NEW ZEALAND v BRITISH & IRISH LIONS, 1 July

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NEW ZEALAND v BRITISH & IRISH LIONS  
1 July 2017
KO: 19:35 NZST (8.35am BST)
WESTPAC Wellington Regional Stadium, Wellington

Live on Sky Sports HD

Referee: Jérôme Garcès (France)
ARs: [tbc]
TMO: [tbc]

A. Head to Head

39 Played 39
30 Won 6
3 Drawn 3
6 Lost 30
664 Points 360

B. Recent Form

24 June 2017
Eden Park, Auckland
30 – 15 to New Zealand

9 July 2005 
Eden Park, Auckland 
38 – 19 to New Zealand 

2 July 2005 
Westpac Stadium, Wellington 
48 – 18 to New Zealand

25 June 2005 
Lancaster Park, Christchurch 
21 – 3 to New Zealand

3 July 1993 
Eden Park, Auckland 
30 – 13 to New Zealand 

26 June 1993 
Athletic Park, Wellington 
7 – 20 to British & Irish Lions

12 June 1993 
Lancaster Park, Christchurch 
20 – 18 to New Zealand

16 July 1983 
Eden Park, Auckland 
38 – 6 to New Zealand

2 July 1983 
Carisbrook, Dunedin 
15 – 8 to New Zealand

18 June 1983 
Athletic Park (Wellington), Wellington 
9 – 0 to New Zealand

4 June 1983 
Lancaster Park, Christchurch 
16 – 12 to New Zealand

C. TEAMS:

NEW ZEALAND

[tbc]

BRITISH & IRISH LIONS  

[tbc]

I also agree with Taylorman a lot of the Lions tactics are very negative. It isnt necessary to elbow Barrett at any opportunity to win. Its oossible to win by being better.

eirebilly wrote:

ebop wrote:
I'm not being funny here. Accidents happen. People need to accept that 'accidents' happen and calm down on the sweeping generalisations about 'dirty' play when 'accidents' occur.

Dear lord, you and Taylorman were giving it large last night saying that it was a swinging arm and dirty play by SOB which should have been a red card directly, now this? When I countered I was accused of not considering concussion a serious matter.

Dear me, you do take the cake...

Looks like you struggle to read between the lines. I was drawing parallels between SOB and Cane. Both accidents. Both were cited. Both were cleared. I can move on from SOB being cleared. Irish were having hissy fits when Cane was cleared and probably still do to this very day. So why don't you take a chill pill and have a lie down.

GunsGermsV2 wrote:

Sgt_Pooly wrote:

GunsGermsV2 wrote:

No 7&1/2 wrote:Farrell has now won twice against nz. So what?

He is a liability. Kaino and whoever the ABs pick at centre will destroy him in the third test. Bench for him.

Farrell a liability? I don't quite understand that, in what regards?

Did you read my post? In defense. The majority of the ABs yards are coming through him. They will have a field day again if he starts at 12. Bench. Time for some common sense.

I read this post and it smacks of complete and utter nonsense.

Farrell has his flaws but defence is not one one of them, he a more than competent defender, more so than Sexton.

At the same time, I would have played Te'o at 12 personally and shifted Farrell back to 10 alongside Webb.

9. Webb
10. Farrell
11. ??
12. Te'o
13. JD
14. Watson
15. Williams

Looks a much better unit. Perhaps look at switching Watson and Williams around.

I do agree on your point about discipline though. Mako was on another planet at times, he lost the plot. Itoje is constantly on the line. usually the other side and he must improve this.

ebop wrote:

eirebilly wrote:

ebop wrote:
I'm not being funny here. Accidents happen. People need to accept that 'accidents' happen and calm down on the sweeping generalisations about 'dirty' play when 'accidents' occur.

Dear lord, you and Taylorman were giving it large last night saying that it was a swinging arm and dirty play by SOB which should have been a red card directly, now this? When I countered I was accused of not considering concussion a serious matter.

Dear me, you do take the cake...

Looks like you struggle to read between the lines. I was drawing parallels between SOB and Cane. Both accidents. Both were cited. Both were cleared. I can move on from SOB being cleared. Irish were having hissy fits when Cane was cleared and probably still do to this very day. So why don't you take a chill pill and have a lie down.

Show me 1 post where I, personally, had anything to say about the Cane incident... You will not be able to find one as I did not comment so having a go at me about that is a straw man argument.

