Lions squad for Australia

First topic message reminder :

Rather than select XVs for the Lion's tests which will change according to form, injuries and gameplan, who do you think will travel with the Lions in 2013

I'd say:
Props- Jenkins, Jones, Murray(not one tour match is on a Sunday), Healy, Corbisiero, Ross
Hooker- Ford, Best, Rees
Second Row - Gray, Hamilton, O'Connell, Ferris(can cover Back row), Charteris, Lawes,
Blindside Flanker - O'Brien, Brown, Lydiate
Openside - Barclay, Rennie, Warburton
No.8 - Denton, Faletau, Heaslip
Scrum half- Blair, Phillips, Murray, Youngs
Fly Half- Flood, Priestland, Sexton
Wing - Visser, Ashton, Cuthbert, North, Bowe, Evans
Centre- Roberts,Farrell, Tuilagi, Davies, O'Driscoll, Barret
Full Back - Foden, Kearney,Halfpenny, Hogg (All can cover various positions e.g Hogg- Centre, Foden, Halfpenny, and Kearney - Wing)

Leaving a squad of 47 with:
English: 9
Irish: 12
Scottish: 12
Welsh- 14

In my opinion it is a well balanced squad with the most equal amount of players from different nations for a while. Perhaps it's too big and through bias I presume I have perhaps overestimated the abilities of a few Scottish players.

If on form these could be in with a shout: Beattie, AW Jones, Hartley, Cusiter, Care, Weir, Laidlaw, Bradley Davies, Ian Evans, Jacobsen, Robshaw, Wood, Croft, Cole, Strettle and probably more which I can't remember

majesticimperialman wrote:With regards to the 2009 tour, Sir Ian Mcgeechan was the overall "BOSS" of the tour, but the rest of the Coaches was all from Wales, Gatland, Howley, Shaun Edwards. who picked mainly welsh players regardless of form, Shane Williams for one, now dont get me wrong normaly i would of said that Shane Williams should be in the squad, but in all honesty he was so out of form by the time the tour came/was names around he should never have gone. And dont get me started on those 2 trys he scored, My nan could have scored those trys using her zimmer frame to out run the oppo.

Who ever is in charge of the tour i do hope that they have an unbaised opinion on What players are chosen, and only pick the players that are on form, and not because that particualar player happens to play his rugby in the country that coach is from.

Which is why he wasn't picked for the first two tests, Ugo Monye was and he coked up that try in the first or second test and looked below par. Shane played in the final test and scored a try and played well. The reason the Welsh coaches were picked is because they were the best coaches to go at the time. Edwards had done wonders with the Welsh defence. Holey was doing well with the backs and was a Lion in SA himself, Gatland had won a grand slam the year before in his first season with Wales which isn't bad in my book. I though N.Jenkins went on that tour as well. He should certainly go on the next, the guy would give unrivalled experience of kicking under pressure, particularly in a Lions shirt.

Whilst I agree with the sentiment that McGeechan shouldn't be immune from criticism (us Scots have seen the mistakes he can make first hand), and I agree that mistakes were made on the 09 tour, I simply cannot agree with the comparison being made with 05.

The only good thing about 05 was the midweek side coached by McGeechan, SCW made a massive hash of that tour. His squad selection was awful, the tactics deployed for the test matches was dreadful as was the actual selections for the test matches. I'm not disputing Woodward's pedigree as a coach, but he royaly screwed up 05. Impossible to deny that, I mean Jones at 10 and Wilkinson at 12.....that's really really awful selecting.

Yes, the ABs were completely outstanding and I don't think houdini would have secured a Lions victory on that tour, but the Lions didn't even compete in any facet of the game.

I want Gatland in charge of the next tour. He's proven himself the best coach in the NH and therefore should be the man to lead the Lions. That he already has Lions experience is a massive bonus. He should also surround himself with the men he wants, I don't care if that's not representative of the constituent parts of the Lions. To be honest I can't think of an Irish or Scottish coach I'd want involved. I don't think McGeechen should go, he'd undermine Gatland's authority by being there.