Outplayed the back row? Seriously? I think the lack of a lineout and scrum chaos were the big factors.

Well played Aussies. But bllx!!!!

I think the lack of a lineout

+1

It was chaotic – that last one 😐

another great test match………wonderful

man of the match vinuopla

dragged himself from being awful in the extreme at points

BOD kicked away the advantage….bad bad choice

Cole was surprisingly good

B Youngs subsitiuted after a A Jones furious moment to Warbs…youngs far too slow at the put in and not accurate

wonderful tackling from Lions

Back row was much better than last week, lydiate was weak in supporting Vinupola at the srum.
Parling no POC, line out dire

looking forward for next week

Sam Warburton has a nice English accent 🙂

Disappointed though.

Hookers have to hit their men, (says the ex hooker). Driscoll and Davies great in defense but Aussies were more exciting to watch with the ball. They deserved the win.

Tackle carry of the series North on Foleau…………… 😀

Joubert excellent ref display

Can’t complain at that really. Again we lacked penetration, very conservative in our game plan. Warbs had a good game this week being allowed to do what he does best. Missing POC and Corbs massively. Personally, ill be very disappointed if I don’t get to see Manu run at these wallabies next week.

Tackle carry of the series North on Foleau

Big gamble picking a player up when you can’t control how you put him down.
Could easily have got himself sent off and left his team a man down.
Very lucky boy.

Davies great in defense

Flapped at AC for the try.
needs to grow a shoulder.

We were disappointing in attack. Too much like England, says the Englishman!

(missed that loum in all the excitement)

indeed but still a sight to be hold

Not seen it but read text commentary. Lineout sounded awful. ..where exactly did Parling get the lineout guru tag? England’s lineout was a shambles in the 6n’s and we finished with the worst lineout stats of everyone…very overated player is Parling imo.

Set piece poor yet again, not good enough at this level and they have had weeks to get it sorted.

Think gatland needs to look at the bench for final test and have proper options to change tactics if needed, tuilagi for example and a proper 2nd row. Farrell and any scottish player will only be used as last resort it would appear so maybe not worth having them on the bench. 🙂

I think we defended ball poorly and the Aussies turned us over too much. Line was dire, but that was to be expected from EVERY game so far. Cole did a good shift when he came on. Vunipola was out of his depth all game,all he did was concede (fewer) penalties second half. Game was gone as soon as Warburton went off. Worry for me is that with the exception of Corbisero and perhaps Roberts both repaired(and even then Davies was not bad)what more can that team give? The Aussies can hold us at the scrum, the back row mix is off,and we lack penetration or the ability to get quick ball out wide. Still;at least the Aussies will be missing Horwell next week.

Outstanding test match, high pressure rugby. The Aussies dominated the second half and stayed strong, all credit to them.

Our scrum was good and bad in equal measure, credit to the players for working it out on the field. In the end we didn’t capitalise on an Aussie gift, we should have taken a lower risk line out option.

BTW I think the Sky team have been outstanding.

All to play for next week ..

I wouldn’t agree that it was lost when warbs went off. No reason whatsoever that the replacements couldn’t do the job. BOD hasn’t been outstanding in the tests, we don’t have an excellent scrum half (although today was an improvement on last week regardless of the result). Parling was lightweight today. Grey or Evans next week please.

Vunipola man of the match

put the crack pipe down!

Hooper was man of the match in my eyes. Great performance.

I’m sure someone on here said that Warbs should not have been selected due to being made of glass. Sadly, I think that’s a prediction that’s come true. He was injured for the warm ups, ok last week, good this week until the knee went. Now a doubt for next week. Not a good tour fitness wise! Damn shame because I really do rate him!

*
Flapped at AC for the try.
needs to grow a shoulder.POSTED 2 HOURS AGO #
 

he missed the tackle because he couldnt get to him in time. Not his fault.

vunipola man of the match for the mental toughness

could easily have crumpled under the pressure he managed to turn round several bad/horrid moments and keep going lasting the full match.

Rugby is a game of character and he showed it in masses. Made some good tackles and ripping throughout and responded at the scrum

Aussie back row is immense

Must be a hooker who can throw and scrum…..we have either or t’other

Hilarious stuff from North-completely ridiculous though, could’ve easily turned into a yellow card incident!

