Emirates Lions v British & Irish Lions, 3 July

                                  
EMIRATES LIONS v BRITISH & IRISH LIONS
Saturday 3 July
KO: 18:00 SAST / 17:00 UK / 20:00 Dubai  
Emirates Airline Park (Ellis Park), Johannesburg
Sky Sports Action

Referee: AJ Jacobs (SARU)
Assistant Referee 1: Wayne Barnes (RFU)
Assistant Referee 2: Jaco Peyper (SARU)
TMO: Stuart Berry (SARU)

TEAMS:

EMIRATES LIONS:
15. EW Viljoen
14. Jamba Ulengo
13. Manuel Rass
12. Burger Odendaal
11. Rabz Maxwane
10. Jordan Hendrikse
09. Dillon Smit

01. Nathan McBeth
02. PJ Botha
03. Ruan Dreyer
04. Ruben Schoeman
05. Reinhard Nothnagel
06. Sbusiso Sangweni
07. Vincent Tshituka
08. Francke Horn (captain).

16. Jaco Visagie
17. Sti Sithole
18. Carlu Sadie
19. Ruhan Straeuli
20. Emmanuel Tshituka
21. Morne van den Berg
22. Fred Zeilinga
23. Dan Kriel.

BRITISH & IRISH LIONS:
15. Stuart Hogg – captain (Exeter Chiefs, Scotland) #783
14. Louis Rees-Zammit (Gloucester Rugby, Wales)
13. Chris Harris (Gloucester Rugby, Scotland)
12. Owen Farrell (Saracens, England) #780
11. Josh Adams (Cardiff Rugby, Wales) #836
10. Finn Russell (Racing 92, Scotland) #835
09. Ali Price (Glasgow Warriors, Scotland) #843

01. Wyn Jones (Scarlets, Wales) #842
02. Jamie George (Saracens, England) #819
03. Kyle Sinckler (Bristol Bears, England) #814
04. Maro Itoje (Saracens, England) #825
05. Jonny Hill (Exeter Chiefs, England)
06. Courtney Lawes (Northampton Saints, England) #826
07. Hamish Watson (Edinburgh Rugby, Scotland)
08. Taulupe Faletau (Bath Rugby, Wales) #779

16. Luke Cowan-Dickie (Exeter Chiefs, England)
17. Mako Vunipola (Saracens, England) – Prop #787
18. Zander Fagerson (Glasgow Warriors, Scotland)
19. Iain Henderson (Ulster Rugby, Ireland) #808
20. Sam Simmonds (Exeter Chiefs, England)
21. Gareth Davies (Scarlets, Wales)
22. Bundee Aki (Connacht Rugby, Ireland) #837
23. Elliot Daly (Saracens, England) #822

COMMENTARY:

Lions will play a similar style to Japan, howver with mostly unknowns in their squad this will be nothing more than a skills training match for the Lions. They will be able to fine tune their defense, set piece and exit strategies

So given the team at the weekend, and the current injury doubts (LCD, Watson) could we see something like this?

1 Vunipola
2 George
3 Fagerson (assuming fit)
4 Itoje
5 Hill
6 Curry
7 Navidi
8 Faletau

9 Price
10 Russell
11 LRZ
12 Farrell (?)
13 Harris
15 Watson
15 Hogg

I'd rather see Henshaw at 12 within that backline but will be fun to see Finn and Farrell play together....! Could see Farrell lamping him by the end of the game - you couldn't ask for 2 different characters

SA now reporting cases in their squad and have had to cancel their training this weekend.

This is going to be anything but a straightforward tour!

Are the club sides going to provide any challenge? I mean Treviso trashed the Bulls a few weeks ago. Are there any good players left playing in SA?

BigGee wrote:SA now reporting cases in their squad and have had to cancel their training this weekend.

This is going to be anything but a straightforward tour!

Have they not all been vaccined?

Don't know, i know the Lions players have had at least one vaccine dose but other young athletes have not (some from personal choice). Thete is the ethical debate, especially in a country like SA if you should vaccinate young athletes where other, far more vulnerable members of society are going without. Not an easy circle to square unfortunately

With vaccines thete is also the timing, two weeks or so to become effective and the reality that they are not 100% effective. They are actually designed to stop you becomming seriosly ill rather than not getting it!

