Jonathan Davies victim of Twitter abuse and threats after displacing Brian O'Driscoll in Lions side for deciding Test

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Jonathan Davies victim of Twitter abuse and threats after displacing Brian O'Driscoll in Lions side for deciding Test

The Scarlets and Wales centre was one of the standout performers during the 2-1 series success over the Wallabies and was given the vote to play alongside countryman Jamie Roberts in Sydney.

Coach Warren Gatland’s selection, which included nine Welshmen in the starting XV, gave rise to some serious criticism from the likes of Lions’ great Willie John McBride and former Ireland and Lions hooker Keith Wood.

The opposition to Gatland’s decision – particularly in relation to O’Driscoll – became further inflamed on Twitter, where a handful of supporters posted threatening messages towards Davies.

Davies said: “There was a lot of stuff on Twitter but I tried not to take too much notice of it. I had some good advice from players like Mike Phillips who just told me to ignore it.

“I was just grateful to have been given the opportunity to win the series. I did get a bit of verbal abuse and people wanting to break my legs and stuff. But I didn’t really care.


“I did feel like public enemy number one and there was a lot of pressure. But I felt like I had performed well under pressure.

“It was a great experience and I enjoyed every minute. Brian congratulated me afterwards and said well done. We were tight as a squad and Brian will be glad to have it on his CV.”

Davies will now turn his attention to helping the Scarlets re-establish themselves as a force in European club rugby.

“I have had six weeks offf and I’ve enjoyed it. I’ve been away on holiday and can’t wait to get back playing.”




Pretty disgusting stuff, rugby becoming more popular is attracting football like behaviour

Sin é wrote:

GunsGerms wrote:I know your post is tongue in cheek FES but obviously Ireland is not the Lions and obviously isnt subject to the same traditions. Its unlikely too many Connacht players will get picked as usual especially given McCarthy is playing for Leinster now.

O'Driscoll will more than likely get picked by Schmidt otherwise it would have been pointless giving him a contract extension.

You can be guaranteed that Schmidt won't be rolling out any player who isn't going to be involved in the 23 at a pre-match press conference and hinting at it that they might be captain.

Lets hope there's no sign of Keith Earls then.....  

rodders wrote:

Sin é wrote:

GunsGerms wrote:I know your post is tongue in cheek FES but obviously Ireland is not the Lions and obviously isnt subject to the same traditions. Its unlikely too many Connacht players will get picked as usual especially given McCarthy is playing for Leinster now.

O'Driscoll will more than likely get picked by Schmidt otherwise it would have been pointless giving him a contract extension.

You can be guaranteed that Schmidt won't be rolling out any player who isn't going to be involved in the 23 at a pre-match press conference and hinting at it that they might be captain.

Lets hope there's no sign of Keith Earls then.....  

Earlsey will be in the 23  

Sin é wrote:

rodders wrote:

Sin é wrote:

GunsGerms wrote:I know your post is tongue in cheek FES but obviously Ireland is not the Lions and obviously isnt subject to the same traditions. Its unlikely too many Connacht players will get picked as usual especially given McCarthy is playing for Leinster now.

O'Driscoll will more than likely get picked by Schmidt otherwise it would have been pointless giving him a contract extension.

You can be guaranteed that Schmidt won't be rolling out any player who isn't going to be involved in the 23 at a pre-match press conference and hinting at it that they might be captain.

Lets hope there's no sign of Keith Earls then.....  

Earlsey will be in the 23  

If he is I'll be harassing him on twitter too then.....  

It'll be interesting to see how the competition for the Ireland 13 jersey pans out. Quite a few options but no-one particularly compelling. Makes it easier to stick with BOD until someone puts their hand up.

Sin é wrote:

GunsGerms wrote:I know your post is tongue in cheek FES but obviously Ireland is not the Lions and obviously isnt subject to the same traditions. Its unlikely too many Connacht players will get picked as usual especially given McCarthy is playing for Leinster now.

O'Driscoll will more than likely get picked by Schmidt otherwise it would have been pointless giving him a contract extension.

You can be guaranteed that Schmidt won't be rolling out any player who isn't going to be involved in the 23 at a pre-match press conference and hinting at it that they might be captain.

Schmidt will be better at PR than Gatland? Perhaps. But we'll have to wait until he's coached Ireland a few times before assessing him as coach of an international side.

funnyExiledScot wrote:It'll be interesting to see how the competition for the Ireland 13 jersey pans out. Quite a few options but no-one particularly compelling. Makes it easier to stick with BOD until someone puts their hand up.

Sadly it will probably be Payne when Drico retires. Personally I really think it should be Earls. I also think Trimble and Bowe could do a job here.

rodders wrote:

Sin é wrote:

rodders wrote:

Sin é wrote:

GunsGerms wrote:I know your post is tongue in cheek FES but obviously Ireland is not the Lions and obviously isnt subject to the same traditions. Its unlikely too many Connacht players will get picked as usual especially given McCarthy is playing for Leinster now.

