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SuperGedwards9

Listed below are comments made by SuperGedwards9 between Monday, 22nd June 2009 and Sunday, 5th July 2009.

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Lions ratings: third Test 01:01am on 05 Jul 2009 This Third Test proves everything that I have said before the 1st Test even began and have consistently said throughout the series:

1) that if we play Rugy at them and don't kick we will beat them, they'll open up

2) That kicking to them is a waste of time

3) Ugo Monye is very good at running in straight lines

4) Shane Williams is a really good, play a type of game that will suit him ie keeping the ball alive and you'll see what you get

5) Martin Williams should have been playing from the start in every Test side

6) What a wasted opportunity this will be that we approached the game trying to out muscle them and instead we should have focused on playing our game as they wont be able to handle it

We won that game because we did not play into their strengths, we kept possession and they couldn't touch us. WShen box kick billy ie Ellis came on and we started kickig to them they looked good, started coming back into the game even though it was for about 4 minutes it still showed what happens when you kick to them, Steyn will blast you off the park.

What a shame, let's wait another 4 years for mass bouts of insecurity about whether we should try and contain the opposition or just pick our best players and play a style of Rugby that was present when we had a our greatest years in NZ and SA in the seventies.

Sad that I predicted this from the outset, wish I had been wrong.
Final flourish leaves Lions lamenting what might have been 00:58am on 05 Jul 2009 This Thirda Test proves everything that I have said before the 1st Test even began and have consistently said throughout the series:

1) that if we play Rugy at them and don't kick we will beat them, they'll open up

2) That kicking to them is a waste of time

3) Ugo Monye is very good at running in straight lines

4) Shane Williams is a really good, play a type of game that will suit him ie keeping the ball alive and you'll see what you get

5) Martin Williams should have been playing from the start in every Test side

6) What a wasted opportunity this will be that we approached the game trying to out muscle them and instead we should have focused on playing our game as they wont be able to handle it

We won that game because we did not play into their strengths, we kept possession and they couldn't touch us. WShen box kick billy ie Ellis came on and we started kickig to them they looked good, started coming back into the game even though it was for about 4 minutes it still showed what happens when you kick to them, Steyn wiull blast you off the park.

What a shame, let's wait another 4 years for mass bouts of insecurity about whether we should try and contain the opposition or just pick our best players and play a style of Rugby that was present when we had a our greatest years in NZ and SA in the seventies.

Sad that I predicted this from the outset, wish I had been wrong.
Lions left to lick wounds after epic failure 07:53am on 28 Jun 2009 Guess what I am going to say:

My theories before the Tests started that were largely argues with:

Adam Jones is a great prop in the loose and at the scrum
J Roberts is really good
Stephen Jones is vastly underated and his hands are excellent and he's better than Ogara
Bod needs to calm down
It is pointless putting Shane Williams on when everything is lost
Playing a tight game and into their hands will never test them and will instead play into their hands
We need to play rugby at themand we'll open them up

Ok:
So:

It feels like it was close, in reality we had our 5 best players injured and this isn't an excuse as we tried the physical game and these are injuries as a result of that. So in a way that is our fault.

We fundamentaly lost because for most of the two tests we played into the Bok hands by trying to play a territory game and keeping it tight, with a flat attacking line. When ever we played rugby and ignored them and actually moved them around with plhases they looked veruy ordinary, when we worried about the score, attempted to defend it by kicking, by not contesting the breakdown (mainly due to the absense of Gethin Jenkins and Adam Jones) they started creeping into the game. The discipline was awful toward the end (remember the fly half was taken off for missing 3 easy penalties) and we then lost and felt sorry for ourselves. Poor leadership that the guys couldn't stop giving away penalties but it's the nature of non-posession rugby.
If we had played the first half of test 2 and the second half of test 1 we would have massacered them, in both those halves we had nothing to fear and just played our rugby and ignored the scenario and the oppos.
What a huge shame.
We will all meet up in 4 years have the same debate we had in 2005 and 2009, whether we basically are going to pick our best players, with a style and a game that can beat one of the big 3 or whether we are going to just worry about the oppos and play into their hands by kicking the ball away. I can't fault the effort but it's a waste of talent and an inefficent use of resources. M Williams on at the end when the madness had set in? Waste.

