B&I Lions 2025 Official Thread

[Yr Alban]

Sorry - not calling you a liar, and you’ll know better than me, however Scotland having only lost twice to Australia since the 2015 world cup doesn’t pass my sniff test, have you missed the first post for context in this?

Edit - looked it up and stand corrected, smaller sample size albeit

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/History_o ... d_Scotland

It’s true. Scotland have won 4 of the last 5. It’s always about where you draw the line for these things, but if you take the last 10 years, it’s 4-3 to Scotland, with all three Australia wins by 1 point (including the utter travesty at the 2015 RWC, of course).

Yeah checked the same thing hence the edit, mea culpa

Yeah, I realised you had edited it after I posted. Sorry about that

[Rhubarb & Custard]

Think the wobblies will have a target on Pollock from the get go, upper class, pom 'wunderkind', that has the English meeja and pundits circle jerking, irresistible bait.

He is very good though.

There are players who're good but not much seems to happen, whereas with Pollock whether one thinks he's good or not stuff happens. Of course sometimes that stuff isn't him scoring but people running over him to score, as we saw Vs Leinster, but stuff does happen, and that's not nothing

[Kawazaki]

Think the wobblies will have a target on Pollock from the get go, upper class, pom 'wunderkind', that has the English meeja and pundits circle jerking, irresistible bait.

He is very good though.

There are players who're good but not much seems to happen, whereas with Pollock whether one thinks he's good or not stuff happens. Of course sometimes that stuff isn't him scoring but people running over him to score, as we saw Vs Leinster, but stuff does happen, and that's not nothing

I saw this comment from some idiot in the comments of a newspaper article as well.




112kg Doris running full chat at 100kg Pollock with 120kg Furlong illegally pre-latched into him and 120kg Porter pushing through from behind as well.

You've got to be majorly struggling if you need to use this tackle as negative evidence in the debit column. And/or a colossal fuckwit of course.

[clydecloggie]

Pre-latching is legal, as long as it's just one player who's not in front of the ball carrier.

Pollock is brilliant, no doubt, but until his wonder try he was a weak link in the Saints team against Leinster. Then he scored that try, found his groove, and was amazing.

[Big D]

Pre-latching is legal, as long as it's just one player who's not in front of the ball carrier.

Pollock is brilliant, no doubt, but until his wonder try he was a weak link in the Saints team against Leinster. Then he scored that try, found his groove, and was amazing.

This is something us Scots will need to watch with Douglas. Even wonderkids might have rough periods, especially in their first exposure to really big games (if Edinburgh ever make it that far).

[Kawazaki]

Pre-latching is legal, as long as it's just one player who's not in front of the ball carrier.

Furlong is clearly impeding Pollock. That's illegal.

He was also the top tackler in the match with 18 completed (15 of which were inside the Saints’ half). Pollock also hit the most defensive rucks in the match (21).

That's some weak link.

[Tichtheid]

Good luck to Pollock, I thought others were more deserving of a place but now that he’s in the squad I hope he makes the test team.

[SaintK]

Pre-latching is legal, as long as it's just one player who's not in front of the ball carrier.

Furlong is clearly impeding Pollock. That's illegal.

He was also the top tackler in the match with 18 completed (15 of which were inside the Saints’ half). Pollock also hit the most defensive rucks in the match (21).

That's some weak link.

Quite! You forgot the turnovers as well.
His stats from minute 1 to minute 80 were beyond impressive.

[Kawazaki]

I repeat, James Ryan is a clear homer selection. He can only play at lock, he can't play anywhere else. And for some reason Farrell had picked 6 locks in a 38-man squad. He's just not at the same level and offers nothing extraordinary. Meanwhile, in the row behind, there are no specialist no.8s in the squad, despite Tom Willis tearing it up for England and Saracens. Willis is also 120kgs and would add significant heft to congested carries allowing the lighter speedsters in the backrow to carry wider out.

It's a significant mistake in my opinion.

[Lobby]

I repeat, James Ryan is a clear homer selection. He can only play at lock, he can't play anywhere else. And for some reason Farrell had picked 6 locks in a 38-man squad. He's just not at the same level and offers nothing extraordinary. Meanwhile, in the row behind, there are no specialist no.8s in the squad, despite Tom Willis tearing it up for England and Saracens. Willis is also 120kgs and would add significant heft to congested carries allowing the lighter speedsters in the backrow to carry wider out.

It's a significant mistake in my opinion.

Before the announcement it was said that he was going to take a squad of 40. In the end he announced 38. Its possible he's waiting to see how quickly Doris recovers from surgery; if he does well he may add him or an alternative 8 like Willis without dropping any of the existing players or waiting for an injury replacement.