He didnt respond in the scrum though Adam went shit or bust on the attack and it worked, Cole did too. Vunipola was awful throughout. As for the lineout it was shit before Hibbard came on.

Refereeing of the scrum was appalling. Zero consistency and poor interpretation of what was going on. The Aussie tight head clearly collapsed some scrums which we were penalised for.
I think Hubbard made a difference at the scrum, line out got worse though. Youngs is still the better all round player.

AA he did respond at the scrum, Lydite did not support/bind as well as Warbs did at the scrum, Parling is a lightweight scrummager that did not help him.
Vunipola like I said pulled himself from the pit, rolling maul was excellent not used enough

hibbert scrummed well, threw awfully,t youngs did well again but scrum suffered

So Vunipola was shit because of Lydiate?? Yeah right!
The lineout was poor throughout. Having a dwarf at 8 didnt help as they were able double up on Aw J and Parling. Croft coming on later helped.

What changes for next week then? How did Bowe look?

Bowe was solid. Next week:

1/2p
Bowe
Bod
Roberts
North
Sexton
Murray
Heaslip
Warburton/SOB
Lydiate
AW J
Grey/Evans
Adam
Youngs
Corbisero

Vunipola
Hibbard
Cole
A N Other Lock
SOB/Falatau
Phillips
Farrel
Tuilagi

is what I’d pick. Reckon Roberts will be only change if Warbs is fit.

not help at the scrum……………lydiate was looking to get out of the blocks not supporting a prop having a bad time unlike warbs who did lend strength and support

tis all teamwork AA……………

Bowe looked decent but limited opportunity to attack except chasing kick, not much ball made it down the backline.

Don’t think they can play vunipola with parling behind neither had particularly good games. Need to change one or both in my opinion. Whoever is calling the lineouts needs to stop calling the tail because we lose it every time whoever is throwing. If corbisero is fit I would have him back in with grey in 2nd row and would also consider roberts or manu at 12, tough on davies but the backs did not look like penetrating the oz defence.

Edit: pretty much agree with a_a’ s team 🙂

You cannot support a prop who has his head up his arse from the flank. If Vunipola could drive straight the flanker may be able to help a bit but as he was folding in and popping up the flanker could do nothing except look to defend the next attack.

Cant blame Parling either if the prop isnt straight it doesnt matter who is behind them.

See that clip of North and two Aussies drive into North to help their mate? That makes it a maul…Which the aussies collapsed,penalty to Lions… 😆 Mostly agree with A-A’s team,I would hope Grey would get the call but Evans will be picked in front of him,despite Grey being better. Actually Parling will get the call,as will Youngs,who wasn’t as good as Murray. I think Gatland has over complicated things looking for some blend only he can see. With the exception of the 6/7 and 12/13 mixes,play the best players please Warren.

I agree with that ^^. Grey makes line beaks and is aggressive. We need an agressive centre threat also and Murrey seems to be a Phillips / youngs combo all in one.