The funniest thing is that Shane williams will now go back to Wales, play amazingly for wales in the autum internationals and the 2010 6 nations and everyone will say he has "rediscovered his form!" really!
Or he just basically started playing nin a team that believes in their talented players and gives them a platform to operate. Same after 2005.
In the final analysis it will be viewed more than odd that the IRB world player of the year was moved out of the team for Ugo monye who never played in test 2 and the lions just tightend up.
We could've killed this lot. Wasted opportunity.
Seee you in 4 years for another bought of British self doubt.
WE HAVE THE TALENT.
Lions left to lick wounds after epic failure 07:47am on 28 Jun 2009 Guess what I am going to say:

My theories before the Tests started that were largely argues with:

Adam Jones is a great prop in the loose and at the scrum
J Roberts is really good
Stephen Jones is vastly underated and his hands are excellent and he's better than Ogara
Bod needs to calm down
It is pointless putting Shane Williams on when everything is lost
Playing a tight game and into their hands will never test them and will instead play into their hands
We need to play rugby at themand we'll open them up

Ok:
So:

It feels like it was close, in reality we had our 5 best players injured and this isn't an excuse as we tried the physical game and these are injuries as a result of that. So in a way that is our fault.

We fundamentaly lost because for most of the two tests we played into the Bok hands by trying to play a territory game and keeping it tight, with a flat attacking line. When ever we played rugby and ignored them and actually moved them around with plhases they looked veruy ordinary, when we worried about the score, attempted to defend it by kicking, by not contesting the breakdown (mainly due to the absense of Gethin Jenkins and Adam Jones) they started creeping into the game. The discipline was awful toward the end (remember the fly half was taken off for missing 3 easy penalties) and we then lost and felt sorry for ourselves. Poor leadership that the guys couldn't stop giving away penalties but it's the nature of non-posession rugby.
If we had played the first half of test 2 and the second half of test 1 we would have massacered them, in both those halves we had nothing to fear and just played our rugby and ignored the scenario and the oppos.
What a huge shame.
We will all meet up in 4 years have the same debate we had in 2005 and 2009, whether we basically are going to pick our best players, with a style and a game that can beat one of the big 3 or whether we are going to just worry about the oppos and play into their hands by kicking the ball away. I can't fault the effort but it's a waste of talent and an inefficent use of resources. M Williams on at the end when the madness had set in? Waste.

The funniest thing is that Shane williams will now go back to Wales, play amazingly for wales in the autum internationals and the 2010 6 nations and everyone will say he has "rediscovered his form!" really!
Or he just basically started playing nin a team that believes in their talented players and gives them a platform to operate. Same after 2005.
In the final analysis it will be viewed more than odd that the IRB world player of the year was moved out of the team for Ugo monye who never played in test 2 and the lions just tightend up.
We could've killed this lot. Wasted opportunity.
Seee you in 4 years for another bought of British self doubt.
WE HAVE THE TALENT.
How the Lions rated: second Test 10:56pm on 27 Jun 2009 Guess what I am going to say:

My theories before the Tests started that were largely argues with:

Adam Jones is a great prop in the loose and at the scrum
J Roberts is really good
Stephen Jones is vastly underated and his hands are excellent and he's better than Ogara
Bod needs to calm down
It is pointless putting Shane Williams on when everything is lost
Playing a tight game and into their hands will never test them and will instead play into their hands
We need to play rugby at themand we'll open them up

Ok:
So:

It feels like it was close, in reality we had our 5 best players injured and this isn't an excuse as we tried the physical game and these are injuries as a result of that. So in a way that is our fault.

We fundamentaly lost because for most of the two tests we played into the Bok hands by trying to play a territory game and keeping it tight, with a flat attacking line. When ever we played rugby and ignored them and actually moved them around with plhases they looked veruy ordinary, when we worried about the score, attempted to defend it by kicking, by not contesting the breakdown (mainly due to the absense of Gethin Jenkins and Adam Jones) they started creeping into the game. The discipline was awful toward the end (remember the fly half was taken off for missing 3 easy penalties) and we then lost and felt sorry for ourselves. Poor leadership that the guys couldn't stop giving away penalties but it's the nature of non-posession rugby.
If we had played the first half of test 2 and the second half of test 1 we would have massacered them, in both those halves we had nothing to fear and just played our rugby and ignored the scenario and the oppos.
What a huge shame.
We will all meet up in 4 years have the same debate we had in 2005 and 2009, whether we basically are going to pick our best players, with a style and a game that can beat one of the big 3 or whether we are going to just worry about the oppos and play into their hands by kicking the ball away. I can't fault the effort but it's a waste of talent and an inefficent use of resources. M Williams on at the end when the madness had set in? Waste.