Collapse2005 wrote:Are the club sides going to provide any challenge? I mean Treviso trashed the Bulls a few weeks ago. Are there any good players left playing in SA?

I don’t think the one off match vs Treviso gives anything to go by. That Bulls performance was a squad split into a currie cup side, a travelling side and five or so Boks out.

I would be more concerned with the Corona situation.

Andrew Marr is double-vaccinated and yet has just revealed he picked up COVID-19 while reporting on the G7 in Cornwall.

Rugby Fan wrote:Andrew Marr is double-vaccinated and yet has just revealed he picked up COVID-19 while reporting on the G7 in Cornwall.

He said he was pretty ill with it as well, but fortunately, did not need hospitalisation. So you could argue that vaccine has done its job. That was the line that the guy he was interviewing took (who I think was medical)

BigGee wrote:

Rugby Fan wrote:Andrew Marr is double-vaccinated and yet has just revealed he picked up COVID-19 while reporting on the G7 in Cornwall.

He said he was pretty ill with it as well, but fortunately, did not need hospitalisation. So you could argue that vaccine has done its job. That was the line that the guy he was interviewing took (who I think was medical)

100% on the money. The field data with the Pfizer, Moderna, and AZ vaccines all seem approximately 92%-95% effective. So about one in twenty people can (not that they will) contract Covid-19. But even those who do can fight it off better.

I believe athletes should have some precedence receiving vaccines because they are (1) an extremely small % of the overall population and therefore would not limit supply to older or more vulnerable people in any significant manner and (2) they provide badly needed entertainment for the rest of us during a time when it is sorely needed.

I know not everyone agrees, but this is how I see it.

Yeah agreed

What a bonkers weekend of rugby, Pro 14 final a defensive masterpiece, the EPL final was exciting but akin to touch rugby, then like our football equivalents we had covid incidents which marred our weekend of A international rugby and finally the Lions was just drama after drama. The ground was in shock, AWJ going off then Tips soon followed, it put a damper on a great 50 mins of controlled rugby followed by a shocker of the remaining 30 mins.

What a fantastic sportman AWJ is, he must have been absolutely distraught but still put a brave face on it, laughing with Farrell at the end, encouraging all the other players and as usual never made a drama out of a crisis.

Dan "The Man" Biggar put to bed what it means to be a total rugby 10, absolutely superb and deserved MOTM (POTM).

The bench, what happened to it?, we were well in control until the 50-55 minute then disaster, ok Lawes played well, Faletau came on early but had a poor game although he played OSF so that could be some sort of excuse, Farrell was just non-existant (Aki was a country mile better), George, Watson, Price not much better, Sinckler however was impressive and at least seemed to want to show Gatland that he was the man to pick.

Captain material.
This looks like a knee jerk reaction from Gats & Co and a poor call in my opinion.
AWJ went off, Owens then made captain not Connor Murray, who was one of the Lions worst performers, his kicking game was poor and it took Biggar to save a try, he looked ponderous even Price looked better, yet Gats & Co have made him captain, now I don't think Farrell or Itoje due to the iffy 6Ns performances are 100% certain to start the tests (even though certain tabloids are pushing for them as hard as they can) and Henderson certainly has all the credentials and played very well yesterday. Unless it had to be made immediately the we should have played Itoje, Farrell etc next game then made a decision.

Beard
Heard a load of rubbish about this guy, the Welsh lineout & set-piece was a revelation in the 6Ns 2021 compared to the ANC 2020 and it was largely down to this man e.g. Scotland were very good against England and we were confident going against Wales, but Beard as the Welsh lineout leader disrupted our lineout totally. At 6' 8" and 19st he is going to add some ballast to the pack, he also is an astute intelligent player and gives very few pens away. I am disappointed that Gray hasn't replaced AWJ but Beard is a double 6Ns winner and if Owens is test hooker then Beard could find himself with a chance of maybe nicking a test slot as the setpiece general.

Henshaw had a great game but it's clear we need him in at inside centre next to Biggar

Finally, lets not forget Japan had 10 or more of the WC squad and are a very good side so we did ok, but very few have absolutely put their hand up from Saturdays perforrmance, Sinckler deffo did as did Biggar, Henshaw and possibly Adams.