[dpedin]

My money is on Furlong coming home first due to injury. He hasn't been fully fit for last year or two and even then struggles to last more than 40mins in a game. He was the No1 TH for some years but I doubt he is the force he once was and looks broken to me.

[Yeeb]

I repeat, James Ryan is a clear homer selection. He can only play at lock, he can't play anywhere else. And for some reason Farrell had picked 6 locks in a 38-man squad. He's just not at the same level and offers nothing extraordinary. Meanwhile, in the row behind, there are no specialist no.8s in the squad, despite Tom Willis tearing it up for England and Saracens. Willis is also 120kgs and would add significant heft to congested carries allowing the lighter speedsters in the backrow to carry wider out.

It's a significant mistake in my opinion.

Every tour has one or two homer decisions , eg Titterall 2005 plus other injured or retired England players on that tour.
Peter wright instead of Jeff probyn 1993 going further back even better example of some utter shite selection.

[Rhubarb & Custard]

Think the wobblies will have a target on Pollock from the get go, upper class, pom 'wunderkind', that has the English meeja and pundits circle jerking, irresistible bait.

He is very good though.

There are players who're good but not much seems to happen, whereas with Pollock whether one thinks he's good or not stuff happens. Of course sometimes that stuff isn't him scoring but people running over him to score, as we saw Vs Leinster, but stuff does happen, and that's not nothing

I saw this comment from some idiot in the comments of a newspaper article as well.




112kg Doris running full chat at 100kg Pollock with 120kg Furlong illegally pre-latched into him and 120kg Porter pushing through from behind as well.

You've got to be majorly struggling if you need to use this tackle as negative evidence in the debit column. And/or a colossal fuckwit of course.

Perfectly fair, with the slight caveat it only holds if Doris is the last heavier player he's asked to tackle. Else he missed a first up table to concede under the sticks, and I suspect Pollock doesn't need to be told that's not the standard.

Furlong, well yes he's a nuisance, but if you're holding out for the ref to help you out there you're in the wrong job.

It is a negative in Pollock's column, but it's not like other players haven't made mistakes, and it's not like there aren't plenty of positives, indeed such was alluded to me in my post, wailing and pretending missing first up tackles isn't a problem is a bit odd though, very odd actually.

[sockwithaticket]

Conan is a specialist 8 tbf, but just having one in the squad certainly feels like an error. With half of the locks selected capable of playing blindside and six locks being quite a lot anyway, we certainly didn't need so many flankers

Farrell did say there are a couple of spots still to claim for players who can prove their fitness. I suspect one of them is being held for Doris as they wait and see how severe his injury is.

Ryan is incredibly fortunate to have as many Ireland caps as he does at this point, let alone get selected for the Lions. That said, outstanding locks in the Home Nations teams are few and far between. I'd like to think that if Martin wasn't injured (again...) he'd have gone instead. Grant Gilchrist is probably the next best option.

[Kawazaki]

There are players who're good but not much seems to happen, whereas with Pollock whether one thinks he's good or not stuff happens. Of course sometimes that stuff isn't him scoring but people running over him to score, as we saw Vs Leinster, but stuff does happen, and that's not nothing

I saw this comment from some idiot in the comments of a newspaper article as well.




112kg Doris running full chat at 100kg Pollock with 120kg Furlong illegally pre-latched into him and 120kg Porter pushing through from behind as well.

You've got to be majorly struggling if you need to use this tackle as negative evidence in the debit column. And/or a colossal fuckwit of course.

Perfectly fair, with the slight caveat it only holds if Doris is the last heavier player he's asked to tackle. Else he missed a first up table to concede under the sticks, and I suspect Pollock doesn't need to be told that's not the standard.

Furlong, well yes he's a nuisance, but if you're holding out for the ref to help you out there you're in the wrong job.

It is a negative in Pollock's column, but it's not like other players haven't made mistakes, and it's not like there aren't plenty of positives, indeed such was alluded to me in my post, wailing and pretending missing first up tackles isn't a problem is a bit odd though, very odd actually.

You introduced this specific tackle (note that is not a plural), not me.

[Kawazaki]

Conan is a specialist 8 tbf, but just having one in the squad certainly feels like an error. With half of the locks selected capable of playing blindside and six locks being quite a lot anyway, we certainly didn't need so many flankers

Farrell did say there are a couple of spots still to claim for players who can prove their fitness. I suspect one of them is being held for Doris as they wait and see how severe his injury is.

Ryan is incredibly fortunate to have as many Ireland caps as he does at this point, let alone get selected for the Lions. That said, outstanding locks in the Home Nations teams are few and far between. I'd like to think that if Martin wasn't injured (again...) he'd have gone instead. Grant Gilchrist is probably the next best option.