O'Driscoll will more than likely get picked by Schmidt otherwise it would have been pointless giving him a contract extension.

You can be guaranteed that Schmidt won't be rolling out any player who isn't going to be involved in the 23 at a pre-match press conference and hinting at it that they might be captain.

Lets hope there's no sign of Keith Earls then.....  

Earlsey will be in the 23  

If he is I'll be harassing him on twitter too then.....  

 

Pity he isn't on twitter  

optimist wrote:

Sin é wrote:

GunsGerms wrote:I know your post is tongue in cheek FES but obviously Ireland is not the Lions and obviously isnt subject to the same traditions. Its unlikely too many Connacht players will get picked as usual especially given McCarthy is playing for Leinster now.

O'Driscoll will more than likely get picked by Schmidt otherwise it would have been pointless giving him a contract extension.

You can be guaranteed that Schmidt won't be rolling out any player who isn't going to be involved in the 23 at a pre-match press conference and hinting at it that they might be captain.

Schmidt will be better at PR than Gatland?  Perhaps.  But we'll have to wait until he's coached Ireland a few times before assessing him as coach of an international side.

Crickey - anyone would be better at pr than Gatland. Saying he came across like a menopausal warthog was being kind to him.

Yeh, Sin e may be slightly one-eyed when it comes to assessing Gatland's coaching credentials, but I have to agree with him that Gatland is a poor media man.

Still, better a poor media man and a good coach, than vice versa.

funnyExiledScot wrote:Yeh, Sin e may be slightly one-eyed when it comes to assessing Gatland's coaching credentials, but I have to agree with him that Gatland is a poor media man.

Still, better a poor media man and a good coach, than vice versa.

The thing is though, there are lot of very good coaches, not authoritarian and who are also media friendly.

munkian wrote:Jonathan Davies victim of Twitter abuse and threats after displacing Brian O'Driscoll in Lions side for deciding Test

munkian wrote:Pretty disgusting stuff, rugby becoming more popular is attracting football like behaviour

An undeniably bad aspect of the "Lions" is that they attract a peripheral rugby support who don't understand that the Lions is no longer about ethos and romantic Corinthian tradition but purely there to win at any cost. Gatland no doubt alienated this ill-informed rugby "support" by being so clueless in his handling of the O'Driscoll dropping that some of these idiots targetted JD2.

Davies had done nothing other than his best for the Lions and doesn't deserve any blame, and it is amazing that Gatland has serenely let him cop the flak... then again maybe it isn't.

Sin é wrote:

funnyExiledScot wrote:Yeh, Sin e may be slightly one-eyed when it comes to assessing Gatland's coaching credentials, but I have to agree with him that Gatland is a poor media man.

Still, better a poor media man and a good coach, than vice versa.

The thing is though, there are lot of very good coaches, not authoritarian and who are also media friendly.

True, but (a) I'd question whether being authoritarian is necessarily a bad thing, and (b) I'd imagine, and sincerely hope, that media skills are pretty low on the list of priorities when it comes to picking an international head coach.

I appreciate that rugby is a different sport, but the best manager of any team in my lifetime has been Sir Alex Ferguson, an authoritarian manager with zero regard for media duties.

In terms of winning trophies, there are few with Gatland's credentials. Were the job to become available now, I wouldn't imagine the NZ shortlist being a long one, and I strongly suspect that Gatland would be on it, and rightly so.

funnyExiledScot wrote:

Sin é wrote:

funnyExiledScot wrote:Yeh, Sin e may be slightly one-eyed when it comes to assessing Gatland's coaching credentials, but I have to agree with him that Gatland is a poor media man.

Still, better a poor media man and a good coach, than vice versa.

The thing is though, there are lot of very good coaches, not authoritarian and who are also media friendly.

True, but (a) I'd question whether being authoritarian is necessarily a bad thing, and (b) I'd imagine, and sincerely hope, that media skills are pretty low on the list of priorities when it comes to picking an international head coach.

I appreciate that rugby is a different sport, but the best manager of any team in my lifetime has been Sir Alex Ferguson, an authoritarian manager with zero regard for media duties.

In terms of winning trophies, there are few with Gatland's credentials. Were the job to become available now, I wouldn't imagine the NZ shortlist being a long one, and I strongly suspect that Gatland would be on it, and rightly so.

There is a massive difference between soccer players and rugby players. For starters, most rugby players have not been hot housed in some academy, have not been away from family influences from the age of 16, have third level education and have learned about respect and don't make anything like the money the soccer boys would have for playing.

Paul O'Connell commented in that radio interview that senior players when with Ireland (or Munster) would be far more involved in the coaching and tactics etc. There was none of that on a Gatty Lions Tour.

As for media duties - Ferguson didn't come out with some ludicrous stuff like how the ''Manchester boys disliked the Liverpool boys more than anyone else.'' or that 'Wales played all the rugby' when they lost to France:roll: That is just embarrassing.

Risca Rev wrote:

asoreleftshoulder wrote:

funnyExiledScot wrote:

rodders wrote:So you can only criticise selection and tactics when a team loses?

