Lions Tour

Downlinz

dor843088 wrote: »

Just goes to show how much some view certain leinster players through rose tinted glasses. Gatland was asked about Ryan on off the ball a while ago and barely knew who he was. If Ringrose was at Connaught and Aki was at Leinster Ringrose would be a nobody and Aki would be a legend. Same goes for Carty and Ross Byrne.

He knew who Ryan was but it was clear he wasn't on his radar to the level the Irish media seemed to think he might be.

Aki is a legend regardless, he was the starting centre for a grand slam and victory over the All Blacks. One of our greatest ever centres even if certain parts of the island don't want to credit him as such.

Quin_Dub

Downlinz wrote: »

He knew who Ryan was but it was clear he wasn't on his radar to the level the Irish media seemed to think he might be.

Aki is a legend regardless, he was the starting centre for a grand slam and victory over the All Blacks. One of our greatest ever centres even if certain parts of the island don't want to credit him as such.

Sorry - Just no.

Huge amount of time for Aki , fine player and so on - But he's simply not even close to being in the the conversation for "best ever" or even Top 5 (and maybe even Top Ten)

Burkie1203

Downlinz wrote: »

He knew who Ryan was but it was clear he wasn't on his radar to the level the Irish media seemed to think he might be.

Aki is a legend regardless, he was the starting centre for a grand slam and victory over the All Blacks. One of our greatest ever centres even if certain parts of the island don't want to credit him as such.

Ryan won the same Grand Slams Aki did. Plus the pro14 and Europe 2 months later. And Ryan was the starting lock v NZ.

Shaka Hislop

Reports in an English paper today that the Lions have agreed to a 25% pay cut for the upcoming tour.

sprucemoose

dor843088 wrote: »

Same goes for Carty and Ross Byrne.

off topic slightly but...

Very harsh on byrne there (harsh on both i suppose really). byrne has pretty much always been a very solid player for leinster and stood up when needed. he wasnt amazing against la rochelle but he wasnt terrible either. hes barely played test rugby and two of those games were away to an england team that played the irish pack off the park. imo he was very, very good when he came on against france this year and if some ref decisions had been given he could have been the hero at the end. lets not forget he was the one who kept the supposed golden boy, our future lord and saviour JC at 15 and was probably a factor in him moving to munster.

Carty has been given a hard time too in fairness, seems to have borne the majority of the blame for the game against japan when it wasnt overly his fault. on the flip side his form since then has been fairly patchy so i can understand why he hasnt been involved much since

OldRio

Channel 4 showing highlights.

The vodaphone Lions. FFS.

https://twitter.com/lionsofficial/status/1392465764444221442?s=20

Louis Friend

Any reference to the “Vodafone Lions” is an abomination.

TomsOnTheRoof

Louis Friend wrote: »

Any reference to the “Vodafone Lions” is an abomination.

Sums up a lot of people's issues with the Lions. There's so much corporate bull**** surrounding the whole thing nowadays, although internationals aren't immune from that either.

Lost Ormond

sprucemoose wrote: »

off topic slightly but...

Very harsh on byrne there (harsh on both i suppose really). byrne has pretty much always been a very solid player for leinster and stood up when needed. he wasnt amazing against la rochelle but he wasnt terrible either. hes barely played test rugby and two of those games were away to an england team that played the irish pack off the park. imo he was very, very good when he came on against france this year and if some ref decisions had been given he could have been the hero at the end. lets not forget he was the one who kept the supposed golden boy, our future lord and saviour JC at 15 and was probably a factor in him moving to munster.

Carty has been given a hard time too in fairness, seems to have borne the majority of the blame for the game against japan when it wasnt overly his fault. on the flip side his form since then has been fairly patchy so i can understand why he hasnt been involved much since

Dont see how it is harsh on byrne. Yes he is solid for Leinster but in so many of those games for Leinster he has a pack completely dominating the opposition which is far from the case at international level.

Shaka Hislop

I've just seen Lions jerseys for dogs being advertised.....

sydthebeat

Lost Ormond wrote: »

Dont see how it is harsh on byrne. Yes he is solid for Leinster but in so many of those games for Leinster he has a pack completely dominating the opposition which is far from the case at international level.

See leinster v exeter

icdg

Louis Friend wrote: »

Any reference to the “Vodafone Lions” is an abomination.

To be fair to them they are not referring to the team as the “Vodafone Lions” - the fixture in Edinburgh is being given the name “Vodafone Lions 1888 Cup” as opposed to being part of the “Castle Lager Lions Series”.

