British Lions - I don’t get it

[Highgate]

7 hours ago, CWC1983 said:

 

Makes the winning all the sweeter. 

If it was a GB football team, I wouldn't support it. Don't ask my why, I don't know. 

I think with the rugby its the Northern v Southern hemisphere thing.

To be honest, the Lions seem like an anachronism to me.  Why in a sport, where there are only 9 or 10 competitive teams in the world, do 4 of them (including the country with the more professional rugby union players than any other) join together and tour 1 country?  It seems to me, given its available resources, England shouldn't require any assistance against any other individual country. 

That's why I think the Lions is a concept long past its sell by date.

Now a Northern Hemisphere vs Southern Hemisphere series every few years would be far more interesting.  Given the French and Italians would also be involved, just making the squad would be a bigger achievement for a Northern Hemisphere player, and the challenge posed by the combined Southern Hemisphere team would be immense. 

More mischievously, you could also look at removing England altogether, and having a 'Celtic' touring team (which could then also tour England and France).

[RadioactiveWaste]

21 minutes ago, Stagtime said:

Mate, I should have made it clearer I was talking about the difference of the games over here. Union is really only a minor sport over here that is predominantly played out of the private school system. I love the locals passion for the game when I’ve been in Scotland, Wales, Ireland and France. It’s a good way to break the ice in a local pub even though I’m a League boy. I was surprised when I worked at Royal Grammar school just outside of London how big Union was. I’d always assumed that soccer would be the major sport around London but I never saw one soccer ball.

I think Union is much bigger overall in the UK, even if it's only really wales where it's the everyman sport, and some weird parts of the borders, but where Rugby league is played, it is everyhting to those towns (e.g. Whitehaven and Workington, St Helens, Wigan and so on) - but the rugby league has always been rooted in the working class - it became professional because the people playing it couldn't really aford to lose the satureday's wage (or that's what I'm told). For my totally non-expert view of the games, league is much quicker more fluid sport, union has more all round challenges, but can be very dull and grinding, especially when it's not being played with international skill.

Lions? It's a tradition I suppose and seems to be big deal for those involved, and I suppose it's kind of  a bgger deal than the individual unions organising their own summer overseas tours.

And yes, I'm not sure where/who you hung around with in london, but football is pretty universal across the uk, but then facebook and childhood obeasity appear to more popular tha playing with a soccaball.

[Van der MoodHoover]

17 minutes ago, Highgate said:

To be honest, the Lions seem like an anachronism to me.  Why in a sport, where there are only 9 or 10 competitive teams in the world, do 4 of them (including the country with the more professional rugby union players than any other) join together and tour 1 country?  It seems to me, given its available resources, England shouldn't require any assistance against any other individual country. 

That's why I think the Lions is a concept long past its sell by date.

Now a Northern Hemisphere vs Southern Hemisphere series every few years would be far more interesting.  Given the French and Italians would also be involved, just making the squad would be a bigger achievement for a Northern Hemisphere player, and the challenge posed by the combined Southern Hemisphere team would be immense. 

More mischievously, you could also look at removing England altogether, and having a 'Celtic' touring team (which could then also tour England and France).

It's really a historical anachronism, but like so much in sport it carries on because its now earning loads of cash. 

If anything, recent lions tours have shown how difficult it is for what is effectively a scratch representative team to compete against cohesive and well drilled opposition. The boks were badly hampered by lack of rugby due to the pandemic. 

The traditions and flummery that surround the lions will ensure its continuation for some while yet. 

[Curtains]

20 hours ago, CWC1983 said:

Brilliant win, put a smile on my face. 

Boks were done after 60 mins.

Freshen the team for the 2nd and 3rd tests and there's a series win for the taking. 

 

How good were Itoge and Laws .

[CWC1983]

6 hours ago, Curtains said:

How good were Itoge and Laws .

Brilliant. 

Couldn't fault any of the 23. 

[Curtains]

3 minutes ago, CWC1983 said:

Brilliant. 

Couldn't fault any of the 23. 

Courtney Lawes  had a fantastic 2nd half .

Looking forward to the 2nd Test 

[CWC1983]

Just now, Curtains said:

Courtney Lawes  had a fantastic 2nd half .

Looking forward to the 2nd Test 

?

The Boks will come at us hard next week. 

Maybe Harris or Ake at 13 or Farrell. If Watson or Van de Merve can get a bit more ball then we can score some tries..

[Van der MoodHoover]

On 25/07/2021 at 22:20, CWC1983 said:

?

The Boks will come at us hard next week. 

Maybe Harris or Ake at 13 or Farrell. If Watson or Van de Merve can get a bit more ball then we can score some tries..

Boks stuffed the lions. Too many poor performances. And too many shots of that gimp rassie erasmus giving it the big one. 

I fear the chance of a victory in the series has gone. Too poor in too many areas. 

Bad tempered game as well. 

[sage]

3 minutes ago, Van der MoodHoover said:

Boks stuffed the lions. Too many poor performances. And too many shots of that gimp rassie erasmus giving it the big one. 

I fear the chance of a victory in the series has gone. Too poor in too many areas. 

Bad tempered game as well. 

They had 2 big calls go their way, which changed the game. Would have been close otherwise. We doo need a full back who can cope with high balls though. 

[Van der MoodHoover]

37 minutes ago, sage said:

They had 2 big calls go their way, which changed the game. Would have been close otherwise. We doo need a full back who can cope with high balls though. 

Lions wilted and gave far too many penalties 2nd half having started it up by 3.

The 2nd try might have looked marginal on the TMO replay but once the ref had awarded it on the field was never going to be overturned and in real time looked a try. 

Lions never looked like breaking the line for a try. I didn't see any real game changing moments, just an attritional war lost and a bunch of individual mistakes. 

[sage]

26 minutes ago, Van der MoodHoover said:

Lions wilted and gave far too many penalties 2nd half having started it up by 3.

The 2nd try might have looked marginal on the TMO replay but once the ref had awarded it on the field was never going to be overturned and in real time looked a try. 

Lions never looked like breaking the line for a try. I didn't see any real game changing moments, just an attritional war lost and a bunch of individual mistakes. 

Oh they wilted but the 2nd try was an umpires call either way. They seem to have moved to the soft signal/clear and obvious error system rather than a straight question. Their yellow on 34 may have been red on another day. Not having a go at the ref but it was a 50/50 call.

 

[CWC1983]

2 hours ago, Van der MoodHoover said:

Boks stuffed the lions. Too many poor performances. And too many shots of that gimp rassie erasmus giving it the big one. 

I fear the chance of a victory in the series has gone. Too poor in too many areas. 

Bad tempered game as well. 

Agree, I'm not sure where Gatland goes next week. 

In theory, at the start of the series the lions were going to run the Boks forwards around the park. 

However we've still to see the back 3 have the ball in their hands in space after 2 tests. 

In terms of changes for next week, it depends who has gone "off tour" for 2 weeks. 

[kevinhectoring]

On 24/07/2021 at 15:13, TigerTedd said:

I still don’t get it. Maybe because I can’t equate it to anything in football. I don’t get the idea of touring a country, playing against one team a few times.

The only thing in football I can equate it to is when United do a pre-season tour of Asia or something. Which were all in agreement, is a bit crap. Do the United players think that’s the highlight of their careers? Do the lions players really rate this tour above playing in a World Cup final against South Africa?

A test series is a great format if the series is close. But terrible if it’s not. 
As for the Lions, I think that if you ask an Aussie, Kiwi or Saffer, they will tell you it’s the ultimate contest between southern and northern hemisphere. With the added spice of our colonial history.