Ryan is a poor choice. Kelleher over George is also bizarre.

[SaintK]

Conan is a specialist 8 tbf, but just having one in the squad certainly feels like an error. With half of the locks selected capable of playing blindside and six locks being quite a lot anyway, we certainly didn't need so many flankers

Farrell did say there are a couple of spots still to claim for players who can prove their fitness. I suspect one of them is being held for Doris as they wait and see how severe his injury is.

Ryan is incredibly fortunate to have as many Ireland caps as he does at this point, let alone get selected for the Lions. That said, outstanding locks in the Home Nations teams are few and far between. I'd like to think that if Martin wasn't injured (again...) he'd have gone instead. Grant Gilchrist is probably the next best option.

Was discussing that with my son, neither of us want to see Earl, Curry or Pollock there. If Doris doesn't make it I'd call up Tom Willis who has been the outstanding No8 in the Prem, his carries and yards gained are off the scale and he's a good lineout option.

[Uncle fester]

Pre-latching is legal, as long as it's just one player who's not in front of the ball carrier.

Furlong is clearly impeding Pollock. That's illegal.

moving-the-goalposts-300x2402.jpg (28.16 KiB) Viewed 1812 times

[Uncle fester]

Conan is a specialist 8 tbf, but just having one in the squad certainly feels like an error. With half of the locks selected capable of playing blindside and six locks being quite a lot anyway, we certainly didn't need so many flankers

Farrell did say there are a couple of spots still to claim for players who can prove their fitness. I suspect one of them is being held for Doris as they wait and see how severe his injury is.

Ryan is incredibly fortunate to have as many Ireland caps as he does at this point, let alone get selected for the Lions. That said, outstanding locks in the Home Nations teams are few and far between. I'd like to think that if Martin wasn't injured (again...) he'd have gone instead. Grant Gilchrist is probably the next best option.

Bit surprised Ryan was picked tbh but if we're taking about Gilchrist as an alternative then it's exposing the paucity of options in that position.

[Sandstorm]

Can’t believe how much stick young Pollock is getting, especially in Ireland!! He a very special talent and if he works on his hands around the eye area, could be as big a legend as Schalk Burger one day.

[Uncle fester]

Can’t believe how much stick young Pollock is getting, especially in Ireland!! He a very special talent and if he works on his hands around the eye area, could be as big a legend as Schalk Burger one day.

Seriously?

[Yr Alban]

Conan is a specialist 8 tbf, but just having one in the squad certainly feels like an error. With half of the locks selected capable of playing blindside and six locks being quite a lot anyway, we certainly didn't need so many flankers

Farrell did say there are a couple of spots still to claim for players who can prove their fitness. I suspect one of them is being held for Doris as they wait and see how severe his injury is.

Ryan is incredibly fortunate to have as many Ireland caps as he does at this point, let alone get selected for the Lions. That said, outstanding locks in the Home Nations teams are few and far between. I'd like to think that if Martin wasn't injured (again...) he'd have gone instead. Grant Gilchrist is probably the next best option.

Bit surprised Ryan was picked tbh but if we're taking about Gilchrist as an alternative then it's exposing the paucity of options in that position.

TBH I think Gilchrist, like Darcy Graham and Jamie Ritchie, suffers a bit from having played all his pro club rugby in a very erratic Edinburgh team. He’s not spectacular, but Scotland really miss him when he isn’t there. I didn’t expect him to make the Lions squad, but then I didn’t expect Cummings to either.

[Kawazaki]

Pre-latching is legal, as long as it's just one player who's not in front of the ball carrier.

Furlong is clearly impeding Pollock. That's illegal.

moving-the-goalposts-300x2402.jpg

The problem with you bogtrotter types is you don't read text properly.

112kg Doris running full chat at 100kg Pollock with 120kg Furlong illegally pre-latched into him

[Uncle fester]

Conan is a specialist 8 tbf, but just having one in the squad certainly feels like an error. With half of the locks selected capable of playing blindside and six locks being quite a lot anyway, we certainly didn't need so many flankers

Farrell did say there are a couple of spots still to claim for players who can prove their fitness. I suspect one of them is being held for Doris as they wait and see how severe his injury is.

Ryan is incredibly fortunate to have as many Ireland caps as he does at this point, let alone get selected for the Lions. That said, outstanding locks in the Home Nations teams are few and far between. I'd like to think that if Martin wasn't injured (again...) he'd have gone instead. Grant Gilchrist is probably the next best option.

Bit surprised Ryan was picked tbh but if we're taking about Gilchrist as an alternative then it's exposing the paucity of options in that position.