Not at all.

But if you're going to criticise a team for having no flair and failing to gel, and then that team produces a strong attacking performance, record victory and includes huge performances from individuals hailing from three of the four constituent nations, perhaps have the good grace not to follow that up with a re-hash of "I was right. No flair. Lions tradition damaged. No blend of nations".

As I've tried to make clear, and I'll try again, I'm not so much criticising Wood for his pre-3rd Test view regarding BOD, close call and could have gone either way, but rather:

(1) his attack on Gatland regarding Lions "traditions"; and

(2) his inability to understand or realise that several of his opinions had been demonstrated to be incorrect.

In fairness it was a thirty minute long strong attacking performance versus 210 minutes of dross.Only after the forwards had completely knackered the Aussies did the Lions start to play.

I don't really care too much about the Bod thing but I do believe the Lions tour was very disappointing as Gatland didn't even come close to getting the best out of the players at his disposal.It might be a side effect of watching Ireland recently but I am not fooled by victory the way I once was,it's performances that matter.If you get the performance right the results will follow but the Lions didn't get the performance right until the very end and got very lucky to beat an average enough Oz.The big margin of the victory in the last match seem to make people forget just how poor the first and second performances were and also the fact that the Lions would have been 2-0 down only for the most ridiculous injury jinx I've seen happen to a team in one match.

If Gatland deserves credit for the performance and victory in the last Test then he deserves criticism for the rubbish served up in Tests 1 & 2.

Or the players were worried about losing test 1 and 2, as they would be under more pressure. Test 3, they had to go for it, so did. If they had Corbs and Doc in test 1 and 2 (I know Corbs was in test 1), I would say it would've been a whitewash.

Test 1 showed exactly the problem with Gatlands tactics.When the ref allowed the Aussies to hit early and negate the Lions advantage in the scrum Gatland had no other plan and the Lions only won cos of an awful display of goalkicking and a horrific injury list.Roberts made no difference imo as the Lions didn't use the backs until the game was won.

I think it should have been a whitewash and none of the games should have been as close as they were,Australia are an okay team but the Lions had a far superior set of players available and Gatland and his coaching team showed how limited they are by failing to take advantage of them.

Good Evening Folks................

Well that was a decent Summer and it now feels like the willowy Autumn is slowly whispering its "hello".

Few things with this topic in my opinion.

1. Twitter is a social media for all to see, so it wasn't as if Jonathan Davies promoted it.
2. It was a media interview, its a quiet period with regard to European rugby hence "lets grab a sensationalistic crumb out of it". Jon Davies was asked his opinion on a element and just stated something that was already in the public domain. Nothing sinister in that and I am sure BOD would have replied in the same way if the roles were reversed.
3. The Lions players generally were really tightknit and BOD/Foxy particularly were really close. The photos I have seen after the 3rd and deciding test reveal a very happy nay euphoric BOD lifting the trophy.
4. (In my opinion) Jon Davies was the best centre by a country mile throughout the tour, taking into account the injuries (Manu and The Doc). We had to win the 3rd test and in my mind that midfield selection was one of the few right calls made by Mr G.
5. The uproar and witch-hunt that followed was at times comparable to the abuse Beckham had when he was sent off against Argentina in the WC, and times it bordered on personal abuse by current and ex-professional players and the media.
6. It transpired that Mr G had the decency to tell BOD (a few days before the team announcement) and he stated it was one of the most difficult decisions he has ever had to make. I can't see where people are seeing that BOD was treated badly.
7. The decision was vindicated when the massively under-pressure Foxy had a mature  influential game doing all the right things, and the bench (that didn't include BOD) more than had justified selection.
8. AWJ as captain was a masterstroke by the Lions coach as his leadership from the off was evident for all to see.
9. Would the Lions have won if BOD played from the start and Foxy was dropped from the 3rd test squad?, I believe they would have....... would they have won as convincingly? I don't believe they would have.
10. HAVE BOTH PLAYERS MOVED ON NOW?........... YES AND PROBABLY WILL ALWAYS REMAIN MATES

Finally this topic has 613 replies, and most of it is repeat! repeat! repeat!....... "Same as it ever was"

Queue for a song

You may find yourself living in a shotgun shack
You may find yourself in another part of the world
You may find yourself behind the wheel of a large automobile
You may find yourself in a beautiful house with a beautiful wife
You may ask yourself, well, how did I get here?
Letting the days go by, let the water hold me down
Letting the days go by, water flowing underground
Into the blue again after the money's gone
Once in a lifetime, water flowing underground
You may ask yourself, how do I work this?
You may ask yourself, where is that large automobile?
You may tell yourself, this is not my beautiful house
You may tell yourself, this is not my beautiful wife
Letting the days go by, let the water hold me down
Letting the days go by, water flowing underground
Into the blue again, after the money's gone
Once in a lifetime, water flowing underground
Same as it ever was, same as it ever was, same as it ever was, same as it ever was
Same as it ever was, same as it ever was, same as it ever was, same as it ever was

Is David Byrne related to Lee?

