Lions team based on combos

We've all had a go at picking our Lions teams, selecting the best player in each position.

However, there is an argument that it's not about the best players, but the best combinations, particularly in certain positions - e.g. backrow, halfbacks, centre and back three. If the players are used to playing together, it's got to help (?)

So, I've had a go, based on that principle:

Front row (I don't think combos matter here, so, Cole, Hartley (yes I know, but it's my team!) Jenkins
Second Row (as above) so Gray, O'Connell
Back row Ireland's O'Brien, Ferris, Heaslip
Halfbacks - I struggled here, Wales Phillips yes, but Priestland not sure, England, work in progress still, Scotland, no, so it's Reddan & Sexton by default
Centres Wales Roberts & JD2
Back three assuming decent distribution England's Ashton, Strettle, Foden

So, not all the best players in each position by any means, but not a bad side.

Have a go, it's less straightforward than you might think.

Front row - Gethin, Rees, Adam.
seconds- Gray/O'Connell
Backrow- Welsh or Irish one.
same as you until the back 3.
I'd take CUthbert, North and 1/2p.

Combinations do matter in the front row and second row

Jenkins Rees Jones

Gray Hamilton

Lydiate Warburton Faletau

Phillip Preistland

Roberts Davies

Bowe Kearney Trimble



Having Ashton Strettle and Foden as a lions combination is laughable - all 3 will struggle to get on the Lions tour at the moment.

Actual Lions team would be

1. Jenkins
2. Best
3. Jones
4. Gray
5. O'Connell
6. Lydiate
7. Warburton
8. SOB
9. Phillips
10. Sexton/Farrell
11. North
12. Roberts
13. JD2/BOD
14. Bowe
15. Kearney/Halfpenny

So combinations dont really matter anyway - Except at halfback and centre probably

I'm going to say I think combos are just as important in the front row and second row as in the back row, and that 10-12 and 8-9 are also important combinatiosn which makes this even harder.

Jones, Rees, Jenkins (got to start Jones and Jenkins)
Gray, Hamilton
Lydiate, Warburton, Faletau
Youngs, Flood (I am assuming Youngs' form is a blip)
Roberts, JD2
(JUST! ahead of Wales) Bowe, Kearney, Fitzgerald

bench

Best, Cole, O Connell, SOB, Phillips, Sexton, Halfpenny

Wales 606

Our back three don't play well with no decent ball

But, given clean ball in good positions, that's a dangerous combination.

Just my opinion though

wickedwasp wrote:Wales 606

Our back three don't play well with no decent ball

But, given clean ball in good positions, that's a dangerous combination.

Just my opinion though

But not really proven - Unlike the Irish and Welsh backline, who have shown they can win games with 40% possession - Englands backs have failed with 60%.

I'm kind of basing it on last season more than this.

This 6N we had a new halfback combination, new centre combination.

The back three barely got the ball.

I can't argue that the Welsh backline is impressive, but I'm sticking to my guns

i like this as a bit of fun, my go:

FR: Wales (Jenkins/Rees/Jones)
SR: Scotland (Gray/Hamilton)
BR: Ireland (Ferris/SOB/Heaslip)
HB: Ireland (Murray/Sexton)
C: Wales (Roberts/JD2)
B3: Wales (North/Halfpenny/Cutherbert)

- seems very harsh on England, and wasnt done intentionally, but as combos those are what i went with! very fustrating when theres some individuals you want to add in but just cant!

FR: Wales (Jenkins/Rees/Jones)
SR: Scotland (Gray/Hamilton)
BR: Scotland (Rennie/Denton/ Brown)
HB: Ireland (Murray/Sexton)
C: Wales (Roberts/JD2)
B3: Wales (North/Halfpenny/Cutherbert)

That 2nd row and back row (With Brown back) will be immence

Comfort, yes that's what makes it interesting.

Don't tell Wales606, but I stretched a point to get my England back three in, but I still think they'd do well with decent ball.

Removed duplicate post

Riskysports wrote:BR: Scotland (Rennie/Denton/ Brown)

back row (With Brown back) will be immence

I very nearly did that myself, even got as far as typing it in. I just couldnt bring myself to have 5/8 of the pack from the team who just got the wooden spoon. no offence!

Comfort wrote:

Riskysports wrote:BR: Scotland (Rennie/Denton/ Brown)

back row (With Brown back) will be immence

I very nearly did that myself, even got as far as typing it in. I just couldnt bring myself to have 5/8 of the pack from the team who just got the wooden spoon. no offence!

