Player Ratings : 3rd Test

1. Alex Corbisiero - 9/10

Demolished the Aus front row, completely removed their foothold at set piece and won points for the Lions. Took his try very well, and very well deserved.

2. Richard Hibbard - 7/10

Brought in to do a job, people questioned Youngs exclusion - but Hibbard brought real physicality; in the loose, and at set piece. Only one lost lineout

3. Adam Jones 8/10

The elder statesman of the front row, completely on top never looked like going backwards. Worked really hard at the rucks and mauls

4. Alun Wyn Jones 9/10

What a game from the Osprey! Led from the front and is not a well deserved Lions series winning captain. Most carries, second most tacklers and chased everything like his life depended on it. After disappointment 4 years ago, he has written himself into the Lions legend.

5. Geoff Parling 7/10

Another huge tackling game from him, joint second with AWJ. His tap tackle was vital for the lions, ran an decent lineout

6. Dan Lydiate 7/10

Made some big hits in the first half, not a standout performance but a good shift in a powerful Lions forward pack

7. Sean O'Brien 8/10

Big game. Not so many barnstorming runs, but he topped the tackle count and was very good at the breakdown in the first half. Trailed off a bit in the second after picking up a knock

8. Toby Faletau 8/10

Fully justified his inclusion, secured ball at the restarts very solid from the base. Joint with AWJ for metres made in the forwards. Surprisingly took 4 lineouts and stole a crucial ball when SOB was down.

9. Mike Phillips 6/10

Mixed. Nice pass for Corbs try, passing was better but didn't do as much to draw in the Aus backrow or make the metres around the fringes which is what he is best at.

10. Jonathan Sexton 7/10

Great support line for the deciding try. Composed performance at 10, and his up and unders were a real weapon for the Lions

11. George North 7/10

Didn't see the ball as much as he would have like, but went for all his opportunities. His chase of Sexton's kick took the Lions out of danger, and his support of Halfpenny won the Lions the game. Big hit on Folau too.

12. Jamie Roberts 6/10

Solid in midfield, created some space outside him but it wasn't a vintage Roberts performance. His try put a shine on the Lions win.

13. Jonathan Davies 8/10

Showed some of his best. Took out 2 men to set up Sexton's crucial try, his left boot helped the Lions win the aerial battle and was the defensive lead in the backs.

14. Tommy Bowe 6/10

Didn't see much ball, but was dangerous when he got it. Fumbled a ball when the Lions had space to exploit but made up with some nice footwork that could have lead to a try if not for Horwill and some nice catches for Sexton's kicking game

15. Leigh Halfpenny 10/10

Beat that. Kicking metronome, 2 try assists, all over the pitch in defence. Kearney's performance in the second test in SA was the best FB performance I has seen,...this one rivals it. Corbs set the scrum platform, but Halfpenny deserved MOTM for me, and clear winner of man of the series.

Oops, pressed send before I was done

Bench

Youngs 7/10 - Great to bring the starting hooker from the first two test off the bench. Reliable impact for the Leicesterman.

Murray 9/10 - He had the platform, and it is often easier for the scrumhalf to come off the bench, but boy did Murray deliver with what he was given, brought the Lions to life.

Hard to judge the others.

1 Corbiesero - 9
2 Hibbard - 8
3 Jones - 9
4 AWJ - 8
5 Parling - 8
6 Lydiate - 7
7 O'Brien - 8.5
8 Faletau - 7
9 Phillips - 6
10 Sexton - 9
11 North - 8
12 Roberts- 8
13 Davies - 7
14 Bowe - 7
15 Halfpenny 9

Maybe 6/10 a bit generous for Mike Phillips. Turning point of game in terms of getting backs involved was Murphy coming on.

 Yeah that Murphy fella really shone

It was a great team effort from everyone I don't think individual scores are relevant

Each player gets 10 from me.

Taffineastbourne wrote:Each player gets 10 from me.

 

i actually agree with 606 although i would give toby a 9 for his turnover at a very crucial time in the match

4/10 for Phillips. His passing was poor and his kicking absolutely dire (basically gave the Aussies an opportunity to counter attack every time).

The OP is otherwise pretty much right. Knock Davies down to 7 ad I thought he was pretty pedestrian ball in hand but showed a couple of very classy touches. Lydiate down to 7 as he gave away a couple of dumb penalties in our half. Up Roberts score to 7 as his running lines were what Sexton needed in the midfield though he was clearly not fully fit and got stepped a couple of times.

