Pride Restored

South Africa 9 - 28 British and Irish Lions
3rd Test - Ellis Park, Jo'burgh

Ok the Bok's made 10 changes to the team that won the 2nd test and took the series after 12 years of hurt last weekend but for the Lions a wins and win in this style.


Three ties to nil, and a points gap that showed it (21 points). At the home of South African rugby this is a victory that all the Lions that donned the shirt this summer can be proud of.


The unity in the side was clear to see throughout the tour but yesterday in the Jo'burgh sun you could see that these players from four different countries have built friendships that will last a lifetime.


This is what the Lions is all about.

Those voices that doubt the future of the Lions, I have never personally met one, have now surely been silenced.

Reflection on the Game:


The Best Bit


Matthew Rees' tackle on winger and South African's fastest man Odwa Ndungane with the score at 3-3, metres short of the try line. A tackle a hooker should never make. It was exceptional in a game in which had a lot to shout about for Lions fans.


The Bad Bit


The South African's wore white arm bands with Justice written on them, referring the ban handed to lock Bakkies Botha, revived for a tackle on Lions prop Adam Jones in the 2nd test. Another ill judged decision from the Bok's, even if Botha has a case. Jones looks to be set out long term because of the incident. No need.


Man of the Match

Steve Phillips dominated again. All over the park, great in defence. Moved to centre with half an hour left and continued his good work.

Entertainment Rating

8/10 - The series may have been won for the Bok's but it was a great battle. The first two tests were potentially the best two international tests for a long while but this was pretty good too.

Two Games of Four Halves

So the Springboks have got the revenge they were after, 12 years on.

But with comparison to their last tour, the Lions can take lot of pride from their performance, and they have still have one test left to take something home with them.

We will asses the tour over the next couple of weeks, but the first thoughts lie in the quality of rugby and the contest that these two teams have produced.

Both games were games of two halves.

The Facts:

1st half 1st test - Boks 19 - 7 Lions - HALF WINNERS - Boks
2nd half 1st test - Boks 7 - 14 Lions - HALF WINNERS - Lions

FULL TIME 1st test - Boks 26 - 21 Lions
GAME WINNERS - BOKS

1st half 2nd test - Boks 8 - 16 Lions - HALF WINNERS - Lions
2nd half 2nd test - Boks 20 - 9 Lions - HALF WINNERS - Boks

FULL TIME 2nd test - Boks 28 - 25 Lions
GAME WINNERS - BOKS

So two halves each, the key was the Springboks were able to express their dominance with more dominance and more precision.

The mark of the world champions and a team that have played together as a unit many teams before.

People talk about the idea of the Lions being in doubt....are they joking?

Two of the best international rugby games in a long time. Long live this great tradition!

Did anything Emerge from last night?

Not the greatest game of the tour.

Credit must be given to the Emerging Boks.

My prediction of the the Lions by seven was looked pretty good until a cheap pen (the Ref said "Hands out, Hands out, Hands out" Callaghan did NOT listen) was given away at the breakdown by the Lions.... again.

And the rest is history.

After the whistle, I felt any hope of a Lions fightback in the Test Series quickly evaporate. The look of Rohan O'Gara face when he led the team off the pitch showed how important, for the squad, a victory was.

Anyone make a case for a test spot?

I don't think Shane Williams did enough, he didn't get the chance really. I would still go with Ugo Monye, the power against the Boks.

Simon Shaw, gave a good reason to replace Alan Wyn Jones on Saturday. Nothing against the Welsh Second Row, but a good point was made by Stuart Barnes in the commentary the power that Shaw posses behind the front row at the scrum could be the answer to the first half problems experienced in Durban.

Again I was surprised that Martyn Williams got all 80 minutes. It looks now, unlikely that he will start on Saturday.

