I'm at a disadvantage having not seen much of the warm up matches but there are a lot of surprises.
Chief of which is Lawes as a Lions Test 6 which beggars belief. He's clearly jammed in to that shirt for other attributes (and as cover for AWJ) but I don't get it.
I get Hogg and VdM over other candidates as we're going to play a power game but Conan must have had a hell of a tour for Faletau to be excluded altogether (and obviously Taulupe still could taken the 6 shirt even with Conan playing).
Lawes in a 6 shirt is one of my bugbears, he's a super lock but never a 6, but Gatland seems to have caught the Eddie Jones bug of having as many locks as possible in the 23.
Wyn Jones out of the first test with a shoulder injury suffered against South Africa A, Sutherland moves up from the bench with Vunipola coming onto it.
With no plans to bring in a replacement it's not thought to be too serious.
Losing Wyn Jones is a massive blow, even moreso because it means The Rubbish Vunipola will be scrummaging like a wheelie bin against the immense Bok sub front row.
Lots of niggly stuff from the Boks with unpenalised things at every breakdown with not releasing, handling in the ruck, players coming in from dubious angles. I'm getting annoyed at the reffing of this as South Africa are just going to take the game away on what can best be described as forced infringements, and they're all going one way.
Edit: and then when we do get awarded one we miss it.
I remember feeling we'd nicked the first test in 2013 though that was as much because of Beale's slip on the final kick as anything else but I think that's the most underwhelmed I've ever been by a Lions test win.
The Boks looked massively undercooked by lack of test rugby in the second half but had the TMO decisions on le Roux's disallowed try and Watson's tip tackle not been, incorrectly, to me, hugely favourable to the Lions (and if Kolbe's knock on hadn't been spotted - that saved another try and possibly a card) then they win that game.
Gatland's best decision might have been having a go at the Saffer being made TMO, I bet a neutral one would have been less favourable.
SA only have themselves to blame. They were on top in the 1st half but made no effort to play, mainly thanks to Pollard who just launched up and unders for an hour. Biggar, playing on scraps, made more effort to get his backline moving.
I think I'm veering towards wanting the Springboks to win the next test so Gatland has to pick a decent team for a decider.
Though my predominant feeling is that Covid has probably fucked this series as a competition as well as ruining it as a spectacle and I'm thoroughly pissed off about that.
This pandemic is the worst thing to happen to a Lions tour since Clive Woodward.
This was my desired outcome. The only sensible course of action for Gatland now is to pick ten Welshmen for the third test. Historically, The Lions have always won deciders where they've picked ten Welshmen.
Seriously though, that second half was embarrassing for the Lions. Once the Boks started playing rugby it was completely one-sided.
Gatland gets it wrong with his selection, then has no plan B. Again.
Lawes proves that last week's second half was an aberration from his usual shitshow performances at 6 at Test level, and he was one of the better forwards on display.
8 is a huge problem.
AWJ looked old and vulnerable, poor guy. He shouldn't have come back.
If Gatland doesn't start Beard next week after that SA line out and maul display in the second half he's insane.To be honest, if Itoje isn't cited for his knee on the throat of de Allende (and he should be) there is certainly an argument to drop Alun Wyn for Beard.
Change the whole back three apart from maybe, just maybe, Watson. Though if the Boks are going to launch bombs all game then Liam is the best 15 to deal with them. The only thing any one of them did all game was vdM targeting SA's danger men to try and injure them out of the game. Josh Adams and LRZ sitting in the stand and we pick a winger who plays like Vinnie fucking Jones.
Not that it matters who is in the back three if the centres are so shit the ball never reaches them. Speaking of which, does Henshaw actually have hands? He hasn't caught the ball cleanly once in either test.
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