Not sure any player deserves a 10 as there was no legendary performance of perfection but Halfpenny and SOB deserve 9.5s.

About time we finally see some great rugby out of the NH. Great stuff. And thankfully the selectors don't come from these boards, cos they would have stuffed it right up, NO ONE wanting this side as picked.

Taylorman wrote:About time we finally see some great rugby out of the NH. Great stuff. And thankfully the selectors don't come from these boards, cos they would have stuffed it right up, NO ONE wanting this side as picked.

 Nice post, but some people liked the team - StandUlsterman for one stood up and said just that which for me is impressive - As for us welsh, well probably the less said the better

Taylorman wrote:About time we finally see some great rugby out of the NH. Great stuff. And thankfully the selectors don't come from these boards, cos they would have stuffed it right up, NO ONE wanting this side as picked.

I wouldnt call it great rugby Taylor, it was a great win in the circumstances, but it was a simple and effective gameplan, with the basics executed very well which allowed us to grind them down and cut loose in the last 20 a very good win but not what I would call great rugby

Taylorman wrote: NO ONE wanting this side as picked.

Funnily enough, Clive Woodward said he thought it was exactly the right starting XV. The only quibble he had is that he would have put BOD on the bench with a view to playing him in the final stages.

Not much to say Ruby, once ....again....Wales have provided the engine to win a Lions tour. I say go for it. They were given a hard time. But then again perhaps youre right...you could just pull up a chair and breathe it all in over those plush green valleys! 

I thought Halfpenny was fantastic. Thats how a fullback should play. How the aussies kept falling off him I don't know and reminded of similar runs Dagg has done on Oz last couple of years. Fantastic stuff.

 1/2p is a lot stronger than his size suggests - side on he seems to be able to break through a fair few tackles - he's a very strong boy and an intelligent kicker, his positioning and kicking from hand were crucial today. A complete player and modest to boot.

I generally view 6/10 as a decent performance so:

1/2p 9.9 - Stunningly good performance.
Bowe 6 - A decent performance, but some way from his best. A few mistakes.
Davies 7 - Poor in the first half, came back well in the second.
Roberts 6 - Largely anonymous through the game, but great line for his try.
North 7 - Largely quiet, good support running for his try.
Sexton 7 - Felt he struggled in the first half, in part due to the loopy passes he got.
Phillips 5 - Still affected by the knee injury, meaning he was very slow to the breakdown. Did some good things but with an armchair ride should have been better.
Faletau 8 - Strong showing
SOB 9 - Seemed to be everywhere, were there two on the pitch.
Lydiate 7 - solid
Parling 8 - As always put in a strong defensive performance. Good in the tight, the pressure he put on disrupting Aussie throw left them taking repeated sneaky ones to the front.
AWJ 8 - A couple of prominent mistakes, but led from the front with passion and fire.
Jones 8 - Gave his all for 50 minutes. Was knackered and deserved the rest after those scrums and high tackle count.
Hibbard 8 - As for Adam Jones
Corbs 9 - Stunningly good.

Also following replacements were on long enough and prominent enough to deserve a score:

Murray 8 - Excellent
Cole 7 - If anything scrum was stronger when he came on.
Youngs 7 - Crackerjack cameo.

 Roberts defence in the first half especially was brutal - last week Aus were breaking the gain line time and time - This week against Roberts they went backwards - Immense

RubyGuby wrote: Roberts defence in the first half especially was brutal - last week Aus were breaking the gain line time and time - This week against Roberts they went backwards - Immense

I'll have to believe you. I honestly did not notice him.

 I think there was a lot of work out there that went unseen

Great performance from the Lions and good to see some great individual performances. Particularly pleased for Corbisiero (him against Jones in the next Eng v Wal game should be fun), Parling, O'Brien and Falatau.

Phillips is one of the luckiest Lions ever after this tour - 2 shocking performances and 2 victories. What was going on with his box kicks? Still, it doesn't matter now.

Halfpenny was better and better as the game went on, made a couple of errors in attack earlier in the game when him and Davies seemed to confuse each other but other than that it was a brilliant performance. He read the game superbly, was brave in the tackle and used the fact that the Aussies seemed to be so scared of Roberts and North to the Lions' advantage.

RubyGuby wrote: I think there was a lot of work out there that went unseen

Yep, think I would need to watch the game again to properly rate Roberts and Lydiate's contribution as they seemed quite, but there were no holes and the team played well together.