Burkie1203

Louis Friend wrote: »

Any reference to the “Vodafone Lions” is an abomination.

In 4 years time
Cadbury's Wallabies v Vodafone Lions

Cosmo Kramer

They'll be selling tickets to training sessions next time to make up for the loss of revenue from this tour.

Standard Chartered Lions XV Probables v Aberdeen Asset Management Lions Tackle Bag Holders

razorblunt

Cosmo Kramer wrote: »

They'll be selling tickets to training sessions next time to make up for the loss of revenue from this tour.

Standard Chartered Lions XV Probables v Aberdeen Asset Management Lions Tackle Bag Holders

Do you mean the Abrdn Lns Tckl Bg Hldrs?

Cookiemunster

The new tour schedule has been confirmed.

• Saturday 3 July, 5pm: Emirates Lions v The British & Irish Lions (Emirates Airline Park, Johannesburg)

• Wednesday 7 July, 7pm: Cell C Sharks v The British & Irish Lions (Emirates Airline Park, Johannesburg)

• Saturday 10 July, 5pm: Vodacom Bulls v The British & Irish Lions (Loftus Versfeld, Pretoria)

• Wednesday 14 July, 7pm: South Africa 'A' v The British & Irish Lions (Cape Town Stadium, Cape Town)

• Saturday 17 July, 5pm: DHL Stormers v The British & Irish Lions (Cape Town Stadium, Cape Town)

• Saturday 24 July, 5pm: Springboks v The British & Irish Lions (1st Test, Cape Town Stadium, Cape Town)

• Saturday 31 July, 5pm: Springboks v The British & Irish Lions (2nd Test, FNB Stadium, Johannesburg)

• Saturday 7 Aug, 5pm: Springboks v The British & Irish Lions (3rd Test, FNB Stadium, Johannesburg)

Shaka Hislop

Yep the consecutive Joburg games were announced over 2 weeks ago... but only officially confirmed today.... heaven help anyone that actually is trying to arrange travel for this

icdg

The (Golden/Emirates) Lions weren’t in the original schedule, were they. I wondered why they’d been left out? Heaven help the commentators!

Sheep Shagger

As we all expected, confirmed all games are behind closed doors.

https://www.newstalk.com/sport/lions-tests-in-south-africa-to-be-played-behind-closed-doors-1194855

lawrencesummers

No fans at a lions test is a big difference.

It’s not that big a difference in a PRO14 games to go from a three quarter empty stadium to an empty one, but the atmosphere at a lions test game has always looked impressive

zambrotta11

Sheep Shagger wrote: »

As we all expected, confirmed all games are behind closed doors.

https://www.newstalk.com/sport/lions-tests-in-south-africa-to-be-played-behind-closed-doors-1194855

Does this mean the Japan game in Edinburgh will be behind closed doors too?
The article confirms that the tour in South Africa will be behind closed doors but does include the Japan game?

sydthebeat

zambrotta11 wrote: »

Does this mean the Japan game in Edinburgh will be behind closed doors too?
The article confirms that the tour in South Africa will be behind closed doors but does include the Japan game?

no confirmation as yet on the japan game.

most likely it will be a reduced crowd, just hasnt been announced yet what the number will be, or how they will determine who gets in.

Burkie1203

zambrotta11 wrote: »

Does this mean the Japan game in Edinburgh will be behind closed doors too?
The article confirms that the tour in South Africa will be behind closed doors but does include the Japan game?

Think small crowd at that one is possibly to be confirmed

zambrotta11

sydthebeat wrote: »

no confirmation as yet on the japan game.

most likely it will be a reduced crowd, just hasnt been announced yet what the number will be, or how they will determine who gets in.

This is the cancellation policy outlined on the lions website. This obviously still depends on what numbers they are allowed but they already have a system in place.

https://www.lionsrugby.com/faqs/1888-cup-faqs/

Tickets will be cancelled in the following order according to the time and date that tickets were purchased within each category:
Tickets sold via the General sale
Tickets sold to ticket purchasers in ‘Presale Group Four’
Tickets sold to ticket purchasers in ‘Presale Group Three’
Tickets sold to ticket purchasers in ‘Presale Group Two’
Tickets sold to ticket purchasers in ‘Presale Group One’
If you are unsure which purchase group you are in, this can be found on your ticketing receipt email. We will contact you through Ticketmaster to update on any match developments and to refund where necessary. Please do not contact Ticketmaster with any refund requests unless we have contacted you to do so.

