Lions starting 15 for first test?

[leinsterlank]

The squads are out and the pundits are shamed, well the times pundits anyway and especially stephen jones (what a lemon)!!!Only 38 days to go and my initial feelings on the team go a little something like this.

15- byrne
14-bowe
13-o'driscoll
12-flutey
11-kearney ( i think kearneys loss in form is solely contributed to the leinster tactics i.e. kick in own half. I think the tour will revitalise him)
10-rog (this is the hardest call because there is little between the two but i think rog has a lot to prove to himself after his last two tours.)
9- phillips (his power game will be necessary)
8-heaslip (again another hard call and i think geecs will have a few tricks up his sleeve for
7-williams (has to play for continuity reasons)
6-wallace
5- POC
4- Hines ( i think he's gonna have a huge tour after a tough campaign in france has hardened him)
3-jenkins
2-flannery
1-murray

let me know what you's think.

[The Guru]

1.jenkis
2.mears
3.murray
4.jones
5.o connell(c)
6.wallace
7.williams
8.heaslip

9.phillips
10.jones
11.williams
12.roberts
13. o driscoll
14.bowe
15byrne

[papachino]

Squad for Highveld XV... First test....

1.Jenkins
2.Flannery
3.Murray
4.Alun-Wyn Jones
5.O'Connell(c)
6.Ferris
7.Quinlan
8.Heaslip

9.O'Leary
10.Jones
11.Fitzgerald
12.Flutey
13.Earls
14.Halfpenny
15.Kearney

16.Rees, 17.Rhys Jones, 18.Hines, 19.Powell, 20.Philips, 21.O'Gara, 22.Roberts.

I think he'll give the young, new guys a run out!! get them use to each other, a taste of whats to come if you will.

[The Guru]

1.Jenkins
2.Flannery
3.Murray
4.Alun-Wyn Jones
5.O'Connell(c)
6.Ferris
7.Quinlan
8.Heaslip

9.O'Leary
10.Jones
11.Fitzgerald
12.Flutey
13.Earls
14.Halfpenny
15.Kearney

16.Rees, 17.Rhys Jones, 18.Hines, 19.Powell, 20.Philips, 21.O'Gara, 22.Roberts.

I think he'll give the young, new guys a run out!! get them use to each other, a taste of whats to come if you will.

no wallace!? no o driscoll?! no byrne?! you gotta be trippin!!!

[olaf the fat]

1.Jenkins
2.Flannery
3.Murray
4.Alun-Wyn Jones
5.O'Connell(c)
6.Ferris
7.Quinlan
8.Heaslip

9.O'Leary
10.Jones
11.Fitzgerald
12.Flutey
13.Earls
14.Halfpenny
15.Kearney

16.Rees, 17.Rhys Jones, 18.Hines, 19.Powell, 20.Philips, 21.O'Gara, 22.Roberts.

I think he'll give the young, new guys a run out!! get them use to each other, a taste of whats to come if you will.

Should they not be trying to win the First test?

[LeRouxIsPHat]

1.Jenkins
2.Flannery
3.Murray
4.Alun-Wyn Jones
5.O'Connell(c)
6.Ferris
7.Quinlan
8.Heaslip

9.O'Leary
10.Jones
11.Fitzgerald
12.Flutey
13.Earls
14.Halfpenny
15.Kearney

16.Rees, 17.Rhys Jones, 18.Hines, 19.Powell, 20.Philips, 21.O'Gara, 22.Roberts.

I think he'll give the young, new guys a run out!! get them use to each other, a taste of whats to come if you will.

no wallace!? no o driscoll?! no byrne?! you gotta be trippin!!!

I'm more surprised by the inclusion of Rhys Jones who not alone wasn't picked for the tour but doesn't actually exist! Mcgeechan is known for picking wildcards though....