 Lydiate was immense - SOB; Lydiate and Faletau really put their bodies on the line out there - its not the fashionable stuff but in the end it lead to the aussies just kicking the ball back aimlessley as they had nowhere to go

rodders wrote:1 Corbiesero - 9
2 Hibbard - 8
3 Jones - 9
4 AWJ - 8
5 Parling - 8
6 Lydiate - 7
7 O'Brien - 8.5
8 Faletau - 7
9 Phillips - 6
10 Sexton - 9
11 North - 8
12 Roberts- 8
13 Davies - 7
14 Bowe - 7
15 Halfpenny 9

Sexton had a good game but a 9 is over the top, if Davies had a 7 Sexton should be 6, he missed tackles or did not tackle at times, Davies was outstanding including kicking out of hand up the pitch. for the corner, making Sexton's try and did not miss a single tackle. Faletau was outstanding, made lots of yards, line outs, catches, tackles and turn overs (3) but you score him below SOB, yes SOB had a good game supporting the ball carrier, made lots of tackles but gave penalties away missed more tackles than the stats show and did not turn over any ball according to the ESPN stats (Lydiate and SOB won a penalty that would have resulted in a turn over). SOB getting a higher score than AWJ, I suspect you support Leinster.

 Faletau must have been close to MOM

Corbisiero 8
Hibbard 6.5
Jones 7
AWJ 7
Parling 6.5
Lydiate 6
SOB 8
Faletau 7
Phillips 4
Sexton 7.5
North 6.5
Roberts 6
Davies 7
Bowe 6
Halfpenny 8.5

RubyGuby wrote: Faletau must have been close to MOM

AWJ was the standout forward for me (although Corbs and Faletau were close)

Halfpenny - 8.5
Bowe - 6
Davies - 7
Roberts - 8
North - 7
Sexton - 6
Phillips - 6

Corbisiero - 9
Hibbard - 8
A Jones - 8.5
AW Jones - 8.5
Parling - 7.
Lydiate - 8
O'Brien - 8.5
Faletau - 8.5

As a qualifier, I call a 6 a decent above average performance.

Looks like the ESPN stats have been revised

AWJ is now the top tackler as well as the top carrier!

JD2's tackle count has increased too

Although it has now given Halfpenny a missed tackle,...which never happens, and I certainly didn't see in this game?

Halfpenny : 2 offloads, 2 clean breaks, 3 defenders beaten, 21 points scored, 88 metres run (top), 2 try assists

1. Corbs (9) - fantastic in loose & scrum, great tour
2. Hibbard (8) - Great effort in tight and put in some big hits, lineout work much improved
3. Jones (9) - Titantic scrum effort, gave Corbs platform to attack Alexander
4. AWJ (9) - topped the carrying and was everywhere
5. Parling (7) - quietly went about his defensive duties, lineout went well and that tap on Mogg was quality
6. Lydiate (6.5) great start and notable tackle early on. Seemed to backwards each carry but a decent performance
7. SOB (8) - massive defensive effort with 14 tackles in 50 mins, carried well in tight and was effective at breakdown
8. Faletau (8) - hardly took a backwards step, great carrying and gave us go forward, strong at breakdown too

9. Phillips (4) - poor game apart from quick tap from scrum. So slow at the base and kicked terribly, Murray was massive improvement
10. Sexton (7) - pretty quiet for first 60, kicked too much badly. Picked up when Murray came on and service became quicker
11. North (7.5) looked for work and out muscled the dangerous Folua
12. Roberts (6.5) looked off the pace but ran some good lines late on, again improved when Murray came on and we got some quick ball
13. Davies (8.5) fully justified BOD dropping. Kicking was major strength and ran some good lines, nice break for try
14. Bowe (7) looked for work all game and took some great high balls, kept his opposite number quiet all game
15. Halfpenny (9) Cracking game from the FB, kicked fantastically from the tee and made some great breaks, positioning was excellent

Corbisiero 8
Hibbard 6.5
Jones 7
AWJ 7.5
Parling 7
Lydiate 6
SOB 8
Faletau 7
Phillips 3
Sexton 8
North 6
Roberts 6
Davies 7.5
Bowe 6
Halfpenny 8.5