Cyril wrote:Is David Byrne related to Lee?

No, they are just "very good friends"......... think I will twitter that on David(I Luv Lee)Byrne

crickey flyhalf - you must have missed Ireland beating Wales. In the Millenium. In the recent 6Ns. Young Davies totally foxed by BOD for Zebo's try. 

funnyExiledScot wrote:I appreciate that rugby is a different sport, but the best manager of any team in my lifetime has been Sir Alex Ferguson, an authoritarian manager with zero regard for media duties.

Fergie was indeed a Premier manager who may have had zero regard for media duties but certainly had every regard for how the media could be manipulated. His mind games seldom handed any ammunition to his opponents and certainly never exposed one of his own players to fan's abuse.

Down in the Isthmian League, Gatty's ineptness in how he dropped O'Driscoll showed how media naive he is and completely insensitive to the predictable reaction it would engender. Gatland could have easily diffused any ill-feeling towards Davies, by ensuring no twitter numptie was left in any doubt that JD2 didn't pick the team. His mishandling of the situation has obviously sullied the reputation of the Lions and divided the fanbase - all bad business for a tradition that relies solely on good PR.

Sin é wrote:

Paul O'Connell commented in that radio interview that senior players when with Ireland (or Munster) would be far more involved in the coaching and tactics etc. There was none of that on a Gatty Lions Tour.

As for media duties - Ferguson didn't come out with some ludicrous stuff like how the ''Manchester boys disliked the Liverpool boys more than anyone else.'' or that 'Wales played all the rugby' when they lost to France:roll: That is just embarrassing.

And guess what Sin? Nobody outside of Ireland gives a flying fack for feic's sake. You'll probably repeat this in a couple pages time because you've posted it ten times already. By then, the fans outside of Ireland still won't give a fack.

That's a good post from you flyhalf. Very honest and I find it hard to disagree with anything. You're talking a lot of sense, that makes a change .

Sin é wrote:crickey flyhalf - you must have missed Ireland beating Wales. In the Millenium. In the recent 6Ns. Young Davies totally foxed by BOD for Zebo's try. 

Sin when you keep repeating this people will repeat the process of how Foxy and BOD played as the tournament went on. Bit of a forgetful one for BOD I think.

Sin é wrote:

funnyExiledScot wrote:

Sin é wrote:

funnyExiledScot wrote:Yeh, Sin e may be slightly one-eyed when it comes to assessing Gatland's coaching credentials, but I have to agree with him that Gatland is a poor media man.

Still, better a poor media man and a good coach, than vice versa.

The thing is though, there are lot of very good coaches, not authoritarian and who are also media friendly.

True, but (a) I'd question whether being authoritarian is necessarily a bad thing, and (b) I'd imagine, and sincerely hope, that media skills are pretty low on the list of priorities when it comes to picking an international head coach.

I appreciate that rugby is a different sport, but the best manager of any team in my lifetime has been Sir Alex Ferguson, an authoritarian manager with zero regard for media duties.

In terms of winning trophies, there are few with Gatland's credentials. Were the job to become available now, I wouldn't imagine the NZ shortlist being a long one, and I strongly suspect that Gatland would be on it, and rightly so.

There is a massive difference between soccer players and rugby players. For starters, most rugby players have not been hot housed in some academy, have not been away from family influences from the age of 16, have third level education and have learned about respect and don't make anything like the money the soccer boys would have for playing.

Paul O'Connell commented in that radio interview that senior players when with Ireland (or Munster) would be far more involved in the coaching and tactics etc. There was none of that on a Gatty Lions Tour.

As for media duties - Ferguson didn't come out with some ludicrous stuff like how the ''Manchester boys disliked the Liverpool boys more than anyone else.'' or that 'Wales played all the rugby' when they lost to France:roll: That is just embarrassing.

Maybe Paul O'Connell should move to Connacht, he'd love Pat Lam.

Sin é wrote:crickey flyhalf - you must have missed Ireland beating Wales. In the Millenium. In the recent 6Ns. Young Davies totally foxed by BOD for Zebo's try. 

Sin e......... I feel your pain (I am a Scot remember).

I think BOD was one of the best ever, not just a centre, not just a rugby player but one of the best sportsmen full stop.  I saw him on three Lions tours  and his outstanding try in 2001 first test at The Gabba will stay in my memory for as long I stave off senile dementia (what's my name now!).

............ and there is no doubt on occasions he can still make the mere mortal players look like numpties and I am sure he did something to Foxy, but that is not the point of the thread.

I am not comparing BOD and Foxy on a life-times rugby just on the 2013 Lions tour of Oz

Sin é wrote:crickey flyhalf - you must have missed Ireland beating Wales. In the Millenium. In the recent 6Ns. Young Davies totally foxed by BOD for Zebo's try. 

Sin

If a coach thought along the lines of you, deriding a player because of one average game when the rest he is so good in, then your selection would be very poor.