[leinsterlank]

1.Jenkins
2.Flannery
3.Murray
4.Alun-Wyn Jones
5.O'Connell(c)
6.Ferris
7.Quinlan
8.Heaslip

9.O'Leary
10.Jones
11.Fitzgerald
12.Flutey
13.Earls
14.Halfpenny
15.Kearney

16.Rees, 17.Rhys Jones, 18.Hines, 19.Powell, 20.Philips, 21.O'Gara, 22.Roberts.

I think he'll give the young, new guys a run out!! get them use to each other, a taste of whats to come if you will.

are you talking about the first game of the tour?this selection is madness.

[jezzer]

1. Jenkins
2. Mears
3. Vickery
4. Hines
5. O'Connell(c)
6. Ferris
7. Williams
8. Wallace

9. Phillips
10. Jones
11. Williams
12. Flutey
13. O'Driscoll
14. Bowe
15. Byrne

Quite a low Irish representation in that team considering the squad, but Fla, DOC and Fitz are probably the only close calls. I don't think DOC will start, Fla is a strong possibility and Fitz's inclusion depends more on Williams than Fitz...

ROG will have to have a storming couple of warmup games to displace Jones.

[Kyle]

1. Jenkins
2. Flannery
3. Murray
4. AW Jones
5. POC
6. Ferris
7. M Williams
8. Wallace
9. Philips
10. O Gara
11. S Williams
12. Shanklin
13. BOD
14. Bowe
15. Byrne

[simonno6]

1.Jenkins
2.Flannery
3.Murray
4.Alun-Wyn Jones
5.O'Connell(c)
6.Ferris
7.Quinlan
8.Heaslip

9.O'Leary
10.Jones
11.Fitzgerald
12.Flutey
13.Earls
14.Halfpenny
15.Kearney

16.Rees, 17.Rhys Jones, 18.Hines, 19.Powell, 20.Philips, 21.O'Gara, 22.Roberts.

I think he'll give the young, new guys a run out!! get them use to each other, a taste of whats to come if you will.

Stephen Jones in disguise!

Rhys Jones... the cr@p welsh winger from a while back?

[suisse]

Just had a thought - I'm sure every fan is saying the same about his/her club, but anyway...........

If we look at the Lions potential starting XV, I'm sure many of us would have BOD, Luke and Heaslip in there. But imagine if Kearney showed better form, and usurped Lee Byrne? Would it be beyond that stuff of legend for Leinster to have 4 players starting a Lions test match? You have to imagine that all 4 boys are contenders, with BOD making every team, and so far one of Luke or Rob there, with Heaslip better than 50/50 chance judging by pundits' predictions. Certainly there is a better chance of each of those that some of the other selections made.

Good luck boys - wish I was heading down to see ye!

[simonno6]

I certainly think Luke has a shot - We've seen his immense defence throughout the year but people who havn't seen him in action consistently over the last few years don't know about his incredible attacking play. I can see him putting in some top performances in SA and making a big claim for the test side.

[The Guru]

ye there is every chance that there will be more leinster players in just as there is every chance that we will have less players on it. trying to predict the team for the tests is pretty much academic. if mcgeechan is to stand by his word then form on the initial matches will decide who starts and who does not. thats not even taking into account the injury possibilities.

by the time the test squad is announced i think there is every chance we will see earls, fitzo and kearney somewhere in the 22.

[papachino]

1.Jenkins
2.Flannery
3.Murray
4.Alun-Wyn Jones
5.O'Connell(c)
6.Ferris
7.Quinlan
8.Heaslip

9.O'Leary
10.Jones
11.Fitzgerald
12.Flutey
13.Earls
14.Halfpenny
15.Kearney

16.Rees, 17.Rhys Jones, 18.Hines, 19.Powell, 20.Philips, 21.O'Gara, 22.Roberts.

I think he'll give the young, new guys a run out!! get them use to each other, a taste of whats to come if you will.

Stephen Jones in disguise!

Rhys Jones... the cr@p welsh winger from a while back?

No no, the hair bear, Adam Rhys Jones!!!! and the first test is against the Highveld XV.... there players from the Currie cup.... from valke and Blue Bulls and all....Semi pro/Pro teams....with all the pro players either on the SA team or the club teams!

olaf the fat, are you telling me that's not a good team to send out to Highveld???