* Dean Ryan

* View all67comments

Another Lions Test, another epic of agonising drama. The series is in the balance, which is great for the series, but who knows what awaits us next? You feel the momentum has shifted in Australia’s favour after those incredible final minutes, but will that change if James Horwill is unavailable?
And, just as importantly, will Jamie Roberts and Alex Corbisiero be fit? Because on these two hinge the Lions’ selection and tactical policies. Roberts is the catalyst for everything. Without his punch through the middle, his ability to breach the gainline, the Lions’ persistence with their current strategy will not work.
I have to focus this weekend on the scrum. I think Warren Gatland made an error in picking Mako Vunipola and I cannot believe he left him out there for the entire match. Australia, again, were spot on tactically at the set piece, in this case the scrum.
Ben Alexander, Stephen Moore and Benn Robinson all hit across to the left. Normally, this would leave Alexander, the tighthead, vulnerable to Vunipola coming across underneath him, but Vunipola stayed square for 30 minutes, which left him stranded alone, and you could see him falling out the side of the scrum. It took 30 minutes before he managed to come across to take Alexander and give the Lions a decent scrum. Vunipola can’t get his hips low enough in relation to his shoulders to be able to attack Alexander, so he ends up scrummaging high, which makes it really obvious when he’s coming across. He ends up getting penalised, either for that or just for being left out on the side.
Australia did the same to Joe Marler in the autumn international against England. As soon as they hit left it forces the loosehead’s hips to come out, and then the Aussies can go into the space between the loosehead and the hooker.
The Lions’ next problem is that Tom Youngs is not big enough to keep them out. So he and Adam Jones end up with enormous pressure coming through them, and Vunipola gets blown out the side. In that context, I’m astounded, firstly, that it took 56 minutes before Richard Hibbard, a much stronger scrummager, came on to block Alexander out. The Lions’ scrum changed dramatically on their own ball when he did. And, secondly, that Ryan Grant never came on. Grant is technically a better scrummager than Vunipola. I coached him in the last Six Nations with Scotland, and I felt he should have been picked for the tour in the first place. But he suffers from this perception – inaccurate, I might add – that the Scotland scrum is weak.
I just don’t understand the rationale behind leaving Vunipola out there, especially when you effectively can have rolling substitutions for the front row. Players can come back on if someone is injured there, so there was nothing to stop him doing it. But Gatland clearly has no confidence in Grant, which is a shame and, more than that, a serious problem if Corbisiero is not fit next Saturday.

The combination of a compromised set piece and the lack of a physical weapon in midfield to hit up over the gainline is killing the Lions. This is why Roberts and Corbisiero are so crucial to next week if Gatland wants to persist with the current gameplan. Otherwise, I’m not quite sure what the answer is.
The lineout was a little more ambitious, but there were still problems winning good ball at the tail. They drove the lineout very well in the first 20 minutes, so it’s far from the end of the world, but the Gatland ploy of big runners coming round the corner off the back of a threatening set piece is being systematically undone by the Aussies.
Roberts and Corbisiero could go a long way to alleviating that. And I think Hibbard’s greater presence at scrum time could as well, certainly if Corbisiero doesn’t make it. The Lions need to rediscover life on the front foot, because Australia are defending with 13 men in the first line and Kurtley Beale and Will Genia marking the back on either side of the field. If Jonny Sexton can get the offensive kicking game going that we know so well with Leinster, there is lots of space just behind the first line of defence. But he needs to be on the front foot.
That’s why Horwill’s hearing on Monday could prove series-defining. He is the charismatic heartbeat of this Wallabies team. If he is banned for the decider, I’m not sure Australia will be the same team. For what it’s worth, I don’t believe he brought his boot down on Alun Wyn Jones’s head on purpose – his immaculate disciplinary record and the fact that his view of Jones’s head is obviously blocked tell me that – but there is a case to answer for reckless use of the boot. He may yet miss the final Test.
And that may help the Lions. One thing I am sure of, though, is that carrying on as the Lions are, without the thrust of Roberts and/or the threat of a more confident set piece, would be madness. Australia are working them out.

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/sport/rugbyunion/article-2351568/Lions-tour-2013-George-North-lifts-dumps-Israel-Folau.html

scroll down to see video of Sir Clives reaction to the game ehich is in stark contrast to that **** Barnes on sky who sai,”Sans injury may be a blessing is disguise”.

@AA interesting piece, thanks. By the way, Staurt Barnes – excellent player, good guy, great student of the game. Sky setup is excellent.

What’s the rule now about deliberately grounding/knocking on the ball after being awarded a penalty ? I’ve seen a few situations where the Lions have had penalties taken away after (early) calls of “advantage over”. With a kicker as in form as Halfpenny surely you take every shot a goal.

What price a world class drop goal kicker as an option from the bench in that test then ? It’s a match winner in that test (with the line out we won and a hooker than can throw) and I think Johnny has better range than Halfpenny, I saw him land two from the halfway line out wide to send Leicester out of the H-Cup. Farrell is very steady but doesn’t have a long range kick. Halfpenny has been outstanding but the commentary team said it was a 45m kick, not so huge and hardly a repeat of Steyn’s kick in South Africa.