True, but the pack out played most of the other teams - just our backs were pants

To be honest, in the back row, the best options from any of the 4 Home Nations would make an impressive unit (even England, Robshaw is growing into the 7 role- did you see him against Saracens? Bossed the breakdown)

Riskysports wrote:

Comfort wrote:

Riskysports wrote:BR: Scotland (Rennie/Denton/ Brown)

back row (With Brown back) will be immence

I very nearly did that myself, even got as far as typing it in. I just couldnt bring myself to have 5/8 of the pack from the team who just got the wooden spoon. no offence!

True, but the pack out played most of the other teams - just our backs were pants

Very true, hence why i got so close to doing it, i just couldnt. Having Brown back in amongst those 2 is like a new and imrpoved killer b's combo!

1.Healy
2.Best
3.Jones
4.Gray
5.O'Connell
6.Ferris
7.Warburton
8.Heaslip
9.Phillips
10.Sexton
11.North
12.Roberts
13.Tuilagi
14.Bowe
15.Kearney

Thats my team if I was to pick it properly. If it were a combination team, it would be a Welsh front row, same 2nd row, Welsh back row, Irish halfbacks, Welsh centres and Irish back 3.

1.Gethin Jenkins
2.Rory Best
3.Adam Jones
4.Richie Gray
5.Paul O'connell
6.Stephen Ferris
7. Sam Warburton
8. Jamie Heaslip
9. Mike Phillips
10. Johnny Sexton
11. George North
12. Jamie Roberts
13. Jonathan Davies
14. Tommy Bowe
15. Leigh Halphpenny/Rob Kearney

Bench
16. Mattthew Rees
17. Cian Healey
18. Ian Evans
19. Dan Lydiate
20. Connor Murray
21. Rhys Priestland
22. Manu Tuilagi

Some really tight calls here. By the end of the tournament the English front and back rows were performing the best (Lydiate aside), but I'm not sure I'd go for them against the Welsh front row, and all of the back rows are impressive. Having the whole team without English representation seems strange but I think it's just one of those statistical freaks whereby we have good individuals but not the best combinations. For example, I'd have Tuilagi outside Davies in the centre, but you'd have to go for the overally Welsh centre partnership ahead of ours right now. The same for a few guys in the pack.

Id definitely have some English squad players, i need to see them perform against a southern hemisphere powerhouse before I can include them in a starting 15

RC13 wrote:1.Gethin Jenkins
2.Rory Best
3.Adam Jones
4.Richie Gray
5.Paul O'connell
6.Stephen Ferris
7. Sam Warburton
8. Jamie Heaslip
9. Mike Phillips
10. Johnny Sexton
11. George North
12. Jamie Roberts
13. Jonathan Davies
14. Tommy Bowe
15. Leigh Halphpenny/Rob Kearney

Bench
16. Mattthew Rees
17. Cian Healey
18. Ian Evans
19. Dan Lydiate
20. Connor Murray
21. Rhys Priestland
22. Manu Tuilagi

Doesnt look too shabby,might go for Ken Owens over Smiler at the moment.

Ok so I'll give it a go:

Jenkins
Best
Jones
Gray
O'Connell
Lydiate
Warburton
Denton
Phillips
Sexton
North
Roberts
BOD
Bowe
Kearney

Bench
Hartley
Cole
Evans
Wood
Reddan
Farrell
1/2p

Wow - surprised myself - brilliant team

RC13 wrote:1.Gethin Jenkins
2.Rory Best
3.Adam Jones
4.Richie Gray
5.Paul O'connell
6.Stephen Ferris
7. Sam Warburton
8. Jamie Heaslip
9. Mike Phillips
10. Johnny Sexton
11. George North
12. Jamie Roberts
13. Jonathan Davies
14. Tommy Bowe
15. Leigh Halphpenny/Rob Kearney

Bench
16. Matthew Rees
17. Cian Healey
18. Ian Evans
19. Dan Lydiate
20. Connor Murray
21. Rhys Priestland
22. Manu Tuilagi

Spot on IMO, if im being picky Rob Kearney should start out of your 15 choice as his form is unbelievable at the moment....which leaves me nothing to add...so heres my midweek team

