B&I Lions 2017

[Sneakdefreak]

Got to meet a few of the Lions at work today. A Welsh hooker who looks like Tony Woodcock (I assume all frontrowers look alike), Irish back Robbie Henshaw and English lock Maro Itoje.

They were real top blokes and that Itoje is a behemoth of a person. All seem pretty relaxed unlike the team in 2005 when the players looked on edge the whole time (I was working the 2005 tour for an events team in Wellington so saw the squad around a bit).

[pakman]

@Sneakdefreak Didn't know they were allowed Mackie D?!

[Sneakdefreak]

@pakman They were just visiting all the fat kids stuck in that Chief Big Mac contraption....

[Crucial]

@Sneakdefreak said in B&I Lions 2017:

Got to meet a few of the Lions at work today. A Welsh hooker who looks like Tony Woodcock (I assume all frontrowers look alike), Irish back Robbie Henshaw and English lock Maro Itoje.

They were real top blokes and that Itoje is a behemoth of a person. All seem pretty relaxed unlike the team in 2005 when the players looked on edge the whole time (I was working the 2005 tour for an events team in Wellington so saw the squad around a bit).

Yeah, that behind the scenes doco I watched the other night had the management team putting huge pressure on with a very serious vibe. The players did not look like they were enjoying the team meetings at all. It was very old school.

[Billy Tell]

[nzzp]

@Billy-Tell

You'd think our accent is thuck as pugshut

[taniwharugby]

Looks like Gatland is getting this tour off to a good start engaging with the community.

http://www.nzherald.co.nz/nz/news/article.cfm?c_id=1&objectid=11868548

http://www.nzherald.co.nz/sport/news/article.cfm?c_id=4&objectid=11868886

[Bovidae]

@taniwharugby Wales did the same at the 2011 RWC, and Gatland said he was keen to repeat that community engagement.

[Megweya]

@jegga said in B&I Lions 2017:

@Pot-Hale how is Gatland though of in Ireland after coaching there?

Hard to beat this site for analysis of Irish rugby and retro-articles.

Will Slattery  /  Mar 9, 2015

The Gatland seasons: How Ireland fared during the four years when Warren was king

The Wales coach led Ireland between 1998-2001.

Gatland has some pluses (capping young players with potential)
some minuses (RWC 1999 defeat to Argentina, speculation that he was ousted by his backs-coach Eddie O'Sullivan, later years Mourinho-style grandstanding)
sometimes both together (radical pick of 4 first-caps for Scotland game in 2000: Stringer, Hayes, Horgan, O'Gara -
who went on to get a huge number of caps:
Stringer 98 caps; Hayes 105 caps; Horgan 65 caps; O'Gara 128 caps: not bad for a Yank)

He seems limited in several ways: style of rugby, antagonistic with the press/opposition
but he has won lots of trophies - another example of being like Mourinho?

• getting the English club team Wasps
  • from the lower parts of the English league to winning it in 2003 + 2004 +2005
  • winning the European Cup in 2004
• with Wales
  • Grand Slams in 2008 + 2012
  • 6 Nation winners in 2013
• with Lions: series win in Australia (debate scale of achievement and selection issues elsewhere)

[jegga]

@Megweya cheers interesting stuff there. I was working with an Irish crew during the 1999 Rwc and had a look at their newspaper to see what their press said after the loss to Argentina . One columnist was asking why they had to have a kiwi coach and the Brazilians were good at football but no one thought their coaches were any better and reckoned the same applied to New Zealand and their coaches. Would love to remember that guys name and see how he feels about that theory.
That 2001 6n game vs the poms was a cracker , as was our come from behind win which was Richie's first test .

[Rembrandt]

Is anyone else concerned our super teams might wipe the floor with the lions? More so the first couple games with ABs involved. Have our super teams ever been so strong as a collective as they are now?

[Bones]

@Rembrandt can't really see it eh, the lions aren't exactly a bunch of nobodies.

[Rapido]

No.

I think the Lions will be fine.

I reckon they'll win them all. But by the same token any 4 of them (not the Blues) could also beat them.

Edit. No, I expect 1 franchise victory.

I don't think we're as good as some think, with Sanzar partners making us look good. At the same time this is the depthiest I've ever seen the 4 home unions. Even Scotland are pretty good at the moment.

The unknown is what makes this tour that little bit more interesting. I'm guessing here.

[Rembrandt]

Well its 50 mins gone and the Lions are still losing to our provincial barbarians. That's got to be a real concern.

[Bones]

@Rembrandt said in B&I Lions 2017:

Well its 50 mins gone and the Lions are still losing to our provincial barbarians. That's got to be a real concern.

I wouldn't speak too soon. The baabaas have been excellent and thoroughly motivated. See what the last 20 holds.

I remember some AB games against Scotland/Italy where we took a while to dominate completely...

[Tim]

Gatland off?

[Stockcar86]

[Rembrandt]

@Bones how about now?

Feel free to give me grief if the Lions destroy our super sides.

[Bones]

@Rembrandt said in B&I Lions 2017:

@Bones how about now?

Feel free to give me grief if the Lions destroy our super sides.

Fitzy is of the same opinion.

So I'm way off the mark.

[Rembrandt]

@Bones Well he is the Chris Rattue of the "kiwis doing rugby analysis on uk tv" world