British and Irish Lion's Tour.

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Looking forward to this. Australian squad may be predictable but there is some real creativity in the backs.

Backs: Israel Folau*, Digby Ioane, Joe Tomane, Nick Cummins, Adam Ashley-Cooper, Rob Horne, Pat McCabe, Christian Leali’ifano*, Berrick Barnes, James O’Connor, Will Genia.

Forwards: Wycliff Palu, Michael Hooper, Liam Gill, Scott Higginbotham, Ben Mowen*, Rob Simmons, James Horwill, Sitaleki Timani, James Slipper, Ben Alexander, Benn Robinson, Sekope Kepu, Stephen Moore, Saia Faingaa.

* Denotes uncapped player

If anyone has seen Israel Folau play you will know what I am talking about.
 
Scott Higginbotham is playing superb rugby. Wouldn't surprise me if he is named captain of the Wallabies.
 
Puts into perspective how well rugby refs keep discipline compared to the star struck prem refs. If you're free to call the ref anything under the sun and continuously question and disagree with their every decision, who's in charge?
 
Agreed Dimitar. The lame-brains at the FA might take notice, but I doubt it. Rugby always makes the right calls when it comes to punishment. Hartley's exclusion will be a good thing for the Lions. Better he's sent off here, and doesn't participate, than in a vital third test. Never understood why he's so rated anyway. Rory Best should have been selected in front of that chippy git.
 
Dylan Hartley's personal tragedy masks serious issue facing game following Premiership final shame

Right, let us get the rugby out of the way. On Saturday Leicester beat Northampton to win the Aviva Premiership.

By Brian Moore7:15AM BST 27 May 2013152

Saints could not convert two try-scoring chances in the first half and though they fought to a standstill that, and being reduced to 14 men, undid them. In contrast, when Leicester broke Saints’ first-up defence they made it count.

Leicester deserve high praise for this victory and for continuing their remarkably consistent standard of performance over the season.
Now for the rest, which, ultimately, is more important for rugby.

This column has highlighted, at first isolated and now all too common, instances of bad behaviour of players and coaches towards themselves and officials; it has argued that unabated they threaten to harm the game.

On Saturday, the first, portentous, incident was the haranguing of assistant referee Greg Garner by a Leicester water carrier.

The club should be held to account for his behaviour. There followed a sustained berating of the fourth official by coach Richard Cockerill over a late hit by Courtney Lawes. This occurred before the whole West Stand and incited crowd comment and provoked a response from Saints’ assistant coach, Dorian West.

Since he received a four-week ban in 2009, there have been regular incidents and while Tigers fans defend Cockerill, the rest of the game is angry that it appears he is allowed to do this, and that it works.
If coaches were confined as they are in internationals this would not happen. Indeed, had the Rugby Football Union done something more than send Cockerill and Conor O’Shea of Harlequins a letter for ill-judged comments at the beginning of the season, this might not have happened. If Cockerill escapes without a ban, there will be justifiable uproar.

Forward to two minutes before half-time and to a scrum collapse on the Saints’ 10-metre line; Dylan Hartley, Saints captain, was warned by referee Wayne Barnes for comments which Hartley claimed were not directed to the official. The warning included the words “if I think they are about me, I’ll have to deal with it.”

The reset scrum collapsed with Northampton going forward and Barnes penalised Saints to the consternation of prop Soane Tonga’uiha. The kick at goal missed and with 20 seconds left Saints fly-half Stephen Myler was told three times by Barnes “you can’t kick it straight out” and also “you have to restart the game”.

Most players who try to kick the ball straight out smash it into the stand; Myler chipped it softly, but still managed to put it out on the full.
Barnes, correctly, ordered a scrum on the 22 but allowed Leicester to push illegally early and then penalised Northampton.

Thereafter the camera saw Hartley mouth the words ‘f------ cheat’ and Barnes, who considered that was directed at him, issued a red card. Hartley later claimed he was talking to Tom Youngs of Leicester. Out of this sorry passage of play there are a number of things to be said.
Professional players should know the laws inside out and if they do not, they should leave their X-Boxes alone until they do. Any suggestion that Barnes’s accent caused confusion is risible. Players should listen to what they are told and if they don’t heed warnings they have only themselves to blame

If a referee believes abuse is aimed at him he is entitled to issue a red card, with or without a warning and without regard for the occasion, the identity of the abuser or the consequences. Barnes is to be congratulated for taking a stand but had he and his colleague been harder on this growing problem by use of cards or the 10-metre sanction, we might not be here.