1. Cian Healey
2. Matthew Rees
3. Dan Cole
4. Alun Wyn Jones
5. Ian Evans
6. Dan Lydiate
7. Ross Rennie
8. Toby Faletau
9. Conor murray
10. Rhys preistland
11. Alex Cuthbert
12. Brian O'Driscoll
13. Manu Tuilagi
14. Chris Ashton (hopefully back to his best against the ozzies)
15. Leigh Halphpenny

Bench
16. Ken Owens
17. Alex Corbisiero
18. Ben youngs (same as Ashton)
19. Sean O'brien
20. Donncha Ryan
21. Toby Flood
22. Simon Zebo

BOD is at the twilight now but at leinster the other day he was back to his timeless best...give him a lions shot , use his experience on the tour and he might find one last bit of magic and push for that starting squad. The six spot you could easily pick brown, croft, ferris, lydiate, o'brien even wood/ robshaw and the lock positions also could easily be between alun wyn, bradley davies, ian evans, POC, Donncha Ryan, Jim Hamilton, Richie Gray, Courtney Lawes...both very competitive areas...

and of course every lions team needs a young lad getting a shot to show what their worth is and look after the toy lion so Simon Zebo gets his shot.

I think some posters have just decided to pick their favoured team rather than best combos which I believe was the object of the post.
Mixing up Welsh/Irish front row, Scottish/Irish 2nd row etc etc.

My shout

Front row English
2nd row English
Back row Welsh
Half backs =Irish/English
Centres Welsh
Back 3 =English/Welsh

This doesn't necessarily equate to the best possible team but IMO has the best units currently.

Poll as voted by the board on each position shows

15. Kearney ire
14. North wal
13. Tuilagi eng
12. Roberts wal
11. Bowe ire
10 Sexton ire
9. Phillips wal
8. Denton scot
7. Warburton wal
6. Ferris ire
5. Gray scot
4. O'Connell ire
3. Adam Jones wal
2. Best ire
1. Gethin wal

maestegmafia wrote:Poll as voted by the board on each position shows

15. Kearney ire
14. North wal
13. Tuilagi eng
12. Roberts wal
11. Bowe ire
10 Sexton ire
9. Phillips wal
8. Denton scot
7. Warburton wal
6. Ferris ire
5. Gray scot
4. O'Connell ire
3. Adam Jones wal
2. Best ire
1. Gethin wal

This for me clearly shows why selection should not be by commitee.That centre pairing makes me shudder as a former wing!

I'd definitely pick the England front row. A great scrummaging front row and they are showing up more and more in the loose. They'll beast the Australian front row. I'm just not sure if Jenkins, Rees and Jones offer as much in the loose (Gethin definitely does, but I'm not sure about the other two).

Second row? Comes down to Scotland or Ireland. I'd edge Scotland ahead here, mainly because of Gray, but I'm more and more impressed with Ryan (and O'Connell is proven class). I was impressed with Ian Evans and Geoff Parling, but not sufficiently for them to carry their partners into this team as well.

There are some phenomenal back row players available, but as a unit I'm going to go for the Welsh trio. The balance is superb and they're all great young players. Warburton is a potential captain and Lydiate was one of the players of the tournament. The fact that I'd rate Faletau as the fourth best 8 from the home nations says so much more about the other 8s available then it does about Faletau, and we'd lose very little (if anything) by having him in the team.

I wish there was that kind of choice at half-back though. I'm a big fans of the Youngs/Flood combination but Youngs was so off-form he got dropped and Flood got 1 bench appearance in the Six Nations. I still think they're a proven combination and should both tour. I have question marks over Priestland, I've never been sold on any of the Irish 9s available and I don't really rate the Scottish pairing, so I'd probably go with Youngs and Flood (possibly on their Leicester partnership more than anything).

For my centres I want Tuilagi, Davies and O'Driscoll all involved, although they are all 13s. D'Arcy/O'Driscoll was one of the best centre partnerships in Europe, but I'm not convinced by D'Arcy any more and don't fear seeing his name on the team sheet. Barritt and Tuilagi isn't a proven partnership and I'd question the distributional abilities there, so I'd have to go for Roberts and Davies. I still think Roberts is limited as a player and needs to be in a backline geared up to get the best out of him, but I think similar to O'Driscoll in 2009 Davies helps get the best out of Roberts.