Murray 7.5
Youngs 7
Gray 5
Cole 6.5

Philips was dire again. Slow service, no sniping and terrible passing & kicking. Connor made an immediate impact, gave the backs attacking ball and changed the team dynamic to offence. Should have started IMHO

glamorganalun wrote:

rodders wrote:1 Corbiesero - 9
2 Hibbard - 8
3 Jones - 9
4 AWJ - 8
5 Parling - 8
6 Lydiate - 7
7 O'Brien - 8.5
8 Faletau - 7
9 Phillips - 6
10 Sexton - 9
11 North - 8
12 Roberts- 8
13 Davies - 7
14 Bowe - 7
15 Halfpenny 9

Sexton had a good game but a 9 is over the top, if Davies had a 7 Sexton should be 6, he missed tackles or did not tackle at times, Davies was outstanding including kicking out of hand up the pitch. for the corner, making Sexton's try and did not miss a single tackle. Faletau was outstanding, made lots of yards, line outs, catches, tackles and turn overs (3) but you score him below SOB, yes SOB had a good game supporting the ball carrier, made lots of tackles but gave penalties away missed more tackles than the stats show and did not turn over any ball according to the ESPN stats (Lydiate and SOB won a penalty that would have resulted in a turn over). SOB getting a higher score than AWJ, I suspect you support Leinster.

The ESPN turnover stats count as losing possession, not winning a turnover.  If you watched the game, clearly SOB made a turnover and Faletau made a turnover, but not three.  SOB was the best forward on the pitch today, though AWJ and Faletau were also very good.

EDIT: Totally retract my comment about SOB, Corbisiero deserves that award.

Ruby, again can't understand how you thought Lydiate played immense.  At the time SOB went off (60 minutes) Lydiate had made a grand total of 5 tackles and done little else.  Cue the "you don't understand rugby" comments.

SOB was entitled to tackle JOC. (40th minute).

aucklandlaurie wrote:
SOB was entitled to tackle JOC. (40th minute).

His path was blocked and he tripped on a player, I think it was Sexton.

I'm afraid the naughty Aussie 11 did a splendid bit of blocking that stopped SOB making the tackle. It's the sort of blatant cheating I applaud frankly. It's like watching Richie McCaw at his cheating best. Glorious.

Also why grade the Lions? Job done. They all get 10 out of 10 from me. Except for Phillips who was dreadful and Lydiate who did nothing. I hate this unseen work garbage. If its unseen, by definition, you can't see it. So if you can't see what is unseen then how can you see that someone is doing the unseen work? You can't see someone doing the unseen. It's like if someone is wearing camouflage and you walk past and say 'nice camo big lad'. It's not camouflage then cause you can see him. So in rugby terms there's seen work and no work. So if you can't be seen doing the seen work you ain't doing nothing buster. Ongoing to copyright that and bust if out when that cliche is rolled out in the autumn.

Also I realise the irony of saying lets not grade the Lions but then I did. And I care not a jot. Not a jot. I'm like that woman that sat on the bus that day. What was her name? Paula Abdul. Yeah that was it. Her and her cartoon cat sat on that bus and have a two fingered salute to all and sundry. Metaphorically speaking of course. That cat from her video lost his hand fighting a beaver for a packet of Quavers and a Toffee Crisp. True story*

*I might have made that up.*

*or maybe I didn't. I'm a law onto myself.

Hookisms and Hyperbole wrote:I'm afraid the naughty Aussie 11 did a splendid bit of blocking that stopped SOB making the tackle. It's the sort of blatant cheating I applaud frankly. It's like watching Richie McCaw at his cheating best. Glorious.

Also why grade the Lions? Job done. They all get 10 out of 10 from me. Except for Phillips who was dreadful and Lydiate who did nothing. I hate this unseen work garbage. If its unseen, by definition, you can't see it. So if you can't see what is unseen then how can you see that someone is doing the unseen work? You can't see someone doing the unseen. It's like if someone is wearing camouflage and you walk past and say 'nice camo big lad'. It's not camouflage then cause you can see him. So in rugby terms there's seen work and no work. So if you can't be seen doing the seen work you ain't doing nothing buster. Ongoing to copyright that and bust if out when that cliche is rolled out in the autumn.

Also I realise the irony of saying lets not grade the Lions but then I did. And I care not a jot. Not a jot. I'm like that woman that sat on the bus that day. What was her name? Paula Abdul. Yeah that was it. Her and her cartoon cat sat on that bus and have a two fingered salute to all and sundry. Metaphorically speaking of course. That cat from her video lost his hand fighting a beaver for a packet of Quavers and a Toffee Crisp. True story*

*I might have made that up.*

*or maybe I didn't. I'm a law onto myself.

