If you had to pick a Lions Squad Now...........excl vets.

Its been a while since weve had one of these.

Picking your squad on the 6N, Warm-Ups and first few rounds of WC who would you select?

Scots
Grey
Lawson
Ansbro
Barclay
Sean Lamont
Max Evans

Welsh
Phillips
Roberts
A.Jones
Warburton
Alun Wyn
Hook
Priestland
North


Irish
O'Brien
Mike Ross
Cian Healy
Heaslip
Sexton
Bowe
Ferris

English
Lawes
Stevens
Hartley
Palmer
Croft
Youngs
Flood
Ashton
Foden

I have left out a lot of the test veterans on purpose.
Who have I left out?

James Herriot - but apparently we are not allowed vets

Hmm there's quite a few 30 somethings in there...

Test team could look like

Stevens

Hartley

A.Jones

Lawes

AWJ

O'Brien

Croft

Heaslip

Youngs

Sexton

Bowe

Hook

Roberts

Ashton

Foden



Bench -

Flood

Mike Ross

Grey

Max Evans

Ferris

Warburton

North

roddersm wrote:Hmm there's quite a few 30 somethings in there...

Exception of front row - they have to be a bit grizzly.

I'd admit that I dont know how old most of these players are.

Three Different Lions Teams:

1 = Over 30

2 = 26-29

3 = 25 or under



01 Andrew Sheridan

02 Steve Thompson

03 Mike Ross

04 Nathan Hines

05 Paul O'Connell

06 Ryan Jones

07 Lewis Moody

08 Nick Easter

09 Eoin Reddan

10 Jonny Wilkinson

11 Shane Williams

12 Mike Tindall

13 Brian O'Driscoll

14 Mark Cueto

15 Chris Patterson





01 Matt Stevens

02 Ross Ford

03 Geoff Cross

04 Luke Charteris

05 Jim Hamilton

06 Stephen Ferris

07 James Haskell

08 Jamie Heaslip

09 Mike Phillips

10 Jonathon Sexton

11 Delon Armitage

12 James Hook

13 Max Evans

14 Tommy Bowe

15 Ben Foden





01 Cian Healy

02 Dylan Hartley

03 Dan Cole

04 Richie Gray

05 Courtney Lawes

06 Tom Croft

07 Sam Warburton

08 Sean O'Brien

09 Ben Youngs

10 Rhys Priestland

11 Keith Earls

12 Jonathon Davies

13 Manu Tuilagi

14 George North

15 Rob Kearney

Good work stag

Right now, in September 2011, this is who I think is most in form;

1. Cian Healy
2. Rory Best
3. Dan Cole
4. Paul O'Connell (c)
5. Richie Grey
6. Stephen Ferris
7. Sean O'Brien
8. Toby Faletau
9. Rory Lawson
10. Jonny Wilkinson
11. George North
12. Jamie Roberts
13. Manu Tuilagi
14. Chris Ashton
15. Rory Lamont

Propdavid - Awj is behind charteris for Wales and hook isn't first choice centre so how would they start there for the lions?

Frontrows a hard one.


Healey
Hartley
Jones/Ross
Grey
Charteris (if PO' is to old for this thread?)
O'brien/Lydaite
Warburton
Heaslip

Youngs
Sexton
Ashton
Robberts
(can I have BOD?)
Bowe
Foden

Stevens, Hartley, laws, Faletau, Irish 9 (name has lost me), hook and evens

red_stag, I like the look of that 25-or-under side! Very promising for the future and they are all well-established players.

Yes its actually the best side IMO SafeasMilk.



I'm surprised how mediocre the 26-29 year old team is. You'd expect that to be the best as the players have experience but still very young.

Great work Stag,

Yup - the youngsters certainly look the better side.



Youngguns - Hook perhaps not a starter but would be great off the bench for a Lions team. Same problem as Wales though (where is his best position). IMO, Sexton and Flood better 10's.



Notch -

Is Dan Cole really in-form? I thought he was struggling a bit in the warm-ups, and the WC hasnt been the best for him. Although playing oposite massive packs.



Lions tour to OZ - would we take a bruising destructive pack or a lightweight mobile pack?