If the next game goes ahead, I'd put both Beard and Navidi in, I'd give Russell 50 mins, bench Henshaw but bring him on at 12, moving Farrell to 10 and I'd start Daly at 13 (I think thats always been his best position)

My pick for the 3rd July

15 Hogg
14 LRZ (Williams)
11 Watson

13 Daly
12 Farrell (Henshaw)

10 Russell
9 Davies (Price)

8 Faletau (Simmonds)
7 Navidi
6 Curry

5 Itoje (Cap)
4 Beard (Hill)

3 Sinckler (Fagerson)
2 George (Owens)
1 Vunipola (Jones)

Murray had a good game aside from one wayward kick. He is a big game player and three time Lions tourist. He may not have been an obvious choice but fits the bill.

Beard is fine but not as good as Ryan though Ryan may have been injured.

Mark Palmer's take on VDM Lion's debut at Murrayfield in the Scottish Sunday Times - a pretty fair analysis I would say.


The 15 starters at Murrayfield yesterday had first dibs on making statements, laying markers, setting tones and all those other clichés we love to throw around in the early days of a British & Irish Lions summer when wheat and chaff have yet to be separated.

With Duhan van der Merwe, however, it was possible to imagine that what he did could have ramifications well beyond his own individual prospects.

The South African-born Scotland flyer, who has burst on to the international stage with nine tries in 11 matches since last October, is a prodigious talent and, in the context of this squad and its wings, a singular one. The same power, pace and score-sniffing instincts which make compelling case for his selection out left may yet open up a world of opportunity for others, not least Owen Farrell and/or Finn Russell.

Scotland have increasingly used Van der Merwe as a heaving, thunderous runner off Nos 9 and 10, the tactic being employed in set-piece moves and in open play. Bringing that gainline-busting intent into the midfield reduces the need for a crashball centre and gives a coach the option of fielding two playmakers at fly half and inside centre.

Warren Gatland, of course, did precisely that in the second and third Tests of the 2017 New Zealand tour, pairing Farrell with Johnny Sexton after opting for Ben Te’o at 12 in defeat at Eden Park. And so, while the Lions did not engage Van der Merwe centrally here to anything like the same degree as Scotland have, with Gregor Townsend in charge of the attacking playbook (he is also a fan of dual playmakers), it must surely remain a live and intriguing possibility for when they reach the big man’s homeland.

Yes, Van der Merwe has a fight on his hands to beat Josh Adams, Anthony Watson, Louis Rees-Zammit and maybe even Liam Williams to one of the Test wing slots, but if his presence helps Gatland get two of Dan Biggar, Farrell and Russell on to the field at the same time, it can only count in his favour. And while in such an arrangement, Farrell would be overwhelming favourite to partner Biggar, it is worth remembering that Russell has sometimes teamed up with Adam Hastings in dark blue.

Those two are on a much more similar wavelength than Biggar and Russell would be, but Lions tours and combinations are not all about kindred spirits. Might Biggar be the man to guide the Racing 92 pivot away from his own worst instincts, just like Greig Laidlaw used to do? Could Russell help the Welshman bury once and for all the myth that he is all control and no flair? Whatever solution the coaches go with, Van der Merwe has added another dimension to the debate. Not so long ago, I was sat in front of the Edinburgh coaches at one of their Guinness Pro14 games. When the opposition put up a high kick in the direction of the 26-year-old, one of those coaches put his head in his hands and muttered, “Here comes the f***ing circus”.


Yet, if at one stage the wing’s hulking frame did indeed appear to be made up almost entirely of rough edges, his duck-to-water introduction to Test rugby has been a marvel. Defence remains something of a work in progress, but nothing like the grievous weakness it was previously.

The Van der Merwe of even two seasons ago would have been a rabbit in the headlights when faced with a slippery figure like Kotaro Matsushima trying to take him on the outside. Here, three minutes in, he held his position, read the danger, used his recovery pace and took his man. A small victory, perhaps, but a significant one in the context of where Van der Merwe has been and where he might be heading next.

