So The Geech has wrung the changes for the all important clash at Fortress Loftus Versveld.
Following the events in Durban, this does not come as much of a surprise, especially given the battering the Lions received at the hands of the Boks in the forwards.
British & Irish Lions – 15 Rob Kearney, 14 Tommy Bowe, 13 Brian O’Driscoll, 12 Jamie Roberts, 11 Luke Fitzgerald, 10 Stephen Jones, 9 Mike Phillips, 8 Jamie Heaslip, 7 David Wallace, 6 Tom Croft, 5 Paul O’Connell (c), 4 Simon Shaw, 3 Adam Jones, 2 Matthew Rees, 1 Gethin Jenkins
Subs: 16 Ross Ford, 17 Andrew Sheridan, 18 Alun-Wyn Jones, 19 Martyn Williams, 20 Harry Ellis, 21 Ronan O’Gara, 22 Shane Williams
Adam Jones and Matthew Rees come in for the ineffective Phil Vickery and the inconsistent Lee Mears. Given that the Lions starting front row for this second test finished off the first test, and managed to hold their own at scrum time, this makes sense. I would personally still have found room for Sheridan in there for the express purpose of upsetting John Smit, nonetheless, this front row will definitely pose the Boks some problems and should at least provide the platform from the offset that the Lions did not have for the first fifty minutes of the first test. Expect Sheridan to come on in the last twenty minutes when the Bok front rower’s legs are beginning to get weary and their breathing a lot heavier, just to press home the advantage the Lions hope to have in that department come the dying stages of the game.
Simon Shaw has stepped in for Alun-Wyn Jones, no doubt in an attempt to match the physicality of the Bok forwards and hopefully to add some defensive steel in the face of the driving maul that the Boks are no doubt going to employ. Whether or not he can actually do this will remain to be seen. It is no mean feat to stop the Bok pack should they opt to attack the Lions with a maul from the lineout. The Geech is no fool however. O’Connell, Shaw and the rest of the Lions will no doubt have been working all week on defending the driving maul. The Lions will have to sort this out or each maul will result in 7 points, or at least 3.
Wallace has retained his place in the starting XV as the openside flanker. This may have surprised some given his anonymity from the first test, but given that PdV, in his infinite wisdom, has left Brussouw on the bench and opted for Burger, this may mean that McGeechan thinks Wallace will have the better of Schalk when it comes to the battle on the ground. Only time will tell if this was the right call or if the Lions should have opted for Martyn Williams instead. Quite frankly the Lions have had a big problem in the number 7 position for the entire tour, so picking Williams or Wallace may not have a great impact on the performance of the Lions as both players have not set the tour alight.
Stephen Jones has also retained the fly-half berth with O’Gara having to watch the game from the sidelines. Assuming Jones arrives with his kicking boots on this probably means Jones is meant to, at the very least, keep the Lions in the game for the first two thirds and then O’Gara will come on in the last twenty or so to add a bit more pace and attacking venom to the Lions line. Again, this is probably based on the Boks’ questionable fitness levels in the dying stages of a game. A runner like O’Gara may just be able to open up a tired Bok defensive line.
Luke Fitzgerald has come in for Ugo Monye, whose schoolboy errors in missing out on two golden opportunities have been rewarded by him not even making the match day 22. The out of form Shane Williams gets a place on the bench and again, one can only think that the plan is to wait for the Boks to get tired and then to put them to the sword in the last 20 with attacking substitutions. A highly motivated and fresh Shane Williams coming onto the field against tired defenders may be the sort of magic that the Lions need to attain a victory that many seem as improbable.
The last change sees Rob Kearney come in for the injured Lee Byrne. A forced change that may also have pushed The Geech to select Williams as he can also act as cover in the fullback position.
Overall, a decent team that has been named so as to eliminate the problems so ruthlessly exploited by the Boks last weekend. The side has a much better look to it and the Boks need to beware, a wounded Lion is a vicious animal.
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1 comment
Guru says:
Jun 25, 2009
An insightful analysis Manny and I agree with you. This is a much more physical side. I am more convinced though that the presence of Simon Shaw behind Adam Jones is what will bring stability to the Lions Scrum. Although given the differnec in abilities between Ross Ford and Mathew Rees and the fact that Sheridan is coming off a back injury, i’d have to say the Lions forwards bench might not be able to step if required to do so. I beleive the loosies are the best Ian could have picked for the match and Mike Phillips picks himself. However, as I had argued last week, I do not understand how O’Gara is left on the bench. He has a better rugby mind, better running game and his tactical kicking would be sorely missed in a stadium like Loftus. I beleive the backline is 86% accurate but I would have brought in Shane Williams for Fitzgerald simply for his experience. I think Shane Williams might be brought on fo the last 30min and he will play well enough for Geech to regret not having included him in the starting line up. Shane Williams may be out of form but against a team like the boks, his X Factor and experience cannot be replaced.
All is all, a very good team that should give the Lions their best chance of salvaging the series.