For the back three I'd probably have to lean towards the Irish back three. Bowe is a phenomenal player and Kearney has got back to top form. Earls has to pick a position and stick to it, but I think he is a very dangerous winger. Harsh on North and Foden (who I would probably have with Bowe if these restrictions weren't in place), and Scotland have started to unearth some dangerous outside backs, but the Irish just shades it over the Welsh back three.

1. Corbisiero
2. Hartley
3. Cole
4. Gray
5. Hamilton
6. Lydiate
7. Warburton (C)
8. Faletau

9. Youngs
10. Flood
11. Earls
12. Roberts
13. Davies
14. Bowe
15. Kearney

sirtidychris wrote:

RC13 wrote:1.Gethin Jenkins
2.Rory Best
3.Adam Jones
4.Richie Gray
5.Paul O'connell
6.Stephen Ferris
7. Sam Warburton
8. Jamie Heaslip
9. Mike Phillips
10. Johnny Sexton
11. George North
12. Jamie Roberts
13. Jonathan Davies
14. Tommy Bowe
15. Leigh Halphpenny/Rob Kearney

Bench
16. Matthew Rees
17. Cian Healey
18. Ian Evans
19. Dan Lydiate
20. Connor Murray
21. Rhys Priestland
22. Manu Tuilagi

Spot on IMO, if im being picky Rob Kearney should start out of your 15 choice as his form is unbelievable at the moment....which leaves me nothing to add...so heres my midweek team

1. Cian Healey
2. Matthew Rees
3. Dan Cole
4. Alun Wyn Jones
5. Ian Evans
6. Dan Lydiate
7. Ross Rennie
8. Toby Faletau
9. Conor murray
10. Rhys preistland
11. Alex Cuthbert
12. Brian O'Driscoll
13. Manu Tuilagi
14. Chris Ashton (hopefully back to his best against the ozzies)
15. Leigh Halphpenny

Bench
16. Ken Owens
17. Alex Corbisiero
18. Ben youngs (same as Ashton)
19. Sean O'brien
20. Donncha Ryan
21. Toby Flood
22. Simon Zebo

BOD is at the twilight now but at leinster the other day he was back to his timeless best...give him a lions shot , use his experience on the tour and he might find one last bit of magic and push for that starting squad. The six spot you could easily pick brown, croft, ferris, lydiate, o'brien even wood/ robshaw and the lock positions also could easily be between alun wyn, bradley davies, ian evans, POC, Donncha Ryan, Jim Hamilton, Richie Gray, Courtney Lawes...both very competitive areas...

and of course every lions team needs a young lad getting a shot to show what their worth is and look after the toy lion so Simon Zebo gets his shot.

I d be Happy with that Dirt trackers team, I was 50/50 about Halfpenny and Kearney, they both have their good qualities,
Halfpenny- another goal kicker would be a great weapon, great finisher, dedicated and fearless defensive play 50%
Kearney- Great attacking flair and would fit in well with sexton, sedge gun boot out of hand, again dedicated and fearless defensive play 50%
Both are quit solid under a high ball and both would fit in well in the 15
Its all even!

Taffineastbourne wrote:

maestegmafia wrote:Poll as voted by the board on each position shows

15. Kearney ire
14. North wal
13. Tuilagi eng
12. Roberts wal
11. Bowe ire
10 Sexton ire
9. Phillips wal
8. Denton scot
7. Warburton wal
6. Ferris ire
5. Gray scot
4. O'Connell ire
3. Adam Jones wal
2. Best ire
1. Gethin wal

This for me clearly shows why selection should not be by commitee.That centre pairing makes me shudder as a former wing!

I agree, the poll was for squad places which I'll work out over the weekend so in that respect it concurs with the concept of pairing combinations as the OP assumes.

As you say Roberts and Tuilagi would be a very uncreative selection compared to an in form Roberts and Davies or D'Arcy and O'Driscoll.

That said many of the other combinations, on current form, are likely accurate current predictions.

Conclusion being a combo of both would likely be the best solution and we have to presume that other players will enter the fray and on the tour the selectors will experiment with combos and find new and effective dream pairings like the great pairings of the past such as Rob Jones and Rob Andrew (89), Gibbs and Guscott (93 and 97), Roberts and O'Driscoll (09).

My combo team would be

Geth, Owens, Adam

Gray, Hamilton

Lydiate, Warburton, Faletau

Murray Sexton

Roberts Davies

Cuthbert, Halfpenny, North

On latest international form.