If I was picking the team:

15 - Rob Kearney (Is Bryne fit? He is report to be taking pain injections)
14 - Tommy Bowe
13 - Brain O'Driscoll
12 - Jamie Roberts
11 - Ugo Monye
10 - Stephen Jones
9 - Mike Phillips
8 - Jamie Heaslip (If Williams had not played all 80mins, I would have picked him at 7 and maybe Wallace at 8)
7 - David Wallace
6 - Tom Croft
5 - Paul O'Connell (c)
4 - Simon Shaw
3 - Adam Jones
2 - Matthew Rees
1 - Gethin Jenkins

A Table Topping Performance Needed

British and Irish Lions vs. Emerging Springboks
23th June 2009
KO 7.10 Local Time
Newlands, Cape Town

All eyes on Newlands, Cape Town tonight as the British and Irish Lions prepare for the final mid-week game of the tour against the Emerging Springboks.

Lions' coach Ian McGeechan has underlined the importance of this game, to get the Lions tour back on track after the disappointing defeat on Saturday.

A loss tonight under Table Top Mountain could be disastrous for the Lions confidence ahead of a make or break game against the senior Boks on Saturday.

Key Lion:

I was surprised to see Martyn Williams in the starting line up. If Geeks was thinking of starting him on this Saturday, I doubt he would have started him. But the McGeechan has given Welsh veteran a chance to prove his worth. He will be key to the game tonight and a solid performance may get Geek's to rethink.

Who else is pushing for a place?

The whole front row! Well nearly all. Who will start with Gethin Jenkins on Saturday? Anything is up for grabs.

Shane Williams? Some magic from the IRB player of the year could give him a chance to make at least the bench on Saturday.

Alan Wyn Jones test is place could be up for grabs. All three second rowers will be pushing.

The Emerging Springboks

The Emerging Springbok's are a team made up of uncapped South African future stars.

The side includes Earl Rose and Morgan Newman, who are currently in the South African squad.

One to Watch:

Full Back - Zane Kirchner - One of the shining lights of the Blue Bull's Super 14 winning team. The 24 year old was unlucky to miss out on the senior squad.

Prediction

A tough first half battle, which the Lions will come through by 7 points.

The Blues are Ready

On Sunday the Cardiff Blues take on the Leicester Tigers at the Millennium Stadium, in the regions first Heineken Cup semi-final under the banner of the Blues. (Cardiff RFC got to the final in the first ever Heineken Cup in 1996).

After they demolished Gloucester in the EDF Energy Cup final the Blues take an air of confidence into the game.

They have struggled in recent years, but under the careful leadership of head coach Dai Young the promise of the young sqaud is starting to show.

After the defeat of Gloucester by 50 -12 at Twickenham the rugby world has stood up and took note. The fear for the Blues is that they bolt under this new found pressure.

Sunday will be their biggest test...

Rugby Mad have been in the Blues camp this week to see how preparations for the game are going.

Fronting Up
Head Coach Dai Young is expecting a tough and tight game, that will be 'won and lost upfront'.

He outlined that it is key that the Blues have a good start to game and get points on the board early.

He is weary of the threat that the Leicester will give but believes that if the Blues go out to win the game they can play the kind of rugby that took them to victory at Twickenham.



A big day out
Martyn Williams is looking forward to playing the game at Wales' national stadium.

The veteran flanker, who got the call for the Lions last week, says the winning in contact area as a key part to whether the Blues will be able to come out and perform on Sunday.



Impact Player
Number 8, Andy Powell will be on the bench come Sunday the big Welsh man has been kept out of the starting fifteen by the return from injury of New Zealander Xavier Rush.

Powell believes he is a good impact player and enjoys coming off the bench. Recently picked in the 37 heading out to South Africa in the summer Powell told Rugby Mad that after the injury to Munster's Tomas O'Leary, meaning he will miss the tour, the worry of injury will be at the back of all the Lions players heads before the board the plane in the summer.



There is little doubt that confidence is high in the Blues camp, there is no doubting that, but they are all aware of the big task ahead of them...

Take Care Who You Pick On

Six Nations Round Three Review

A lot of talking points spring up from last weekend's Six Nations.

Ireland - England, a dire game on the whole.

Lets start with the English....well, well, well.

First of all if you have not seen the BBCs post-match interviews with Martin Johnson and Steve Borthwick then I recommend them. Borthwick's manner is very interesting and you begin to feel sorry for the man.