This thread needs to be preserved in amber to serve as a warning for future generations.

Warning them of what? That over-the-hill players shouldn't be dropped?

You wouldn't let it lie!

Luckless Pedestrian wrote:Warning them of what? That over-the-hill players shouldn't be dropped?

Not for over-rated ones .....  

flyhalffactory wrote:

Sin é wrote:crickey flyhalf - you must have missed Ireland beating Wales. In the Millenium. In the recent 6Ns. Young Davies totally foxed by BOD for Zebo's try. 

Sin e......... I feel your pain (I am a Scot remember).

I think BOD was one of the best ever, not just a centre, not just a rugby player but one of the best sportsmen full stop.  I saw him on three Lions tours  and his outstanding try in 2001 first test at The Gabba will stay in my memory for as long I stave off senile dementia (what's my name now!).

............ and there is no doubt on occasions he can still make the mere mortal players look like numpties and I am sure he did something to Foxy, but that is not the point of the thread.

I am not comparing BOD and Foxy on a life-times rugby just on the 2013 Lions tour of Oz

Well, you've missed a load of stuff that takes from your credibility - chief among them that Gatland said that he dropped BOD because the young Welsh players were going into their shell (i.e., intimidated/in awe of him). So much for your reading of the Davies & BOD relationship. On one of the Lions videos (Zebo showing a camera crew around the hotel), Zebo introduced Davies and said he (and Leigh Halfpenny) spent all their spare time on the computers.

 

Sin é wrote:

flyhalffactory wrote:

Sin é wrote:crickey flyhalf - you must have missed Ireland beating Wales. In the Millenium. In the recent 6Ns. Young Davies totally foxed by BOD for Zebo's try. 

Sin e......... I feel your pain (I am a Scot remember).

I think BOD was one of the best ever, not just a centre, not just a rugby player but one of the best sportsmen full stop.  I saw him on three Lions tours  and his outstanding try in 2001 first test at The Gabba will stay in my memory for as long I stave off senile dementia (what's my name now!).

............ and there is no doubt on occasions he can still make the mere mortal players look like numpties and I am sure he did something to Foxy, but that is not the point of the thread.

I am not comparing BOD and Foxy on a life-times rugby just on the 2013 Lions tour of Oz

Well, you've missed a load of stuff that takes from your credibility - chief among them that Gatland said that he dropped BOD because the young Welsh players were going into their shell (i.e., intimidated/in awe of him). So much for your reading of the Davies & BOD relationship. On one of the Lions videos (Zebo showing a camera crew around the hotel), Zebo introduced Davies and said he (and Leigh Halfpenny) spent all their spare time on the computers.

I cannot fathom where I have lost credibility......

Can you provide the article where Gatland stated he dropped BOD due to the fact that the "young" welsh players were going into their shell, who are the young welsh players..... most of the welsh backs were very experienced for their age. I read and listened to most media communications (at the time) on the reasons for the 3rd test selection. For the life of me I cannot recall Gatland stating he felt any welsh player was being intimidated I mean lets be honest Roberts certainly wouldn't have been intimidated by BOD as they performed well four years before, ditto Mike Phillips, and as Murray and Sexton were the only other backs in close proximity of the midfield I can't see who else would have been intimidated.

I believe the reason Mr G stated that he selected Roberts/Davies was because he felt that they knew each others game intimately and they performed as a unit on the biggest stage and performed incredibly well (WC11, GS12, 6Ns13), and it was a one-off game that was win or bust hence the call was made.

There was on-going dialogue and compliments from both BOD and Foxy on their performances during the tour, can you not remember BOD stating that Davies performance prior to the tests was awesome and one of the best he had ever seen in a Lions shirt, Davies has come out after the series had finished and stated that BOD had a massive influence on him (perhaps that's what Gatland meant by being in awe)

So lets put our  "credibility" on the line....... you provide the article link and the forum can read it and reply to you.

The Saint wrote:That's a good post from you flyhalf. Very honest and I find it hard to disagree with anything. You're talking a lot of sense, that makes a change .

Sin é wrote:crickey flyhalf - you must have missed Ireland beating Wales. In the Millenium. In the recent 6Ns. Young Davies totally foxed by BOD for Zebo's try. 

Sin when you keep repeating this people will repeat the process of how Foxy and BOD played as the tournament went on. Bit of a forgetful one for BOD I think.

Agree - BOD had a poor 6 Nations in the round. Had he played as he did in the opening fixture throughout the tournament I think he'd have had a better shot at the captaincy, but by the time of the final rounds he really wasn't playing well, and certainly not well enough to guarantee starting at 13 ahead of Tuilagi or JD2.

Still, you could render quite easily the same arguement about Warburton. It's what made the captaincy decision so difficult. No manager could have pleased everyone. Warburton was as good a selection as any.

flyhalffactory wrote:

Sin é wrote:

flyhalffactory wrote:

Sin é wrote:crickey flyhalf - you must have missed Ireland beating Wales. In the Millenium. In the recent 6Ns. Young Davies totally foxed by BOD for Zebo's try. 