[The Guru]

1.Jenkins
2.Flannery
3.Murray
4.Alun-Wyn Jones
5.O'Connell(c)
6.Ferris
7.Quinlan
8.Heaslip

9.O'Leary
10.Jones
11.Fitzgerald
12.Flutey
13.Earls
14.Halfpenny
15.Kearney

16.Rees, 17.Rhys Jones, 18.Hines, 19.Powell, 20.Philips, 21.O'Gara, 22.Roberts.

I think he'll give the young, new guys a run out!! get them use to each other, a taste of whats to come if you will.

Stephen Jones in disguise!

Rhys Jones... the cr@p welsh winger from a while back?

No no, the hair bear, Adam Rhys Jones!!!! and the first test is against the Highveld XV.... there players from the Currie cup.... from valke and Blue Bulls and all....Semi pro/Pro teams....with all the pro players either on the SA team or the club teams!

olaf the fat, are you telling me that's not a good team to send out to Highveld???

pretty sure the title of the thread is 'team for the first test' as in international test match.

[ror]

1.Jenkins
2.Flannery
3.Murray
4.Alun-Wyn Jones
5.O'Connell(c)
6.Ferris
7.Quinlan
8.Heaslip

9.O'Leary
10.Jones
11.Fitzgerald
12.Flutey
13.Earls
14.Halfpenny


15.Kearney

16.Rees, 17.Rhys Jones, 18.Hines, 19.Powell, 20.Philips, 21.O'Gara, 22.Roberts.

I think he'll give the young, new guys a run out!! get them use to each other, a taste of whats to come if you will.

I assume you are pulling the piss.

[papachino]

I assume you are pulling the piss.

that was my squad for Highveld XV...

this would be my 1st SA test squad!
1.Sheridan
2.Flannery
3.Murray
4.Alun-wyn Jones
5.O'Connoll
6.Ferris
7.Williams
8.Heaslip

9.O'Leary
10.O'Gara
11.Fitzgerald
12.Shanklin
13.O'Driscoll
14.Bowe
15.Byrne

[simonno6]

ah right - so your not completely bonkers!

[dipper]

15. Byrne
14. Bowe
13. BOD
12. Shanklin
11. Williams
10. Jones
9. Phillips
8. Heaslip
7. Wallace
6. Ferris
5. O'Connell
4. AW Jones
3. A Jones
2. Flannery
1. Murray

16. Mears
17. Vickery
18. O'Callaghan
19. M Williams
20. O'Leary
21. ROG
22. Fitzgerald

Only realised afterwards that I didn't pick a single English player in the test team!

Heineken Cup semis and final and the 6 tour matches before the first test could drastically change that team

[ronk]

Lots of time for things to change but..

15 Kearney
14 Bowe
13 BOD
12 Flutey
11 Williams
10 Jones
9 O'Leary
1 Jenkins
2 Mears
3 Murray
4 Hines
5 O'Connell
6 Quinlan
7 Wallace
8 Ferris

16 Flannery
17 Vickery
18 Wyn Jones
19 Heaslip
20 Phillips
21 O'Gara
22 Fitzgerald

I suspect I'll be wrong about Phillips not starting and there are a few surprises in there, especially the backrow. But Powell has still to convince me. I also wouldn't be surprised about Vickery getting to start on the basis that he can be subbed back on anyway and will cover 2 positions that way.

Shane Williams is someone I'm unsure of. Halfpenny is playing better and if Williams is fading then a hard decision will have to be made. But I was watching highlights from last years 6N and Wales were practically a one man team. He was amazing. Change tactics and teammates and see if it starts to come off.

With the concerns over the physicality of the 'Boks backrow I can see the attraction of moving Ferris to 8. I still think Heaslip is up to the task and people forget that was shortlisted for player of the 6N. The selection of Quinlan makes a lot more sense if McGeechan is considering that backrow as a possibility.

Might change the balance of the 2nd row though in favour of O'Callaghan.