Sheep Shagger

Lions tour without fans is a waste of time, clearly they're only going through the motions so that commercial obligations are met which reinforces what we already know....the tour has turned into just a commercial machine.

The official pension plan provider and God knows what else they licenced need to get their moneys worth somehow.

Cookiemunster

Sheep Shagger wrote: »

Lions tour without fans is a waste of time, clearly they're only going through the motions so that commercial obligations are met which reinforces what we already know....the tour has turned into just a commercial machine.

The official pension plan provider and God knows what else they licenced need to get their moneys worth somehow.

How is it any different to the rugby we've been watching since last August? The main reason that pro rugby has been the only rugby that's continued on through all the lockdowns is because it would have collapsed financially if it hadn't.

It's the reason we have this ridiculous rainbow cup and it's the reason that the Lions tour will go ahead. That's the reality of all modern pro rugby.

Cookiemunster

Shaka Hislop wrote: »

heaven help anyone that actually is trying to arrange travel for this

Who in their right mind would be trying to travel to SA for a tour they can't get in to watch and from which they would have to hotel quarantine for two weeks on arrival home? I doubt anyone not involved in the tour or working in media will be travelling.

lawrencesummers

Cookiemunster wrote: »

Who in their right mind would be trying to travel to SA for a tour they can't get in to watch and from which they would have to hotel quarantine for two weeks on arrival home? I doubt anyone not involved in the tour or working in media will be travelling.

Anyone who has been vaccinated?

Cookiemunster

lawrencesummers wrote: »

Anyone who has been vaccinated?

Again, why would they travel to a country that is still under heavy covid restrictions to not see any matches? Pretty pointless really.

Sheep Shagger

Cookiemunster wrote: »

Again, why would they travel to a country that is still under heavy covid restrictions to not see any matches? Pretty pointless really.

Yep you can go but with no games to go to and leisure activities including pubs closed, what's the point?

Jacovs

Just to point out most places in SA have been open since before christmas when they moved to level 1 restrictions.
But their health minister did prematurely announce they are in their 3rd wave now, and they are heading into winter so I would expect there to be more restrictions than here in July.

Louis Friend

I had hotels, flights, and tickets all booked and paid for.

It’s a shame that it’s not going ahead as normal.

But at least I’ve received all of the money back at this stage.

TRC10

Incredible, Sam Simmonds broke the record for most tries in a premiership season with 18.

Even more incredibly, every single try was against either Worcester or Newcastle...

jacothelad

TRC10 wrote: »

Incredible, Sam Simmonds broke the record for most tries in a premiership season with 18.

Even more incredibly, every single try was against either Worcester or Newcastle...

So he can't score against good sides.......:D:D:D:D

OldRio

Try and find Hoggs air kick against the Not nots on the Web. A classic. Having a mare TBH.
Sam S... Probably the best number 8 in the world. 😁

theVersatile

jacothelad wrote: »

So he can't score against good sides.......:D:D:D:D

https://twitter.com/ultimaterugby/status/1394756995438325761?s=19

I mean one could argue...

MisterAnarchy

Capacity for The Vodafone Lions 1888 Cup match against Japan at Murrayfield on Saturday 26 June has been confirmed as 16500

https://www.scottishrugby.org/news/bt-murrayfield-to-host-16,000-fans-for-lions-fixture-with-japan

sydthebeat

update re ticket holders:

Dear syd

We are writing to you with an important update regarding your tickets for The Vodafone Lions 1888 Cup at BT Murrayfield in Edinburgh on Saturday 26 June.

Following advice from the Scottish Government and local health authorities, we now have confirmation that a crowd of 25% of the stadium’s capacity will be successful in the revised allocation process. The match was due to be a sell-out, therefore unfortunately a number of tickets will need to be cancelled which will be done in accordance with Scottish Government guidelines and the Ticket Terms and Conditions.
All ticket purchasers will be emailed no later than Friday 28 May which will confirm if they have been successful and can attend the match or not. Ticket purchasers who are unsuccessful will have their tickets cancelled and a refund will be automatically processed by Ticketmaster to the original payment card.

There will be some new processes in place on matchday to protect everyone’s safety, which all ticketholders will be required to read and agree to. Some of the main rules are listed below with the remainder available to view in BT Murrayfield’s Ground Rules and the Spectator Code of Conduct. We understand some ticket purchasers may not want to attend the match due to these new processes, even if they are permitted to do so. A further opportunity to cancel tickets and receive a refund will be outlined in the email that will be sent to all ticket purchasers no later than Friday 28 May.