Sin e......... I feel your pain (I am a Scot remember).

I think BOD was one of the best ever, not just a centre, not just a rugby player but one of the best sportsmen full stop.  I saw him on three Lions tours  and his outstanding try in 2001 first test at The Gabba will stay in my memory for as long I stave off senile dementia (what's my name now!).

............ and there is no doubt on occasions he can still make the mere mortal players look like numpties and I am sure he did something to Foxy, but that is not the point of the thread.

I am not comparing BOD and Foxy on a life-times rugby just on the 2013 Lions tour of Oz

Well, you've missed a load of stuff that takes from your credibility - chief among them that Gatland said that he dropped BOD because the young Welsh players were going into their shell (i.e., intimidated/in awe of him). So much for your reading of the Davies & BOD relationship. On one of the Lions videos (Zebo showing a camera crew around the hotel), Zebo introduced Davies and said he (and Leigh Halfpenny) spent all their spare time on the computers.

I cannot fathom where I have lost credibility......

Can you provide the article where Gatland stated he dropped BOD due to the fact that the "young" welsh players were going into their shell, who are the young welsh players..... most of the welsh backs were very experienced for their age. I read and listened to most media communications (at the time) on the reasons for the 3rd test selection. For the life of me I cannot recall Gatland stating he felt any welsh player was being intimidated I mean lets be honest Roberts certainly wouldn't have been intimidated by BOD as they performed well four years before, ditto Mike Phillips, and as Murray and Sexton were the only other backs in close proximity of the midfield I can't see who else would have been intimidated.

I believe the reason Mr G stated that he selected Roberts/Davies was because he felt that they knew each others game intimately and they performed as a unit on the biggest stage and performed incredibly well (WC11, GS12, 6Ns13), and it was a one-off game that was win or bust hence the call was made.

There was on-going dialogue and compliments from both BOD and Foxy on their performances during the tour, can you not remember BOD stating that Davies performance prior to the tests was awesome and one of the best he had ever seen in a Lions shirt, Davies has come out after the series had finished and stated that BOD had a massive influence on him (perhaps that's what Gatland meant by being in awe)

So lets put our  "credibility" on the line....... you provide the article link and the forum can read it and reply to you.

You lose credibility by claiming that BOD & Davies are great buddies because they got a photo or something taken together!

I'm sure if I looked I could provide the article, but recently having been called a liar for saying that POC said he nearly missed the bus for the 3rd Test in a radio interview, I searched and found the link, played it back to the exact spot and the Welsh poster continued to accuse me of lying even though they hadn't listened to the interview.

I'm pretty sure I posted the article on this site if you want to go look for it. Think it was from the Telegraph (and quotes were from Gatland 2/3 days after the 3rd Test). Think he was also whinging about not being able to enjoy the win because of the controversy over O'Driscoll.

Davies, North, Halfpenny & Cutbert could be considered young. Even though they have a lot of experience, some (one) of them was going into their shell because of O'Driscoll's presence according to Gatland. (You may remember BOD bawling Davies out for missing the losing try tackle in the 2nd Test  )

Do you think that Davies gave an awesome performance against the Waratahs? What do you expect one of the leaders of the group to say about a young player when asked a direct question? They were ok, but I'm better  

JD2 was awesome against the Tah's. Surely even your one eye saw that? I had also understood that BOD had volunteered the compliment as to JD2's strong performance. Gatland mentioned it after the game in high praise of BOD's attitude.

Given you clearly have the inside track, are you now telling us that BOD didn't believe JD2 played well, and merely gave the compliment because he was asked a direct question on the matter and felt he couldn't give his genuine opinion?

It's an impressive thing to say. It would have been tough to admit that his direct rival for the 13 jersey had played so well. At the time it was the strongest individual performance in the 13 jersey on the tour.

funnyExiledScot wrote:JD2 was awesome against the Tah's. Surely even your one eye saw that? I had also understood that BOD had volunteered the compliment as to JD2's strong performance. Gatland mentioned it after the game in high praise of BOD's attitude.

Given you clearly have the inside track, are you now telling us that BOD didn't believe JD2 played well, and merely gave the compliment because he was asked a direct question on the matter and felt he couldn't give his genuine opinion?

It's an impressive thing to say. It would have been tough to admit that his direct rival for the 13 jersey had played so well. At the time it was the strongest individual performance in the 13 jersey on the tour.

This is what the Telegraph had to say about his performance:

Jonathan Davies
The Wales centre has had a steady tour but today his performance level went up several notches. Davies was a constant threat with the ball in hand and had great success at prising open the Waratahs defence. He carried the ball 14 times, making 115 metres and breaking the line on three occasions.

The injury to Jamie Roberts means Davies could find himself in the Test XV next week. Today he proved he would not be out of place in the side.

To put in context, this is what they had to say about Zebo.

