've watched this kid since he first broke into the Cardiff RFC semi-pro side about 2 seasons ago. He's become one of my favourite players in the game, and for him to be ruled out like this, is a little unfair. However he's still very young, and he'll have more than one more chance to try and gain a place of future Lions tours.

[The Phantom]

The Lions team to face Western Province on Saturday:

15. Rob Kearney (Leinster/Ireland)
14. Tommy Bowe (Ospreys/Ireland)
13. Keith Earls (Munster/Ireland)
12. Riki Flutey (Wasps/England)
11. Ugo Monye (Harlequins/England)
10. Stephen Jones (Scarlets/Wales)
09. Harry Ellis (Leicester/England)

01. Andrew Sheridan (Sale/England)
02. Matthew Rees (Scarlets/Wales)
03. Phil Vickery (London Wasps/England)
04. Donncha O'Callaghan (Munster/Ireland)
05. Nathan Hines (Perpignan/Scotland)
06. Joe Worsley (Wasps/England)
07. Martyn Williams (Cardiff Blues/Wales)
08. Andy Powell (Cardiff Blues/Wales).

Replacements: Ross Ford (Edinburgh/Scotland), Euan Murray (Northampton/Scotland), Simon Shaw (Wasps/England), Tom Croft (Leicester/England), Mike Blair (Edinburgh/Scotland), James Hook (Ospreys/Wales), Gordon D'Arcy (Leinster/Ireland).

This looks very much like a second string side with the exceptions of Bowe and Jones. If those two and Ugo Monye perform well, then I’ll expect them to be lining up for the Lions in a weeks time against South Africa. I’m not too keen on Vickery being captain. I would have liked to have seen Martyn Williams lead the side, but that’s only a minor detail.

Ryan Jones finally joined up with the squad the other day, after being controversially left out of the original tour party. But now he’s flying back home after being declared unfit!! I always thought he’d struggle to be fit, as he suffered concussion whilst playing for Wales against the USA last Saturday. The Lions sure do seem to have a lot of problems with injuries so far on tour. Thankfully none of the major stars have been injury worries *touch wood*

[The Phantom]

Here we are… the last match before the tests get underway. This is the Lions XV to face the Southern Kings on Tuesday afternoon:

15. K Earls (Munster & Ireland)
14. S Williams (Ospreys & Wales)*
13. R Flutey (Wasps & England)
12. G D'Arcy (Leinster & Ireland)
11. L Fitzgerald (Leinster & Ireland)
10. J Hook (Ospreys & Wales)
09. M Blair (Edinburgh & Scotland)

01. A Sheridan (Sale Sharks & England)
02. R Ford (Edinburgh & Scotland)
03. E Murray (Northampton & Scotland)
04. S Shaw (Wasps & England)
05. D O'Callaghan (Munster & Ireland) (capt)
06. N Hines (Perpignan & Scotland)
07. J Worsley (Wasps & England)
08. A Powell (Cardiff Blues & Wales).

Replacements: M Rees (Scarlets & Wales), A Jones (Ospreys & Wales), T Croft (Leicester Tigers & England), D Wallace (Munster & Ireland), H Ellis (Leicester Tigers & England), R O'Gara (Munster & Ireland), U Monye (Harlequins & England).

*Tommy Bowe (Ospreys & Ireland), on standby should Shane Williams not recover from illness.

This side tells us a lot about the make up of the test side that will be selected for Saturdays match. I don’t see anyone who’s starting on Tuesday, starting on Saturday.

I think it’s a given now that Jamie Roberts, Brain O’Driscoll, Mike Phillips, Stephen Jones, Tommy Bowe, Gethin Jenkins, Phil Vickary, Leigh Byrne, Paul O’Connell and Tom Croft are all in. Players like James Hook, Andy Powell, Joe Worsley, Nathan Hines and Luke Fitzgerald are all playing for bench spots, or places in the second test.

So far the Lions haven’t impressed me much. There have been the odd glimpses of brilliance, but nothing to make me fully confident of them toppling the World Champions. However, they have won 5 out of 5, and I’m pretty confident, despite the fielding of a second string side, that the Lions can march into the test series against the Springboks undefeated.