Shortly afterwards came the familiar sight of the Edinburgh man touching down in the corner. It was anyone’s guess quite what he was doing on the right flank, pretty much retracing Adams’s score, but such (

Even as he was bagging tries and skittling defenders for fun in those early seasons with Edinburgh, it was often possible to accuse the new Worcester signing of waiting for the game to come to him. Perhaps he figured it out for himself, perhaps he grew tired of long, freezing nights where Edinburgh’s limited style saw him touch the ball only two or three times: either way, the feet of clay are long gone. He goes looking, and more often than not, we all find something special. Van der Merwe is his own man — and so much more.

BigGee wrote:And while in such an arrangement, Farrell would be overwhelming favourite to partner Biggar, it is worth remembering that Russell has sometimes teamed up with Adam Hastings in dark blue.

Nice piece
I've always said that Russell is good enough and solid enough to play as 2nd receiver, he did ok against Agentina in 2018, enabling Hastings to have much more space than he normally would have. Biggar has filled in at 12 for the Lions if I recall as well, so I could see more more of a looping interchange with Biggar almost doing an hybrid "Harris" role. I would rather Henshaw play 12 but Biggar/Russell/ Henshaw combo could work if called upon

flyhalffactory wrote:

BigGee wrote:And while in such an arrangement, Farrell would be overwhelming favourite to partner Biggar, it is worth remembering that Russell has sometimes teamed up with Adam Hastings in dark blue.

Nice piece
I've always said that Russell is good enough and solid enough to play as 2nd receiver, he did ok against Agentina in 2018, enabling Hastings to have much more space than he normally would have. Biggar has filled in at 12 for the Lions if I recall as well, so I could see more more of a looping interchange with Biggar almost doing an hybrid "Harris" role. I would rather Henshaw play 12 but  Biggar/Russell/ Henshaw combo could work if called upon

Hopefully we see the Biggar-Russell combo in one of the early non-test matches. My gut feel, though, is to have a real 12 at 12. Aki, not my favourite player, or Henshaw would still seem the logical fits to me.

Well that was an eventful weekend. Hugely disappointing for both Jones and Tipuric, just goes to show how quickly so many selection discussions can be rendered moot.

Thought Navidi was very unlucky not to be in the original squad, wouldn't surprise me at all if he made the starting test 23. Don't know much about Beard, James Ryan is very unfortunate with the timing of his injury.

Not sure if already being discussed, but the Springboks squad are apparently in isolation after 3 players tested positive for COVID. Looks like there are going to be quite a few obstacles before a ball is kicked in anger!

https://www.thetimes.co.uk/article/british-irish-lions-weighing-up-cape-town-switch-after-springbok-covid-outbreak-xcnfwgjvk

doctor_grey wrote:

flyhalffactory wrote:

BigGee wrote:And while in such an arrangement, Farrell would be overwhelming favourite to partner Biggar, it is worth remembering that Russell has sometimes teamed up with Adam Hastings in dark blue.

Nice piece
I've always said that Russell is good enough and solid enough to play as 2nd receiver, he did ok against Agentina in 2018, enabling Hastings to have much more space than he normally would have. Biggar has filled in at 12 for the Lions if I recall as well, so I could see more more of a looping interchange with Biggar almost doing an hybrid "Harris" role. I would rather Henshaw play 12 but  Biggar/Russell/ Henshaw combo could work if called upon

Hopefully we see the Biggar-Russell combo in one of the early non-test matches.  My gut feel, though, is to have a real 12 at 12.  Aki, not my favourite player, or Henshaw would still seem the logical fits to me.        

I agree, I'd rather a proper inside centre.
Farrell playing 10 at club and 12 at international level is not the way, personally I'd go with Henshaw he's a better 12 than 13, but would also like to see Aki again, hopefully starting with Daly (or Harris). It's a shame we haven't got at least one more game to trial out a structured playmaker at 10 with a creative playmaker at 12 with an abrasive blindside flanker to support the maveric 12 (Richie did that well when we played Hastings/Russell)

I think it's pretty academic as unless somebody has a storming game at I/C, Gats will accomodate Farrell somewhere in the test side either starting him 12 so Henshaw will stay at 13 to accomodate Faz, Biggar at 10 with possibly Russell on the bench, or even worse having him on the bench covering 10/12 (with a proper 13 and 12 starting) that means Russell not even in the test 23 who let's be honest is our only legitimate game-changer

flyhalffactory wrote:

BigGee wrote:And while in such an arrangement, Farrell would be overwhelming favourite to partner Biggar, it is worth remembering that Russell has sometimes teamed up with Adam Hastings in dark blue.