Simon Zebo
Talk about timing your performance well. Tommy Bowe is injured, there are question marks over George North's fitness and Alex Cuthbert is by no means a Test team certainty. How cheering for Gatland, then, that Zebo played so well on his Lions debut.

Zebo was second only to Davies in metres made with the ball (85) on his 14 carries and his constant eagerness to get on the ball and run at the Waratahs was a major positive for the Lions. The Munsterman offloaded in the tackle twice and so nearly marked his debut with a try in the first minute. He looks to have leapfrogged Sean Maitland in the wing stakes after a disappointing performance from the Scot.

----

PS - it was the Waratahs they were up against, not the All Blacks.


Now Zebo was hardly off the plane from the US to find himself in a backline with unfamiliar players and he seems to have done just as well. I wonder would he have started if George North said he was awesome as well !

What's your point?

I said that JD2 was excellent against the Waratahs and you've posted an extract from a newspaper that agrees with me.

I wasn't talking about Zebo, but if you're suggesting that Zebo should have started ahead of George North then I'm very glad Gatland was in charge and not you!!

Anyone any thoughts on the 2017 tour yet?

Will you read your own post again? You said ''JD2 was awesome against the Tah's. Surely even your one eye saw that?''

The newspaper article does not agree with that assessment.

Keep your hair on - I only used the Zebo rating as a benchmark for Davies. No one was claiming Zebo was awesome.

Put up a team Rodders!

G'wan. You know you want to!

rodders wrote:Anyone any thoughts on the 2017 tour yet?

I think Gatland should take Wales there to get their arses handed to them in 2017.

OK

15 Halfpenny
14 North
13 Payne
12 Marshall
11 Gilroy
10 Hanaran
9 Youngs
8 Faletau
6 Henderson
7 Tipuric
5 AWJ (C)
4 Parling
3 Cole
2 Youngs
1 Corbs

Sin é wrote:

flyhalffactory wrote:

Sin é wrote:

flyhalffactory wrote:

Sin é wrote:crickey flyhalf - you must have missed Ireland beating Wales. In the Millenium. In the recent 6Ns. Young Davies totally foxed by BOD for Zebo's try. 

Sin e......... I feel your pain (I am a Scot remember).

I think BOD was one of the best ever, not just a centre, not just a rugby player but one of the best sportsmen full stop.  I saw him on three Lions tours  and his outstanding try in 2001 first test at The Gabba will stay in my memory for as long I stave off senile dementia (what's my name now!).

............ and there is no doubt on occasions he can still make the mere mortal players look like numpties and I am sure he did something to Foxy, but that is not the point of the thread.

I am not comparing BOD and Foxy on a life-times rugby just on the 2013 Lions tour of Oz

Well, you've missed a load of stuff that takes from your credibility - chief among them that Gatland said that he dropped BOD because the young Welsh players were going into their shell (i.e., intimidated/in awe of him). So much for your reading of the Davies & BOD relationship. On one of the Lions videos (Zebo showing a camera crew around the hotel), Zebo introduced Davies and said he (and Leigh Halfpenny) spent all their spare time on the computers.

I cannot fathom where I have lost credibility......

Can you provide the article where Gatland stated he dropped BOD due to the fact that the "young" welsh players were going into their shell, who are the young welsh players..... most of the welsh backs were very experienced for their age. I read and listened to most media communications (at the time) on the reasons for the 3rd test selection. For the life of me I cannot recall Gatland stating he felt any welsh player was being intimidated I mean lets be honest Roberts certainly wouldn't have been intimidated by BOD as they performed well four years before, ditto Mike Phillips, and as Murray and Sexton were the only other backs in close proximity of the midfield I can't see who else would have been intimidated.

I believe the reason Mr G stated that he selected Roberts/Davies was because he felt that they knew each others game intimately and they performed as a unit on the biggest stage and performed incredibly well (WC11, GS12, 6Ns13), and it was a one-off game that was win or bust hence the call was made.

There was on-going dialogue and compliments from both BOD and Foxy on their performances during the tour, can you not remember BOD stating that Davies performance prior to the tests was awesome and one of the best he had ever seen in a Lions shirt, Davies has come out after the series had finished and stated that BOD had a massive influence on him (perhaps that's what Gatland meant by being in awe)

So lets put our  "credibility" on the line....... you provide the article link and the forum can read it and reply to you.

You lose credibility by claiming that BOD & Davies are great buddies because they got a photo or something taken together!

I'm sure if I looked I could provide the article, but recently having been called a liar for saying that POC said he nearly missed the bus for the 3rd Test in a radio interview, I searched and found the link, played it back to the exact spot and the Welsh poster continued to accuse me of lying even though they hadn't listened to the interview.

I'm pretty sure I posted the article on this site if you want to go look for it. Think it was from the Telegraph (and quotes were from Gatland 2/3 days after the 3rd Test). Think he was also whinging about not being able to enjoy the win because of the controversy over O'Driscoll.