This fractiousness was caused, in major part, by yet more inadequate refereeing of the scrum and if Barnes and his elite brethren did not ignore laws and/or selectively apply them, reducing the scrum to a lottery, this tension would not exist.

Judge Jeff Blackett has banned Hartley for 11 weeks, which means he will have missed two Lions tours for non-rugby reasons.
Even if his words were not directed at Barnes (innocent face) it was foolish to risk saying them after the explicit warning.

Classically defined, a Shakespearian tragedy is not misfortune, it is the ineluctable consequences of a character’s flaws; their inability to avoid a disastrous denouement, however they try.

It seems that however Hartley tries, however decent a man he is off the field (and he is), he cannot escape his flaw of indiscipline.

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/sport/columnists/brianmoore/10081776/Dylan-Hartleys-personal-tragedy-masks-serious-issue-facing-game-following-Premiership-final-shame.html
 
I certainly wouldn't call what Dylan Hartley did, a personal tragedy but goes to show how Rugby's ruling bodies protect the reputations of their officials.
Imagine UEFA bringing in a respect the ref rule! :37:

11 weeks suspension is justified.
 
Galvin's Shinpads - 27/5/2013 16:05

I certainly wouldn't call what Dylan Hartley did, a personal tragedy but goes to show how Rugby's ruling bodies protect the reputations of their officials.
Imagine UEFA bringing in a respect the ref rule! :37:

11 weeks suspension is justified.
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The absolute respect that has prevailed in rugby longer than any other sport is under pressure. It needs to be maintained. No one individual is bigger than that ideal.
 
Western Force name weakened side to face Lions
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PATRICK JOHNSTON – 04 JUNE 2013

The British and Irish Lions will encounter a weaker than expected Western Force team in their first match in Australia.

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The Perth-based side have named an inexperienced line-up with an eye on the weekend's Super Rugby clash.

Wingers Corey Brown and Dane Haylett-Petty, centres Chris Tuatara-Morrison and Ed Stubbs, hooker James Hilterbrand and fullback Sam Christie were all selected to start Wednesday's clash at the Subiaco Oval, the six combining for just 20 Super Rugby appearances between them.

Brown and Tuatara-Morrison have not played in the Southern Hemisphere competition before while the replacements bench contains five other novices.

The Force are bolstered by former Wallaby backrower Matt Hodgson, experienced scrumhalf Brett Sheehan and international tighthead prop Salesi Ma'afu but head coach Michael Foley said other first teamers were held back for Sunday's fixture against the New South Wales Waratahs.

"Ideally, you would like a week between games rather than four days," Foley told reporters in Perth on Tuesday.

"I think just to be able to sit down and pick a team and reassess and pick another team. We have had to juggle our squad across two games.

"Realistically, we weren't going to be able to meet the challenge and do it justice by trying to pick the same 22 guys twice."

Foley's Force are coming off a bye week and the former Wallabies hooker hinted he could have played a stronger team if the Lions had played his side on Saturday instead of starting their tour against the Barbarians in Hong Kong.



VERY STRONG

The Force are currently bottom of the Australian Conference in Super Rugby with only three wins from their 14 matches this year and the Lions were expected to record a significant victory on Wednesday even before Foley's team announcement.

The Perth side have, though, shown they should not be underestimated with upset wins over the All Black-laden Canterbury Crusaders and 2011 Super Rugby champions the Queensland Reds this year.

http://www.independent.ie/sport/rugby/lions-tour/western-force-name-weakened-side-to-face-lions-29319059.html
 
Looking forward to seeing Genia and O'Connor together. Higginbotham looks very doubtful. Injured himself against the Reds this weekend. He is doing an amazing job with the Rebels. Australia is going to be a real force in the 2015 WC. Great bunch of players.

Incidentally Fumiaki Tanaka started for the Highlanders on the weekend and put on a phenomenal display at #9. Japan will be moving up the IRB rankings with this guy running the show, and he does run the show.
 
80deg16minW - 4/6/2013 18:57

Looking forward to seeing Genia and O'Connor together. Higginbotham looks very doubtful. Injured himself against the Reds this weekend. He is doing an amazing job with the Rebels. Australia is going to be a real force in the 2015 WC. Great bunch of players.

Incidentally Fumiaki Tanaka started for the Highlanders on the weekend and put on a phenomenal display at #9. Japan will be moving up the IRB rankings with this guy running the show, and he does run the show.
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Australia have been building specifically for the 2015 Rugby World Cup, since before the previous. They are choc-a-block with young talented players.
 