Nice piece
I've always said that Russell is good enough and solid enough to play as 2nd receiver, he did ok against Agentina in 2018, enabling Hastings to have much more space than he normally would have. Biggar has filled in at 12 for the Lions if I recall as well, so I could see more more of a looping interchange with Biggar almost doing an hybrid "Harris" role. I would rather Henshaw play 12 but  Biggar/Russell/ Henshaw combo could work if called upon

Not a fan really of playing a 10 at 12, dont think any of the Lions 10s are physical enough to play 12 including Farrell.

Sky have announced they are launching one of their pop up channels for the Lions, it'll be replacing one of the existing sports channels and give 24 hour coverage to this tour and previous tours for the 3 weeks around the Tests.

This was being discussed a while ago, I thought it would be a good barometer to see how seriously Sky are taking rugby coverage, to me its a positive sign that they do still see it as a serious part of their portfolio

Yes, Sky offering the channel for £18 for the month with no tie-in. I like it when they do this for the Lions as they often show the 'Living with the Lions' series.

Yes, I cannot see beyond a Biggar, Farrell and Henshaw midfield at the moment although I still believe that centre is one of these positions where you have to stick to specialists in their usual roles. Biggar is a very good goalkicker so I don't see the need for Farrell at 12 if that's the reason.

I would quite like to see a Farrell, Henshaw and Harris axis getting some game time.

It has been confirmed that the Lions Tour will go ahead even though we have gone to a “revised” lockdown level 4

Schools are closing a few weeks earlier than would have been a normal school break, and bottle stores are closed.

The big thing here is I doubt there is any chance of spectators, SARU was hoping to convince government to allow 10k spectators.

Old Man wrote:It has been confirmed that the Lions Tour will go ahead even though we have gone to a “revised” lockdown level 4

Schools are closing a few weeks earlier than would have been a normal school break, and bottle stores are closed.

The big thing here is I doubt there is any chance of spectators, SARU was hoping to convince government to allow 10k spectators.

Is there still a chance the tour will be reduced to just the Test matches?

The main lines from South Africa and the Lions has to be that it's under no threat etc but we're seeing how precarious it is at the moment with Scotland A having to withdraw, tennis players withdrawing from Wimbledon etc. I'd be surprised were we to get through this without a hitch.

They are in SA now, which in some way may well have been the hardest part. It would have been a lot easier to cancel the whole tour, or down grade it before they had left.

I think they will still attempt to play the whole tour.

I am not sure a test series of unprepared Lions v unprepared Springboks would be that attractive a prospect.

Anything could happen though, we just need to let it play out.

I am confident all matches will take place, everyone is in a bubble with enlarged squads, they get tested three times a week, the squad sizes can accommmodate losses of players if necessary.

Venues might change short term

No too sure about that, the Lions went with a smaller squad than normal. If it falls unlucky you could have issues to, 3 positives spread across the side ok, 3 in the front row and you could quickly have problems.

Boks cleared to train again today and their game v Georgia is on again this weekend.

Lions have arrived

Being in bubbles for extended periods is extremely hard for everyone involved.  Will be just as difficult for the Boks and their support staff as for the Lions and theirs.  If everyone is in a strict bubble, then no one can go home, even for a night.  I saw an interesting interview with someone with the US CDC during the winter when things were still quite bad with few people having been vaccinated yet.  He referred to Covid-19 not just as a deadly disease but also as a mind killer.  I think he was right.  And the fewer outside contacts, the worse it gets.

Yeah being in a bubble is hard but we have all being doing it for about a year now. Surely they will still be able to do things like go to the beach and play golf.

Beaches are open, so they will be able to have some extracurricular activities

doctor_grey wrote:Being in bubbles for extended periods is extremely hard for everyone involved.  Will be just as difficult for the Boks and their support staff as for the Lions and theirs.  If everyone is in a strict bubble, then no one can go home, even for a night.  I saw an interesting interview with someone with the US CDC during the winter when things were still quite bad with few people having been vaccinated yet.  He referred to Covid-19 not just as a deadly disease but also as a mind killer.  I think he was right.  And the fewer outside contacts, the worse it gets.