The funniest thing is that Shane williams will now go back to Wales, play amazingly for wales in the autum internationals and the 2010 6 nations and everyone will say he has "rediscovered his form!" really!
Or he just basically started playing nin a team that believes in their talented players and gives them a platform to operate. Same after 2005.
In the final analysis it will be viewed more than odd that the IRB world player of the year was moved out of the team for Ugo monye who never played in test 2 and the lions just tightend up.
We could've killed this lot. Wasted opportunity.
Seee you in 4 years for another bought of British self doubt.
WE HAVE THE TALENT.
Test clues emerge in Cape Town monsoon 3:04pm on 25 Jun 2009 Kearnery - awesome
Fitzgerald - why not, has balls
Shaw - slow meat head, do it for us son, hurt people
M Williams - "I just lost a chess game but I kept you from taking my queen" what exactly are we saving this guy from? He's amazing.

Can we just put a blood sub on and away from the refs eyes smash one of their forwards in the face? Is that too much to ask? The way they threatened BOD, guys need to go down. I have Australian family also, they'd never allow the South Africans to behave like that, they will very very relieved and if we take them at altitude they will absolutely implode. I want men to die in this Test, what a good place to die if you are a Rugby player, would you rather in a chair as an old man or doing what you love? Better to burn bright than live in the shade of life. In the Iliad Homer said "I can say that I lived in an age of Achiles" well I can say that I lived in an age of Shane Williams.
Test clues emerge in Cape Town monsoon 2:53pm on 25 Jun 2009 Alias-TJ

"Think Shane should get wing ahead of Fitzy as surely they want to get ahead and stay there rather than having Shane as a fall back to come on and try to turnaround a possibly losing side.
It was shown in the first test that once you try to rectify a selection error its too late."

Totally correct, I have said this from the start that we need to impose OUR game on them and not play into their hands. Putting on Shane to "tur the game around" is folly. Start with him, open it up and reap the rewards. This is like saving the big guys in the Ryder Cup till the back 9, if the games over it's a waste of resources. Same thing happened in Test1, played Rugby second half and we tore them. Hopefully this time they will keep parity and give a chance to Wyn Jones and Williams when they come on. I understand the theory, use the beef to smash them up and have the ball players on when it opens up but if we are 15 points down because the beef keep lying on the ball and get us kicked off the park well the series is over. Easiest way to keep a penalty count down and increase the oppos giving away penalties - keep the ball in hand and the phases ticking over.
The Boks have messed with Geechs mind, it is so rare that Rugby sides come back from a losing halftime position, I think the stats would read about a 90% win ratio so why are we saving our Rugby and just hoping to survive. I'd rather us run out of energy and lose the game having had a chance to survive and win from a position of strength, lower players can be inspired in such positions to play outa their skin.
This just reminds me of Woodward 2005, too much focus on the oppos, have faith, this is an immensely talented side, we have the best centres in the world alongside Mortlock.
Let's do this, I want us to front up, RUGBYWISE.
Test clues emerge in Cape Town monsoon 01:34am on 25 Jun 2009 Heavy hard front row, beef in the second row - these guys take care of rucks and mauls
M williams breakdown
fast backrow, rugby backrow, backline out of this world,
let's do this.
They'd never have the balls to go with my dreamteam....
Test clues emerge in Cape Town monsoon 01:32am on 25 Jun 2009 This is my team, it's shaping up to be close to this team but I have been going on about this team for ages and we're getting there eventually:

1 G Jenkins
2 Rees (only cause Mears had a shocker and Rees played well)
3 A Jones (oh at last, thanks everyone for waking up)
4 O Connel (improving)
5 A Wyn Jones ("we need more beef in the pack" eh? Second biggest man on tour)
6 Croft, good supporting player
7 M Williams (3 x British Lions, please)
8 Heaslip
9 Phillips - so different when Club rugby player ellis is on, no threat
10 Jones (Just put a backline of Jo Worselys if ROG is playing 10, he can kick all day and they can tackle for him, waste of Bod and Jrob
11 Shane Williams, take the pressure off him, go and do the business
12 J Roberts - awesome, said it when 99% doubted it
13 Bod (pass the ball, you rule, calm down son)
14 Bowe - great
15 Kearney (Byrne is injured, Kearney doesn't know what pressure is, class act)
Lions ratings 7:39pm on 22 Jun 2009 What a waste of 40 minutes, the Test, the series probably.....

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