What the Lions means / Nail your colours to Devin Toner

[Flash Gordon]

He's right up there on my list of favourite players. Really hope he gets to be a Lion. It's unlikely because of the competition, but he absolutely deserves it. As I said in another thread, just look at his CV over the last few years.

I think he has a great chance as a dirt tracker at least and when you're on the tour you never know what will happen. He offers freakish size, incredible rucking ability and I don't know whether there's a better exponent of holding the player up in the game. The fact he offers something different and he adds so much physicality could well get him on the tour.

[goreyguy]

i want as few leinster and irish players killing themselves on the lions tour please.

[leinsterforever]

He's right up there on my list of favourite players. Really hope he gets to be a Lion. It's unlikely because of the competition, but he absolutely deserves it. As I said in another thread, just look at his CV over the last few years.

I think he has a great chance as a dirt tracker at least and when you're on the tour you never know what will happen. He offers freakish size, incredible rucking ability and I don't know whether there's a better exponent of holding the player up in the game. The fact he offers something different and he adds so much physicality could well get him on the tour.

I'd say they'll take 5 locks on tour. For me, the frontrunners are Itoje, Kruis, Launchbury, Jones, Toner and Gray. All three English options can't start in the 6N, so Dev has a great chance.

It's great news that he's re-signed as he's one of Leinster's and Ireland's most important players

[Lar]

I'm with Goreyguy. Although Dev might like to be able to call himself a Lion after he has retired (and of course I would not begrudge him that) from an entirely selfish perspective I personally hope as few Leinster or Irish players as possible get picked for the Tour to NZ.

[leinsterforever]

I'm with Goreyguy. Although Dev might like to be able to call himself a Lion after he has retired (and of course I would not begrudge him that) from an entirely selfish perspective I personally hope as few Leinster or Irish players as possible get picked for the Tour to NZ.

More guys getting picked would have the benefit of allowing the coaches to have a look at other options on the USA and Japan tour, and consequently growing the depth

[goreyguy]

I'm with Goreyguy. Although Dev might like to be able to call himself a Lion after he has retired (and of course I would not begrudge him that) from an entirely selfish perspective I personally hope as few Leinster or Irish players as possible get picked for the Tour to NZ.

More guys getting picked would have the benefit of allowing the coaches to have a look at other options on the USA and Japan tour, and consequently growing the depth

Eh no thanks.

[Lar]

I'm with Goreyguy. Although Dev might like to be able to call himself a Lion after he has retired (and of course I would not begrudge him that) from an entirely selfish perspective I personally hope as few Leinster or Irish players as possible get picked for the Tour to NZ.

More guys getting picked would have the benefit of allowing the coaches to have a look at other options on the USA and Japan tour, and consequently growing the depth

Not really in my view. Regardless of the Lions tour we are not going to put out first choice sides against USA or Japan. These are exactly the sort of games (like Canada recently) where JS will blood new players regardless.

[BlueWheels]

i want as few leinster and irish players killing themselves on the lions tour please.

Bad enough having exhausted players going on the Irish tour of USA & Japan, without sending them on a meaningless tour with the possibility of getting injured playing on nothing more than a customer recruitment drive for the likes of SKY

[Dave Cahill]

i want as few leinster and irish players killing themselves on the lions tour please.

Bad enough having exhausted players going on the Irish tour of USA & Japan, without sending them on a meaningless tour with the possibility of getting injured playing on nothing more than a customer recruitment drive for the likes of SKY

I dare any of you to say that to a player who has been selected by the Lions.

[CiaranIrl]

i want as few leinster and irish players killing themselves on the lions tour please.

Bad enough having exhausted players going on the Irish tour of USA & Japan, without sending them on a meaningless tour with the possibility of getting injured playing on nothing more than a customer recruitment drive for the likes of SKY

I dare any of you to say that to a player who has been selected by the Lions.

Why, what do you think they would do? Shout? Hit someone?

I would personally very happily say the following to any player: "The Lions used to mean a lot to me growing up, but for whatever reason, I don't care much about it any more. Maybe I'll care again once its on, but I doubt it. Because I care a lot about Leinster and Ireland, I would personally prefer none of our players get selected, mostly because I would worry about injuries, which have always been really bad on Lions tours."

[simonokeeffe]

Three years - that's a long stretch...