Ellis Genge spoke out after the 6N about how hard it was to be in the bubble and the mental drain of it. It's a tough place to be.

Old Man wrote:Lions have arrived

Which ones?

Collapse2005 wrote:Yeah being in a bubble is hard but we have all being doing it for about a year now. Surely they will still be able to do things like go to the beach and play golf.

Depends if it a truly rigid bubble with players confined to their hotel and training ground or if is bubble-lite for lack of a better term.  We could always go for a walk or to the store for basic stuff.

mikey_dragon wrote:

Old Man wrote:Lions have arrived

Which ones?

British and Irish

doctor_grey wrote:

Collapse2005 wrote:Yeah being in a bubble is hard but we have all being doing it for about a year now. Surely they will still be able to do things like go to the beach and play golf.

Depends if it a truly rigid bubble with players confined to their hotel and training ground or if is bubble-lite for lack of a better term.  We could always go for a walk or to the store for basic stuff.

Can’t see them being confined to their rooms, that would be horrific. It would make the decision not to play the matches in the UK turn out to be a terrible one.

Collapse2005 wrote:

doctor_grey wrote:

Collapse2005 wrote:Yeah being in a bubble is hard but we have all being doing it for about a year now. Surely they will still be able to do things like go to the beach and play golf.

Depends if it a truly rigid bubble with players confined to their hotel and training ground or if is bubble-lite for lack of a better term.  We could always go for a walk or to the store for basic stuff.

Can’t see them being confined to their rooms, that would be horrific. It would make the decision not to play the matches in the UK turn out to be a terrible one.

They will be confined to the hotels certainly, with players who aren't in the match day squad not being allowed to travel with the squad & being kept at the hotel.

Collapse2005 wrote:

doctor_grey wrote:

Collapse2005 wrote:Yeah being in a bubble is hard but we have all being doing it for about a year now. Surely they will still be able to do things like go to the beach and play golf.

Depends if it a truly rigid bubble with players confined to their hotel and training ground or if is bubble-lite for lack of a better term.  We could always go for a walk or to the store for basic stuff.

Can’t see them being confined to their rooms, that would be horrific. It would make the decision not to play the matches in the UK turn out to be a terrible one.

Thats the way it was for England during the Six Nations apparently. outside of training and eating there was no contact with each other - except gaming over headphones.

Plus, while we have all had restrictions for the year and a half, the majority of us were at home with our families - a big difference to being thousands of miles away, away from home, comforts, familiarity etc. I actually think this is a mistake this tour, hope I am wrong.

Havent they just announced that only the playing squad will be in the ground per game as well? Thats a real lack of support as well. Does that mean fans are definitely out?

And England were confined to rooms and not allowed to socialise outside training during the 6 nations. You could relax that slightly given they should have all had their first dose of vaccine but its still about having to sit out any isolation which could impact games. I too doubt the lions will be as careful as England were.

Is this game still on? The team announcement last week was on the Tuesday, so just wondering.

MichaelT wrote:Is this game still on? The team announcement last week was on the Tuesday, so just wondering.

They'd been training for a week and a half leading up to that point so the team was probably known fairly well in advance
With the quicker turnarounds now the teams will probably be announced closer to the game.

Robin McBride said they had a full squad to choose from, although I'd be amazed if Cowan-Dickie was fit for action.

The team announcement will probably be on Thursday around mid-day.

I have to say it's very quiet on the Lions front, no pundits match 23 predictions at all, not much on the various forum sites and not much coming out of the camp.

Match still on Here are some photos of the Lions training their first day in preparation for the match

Photos

Jamie George talked of some 'tasty' scrummaging sessions in training. It certainly seems to be a focus from all the pictures and videos being released. Which is good given what South Africa's scrum did in their last competitive outing!

Does anyone know if LCD travelled with the team to SA?

doctor_grey wrote:Does anyone know if LCD travelled with the team to SA?

He was pictured as arriving in camp in the UK, but I haven't see any pictures of him in SA. Robin McBride did say they had a full squad to pick from this weekend though.

As you've said previously, it would have been incredibly reckless to fly him out the day after what looked like a significant head trauma.