B&I Lions 2017
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The coaching team for the New Zealand Provincial Barbarians team for the Lions tour has been announced:
Head coach: Clayton McMillan (Bay of Plenty)
Assistant coaches: Roger Randle (Waikato) and Joe Maddock (Canterbury)
Manager: Chris Back (Wanganui)
Support staff: Jed Smethurst (Physio), Tim Hurst (Strength & Conditioning) and Conlin Locke (Doctor) (all Northland)They get one week of preparation with the players ...
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by all accounts there will be a full house for that match, only GA tickets available, so hopefully upto 20k jammed into Okara again.
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@taniwharugby should be more than twenty surely. I'll be there with the wider whanau and other hangers on. Festival of rugby... Should be great
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@nzzp just going by the estimated 20k that was at the RWC matches.
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@Bovidae I wondered about that as well. This is not the 'regular' NZ Barbarians squad after all, but a provincial version, although I wouldn't have a problem with Super Rugby players being selected if they are not picked by their Super team or the (Maori) ABs.
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Huh I thought that was low but Google tells me eighteen and a half thousand!
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So, after a couple of rounds of Super Rugby
TJP, BB, JS, RC, ??, NMS, BS
Res: AS, AC, ID
Midfield options:
- RC + ALB
- RC + RI
- SBW + RC
- RC + MF
- SBW + ALB
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@Billy-Tell ALB was all class last year, surely he gets first crack...unless SBW sets the world on-fire when he fronts for the Blues?
BB combo with RC super important because they just looked to "get" each other and tbh, SBW has only ever looked amazeballs outside Aaron Cruden -
Dagg on the right wing and ALB at centre. Conservative option to start with. Without much lead in the combinations could be rusty and need to minimise errors against the Lions pressure brand of rugby.
Can change it up for the 2nd test. It's a template which worked in 2005, would work again.
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We would want to present the Lions things they have not experienced before to throw them off their stride. This is where a player like NMS comes in. Evasion skills they have not had to defend against in the 6N. Dagg is great experience to have in the last half hour.
Aren't we getting a bit cocky to play them with only our backline though?
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I find it premature to even consider SBW in the starting line-up. He hasn't played XVs for more than a year; in 2016, he has had two serious injuries (knee and ankle) that kept him from playing, and he is over 30 years old. He has never been the incumbent 12 either. Crotty to start at least the first Lions game.
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@Stargazer while I dont think he is an automatic, the coaches have always given him a shot when hes been fit, so if fit, he will be in the mix, although likely a bench option, but who knows.
Crotty-ALB would be the first option IMO
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@Crucial said in B&I Lions 2017:
We would want to present the Lions things they have not experienced before to throw them off their stride. This is where a player like NMS comes in. Evasion skills they have not had to defend against in the 6N. Dagg is great experience to have in the last half hour.
Aren't we getting a bit cocky to play them with only our backline though?
Can't resist this. Here's a few skills/list of things they have not experienced before:
Entertainment skills - Not facing the haka - a nice pop song perhaps.... (see participation skills)
Diplomatic skills - presenting the Lions captain with a clump of seaweed with instructions to throw it at the opposing team as a sign of friendship
Strength & Conditioning Skills - Getting four players to lift a Lions player's legs off the ground - cannot be a centre - before the match starts
Evasion skills - Being able to admit knowing the names of more than four players in the Lions squad
Participation Skills - The crowd actually singing the national anthem as opposed to some pop singer in the middle of the pitch. -
The pack selects itself I guess but there are still a few ways the selectors can go.
Who will fill the reserve lock role on the bench. Tuipulotu? Romano? Barrett? Bird?
Or will they pick an extra loosie and get Kaino or Squire to cover?
Only room for (at most) 2 of Cane, Savea and Todd. Who will miss out?
Is there room for an experienced campaigner like Messam, who has been there and done that before?British scribes are saying the Lions will have an advantage in the front row, especially props. Guess we will find out, can't say I'm too distraught about our four front line guys, they have over 200 tests between them and plenty of big game experience. Franks might start the season slowly but he'll be hissing once the Poms hit the shores. Playing the Lions is a once in a lifetime opportunity, and without a tour to South Africa (and the decline of the Boks) this is as big as it gets for a prop.
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@Frye said in B&I Lions 2017:
The pack selects itself I guess but there are still a few ways the selectors can go.
Who will fill the reserve lock role on the bench. Tuipulotu? Romano? Barrett? Bird?
Or will they pick an extra loosie and get Kaino or Squire to cover?
Only room for (at most) 2 of Cane, Savea and Todd. Who will miss out?
Is there room for an experienced campaigner like Messam, who has been there and done that before?British scribes are saying the Lions will have an advantage in the front row, especially props. Guess we will find out, can't say I'm too distraught about our four front line guys, they have over 200 tests between them and plenty of big game experience. Franks might start the season slowly but he'll be hissing once the Poms hit the shores. Playing the Lions is a once in a lifetime opportunity, and without a tour to South Africa (and the decline of the Boks) this is as big as it gets for a prop.
This goes without saying. With all our lolly pop Super Rugby we need the NH to show us how to do the setpiece. At least that's how it usually goes...
I think they will have a good scrummaging pack, but our props will offer more around the field.
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@Frye said in B&I Lions 2017:
Is there room for an experienced campaigner like Messam, who has been there and done that before?
Funny you should say that, as I was thinking the same thing while at the game on Friday night. A long way to go yet but I'd trust Messam more than either Dixon or Squire.
Also, I don't think the reserve hooker is decided yet as Harris comes back into the frame.
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@Frye said in B&I Lions 2017:
The pack selects itself I guess but there are still a few ways the selectors can go.
Who will fill the reserve lock role on the bench. Tuipulotu? Romano? Barrett? Bird?
Or will they pick an extra loosie and get Kaino or Squire to cover?
Only room for (at most) 2 of Cane, Savea and Todd. Who will miss out?
Is there room for an experienced campaigner like Messam, who has been there and done that before?British scribes are saying the Lions will have an advantage in the front row, especially props. Guess we will find out, can't say I'm too distraught about our four front line guys, they have over 200 tests between them and plenty of big game experience. Franks might start the season slowly but he'll be hissing once the Poms hit the shores. Playing the Lions is a once in a lifetime opportunity, and without a tour to South Africa (and the decline of the Boks) this is as big as it gets for a prop.
I think they'll definitely go for an actual lock ... playing loosies at lock took a reputation dent last year.