You and Taylorman had a lot to say about SOB but you are now going back on your words, rather pathetic really. If you had simply said that you were wrong and there was nothing in it then I would certainly respect you for that.

Anyways, I will take your advice and ignore you as it is very clear that you only come on here to wind up people. Whatever get you your jollies I guess so best of luck with that.

Sgt_Pooly wrote:

I read this post and it smacks of complete and utter nonsense.

Farrell has his flaws but defence is not one one of them, he a more than competent defender, more so than Sexton.

At the same time, I would have played Te'o at 12 personally and shifted Farrell back to 10 alongside Webb.

9. Webb
10. Farrell
11. ??
12. Te'o
13. JD
14. Watson
15. Williams

Looks a much better unit. Perhaps look at switching Watson and Williams around.

I do agree on your point about discipline though. Mako was on another planet at times, he lost the plot. Itoje is constantly on the line. usually the other side and he must improve this.

Normally I would agree with you about Farrell but his defence has been very average of late. On this tour he has been beaten many times easily.

eirebilly wrote:

ebop wrote:

eirebilly wrote:

ebop wrote:
I'm not being funny here. Accidents happen. People need to accept that 'accidents' happen and calm down on the sweeping generalisations about 'dirty' play when 'accidents' occur.

Dear lord, you and Taylorman were giving it large last night saying that it was a swinging arm and dirty play by SOB which should have been a red card directly, now this? When I countered I was accused of not considering concussion a serious matter.

Dear me, you do take the cake...

Looks like you struggle to read between the lines. I was drawing parallels between SOB and Cane. Both accidents. Both were cited. Both were cleared. I can move on from SOB being cleared. Irish were having hissy fits when Cane was cleared and probably still do to this very day. So why don't you take a chill pill and have a lie down.

Show me 1 post where I, personally, had anything to say about the Cane incident... You will not be able to find one as I did not comment so having a go at me about that is a straw man argument.

You and Taylorman had a lot to say about SOB but you are now going back on your words, rather pathetic really. If you had simply said that you were wrong and there was nothing in it then I would certainly respect you for that.

Anyways, I will take your advice and ignore you as it is very clear that you only come on here to wind up people. Whatever get you your jollies I guess so best of luck with that.

Ok, catch ya later

Does any one when was the last time the All Blacks did not score a try  in any game they played. either if they won or lost.

Have looked on google but can not find any information.

It think maybe against Australia in 2012, check that

2014 v Aus I think they said

Ah, knew it was against Australia but not sure of year. 2012 was 18-18 and a tryless game.

While 1998 was the last time NZ went tryless at home.

So, Conor Murray is the first Northern Hemisphere player to score 4 tries against the All Blacks in Test matches. (he has played 8 test games against the ABs). Some going.

Sin é wrote:So, Conor Murray is the first Northern Hemisphere player to score 4 tries against the All Blacks in Test matches. (he has played 8 test games against the ABs). Some going.

Also suggests the ABs ruck defence is worth targeting!

Interesting.

Where are the likes of BamBam and beshocked ?

They have been all over this forum when the Lions are losing, now these members are all in hiding.

They did have reason to be critical though, the Lions didnt play well and when the ABs started getting on top in the first 15-20 minutes of the second half Gatland didnt react and could have brought on Lawes earlier and the midfield/conditions were crying out for a big ball carrier to take the pressure off the no10.

We got very lucky, if Barrett could kick we'd have lost by a fair few, our discipline was shocking and Lawes showed why he should start, ahead of Jones.

But Gatland got it right with Warburton. Back three is also looking good.

Sgt_Pooly wrote:

I read this post and it smacks of complete and utter nonsense.

Farrell has his flaws but defence is not one one of them, he a more than competent defender, more so than Sexton.

At the same time, I would have played Te'o at 12 personally and shifted Farrell back to 10 alongside Webb.

9. Webb
10. Farrell
11. ??
12. Te'o
13. JD
14. Watson
15. Williams

Looks a much better unit. Perhaps look at switching Watson and Williams around.

I do agree on your point about discipline though. Mako was on another planet at times, he lost the plot. Itoje is constantly on the line. usually the other side and he must improve this.

Are you chosing to ignore the fact that the ABs have exploited Farrell's defence in both tests now. The amount of gainline dominance the ABs have earned through Farrell is crippling. He normally is a good defender but definitely not at the moment. He 100% should be dropped as Kaino and co. are going to have a field day in test 3 if he starts.