Important – key stadium conditions of entry

We would like to bring the following key conditions to your attention:

1. If on the day of the event, or in the 10 days prior, you or a member of your group has tested positive for Covid-19, displayed any recognised symptoms of Covid-19, been in contact with anyone who has tested positive for Covid-19 or returned from a country which requires a 10-day isolation, then you or that group member should not attend the event.

2. Seating will be allocated as singles to ensure social distancing compliance. If you purchased in a group, your group will be allocated together as close as physical distancing measures allow. Please note all attendees, including family groups (subject to age restriction), will still be sat as singles, which are typically spaced three seats apart side to side.

3. Notwithstanding anything to the contrary in the Ticket Terms and Conditions or BT Murrayfield’s Ground Rules, no children under the age of 14 are permitted into the venue.

4. Wearing of face masks at all times within the grounds and the stadium is compulsory, unless you have a medical or other valid exemption (as set out in Scottish Government guidance).

5. You may be subject to a temperature check upon entry to the stadium.

6. For ticket purchasers in the UK, the use of lateral flow tests in the few days prior to the match is recommended. These are available to order from the NHS website. For ticket purchasers in Ireland, there is currently a Government Advisory in operation against all non-essential international travel; details of these measures and PCR testing are available on the Government and HSE websites. For ticket purchasers outside the UK and Ireland, please refer to government advice on international travel for your country.

7. The re-sale or transfer of tickets (on secondary ticketing market or otherwise) is strictly prohibited.

8. Match tickets remain subject to cancellation in the lead up to the match if the lead purchaser resides in an area of concern from a public health perspective, as will be identified by the Scottish Government.

9. For the full terms of entry, please read the Ticket Terms and Conditions, BT Murrayfield’s Ground Rules and the spectator Code of Conduct (all of which may be updated from time to time in line with Scottish Government guidance and operational requirements). Please read and familiarise yourself with these documents now and immediately prior to match day, as they include important information about the new processes which will be in place in the stadium. You also agree to make anyone who is attending with you aware of the terms of these documents.

We understand how disappointing this will be to some ticket holders. We will update you no later than Friday 28 May once ticket allocations within the reduced capacity have been finalised. At this point we will be able to confirm whether your ticket purchase remains valid for the match or if it has been cancelled.

Thank you for your continued patience and understanding,

The British & Irish Lions

sydthebeat

anyone successful in getting their tickets included for the japan game?

unfortunately mine weren't, and i was presale 4.
ive heard that even presale 2 didnt get in either

razorblunt

sydthebeat wrote: »

anyone successful in getting their tickets included for the japan game?

unfortunately mine weren't, and i was presale 4.
ive heard that even presale 2 didnt get in either

Not to rub it in but almost everyone I know who had tickets has made it through the ballot. Granted I live locally so maybe they skewed the entrants somewhat but that's 8 different groupings.

Leinstertomas

sydthebeat

I hope fassi gets a run out against the lions

Leinstertomas

Surprised Marcell Coetzee left out after being one of best 8s in Europe for last while.
Morne Steyn back after not playing test rugby since 2016.

Edit: apparently they'll be assessing Coetzee over next 2 games because of his injury and may add him after

Shaka Hislop

Naming Snyman in the squad is a joke...he's not within an asses roar of being fit

RugbyLover123

I don’t see why they would name Snyman and not Coetzee if they are having doubts over his injuries. I mean he’s had more game time then Snyman lately..

Incredible depth and quality in the pack but they will be praying nothing happens to Pollard and Le Roux.

schmoo2k

I see Sinckler got called up due to Porter injury, is Porter out or is it just backup?

Shaka Hislop

schmoo2k wrote: »

I see Sinckler got called up due to Porter injury, is Porter out or is it just backup?

Reports saying his ankle is broken..if true that's his tour done before it started

Clegg

I don't remember Porter going off in the Ulster game. Did he play on with a broken ankle?

Devastated for him anyway. He's been brilliant since his first appearance for Leinster and Ireland. Deserved his spot on tour.

Teferi

Gutted for Porter. He more than deserved his place on Tour after some exceptional seasons of rugby.

Burkie1203

Shaka Hislop wrote: »

Reports saying his ankle is broken..if true that's his tour done before it started

Lions statement says toe injury.