This is worth watching again........

[youtube=iMmOVv2midQ]
 
Lots of good rugby on the weekend. Canada is on a bit of a roll....at least until they run into Ireland this weekend. We beat Tonga on Saturday in a game marred by fights and illegal hits from the Tongan side. At one point they were down to 12 men.

Anyway, this is our big chance, Ireland beta the US 17-15 on the weekend. A small margin and we are better than the US at the moment. with Sexton and the boys down in Australia this could be a big opportunity for us.
 
80deg16minW - 10/6/2013 15:38

Lots of good rugby on the weekend. Canada is on a bit of a roll....at least until they run into Ireland this weekend. We beat Tonga on Saturday in a game marred by fights and illegal hits from the Tongan side. At one point they were down to 12 men.

Anyway, this is our big chance, Ireland beta the US 17-15 on the weekend. A small margin and we are better than the US at the moment. with Sexton and the boys down in Australia this could be a big opportunity for us.
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:38:
 
Galvin's Shinpads - 10/6/2013 19:24

80deg16minW - 10/6/2013 15:38

Lots of good rugby on the weekend. Canada is on a bit of a roll....at least until they run into Ireland this weekend. We beat Tonga on Saturday in a game marred by fights and illegal hits from the Tongan side. At one point they were down to 12 men.

Anyway, this is our big chance, Ireland beta the US 17-15 on the weekend. A small margin and we are better than the US at the moment. with Sexton and the boys down in Australia this could be a big opportunity for us.
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:38:
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Didn't see the Ireland game Galv but was very surprised by the score. It was 17-12 not 17-15.
 
Lions farce continues
11 Jun 2013

The Lions farcical build-up to the three Test series continued with a 64-0 win over a Queensland Country Districts XV.

The Lions have had one decent hit out in four tour matches and face the risk of being seriously underdone for the first of three Tests.

It is now becoming more obvious that it is just what the Australian Rugby Union intended with the tour schedule.

The illusion is that the game is being taken to all areas and that the Lions are testing their best against Australia’s provincial best. What a joke.

You only have to look at the Force’s decision to play a second string side against the Lions and play their best available XV in a meaningless Super Rugby match four days later. The Force lost comfortably against the Waratahs and the Lions would have been better tested playing the best available Force XV.

The public are being conned into paying to see the Lions but the Lions, with the exception of 60 minutes against the Reds, have had tougher training runs than matches.

http://keo.co.za/2013/06/11/lions-farce-continues/
 
The big big hits and players are now in Rugby League in Australia. Rugby Union still has the edge, in the 'support league' but League is spreading like wildfire and is threatening to take over from Union.

Just a piece of info.
 
Galvin's Shinpads - 11/6/2013 21:20

The big big hits and players are now in Rugby League in Australia. Rugby Union still has the edge, in the 'support league' but League is spreading like wildfire and is threatening to take over from Union.

Just a piece of info.
Click to expand...

League fans are like manure fans. You don't need a brain to be a fan.
 
Galvin's Shinpads - 11/6/2013 21:20

The big big hits and players are now in Rugby League in Australia. Rugby Union still has the edge, in the 'support league' but League is spreading like wildfire and is threatening to take over from Union.

Just a piece of info.
Click to expand...
Those big big hits wont be as big as they once where. The removal of the shoulder tackle has softened the game and has pissed many of its fans off...
 
Other than the laughable headline placing Vancouver and Toronto in the same geographic location......

Preview: Canada v Ireland
14th June 2013 14:27

Ireland's next stop on their tour of North America takes them to Vancouver to face Canada on Saturday in Toronto.

The trip over the border comes after a tricky 15-12 victory for Ireland last weekend over the United States, when five penalties from the boot of Ian Madigan were ultimately enough to see them home.

A total of ten Irish stars are away with the British and Irish Lions in Australia, handing a number of young Irish stars, Madigan included, the chance to lay down a marker ahead of the November Internationals.

The number of absentees certainly played a part in Ireland's apparent lack of cohesion in Houston, as will the lack of time Les Kiss has had in charge of the side.

With Joe Schmidt not set to take over until the start of next season from Declan Kidney, Kiss will have benefited from having his squad together for an extra week having been slightly stunned at the closeness of their victory last weekend.

To add to the situation, Kiss admitted that the squad had been dealing with a bout of illness all week along with knocks to key players including skipper Peter O'Mahony.