Sexton and Teo by contrast have been much more solid in defence. They also have a lot of experience playing together. Infinitely more than Farrell with Teo. When the ABs revert to a narrow attack through their back row and second rows Sexton is much better equipped to either knock them backwards or get a turn over through a choke tackle.

Well he should be moved back to 10 then rather than dropped. And we can go back to te'o and davies being predictable.

GunsGermsV2 wrote:Are you chosing to ignore the fact that the ABs have exploited Farrell's defence in both tests now. The amount of gainline dominance the ABs have earned through Farrell is crippling. He normally is a good defender but definitely not at the moment. He 100% should be dropped as Kaino and co. are going to have a field day in test 3 if he starts.

It looks like Fekitoa has been called up to replace SBW. If we play Farrell at 12 he will need to front up in defence, something he has not done yet this tour.

No 7&1/2 wrote:Well he should be moved back to 10 then rather than dropped.  And we can go back to te'o and davies being predictable.

No he should be benched. In test 1 he played 10 and the ABs focused all their attacks through him and went forward all day. Complete gainline dominance.

LordDowlais wrote:

GunsGermsV2 wrote:Are you chosing to ignore the fact that the ABs have exploited Farrell's defence in both tests now. The amount of gainline dominance the ABs have earned through Farrell is crippling. He normally is a good defender but definitely not at the moment. He 100% should be dropped as Kaino and co. are going to have a field day in test 3 if he starts.

It looks like Fekitoa has been called up to replace SBW. If we play Farrell at 12 he will need to front up in defence, something he has not done yet this tour.

He's used to Joseph defending outside him, maybe that's why it's not an issue for England?

I find this so bizarre. Gatland stumbles across something which works. Their work leads to 2 tries to nil and we win.

Considering the Lions were a man to the good for more than half the match and barely scraped a win theres quite a bit of hubris/over confidence coming out from certain posters.
Although the behaviour and churlishness of most of the NZ posters here (and their coach) makes that somewhat understandble, even more so for the Welsh who so rarely get to see victories of any kind.

Was there an element of luck in the victory? Yes.
Did the Lions play better and did some of the changes come off? Yes
Does that make the Liosn a better team or signal the end of NZ dominance? No
Does it make the third test less of a damp squidb and help the Lions brand in the long run? Yes

When it comes down to it the record will show the Lions won, and Gatlands record will show that too. Maybe it did take Farrell to push him into the two playmakers decision or maybe it was him doing what he'd said he would from months back and looking beyond his usual "Gtalandball" approach. Maybe they wouldve done better and won as easily as they shouldve with the man advantge if he'd selected Teo and Lawes form the start. Yes on another day the ref could have hedged his bets and just yellowed SBW, and on another day SOB couldve got a yellow (as it is the citing comissioners seem to have fully vindicated his decisions in both cases). Its all conjecture really, what matters in the long term is the victory.

Getting another in the third test would be enormous and requires another bit of luck or something falling the Lions way. Its good to hear Rowntree talking honestly about the issues that nearly cost them this game despite having it handed to them on a plate by SBWs stupidity and the referees boldness ...too many penalties. And whilst recognising its not just been Mako he surely will take the fall for what was apretty headless display reminiscent of his early tests for England.

The Lions can be better than that. They likely will need to be to win the series. If they do, and even if its off the back of more fortune, then it will be every bit as big as England going to Aus and getting the 3-0. This sort of thing just doesn't happen.

Gooseberry wrote:
Did the Lions play better and did some of the changes come off? Yes

That's an overwhelming no. Lions were awful. Were much better in the first test.

GunsGermsV2 wrote:

Sgt_Pooly wrote:

I read this post and it smacks of complete and utter nonsense.

Farrell has his flaws but defence is not one one of them, he a more than competent defender, more so than Sexton.

At the same time, I would have played Te'o at 12 personally and shifted Farrell back to 10 alongside Webb.

9. Webb
10. Farrell
11. ??
12. Te'o
13. JD
14. Watson
15. Williams

Looks a much better unit. Perhaps look at switching Watson and Williams around.

I do agree on your point about discipline though. Mako was on another planet at times, he lost the plot. Itoje is constantly on the line. usually the other side and he must improve this.

Are you chosing to ignore the fact that the ABs have exploited Farrell's defence in both tests now. The amount of gainline dominance the ABs have earned through Farrell is crippling. He normally is a good defender but definitely not at the moment. He 100% should be dropped as Kaino and co. are going to have a field day in test 3 if he starts.