What Lydiate does is keep scrum halves quieter IMO, as they know he's there defending. Plus he balances a backrow. No coincidence that with a balanced backrow in test two and three, Genia was pretty quiet.

Lydiate is a poor man's Joe Worsley, enough said.

chargedowntotheface wrote:Lydiate is a poor man's Joe Worsley, enough said.

Yes

I didn't think Lydiate was particularly impressive yesterday - Faletau was and he's been hard done by not to have started all 3 tests. Corbs and AWJ were immense

Risca Rev wrote:

Hookisms and Hyperbole wrote:I'm afraid the naughty Aussie 11 did a splendid bit of blocking that stopped SOB making the tackle. It's the sort of blatant cheating I applaud frankly. It's like watching Richie McCaw at his cheating best. Glorious.

Also why grade the Lions? Job done. They all get 10 out of 10 from me. Except for Phillips who was dreadful and Lydiate who did nothing. I hate this unseen work garbage. If its unseen, by definition, you can't see it. So if you can't see what is unseen then how can you see that someone is doing the unseen work? You can't see someone doing the unseen. It's like if someone is wearing camouflage and you walk past and say 'nice camo big lad'. It's not camouflage then cause you can see him. So in rugby terms there's seen work and no work. So if you can't be seen doing the seen work you ain't doing nothing buster. Ongoing to copyright that and bust if out when that cliche is rolled out in the autumn.

Also I realise the irony of saying lets not grade the Lions but then I did. And I care not a jot. Not a jot. I'm like that woman that sat on the bus that day. What was her name? Paula Abdul. Yeah that was it. Her and her cartoon cat sat on that bus and have a two fingered salute to all and sundry. Metaphorically speaking of course. That cat from her video lost his hand fighting a beaver for a packet of Quavers and a Toffee Crisp. True story*

*I might have made that up.*

*or maybe I didn't. I'm a law onto myself.

What Lydiate does is keep scrum halves quieter IMO, as they know he's there defending. Plus he balances a backrow. No coincidence that with a balanced backrow in test two and three, Genia was pretty quiet.

He also had been managing a knee injury that had more effect on that than Lydiate?

Hookisms and Hyperbole wrote:
Also why grade the Lions? Job done. They all get 10 out of 10 from me. Except for Phillips who was dreadful and Lydiate who did nothing. I hate this unseen work garbage. If its unseen, by definition, you can't see it. So if you can't see what is unseen then how can you see that someone is doing the unseen work? You can't see someone doing the unseen. It's like if someone is wearing camouflage and you walk past and say 'nice camo big lad'. It's not camouflage then cause you can see him. So in rugby terms there's seen work and no work. So if you can't be seen doing the seen work you ain't doing nothing buster. Ongoing to copyright that and bust if out when that cliche is rolled out in the autumn.

I loved this. It was like a Sir Humphrey speech in Yes Minister.

Lydiate had a good second test and a quiet third.

Hookisms and Hyperbole wrote: I hate this unseen work garbage. If its unseen, by definition, you can't see it. So if you can't see what is unseen then how can you see that someone is doing the unseen work? You can't see someone doing the unseen. It's like if someone is wearing camouflage and you walk past and say 'nice camo big lad'. It's not camouflage then cause you can see him. So in rugby terms there's seen work and no work. So if you can't be seen doing the seen work you ain't doing nothing buster.

Classic...one of the better pieces of script I've seen on these boards for a while. 

I hate this unseen work garbage.

Its a very big "sigh" and "do they ever watch the game" moment........

In the land of the blind, the one-eyed man is king.

The same old posters have been saying the same old thing about Lydiate since his selection, you just cant get blood out of a stone.

No co-incidence that SOBs best games in recent times have been with the confidence that he has a player alongside him doing the "unseen dirty work"........ you could say Lydiate as his Flanker-In-Grime

Anyway Brucie would say "good game! good game! lets look at the old scoreboard"

Taylorman wrote:

Hookisms and Hyperbole wrote: I hate this unseen work garbage. If its unseen, by definition, you can't see it. So if you can't see what is unseen then how can you see that someone is doing the unseen work? You can't see someone doing the unseen. It's like if someone is wearing camouflage and you walk past and say 'nice camo big lad'. It's not camouflage then cause you can see him. So in rugby terms there's seen work and no work. So if you can't be seen doing the seen work you ain't doing nothing buster.

Classic...one of the better pieces of script I've seen on these boards for a while. 

I like it!

Very fair on Lydiate, he wasn't great but the team performance was.