My problem, however, is everyone pointing the finger at Danny Care. What he did was very stupid but he was not the only one giving stupid pens away. Phil Vickery, can't stop giving away pens in his own 22. Come on! Ten yellow cards in four games! This in not one or two players fault, everyone in the set up have to look at themselves and think about what they are doing.

I watched both England and Wales train in front of the media ahead their game in Cardiff, the contrast between the two sides was unbelievable. Gatland's boys were organised and well drilled. They came out as a team did what they were meant to do, like professionally.

England on the other hand, came out in drips and draps (I walked down the tunnel with Andy Goode and Paul Sackey bantering away), it all seemed to be easy and relaxed. I guess there is nothing wrong with that, rugby is fun enjoy it, but when you look at their performances and lack of discipline on the pitch that can be reflected in their lack of discipline in training. At points Johnno just looked like one of the lads! I not knocking his leadership, that is unprecedented and I realise he is not the coach but the manager. I am, however, questioning this approach because it doesn't seem to be working.

The Irish Slam

I still doubt that Ireland will go on to win the Grand Slam. I can not see them winning in Cardiff, but my confidence in the Welsh has come back to haunt the dragons in the past.

Friday Night Highlight

I think that the Friday night game worked really well. I am in agreement with Jonathan Davis, a Friday night game works better then a Sunday game. Kicks off the weekend in style.

It was all helped by a great game of rugby.

On my twitter feed I didn't say - "If the Welsh turn up, they could give the French a lesson in how to play rugby." I am not sure the Welsh totally turned up. There were points when they dominated but the French did too. Wales could have won it but they made too many mistakes and lack calmness.

The French were powerful and got their tactics right, they were all playing for their under pressure coach.

Scots Bore

Well done to Scotland, Frank Hadden's boys needed the win, they got it, not in style but a win is a win. I am concerned for the Italians. A few years ago it looked like they were about to really break into the Six Nations but this year they have offered very little, their strength in depth seems a problem.

All in all yet again the Six Nations is delivering. Great tournament so far.

Time for England to Man Up?

England captain Steve Borthwick is has asked ahead of this weekends game against Ireland that 'we hope that Joubert referees both sides equally.'

Is this a excuse of a losing side or are England really being targeted by officials?

Most people in the rugby world, love beating the English more then any other nation. Is it possible that referees have this mentally embedded in theirs views of a game?

Surely this is hard to believe?

Nobody picked up on this when England we on top of the world in 2003...or did they? Some interesting decisions were made in the scrum in the RWC final that pushed the game all to the wire...

Should the English just accepted that they have a slight harder up hill battle, that is just part of being English and they should man up.

Or maybe just stop infringing clearly and stupidly in front of the ref.

A Magners European Delight

The Heineken Cup was reignited into action this weekend with style setting up a great final weekend of the pool stage next week.

Four results really stood all that show the promise of the Magners League.

Toulouse 26 - 33 Glasgow

We got to start with Glasgow's beating of Toulouse, to add to it in France. The greatest Heineken Cup Shock? A great win for the Scottish side that showed some real heart. Coach Sean Lineen described Dan Park's as 'outstanding'. His performance will please Frank Hadden ahead of the Six Nations and could change the balance in the Godman - Parks debate (more of I am sure in the coming weeks on this issue).

Ulster 21 - 10 Quins

Horrible conditions for this game, but that ain't no excuse. After two great performances against Stade in the previous rounds of matches Quins were shocked by this one. Ulster again nothing to lose and didn't. Quins still through as results go there way, just result really.

Munster 37 - 14 Sale

This was not the result but the manner of it. Bish bash bosh. The reigning champs showed the English who is boss. Six try bonus point win, thought to the next round. NEXT.

Gloucester 12 - 16 Cardiff Blues

Blues down to 14 men after getting winger Tom Jones sent off for head butting but were able to maintain their unbeaten record in the tournament but edging the West Country boys. Not a classic match in terms of rugby (unlike the fixture earlier on in the season) but the grit and determination shown by the 14 men blues was super. Gloucester just didn't look like they wanted it.

What do these four fixtures show us? The strength the Magners has to offer and highlights yet again an argument I have touched upon before, the Magners League has great potential but the organisers and schedules are messing it up.

This weekend is another example of the potential for the league, something needs to be done.