"There is a bit of attrition after a long season, but fair play to the boys they have been good. We have had a couple of minor injuries from last week, but things are looking okay on that part," said Kiss

"We have just had a situation today where we will not have a full squad training as there is a little bit of unwellness in the squad, but that is just something you have to deal with when you travel and these little stomach upsets happen.

"We are anticipating a tough game against a very good Canada side that have put together a run of three wins in the Pacific Nations Cup.

"The experience gained on this tour is invaluable and I have no doubt that the players will respond well in what will be another challenging test."

Kiss has made a number of changes to the team that beat the USA as Downey joins Darren Cave in a new centre partnership.

Andrew Trimble will win his 50th cap in a back three that includes Fergus McFadden and Felix Jones. Up front Tom Court joins the front row while Dan Tuohy forms a new second row pairing with Devin Toner. Tommy O'Donnell starts having won his first cap last weekend with Kevin McLaughlin and O'Mahony completing the back row.

Canada on the other hand have injury concerns of their own, but arrive at this fixture fresh off the back of a three-game winning run against the United States, Tonga and Fiji.

What's more impressive is that Canada achieved two of those victories in four day, battling past Fiji for a first-ever win over the Islanders, before coming through a violent fixture against Tonga.

"The boys are pretty battered and bruised after two games in four days. We've got five or six guys we're sweating on a little bit at the moment," said coach Kieran Crowley unsurprisingly.

Fitness worries aside, Canada are flying right now and will give Ireland as stern a challenge as possible.

Players to watch:

For Canada: Arguably Canada's most experienced player in the XV to take on Ireland, London Irish's Jebb Sinclair spent a busy season working with the Stormers in the Currie Cup before returning to the Aviva Premiership. Coming up against a heavily-rotated Ireland pack will give Sinclair and the Canada forwards plenty to contain.

For Ireland: Earning a Test cap is a difficult process, but few could begrudge James Downey for making his bow in a green jersey this weekend. Years of dedicated service at Northampton Saints have culminated in a return to Ireland with Munster, paving his way to the national side. Always a physical handful, Downey could be a revelation.

Head-to-head: Two captains playing from the back of the pack in Aaron Carpenter and Peter O'Mahony. Cornish Pirates player Carpenter has been a regular star in the RFU Championship for many seasons and has led the national side since 2012, whilst O'Mahony's development for Munster over the last season has accelerated, including a starring role in the Heineken Cup quarter-final victory over Harlequins.

Recent results:

2009: Ireland won 25-6, Vancouver
2008: Ireland won 55-0, Limerick
2000: Draw 27-27, Markham

1997: Ireland won 33-11, Lansdowne Road
1989: Ireland won 24-21, Victoria
1987: Ireland won 46-19, Dunedin

Prediction: Canada are in great form, but Ireland's rotation in the pack means fresh legs have been introduced and gives them an excellent chance of winning this one. Ireland to win by between 10 to 15 points.

The teams:

Canada: 15 James Pritchard, 14 Matt Evans, 13 Ciaran Hearn, 12 Harry Jones, 11 Taylor Paris, 10 Nathan Hirayama, 9 Phil Mack, 8 Aaron Carpenter (c), 7 John Moonlight, 6 Tyler Ardron, 5 Tyler Hotson, 4 Jebb Sinclair, 3 Jason Marshall, 2 Ray Barkwill, 1 Hubert Buydens.
Replacements: 16 Ryan Hamilton, 17 Andrew Tiedemann, 18 Doug Woodridge, 19 Jon Phelan, 20 Nanyak Dala, 21 Sean White, 22 Nick Blevins, 23 Connor Braid.

Ireland: 15 Felix Jones, 14 Fergus McFadden, 13 Darren Cave, 12 James Downey, 11 Andrew Trimble, 10 Ian Madigan, 9 Isaac Boss, 8 Peter O'Mahony (c), 7 Tommy O'Donnell, 6 Kevin McLaughlin, 5 Devin Toner, 4 Dan Tuohy, 3 Mike Ross, 2 Richardt Strauss, 1 Tom Court.
Replacements: 16 Sean Cronin, 17 David Kilcoyne, 18 Declan Fitzpatrick, 19 Mike McCarthy, 20 Chris Henry, 21 Paul Marshall, 22 Paddy Jackson, 23 Robbie Henshaw.

Date: Saturday, June 15
Venue: BMO Field, Toronto
Kick-off: 20:00 (local)
Referee: Leighton Hodges (Wales)
Assistant referees: Nick Ricono (USA), Ed Gardner (USA)
Assessor:: Lyndon Bray
 
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