1. Cian Healy
2. Rory Best
3. Adam Jones
4. Paul O'Connell (c)
5. Courtney Lawes
6. Stephen Ferris
7. Sam Warburton
8. Sean O'Brien
9. Ben Youngs
10. Jonny Sexton
11. George North
12. Jamie Roberts
13. Brian O'Driscoll
14. Tommy Bowe
15. Rob Kearney

Bench: Mike Ross, Steve Thompson, Ritchie Grey, Jamie Heaslip, Conor Murray, Rhys Priestland, Manu Tuilagi

Connor Murray on the bench for the Lions



Not a chance.

Get your own Lions team stag! He's in mine!....and to think Sin and Bluemuff think I'm anti munster!

I'll back you up with reference to this post Rodders

a key player left out for wales has to be lydiate i would say most underrated player in NH

also think ashton and foden havent been very good receantly so i would be tempted more with armitage and tuilagi.

welshy824 I think the most underrated player in the NH is Kelly Brown.

Not one person has mentioned his name yet he is one of Scotland's best players. He got MOM award against Georgia.

Red stag in particular is taking the mickey!

My Lion's team would be

1.Stevens
2.Hartley
3.A.Jones
4.Gray
5.O Connell
6.O Brien
7.Warburton
8.Brown
9.Youngs
10.Sexton
11.Ashton
12.Roberts
13.BOD
14.Bowe
15.Foden

5 Englishman. 3 Welsh. 2 Scots. 5 Irish

beshocked wrote:Red stag in particular is taking the mickey!

Taking the mickey how?



I picked 3 teams that have to be of a certain age. It came down between Stephen Ferris and Kelly Brown. I went for Ferris.

Dylan Hartley??? I think you are taking the mickey Beshocked!!!!

red_stag wrote:

beshocked wrote:Red stag in particular is taking the mickey!

Taking the mickey how?



I picked 3 teams that have to be of a certain age. It came down between Stephen Ferris and Kelly Brown. I went for Ferris.

I think he may have meant rodders who only managed to squeeze 9 Irish into the starting XV

...and Matt Stevens! Is that so he can do his folding deck chair impression?!

Ah lads forget about what country they are from. Its the same with the bloody Irish team threads "oh boo hoo there only four guys from my team", "there's too many from his team".

Jeebus there's no pleasing some people, I even picked Youngs at scrum half to keep the English fans happy!

roddersm wrote:Jeebus there's no pleasing some people, I even picked Youngs at scrum half to keep the English fans happy!

Well, if you had picked an Irish scrummie then we'd know you were biased (or insane)

For what its worth I like your team Rodders - not 100% in agreement but overall its a good selection,

SafeAsMilk wrote:

roddersm wrote:Jeebus there's no pleasing some people, I even picked Youngs at scrum half to keep the English fans happy!

Well, if you had picked an Irish scrummie then we'd know you were biased (or insane)

Thanks stag, I liked it too

I actually think the 2013 could be one of the youngest ever Lions tours.

roddersm England are the current 6 nations champions if you didn't know.

Going by your Lion's team you would think Ireland were ranked higher than 6th in the world.

You picked Youngs to keep us English happy? Why didn't you add Reddan or even Stringer or O Leary in there?

Red Stag you could have put Kelly Brown in your first backrow as that is a very bad joke. I am not even Scottish but to exclude one of the backrowers in the NH is just silly.

I know KB isn't over 30 but you should put him anyway as he better than Easter,Moody and R.Jones.

beshocked wrote:roddersm England are the current 6 nations champions if you didn't know.

Going by your Lion's team you would think Ireland were ranked higher than 6th in the world.

You picked Youngs to keep us English happy? Why didn't you add Reddan or even Stringer or O Leary in there?

Red Stag you could have put Kelly Brown in your first backrow as that is a very bad joke. I am not even Scottish but to exclude one of the backrowers in the NH is just silly.

I know KB isn't over 30 but you should put him anyway as he better than Easter,Moody and R.Jones.

Is that the R.Jones that used to play for Wales?

God almighty - to half of you GREY is a colour, GRAY is a name. About as intelligent as Americans !

To be fair, the Lions could have any back row player from any four of the 6N, and it would be both contentious and fair at the same time.

Look at it:

8:
Faletau, Heaslip, O'Brien, Brown and Haskell could claim the shirt. Then, Beattie, Vernon, Easter, Ryan Jones and Powell could be the injury/second choice contenders.