Sexton and Teo by contrast have been much more solid in defence. They also have a lot of experience playing together. Infinitely more than Farrell with Teo. When the ABs revert to a narrow attack through their back row and second rows Sexton is much better equipped to either knock them backwards or get a turn over through a choke tackle.

I agreee with that up to the point you say Sexton is much better equipped to deal with big players running at him. His history would suggest that he usually deals with it by hobbling off at 60 minutes and the coach whinging to the media.

No 7&1/2 wrote:I find this so bizarre. Gatland stumbles across something which works. Their work leads to 2 tries to nil and we win.

Crediting Farrell for the win when he made one pass and one kick in front of goal ignores the fact that for 70 minutes the Lions were fairly dire against 14 men. The game plan seemed to be to take Barrett out of the game and wait for the ABs to run out of steam.

The ABs dominated territory and possession. The game will be long gone by the 70th minute in test 3 if Farrell starts.

Gooseberry wrote:even more so for the Welsh who so rarely get to see victories of any kind.

Seriously ?

The trolling on this site needs serious moderating.

Scottrf wrote:

Gooseberry wrote:
Did the Lions play better and did some of the changes come off? Yes

That's an overwhelming no. Lions were awful. Were much better in the first test.

Well I disagree there, although maybe being a man up was the reason they looked better. You cant deny that the second row and back row looked way more effective, and AWJ looked like a test player this time around.

Gooseberry wrote:


I agreee with that up to the point you say Sexton is much better equipped to deal with big players running at him. His history would suggest that he usually deals with it by hobbling off at 60 minutes and the coach whinging to the media.

Thats perfectly fine if Sexton only lasts 60 minutes by that time Farrell will be ready to come in and throw his one good pass and close the game out. At least the Lions may be in a position to win this time.

GunsGermsV2 wrote:

No 7&1/2 wrote:I find this so bizarre. Gatland stumbles across something which works. Their work leads to 2 tries to nil and we win.

Crediting Farrell for the win when he made one pass and one kick in front of goal ignores the fact that for 70 minutes the Lions were fairly dire against 14 men. The game plan seemed to be to take Barrett out of the game and wait for the ABs to run out of steam.

The ABs dominated territory and possession. The game will be long gone by the 70th minute in test 3 if Farrell starts.

Its almost as bad as Gwlad sepnding the last 4 years banging on about how the Welsh scored all the points in the last series eh.

I do think Farrells kicking is overatted mind, its not like Sexton couldnt do the same. I wouldnt object to Teo starting and Sexton at 10 (and what I wouldve preferred to be slected for this test), but personally I though Farrell and Sexton combined well at times.

LordDowlais wrote:Interesting.

Where are the likes of BamBam and beshocked ?

They have been all over this forum when the Lions are losing, now these members are all in hiding.

Well it was the weekend and i was away, is that ok with you? I appreciate your carpet empire can't possibly function without you so you struggle to get away from your laptop and the forum

Only seen the highlights, well done Lions.

All I've criticised is AWJ's selection, you aren't seriously suggesting that we won because of him are you? I think we were down a fair few points at that time

Fair play to him for being part of a team effort.

I'm not so sure we would have won that game against 15 players, but SBW deserved to be sent off, and any Lions side should be able to take advantage against 14 men for close to an hour, and we duly did

Unlike others, I'm not going to laud Gatland. if we hadn't won that game against 14 men, I think it would have been far more of a shock

Gooseberry wrote:

GunsGermsV2 wrote:

No 7&1/2 wrote:I find this so bizarre. Gatland stumbles across something which works. Their work leads to 2 tries to nil and we win.

Crediting Farrell for the win when he made one pass and one kick in front of goal ignores the fact that for 70 minutes the Lions were fairly dire against 14 men. The game plan seemed to be to take Barrett out of the game and wait for the ABs to run out of steam.

The ABs dominated territory and possession. The game will be long gone by the 70th minute in test 3 if Farrell starts.

Its almost as bad as Gwlad sepnding the last 4 years banging on about how the Welsh scored all the points in the last series eh.

I do think Farrells kicking is overatted mind, its not like Sexton couldnt do the same. I wouldnt object to Teo starting and Sexton at 10 (and what I wouldve preferred to be slected for this test), but personally I though Farrell and Sexton combined well at times.

Your right they did combine well at times Im not denying that. However, I think tactically it makes much more sense to start Sexton and Teo. Gives a better chance of a win. Farrell to replace Sexton on 60/65 minutes maybe.