If Sokky had said that they'd all be cracking themselves up!!!

am not sure I approve of my The Den inspired moniker

thing about professional athletes is they seem to like a challenge and achievement so theyre all going to want to go

none of us want to see players get wrecked and we're all Leinster fans before Lions fans

likes of Sexton, Henshaw, Murray we dont want to see pick up any more injuries but theres the likes of Furlong, McGrath, JVDF at Leinster alone who could grow even more from a tour like that

[Mauler]

none of us want to see players get wrecked and we're all Leinster fans before Lions

Actually, I have far stronger memories of watching the 1983 Lions and the 9 Irish lads selected for that tour and the 1989 tour to Australia, than I do of any Leinster team prior to about 1995. So for me the pecking order of my support will always be Lions. Ireland and then Leinster

[Dave Cahill]

Why, what do you think they would do? Shout? Hit someone?

I would personally very happily say the following to any player: "The Lions used to mean a lot to me growing up, but for whatever reason, I don't care much about it any more. Maybe I'll care again once its on, but I doubt it. Because I care a lot about Leinster and Ireland, I would personally prefer none of our players get selected, mostly because I would worry about injuries, which have always been really bad on Lions tours."

I think the look of disdain would be enough.

I don't recall a lot of really bad injuries to be honest

89 - Paul Dean did his knee in the first tour game IIRC - a career finisher in amateur days alright.
93 - no Irish injuries that I can recall
97 - no Irish injuries that I can recall
01 - no Irish injuries that I can recall
05 - BOD injured in the first test and Darce injured in the final tour game, though Darce returned when he would have done anyway in terms of Eddies inane rest periods. MOK got injured before the tour hit New Zealand.
09 - BOD injured in the second test
13 - Healy did his ankle, but actually managed to return to Leinster duty earlier than he normally would have so yaay lions

Considering a 15% injury overhead is normal - we're actually ahead of the curve

[neiliog93]

I don't think it's only injuries suffered on tour though, it's also the fact that the tour adds significantly to fatigue levels, and also means that the lads on tour start the next season a bit later.

I still fully support the Lions, and despite finding Sky's corporate hyping of it irritating, it is one of rugby's best traditions and I hope it persists. I think they probably need to scrap one of the non-test games on tour and try to get some change out of British and Irish clubs in terms of seasonal adjustments to allow the tour to start (and finish) a week earlier.

[Donny B.]

none of us want to see players get wrecked and we're all Leinster fans before Lions

Actually, I have far stronger memories of watching the 1983 Lions and the 9 Irish lads selected for that tour and the 1989 tour to Australia, than I do of any Leinster team prior to about 1995. So for me the pecking order of my support will always be Lions. Ireland and then Leinster

Lions before Ireland, seriously? So a team made up of predominately non-Irish players (and in fact none at all in the winning Lions tests in Australia in 89) means more to you than an Ireland team winning?

And again, would a Lions team dominated by English and Welsh players with one or two Paddys thrown in beating NZ this summer mean more to you than Ireland's win in Chicago?

Frankly, I don't believe you.

We are now capable of beating these teams regularly on our own, as England are. Wales and Scotland should aspire to the same. The days of the four home unions cobbling together a team to travel down is an outdated concept and these days is frankly demeaning and only kept going as a commercial cash cow. It's also completely unsuited to the modern game when preparation is key and the only chance of success is when a team is in as bad a shambles as Australia were in 2013.

The players may continue to echo the bullshit and hype for Sky, but ask one of them really, would they prefer to be on a national team to beat the All Blacks or a Lions team? There will only be one answer!

[Mauler]

none of us want to see players get wrecked and we're all Leinster fans before Lions

Actually, I have far stronger memories of watching the 1983 Lions and the 9 Irish lads selected for that tour and the 1989 tour to Australia, than I do of any Leinster team prior to about 1995. So for me the pecking order of my support will always be Lions. Ireland and then Leinster

Lions before Ireland, seriously? So a team made up of predominately non-Irish players (and in fact none at all in the winning Lions tests in Australia in 89) means more to you than an Ireland team winning?

And again, would a Lions team dominated by English and Welsh players with one or two Paddys thrown in beating NZ this summer mean more to you than Ireland's win in Chicago?

Frankly, I don't believe you.

We are now capable of beating these teams regularly on our own, as England are. Wales and Scotland should aspire to the same. The days of the four home unions cobbling together a team to travel down is an outdated concept and these days is frankly demeaning and only kept going as a commercial cash cow. It's also completely unsuited to the modern game when preparation is key and the only chance of success is when a team is in as bad a shambles as Australia were in 2013.

The players may continue to echo the bullshit and hype for Sky, but ask one of them really, would they prefer to be on a national team to beat the All Blacks or a Lions team? There will only be one answer!

Or you could support a team made up of lads born in Cork, Limerick, New Zealand, South Africa & Spain and which is coached by an Englishman.

When a player retires the number of times he's played for his club versus Scarlett, Zebre or Edinburgh won't be remembered but his appearances in a Lions jersey will.