6:
Lydiate, Wood, Croft, Brown, O'Brien and Ferris could start. Strokosch, Powell and Leamy are also close.

7:
Jennings, Warburton, O'Brien, Wallace, Rennie, Barclay and maybe even Haskell or Moody (at a bit of a push, as they're not 7s) could contend.


Personally, I'd pick these, with first choice first:

8: Heaslip, Faletau
7: Warburton, O'Brien
6: Lydiate, Ferris, Croft

Only one out and out fetcher, but Lydiate could play a more poaching role. Harsh on the Scots, especially Brown, but as I said, it would always be contentious, and this is (obviously subjective and therefore biased) what I consider to be both the form unit and proven/best unit.

If your picking Welsh 2nd rows then Charteris has been our best in last two games, Hook shouldn't be in there and Lydiate would be a must.

01. Healy
02. Hartley
03. A Jones
04. Lawes
05. POC
06. Ferris
07. Warburton
08. O'Brien
09. Youngs
10. Sexton
11. North
12. Roberts
13. Tuilagi
14. Ashton
15. Foden

Physical pack, skillful half backs and pace and power in the back five. Just noticed I didn't pick any Scots. Is that allowed?

Feckless, I like it. They would destroy the Aussies, currently anyway.

if you had to pick a lions coach now....?

Coaches? Hmmm. Johnson and Kidney have beaten Australia down south. Johnson is a former Lions winning captain so I'd go for him as head coach but I'd want a good team of coaches behind him.

Defence: Les Kiss. The one thing that's been consistently good about Ireland. And his defensive masterplan prevented the Aussie's getting any rhythm.

Forwards: Andy Robinson. He was forwards coach to the England World Cup winning team. One of the most formidable packs ever.

Backs: ?

Scrum: ?

miaow wrote:To be fair, the Lions could have any back row player from any four of the 6N, and it would be both contentious and fair at the same time.

Look at it:

8:
Faletau, Heaslip, O'Brien, Brown and Haskell could claim the shirt. Then, Beattie, Vernon, Easter, Ryan Jones and Powell could be the injury/second choice contenders.

6:
Lydiate, Wood, Croft, Brown, O'Brien and Ferris could start. Strokosch, Powell and Leamy are also close.

7:
Jennings, Warburton, O'Brien, Wallace, Rennie, Barclay and maybe even Haskell or Moody (at a bit of a push, as they're not 7s) could contend.


Personally, I'd pick these, with first choice first:

8: Heaslip, Faletau
7: Warburton, O'Brien
6: Lydiate, Ferris, Croft

Only one out and out fetcher, but Lydiate could play a more poaching role. Harsh on the Scots, especially Brown, but as I said, it would always be contentious, and this is (obviously subjective and therefore biased) what I consider to be both the form unit and proven/best unit.

going on current form i would have to agree with those as backrow, and i feel (i know someone said not to mention it) but there are far many english players in some squads (not because i am welsh) but looking at skill from world cup i dont see any standing out apart from for me tuilagi and armitage- those two from the backs i would have in the liones along with a mixture of welsh and irish backlines (not hook, and havent seen any of the scottish games sorry) front row and stuff in all honesty havent been paying much attention, second rows can go wrong with charteris, lawes, Poc etc

Yeah, I'd agree with those selections for the backrow too. I think we all know it's way too early to be debating who will play in 2013 though. I mean in 2010 you would have had the "killer B's". So who knows who will be there in 2013.

Sure in 2007 would you have predicted Ferris, Heaslip, Quinlan, TOL, Earls, Kearney, Bowe and Fitzgerald would have travelled or been selected? Not a chance. And that's just from Ireland back in 07 so god knows there's a few gems that will be discovered from all four countries in two years time.

welshy824 wrote:and i feel (i know someone said not to mention it) but there are far many english players in some squads (not because i am welsh) but looking at skill from world cup i dont see any standing out apart from for me tuilagi and armitage- those two from the backs i would have in the liones along with a mixture of welsh and irish backlines (not hook, and havent seen any of the scottish games sorry) front row and stuff in all honesty havent been paying much attention, second rows can go wrong with charteris, lawes, Poc etc

Somehow I don't think the coaches will be basing their selections on just two world cup games. Also, I'm hoping that they'll watch some Scottish matches and maybe pay attention to the 'front row and stuff'.