Teo would have made such a big difference against 14 men. The Lions could have got a lot more front foot ball and exploited space outside.

Gooseberry wrote:

Scottrf wrote:

Gooseberry wrote:
Did the Lions play better and did some of the changes come off? Yes

That's an overwhelming no. Lions were awful. Were much better in the first test.

Well I disagree there, although maybe being a man up was the reason they looked better. You cant deny that the second row and back row looked way more effective, and AWJ looked like a test player this time around.

They did, because they were missing a back row player! Our gameplan was non existent, we had no control over territory (41% vs 14 men...). Defended well (albeit with poor discipline) and they were nowhere near as good but not a good performance.

Gooseberry wrote:Considering the Lions were a man to the good for more than half the match and barely scraped a win theres quite a bit of hubris/over confidence coming out from certain posters.
Although the behaviour and churlishness of most of the NZ posters here (and their coach) makes that somewhat understandble, even more so for the Welsh who so rarely get to see victories of any kind.

What's with the pathetic and sly dig here at the Welsh? You've been doing it all tour. Looks like your comments about JD2, who's played very well, have come back to make you look stupid.

It is amusing to see the usual Welsh posters acting like Gatland carried the Lions to a win single handed

Gwlad finding his wifi password will come as no surprise to those accustomed to his usual disappearing acts midway through the 6N

BamBam wrote:

LordDowlais wrote:Interesting.

Where are the likes of BamBam and beshocked ?

They have been all over this forum when the Lions are losing, now these members are all in hiding.

Well it was the weekend and i was away, is that ok with you? I appreciate your carpet empire can't possibly function without you so you struggle to get away from your laptop and the forum

Wifi was down was it BamBam?

Too much kicking by Murray for me. Sounds like too little and poorly done from gatland. I filthy conditions we did lose our heads a bit and the pressure when some things didn't go for us looked.to get to some like Vunipola. A real lack of leadership during the middle of the match was disappointing.

I wouldn't be surprised if Gatland doesn't drop Mako. Two of his four penalties were for fairly cheap shots on Barrett. Gatland is the sort of coach that probably encourages that sort of fairly negative rugby. Its not uncommon for Gatland sides to have that sort of thing as part of their game plan.

Sin é wrote:So, Conor Murray is the first Northern Hemisphere player to score 4 tries against the All Blacks in Test matches. (he has played 8 test games against the ABs). Some going.

Murray is now for sure the best 9 on the planet. Excellent performances from O'Brien and Itoje too, all 3 are contenders for player of the tour.

The Sexton/Farrell combo caused the ABs lots of problems in attack, albeit Farrell is a weak link in defence.

SBW being sent off was obviously critical and the ABs actually dominated a lot of the game with 14 men so it is difficult to predict the next game.

mikey_dragon wrote:

BamBam wrote:

LordDowlais wrote:Interesting.

Where are the likes of BamBam and beshocked ?

They have been all over this forum when the Lions are losing, now these members are all in hiding.

Well it was the weekend and i was away, is that ok with you? I appreciate your carpet empire can't possibly function without you so you struggle to get away from your laptop and the forum

Wifi was down was it BamBam?

Possibly, as I don't live in a Welsh backwater I got mine fixed in two days, usually takes a few months (or to the next round of internationals) for you lot

I actually prefer not to comment until I've seen something of a game

No 7&1/2 wrote:Too much kicking by Murray for me. Sounds like too little and poorly done from gatland. I  filthy conditions we did lose our heads a bit and the pressure when some things didn't go for us looked.to get to some like Vunipola. A real lack of leadership during the middle of the match was disappointing.

My biggest criticism of Murray was that he gave away two penalties. The kicking was ok, the kick chase was really poor at times.

Agreed though there was no leadership. The best captain Rory Best didnt even make the squad. Warburton is not captain material.

BamBam wrote:It is amusing to see the usual Welsh posters acting like Gatland carried the Lions to a win single handed

Gwlad finding his wifi password will come as no surprise to those accustomed to his usual disappearing acts midway through the 6N

If everything bad thus far has been his fault, then everything good is his fault. Well done Gatland .

BamBam wrote:

mikey_dragon wrote:

BamBam wrote:

LordDowlais wrote:Interesting.

Where are the likes of BamBam and beshocked ?

They have been all over this forum when the Lions are losing, now these members are all in hiding.

Well it was the weekend and i was away, is that ok with you? I appreciate your carpet empire can't possibly function without you so you struggle to get away from your laptop and the forum

Wifi was down was it BamBam?