So for me, representing the Lions is the ultimate honour.

[suisse]

none of us want to see players get wrecked and we're all Leinster fans before Lions

Actually, I have far stronger memories of watching the 1983 Lions and the 9 Irish lads selected for that tour and the 1989 tour to Australia, than I do of any Leinster team prior to about 1995. So for me the pecking order of my support will always be Lions. Ireland and then Leinster

Lions before Ireland, seriously? So a team made up of predominately non-Irish players (and in fact none at all in the winning Lions tests in Australia in 89) means more to you than an Ireland team winning?

And again, would a Lions team dominated by English and Welsh players with one or two Paddys thrown in beating NZ this summer mean more to you than Ireland's win in Chicago?

Frankly, I don't believe you.

We are now capable of beating these teams regularly on our own, as England are. Wales and Scotland should aspire to the same. The days of the four home unions cobbling together a team to travel down is an outdated concept and these days is frankly demeaning and only kept going as a commercial cash cow. It's also completely unsuited to the modern game when preparation is key and the only chance of success is when a team is in as bad a shambles as Australia were in 2013.

The players may continue to echo the bullshit and hype for Sky, but ask one of them really, would they prefer to be on a national team to beat the All Blacks or a Lions team? There will only be one answer!

Absolutely. Ireland v NZ in Chicago not only will better anything the Lions manage this summer, but it won't even be worth the conversation.

I've only seen the Lions once, vs Barbarians in Hong Kong last time out. It was a great piss up, but didn't mean anything. The Lions idea is, as you said, "an outdated concept." Ireland winning a RWC QF vs the Lions beating NZ? There is no comparison. Add in silverware for Ireland (6 Nations, RWC) and the comparison is useless.

[Donny B.]

Or you could support a team made up of lads born in Cork, Limerick, New Zealand, South Africa & Spain and which is coached by an Englishman.

When a player retires the number of times he's played for his club versus Scarlett, Zebre or Edinburgh won't be remembered but his appearances in a Lions jersey will.

So for me, representing the Lions is the ultimate honour.

Only because you're constantly being told it's the ultimate honour and had it brainwashed into you from a young age.

Do you think Jonny Wilkinson thinks playing a few Lions tests was a bigger honour than winning the World Cup with England?

Do you actually think Johnny Sexton would swap any of his three Heineken Cups or two Six Nations Championships for being part of that over-hyped shitshow in Australia three years ago?

You can belittle Leinster all you want, but that's the day to day rugby that actually matters to future careers and future prospects for the Ireland team. Watch your over-hyped nonsense if you want, but again I ask you, what, if anything, does it really signify?

[curates_egg]

i want as few leinster and irish players killing themselves on the lions tour please.

Bad enough having exhausted players going on the Irish tour of USA & Japan, without sending them on a meaningless tour with the possibility of getting injured playing on nothing more than a customer recruitment drive for the likes of SKY

Eh, I also don't care about the summer tour.
Irish by birth, Leinster by grace of god and all that vomit. This is a Leinster fan board for Leinster people after all.

Can we not keep Dev to ourselves and let Ireland inc give caps to other randomers like Quinn Roux in the USA and Japan?

Dev would earn a pretty penny by going on the Lions tour and - for many players and fans who refuse to move with the times - it is the ultimate honour (*vomits again*), so I would not begrudge it to him. But as a Leinster fan, I hope it doesn't happen.

Also, Dave points to very few injuries on Lions tours. Firstly, when there are injuries, they are to the best of the best Leinster players (BOD and Healy), secondly, it is not just injuries but the repetitive strain. SOB, Sexton and Kearney have all struggled with fitness since 2013. How many games has SOB played for Leinster since then?
Now if they get shagged playing too much for Leinster...or at a push Ireland...I've no problem with that. As a Leinster fan, I get nothing from their participation in an outdated post-colonial concept.

However, more importantly, congrats Dev. 3 years is a great contract for him and for us as Leinster fans. I know there was interest from France, so I hope we were able to at least come close to what he could earn there.

[Oldschoolsocks]

i want as few leinster and irish players killing themselves on the lions tour please.

Bad enough having exhausted players going on the Irish tour of USA & Japan, without sending them on a meaningless tour with the possibility of getting injured playing on nothing more than a customer recruitment drive for the likes of SKY

I dare any of you to say that to a player who has been selected by the Lions.

Actually, I have had pretty much that conversation with a Lions tourist. Guess what he said , he said Woodward was a cvnt but the tour payed well.

So ultimate honour my big hairy balls, it's a gig and it's nice to get selected but I'd rather those boys got a summer off to rest their tired and bruised bodies.


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