Oh, and the bit in bold is where I don't believe you

beshocked wrote:roddersm England are the current 6 nations champions if you didn't know.

Sorry Beshocked but the Lions is a step up from the 6N and it seems a lot of your guys don't cut the mustard at this level .

SafeAsMilk wrote:

welshy824 wrote:and i feel (i know someone said not to mention it) but there are far many english players in some squads (not because i am welsh) but looking at skill from world cup i dont see any standing out apart from for me tuilagi and armitage- those two from the backs i would have in the liones along with a mixture of welsh and irish backlines (not hook, and havent seen any of the scottish games sorry) front row and stuff in all honesty havent been paying much attention, second rows can go wrong with charteris, lawes, Poc etc

Somehow I don't think the coaches will be basing their selections on just two world cup games. Also, I'm hoping that they'll watch some Scottish matches and maybe pay attention to the 'front row and stuff'.

Oh, and the bit in bold is where I don't believe you

no you see if i was basing it off welsh view there would be no english players!

well i am just going for the obvious ones, being a flanker myself i tend to notice the back row more and havent seen all the matches so i cant comment on those aspects although at hooker thompson would be in there (does he class as an oldy?)

dogtooth wrote:if you had to pick a lions coach now....?

Martin Johnson. No question in my mind.

red_stag wrote:

dogtooth wrote:if you had to pick a lions coach now....?

Martin Johnson. No question in my mind.

Mine neither.

Andy Robinson would push him though and all of a sudden Kidney is looking much smarter than I gave him credit for.

1. Heeley
2. Best
3. Jones
4. DOC
5. POC
6. Wood
7. Warburton
8. Heaslip
9. Reddan
10. O'Gara
11. Armitage
12. Roberts
13. Tuilagi
14. Ashton
15. Foden

stag, you are joshing of course. Johnson has only been at international level as a team manager (not head coach ) for a little over 3 years.

I like a lot of what I see in some of the selections, but there's a lot of games to play in the 6N and AIs next year and the 6N in 2013. There are also players who will (hopefully) fully recover from injuries who could also put their hands up for selection.

If they keep developing as they are then I can see the first choice locks being Gray and Lawes.

A-Team

01. C.Healy (Ire)
02. R.Ford (Sco)
03. M.Stevens (Eng)
04. R.Gray (Sco)
05. A.Wyn-Jones (Wal)
05. S.Ferris (Ire)
07. C.Robshaw (Eng)
08. S.O'Brien (Ire)

09. B.Youngs (Eng)
10. J.Sexton (Ire)
11. G.North (Wal)
12. J.Roberts (Wal)
13. B.O'Driscoll (Ire)
14. T.Bowe (Ire)
15. B.Foden (Eng)


B-Team

01. G.Jenkins (Wal)
02. D.Hartley (Eng)
03. A.Jones (Wal)
04. C.Lawes (Eng)
05. P.O'Connell (Ire)
06. D.Lydiate (Wal)
07. S.Warburton (Wal)
08. J.Haskell (Eng)

09. M.Phillips (Wal)
10. J.Hook (Wal)
11. M.Evans (Sco)
12. J.Davies (Wal)
13. M.Tuilagi (Eng)
14. C.Ashton (Eng)
15. R.Kearney (Ire)

Two world-class sides.

Looking at this thread I'm just a little depressed that we can't produce one stand-out fly half in the home nations.

Sexton/Flood are OK, Wilkinson probably edges them for big test experience.

I suppose Hook is the quality 10, but he's rarely played there.

robshaw4england wrote:
07. C.Robshaw (Eng)

That is genuinely horrendous. And not at all influenced by your name

roddersm wrote:

beshocked wrote:roddersm England are the current 6 nations champions if you didn't know.

Sorry Beshocked but the Lions is a step up from the 6N and it seems a lot of your guys don't cut the mustard at this level .

Based on what? Winning two out of two in the RWC so far? One against Argentina who are a tough cookie to crack.

Don't let the Aussie win go to your head. You did only beat them by 9 points and score no tries.


Robshaw4England are you being serious?

Way too many Welsh players in my opinion.