Davies, North, Halfpenny & Cutbert could be considered young. Even though they have a lot of experience, some (one) of them was going into their shell because of O'Driscoll's presence according to Gatland. (You may remember BOD bawling Davies out for missing the losing try tackle in the 2nd Test  )

Do you think that Davies gave an awesome performance against the Waratahs? What do you expect one of the leaders of the group to say about a young player when asked a direct question? They were ok, but I'm better  

What is this "I lose my credibility thing"

1. I never stated they were big buddies, it wasn't photographs it was constant dialogue to the press throughout the tour.
2. You stated that Gatland dropped BOD due to the fact that the young Welsh players were intimidated by him..... Cuthbert wasn't going to play in the 3rd test, Davies wouldn't have played in the 3rd test, Halfpenny was player of the tournament so don't tell me he was intimidated and the North-God!!, SHOW ME THE LINK where Gatland states he dropped BOD for that reason.
3. It was the other way around where Davies bawled at the then acting captain BOD that he was nowhere near defending the outside centre position but was at the base of the ruck and Bowe and himself were covering a 3-2 overlap
4. BOD went into the dressing room after the Warratahs game and stated that that was as complete a performance as he had ever seen from a centre in a Lions jersey...... He wasn't prompted by the press he just stated it "How good was that performance boys". So if you are telling me that Davies didn't have a more than a bloody good game (made the first 4 tries and scored the 5th himself) then I know exactly where you are coming from. http://www.thisissouthwales.co.uk/Man-good-Jonathan-Davies/story-19326753-detail/story.html#axzz2dHGaeB3L

Just to give you the benefit of the doubt I googled "Gatland gives reasons for dropping Brian O'Driscoll" and "Gatland states Brian O'Driscoll intimidates" and nothing has come up.

fhf,

I have to say you are in a minority, possibly of one, who see whatever it is that you see in the footage of that try. I have seen no-one agree with you on who was flat-footed and slow to react.

Sin é wrote:Will you read your own post again? You said ''JD2 was awesome against the Tah's. Surely even your one eye saw that?''

The newspaper article does not agree with that assessment.

Keep your hair on - I only used the Zebo rating as a benchmark for Davies. No one was claiming Zebo was awesome.

I said he was awesome and put in a strong performance, and you posted a newspaper article, in an attempt to demontrate that I was somehow wrong, that said his performance went up several notches, that he was a constant threat and made numerous line breaks, quoting metres made etc.!!

Were you trying to suggest that in your view JD2 didn't perform particularly well against the Tah's? That BOD was wrong? Or was your point that my use of the word "awesome" goes too far, and that he was just "very good"......

I'm trying to help you out here!

rodders wrote:OK

15 Halfpenny
14 North
13 Payne
12 Marshall
11 Gilroy
10 Hanaran
9 Youngs
8 Faletau
6 Henderson
7 Tipuric
5 AWJ (C)
4 Parling
3 Cole
2 Youngs
1 Corbs

Sorry, no Scots. No BOD. No "blend of four nations". Total betrayal of the Lions. Death threats all round.......

God, I gave up on this thread it must be a couple of weeks ago, thinking it was only attracting the attention of a few Welsh and Irish wummish morons with too much time on their hands - and now it's up to 13 pages.

Guys, get a grip - we've a new season starting - there's more important stuff to talk about than the bleedin Lions tour non-event

The most interesting aspect of all of this is how Gatland, Welsh posters etc. seem to hang onto every crumb dropped by Brian O'Driscoll  

Gatland said: "It's good to come into changing room and for Brian O'Driscoll to say 'Man, how good was Jonathan Davies!'"

By the way, even the South Wales propaganda sheet referred to the ''imperious Brian O'Driscoll''

No need to explain what happened about the missed tackle (consensus/stats laid the blame at Davies' door) and BOD did yell at him.

I'm not disputing his very good performance against the Waratahs. What I'm questioning is how much that performance means bearing in mind the strength of the opposition. A team like the Brumbies might have posed a few more questions.

Intimidation wasn't the word used by Gatland as far as I can recall - it was more that 'the young players went into their shells in his presence'.

I would interpret that as meaning that they were too afraid to try anything in case he would bawl them out.

1/2penny did come out of his shell in the last Test - up to that he kicked his points and made his tackles. He didn't do much in attack.

Sin é wrote:I'm not disputing his very good performance against the Waratahs.

Excellent. Then at least we agree on something.

This thread is becoming a mirror image of the incident in question.
 
Unimportant in the scheme of things and being dragged on way too long by people who should probably know better.
 

funnyExiledScot wrote:

rodders wrote:OK

15 Halfpenny
14 North
13 Payne
12 Marshall
11 Gilroy
10 Hanaran
9 Youngs
8 Faletau
6 Henderson
7 Tipuric
5 AWJ (C)
4 Parling
3 Cole
2 Youngs
1 Corbs

Sorry, no Scots. No BOD. No "blend of four nations". Total betrayal of the Lions. Death threats all round.......

Keith Wood has been appointed the Rabo's 'Voice of Rugby'

“Keith is known across the rugby world for his prowess on the field and his direct and thought provoking views on the game off it.”