Possibly, as I don't live in a Welsh backwater I got mine fixed in two days, usually takes a few months (or to the next round of internationals) for you lot

I actually prefer not to comment until I've seen something of a game

Yeah that makes sense. So, do you reckon Gatland will steer the Lions to another win against NZ?

Andy Farrell has three coaching victories over the All Blacks with three different teams and head coaches.

I was trying to think which Home Nations players have most Test victories over NZ. Johnson has 4, and so might Leonard if he came of the bench in 2002.

GunsGermsV2 wrote:I wouldn't be surprised if Gatland doesn't drop Mako. Two of his four penalties were for fairly cheap shots on Barrett. Gatland is the sort of coach that probably encourages that sort of fairly negative rugby. Its not uncommon for Gatland sides to have that sort of thing as part of their game plan.

What ? Is this a tactic you see used by Wales then ? I agree with your comment about negative tactics, but cheap shots ? Come on.

Murray and Itoje really stepped up last 20 min and we're both great in that time. I am disappointed that there seemed to be no collective thought after the red as to what to do. Kicking was poorly used especially with Murray Sexton Farrell and Daly all there. I'd agree vunipola should be on the bench. It's where's he's most effective anyway.

LordDowlais wrote:

GunsGermsV2 wrote:I wouldn't be surprised if Gatland doesn't drop Mako. Two of his four penalties were for fairly cheap shots on Barrett. Gatland is the sort of coach that probably encourages that sort of fairly negative rugby. Its not uncommon for Gatland sides to have that sort of thing as part of their game plan.

What ? Is this a tactic you see used by Wales then ? I agree with your comment about negative tactics, but cheap shots ? Come on.

That's how you play if you want to beat NZ. You play like NZ.

BamBam wrote:

Unlike others, I'm not going to laud Gatland. if we hadn't won that game against 14 men, I think it would have been far more of a shock

Im still surprised the Argentina coach has his job.


All that aside I go back to the earlier point, the history books record that the Lions won and Gatland now has that to dine off along with his Grand slams reagrdless of what goes on in T3.

LordDowlais wrote:

GunsGermsV2 wrote:I wouldn't be surprised if Gatland doesn't drop Mako. Two of his four penalties were for fairly cheap shots on Barrett. Gatland is the sort of coach that probably encourages that sort of fairly negative rugby. Its not uncommon for Gatland sides to have that sort of thing as part of their game plan.

What ? Is this a tactic you see used by Wales then ? I agree with your comment about negative tactics, but cheap shots ? Come on.

You dont think elbowing Barrett in the face when he is lying on the ground is a cheap shot? No time for that crap, we can beat the ABs without that.

mikey_dragon wrote:

BamBam wrote:

mikey_dragon wrote:

BamBam wrote:

LordDowlais wrote:Interesting.

Where are the likes of BamBam and beshocked ?

They have been all over this forum when the Lions are losing, now these members are all in hiding.

Well it was the weekend and i was away, is that ok with you? I appreciate your carpet empire can't possibly function without you so you struggle to get away from your laptop and the forum

Wifi was down was it BamBam?

Possibly, as I don't live in a Welsh backwater I got mine fixed in two days, usually takes a few months (or to the next round of internationals) for you lot

I actually prefer not to comment until I've seen something of a game

Yeah that makes sense. So, do you reckon Gatland will steer the Lions to another win against NZ?

I'd be delighted to see us win.

If we do, Gatland deserves the credit for seeing his original game plan was wrong, he made the change to put Itoje in and use the Sexton-Farrell combo - for that he deserves credit

I still think he's completely wrong to select a particular Welsh lock, which is most of my criticism of him

Not so sure it is difficult to predict the next game. ABs should have beaten the Lions with 14 men and would have done if Barrett could kick a ball through the posts better than my sister.

We were incredibly lucky. Covers up a lot of flaws, Jones needs to be dropped, with Henderson coming onto the bench, we need a no13 who can pass it to anyone in the back three, although have to admit Davies has been good.

Mako was stupid at times, but when you watch the game again it is amazing how much he carries and tackles. If we have any chance of beating them then we can't keep on gifting them penalties and territory by being headless.

Dry conditions and it could be messy - could see how much they missed Smith at fb, Dagg has been off sorts and Nahalo isn't a wet conditions guy. If they looked at a back three of Ioane, Savea and Jordie Barrett that could be a very different game.