TBH I think Gilchrist, like Darcy Graham and Jamie Ritchie, suffers a bit from having played all his pro club rugby in a very erratic Edinburgh team. He’s not spectacular, but Scotland really miss him when he isn’t there. I didn’t expect him to make the Lions squad, but then I didn’t expect Cummings to either.

I think Gilchrist is a military medium plodder to be honest. This isn't me saying Ryan is great. He's not but the fact that both players are in contention at all exposes a potential weakness in the squad.

[Oxbow]

Ribbans should have gone as one of the locks I reckon, he's had a storming season in France.

[Slick]

I would not like to be any of these players playing over the next few weeks.

[Biffer]

I would not like to be any of these players playing over the next few weeks.

Major ‘great grandmas funeral’ vibes tbh

[Slick]

I would not like to be any of these players playing over the next few weeks.

Major ‘great grandmas funeral’ vibes tbh

exactly my thoughts

[Biffer]

Curry with a hamstring injury last night, unclear the extent of it atm.

[Rhubarb & Custard]

Fingers crossed he's out

[dpedin]

Can’t believe how much stick young Pollock is getting, especially in Ireland!! He a very special talent and if he works on his hands around the eye area, could be as big a legend as Schalk Burger one day.

Seriously?

Pollock is an exciting young player and to be fair the Lions have always had one or two young guys like him in the squad.It is good to see. However he is very inexperienced and the hype around him is probably a bit over the top, he might find the going tough on tour, we shall see if he is able to make his mark. I don't have a problem with him in the squad although Jamie Ritche was very unlucky not to be chosen given he is in brilliant form at the moment and is a similar type of player but with more experience.

[Slick]

Bit surprised Ryan was picked tbh but if we're taking about Gilchrist as an alternative then it's exposing the paucity of options in that position.

TBH I think Gilchrist, like Darcy Graham and Jamie Ritchie, suffers a bit from having played all his pro club rugby in a very erratic Edinburgh team. He’s not spectacular, but Scotland really miss him when he isn’t there. I didn’t expect him to make the Lions squad, but then I didn’t expect Cummings to either.

I think Gilchrist is a military medium plodder to be honest. This isn't me saying Ryan is great. He's not but the fact that both players are in contention at all exposes a potential weakness in the squad.

I know very little about 2nd row play, and he certainly isn’t a highlights reel type, but the difference it makes when he is not playing for Edinburgh or Scotland is quite stark so he must be doing something

[SaintK]

Can’t believe how much stick young Pollock is getting, especially in Ireland!! He a very special talent and if he works on his hands around the eye area, could be as big a legend as Schalk Burger one day.

Seriously?

Pollock is an exciting young player and to be fair the Lions have always had one or two young guys like him in the squad.It is good to see. However he is very inexperienced and the hype around him is probably a bit over the top, he might find the going tough on tour, we shall see if he is able to make his mark. I don't have a problem with him in the squad although Jamie Ritche was very unlucky not to be chosen given he is in brilliant form at the moment and is a similar type of player but with more experience.

You can say the same of Ben Curry who is in incredible form for Sale.
To be honest I'd have preferred another No8 like Tom Willis whose stats are of the chart at Sarries

[Uncle fester]

Can’t believe how much stick young Pollock is getting, especially in Ireland!! He a very special talent and if he works on his hands around the eye area, could be as big a legend as Schalk Burger one day.

Seriously?

Pollock is an exciting young player and to be fair the Lions have always had one or two young guys like him in the squad.It is good to see. However he is very inexperienced and the hype around him is probably a bit over the top, he might find the going tough on tour, we shall see if he is able to make his mark. I don't have a problem with him in the squad although Jamie Ritche was very unlucky not to be chosen given he is in brilliant form at the moment and is a similar type of player but with more experience.

No I meant the stick thing.
Anything I've seen or heard is uniformly admiration for how impressive he has been.

Maybe in time, he'll get on people's nerves like the clapping dudes but right now, he's dynamite.

[Yr Alban]

TBH I think Gilchrist, like Darcy Graham and Jamie Ritchie, suffers a bit from having played all his pro club rugby in a very erratic Edinburgh team. He’s not spectacular, but Scotland really miss him when he isn’t there. I didn’t expect him to make the Lions squad, but then I didn’t expect Cummings to either.

I think Gilchrist is a military medium plodder to be honest. This isn't me saying Ryan is great. He's not but the fact that both players are in contention at all exposes a potential weakness in the squad.

I know very little about 2nd row play, and he certainly isn’t a highlights reel type, but the difference it makes when he is not playing for Edinburgh or Scotland is quite stark so he must be doing something

I used to think he was a bit useless, but he has changed my mind over the years. He really is one of those players that you don’t realise how important they were until they’re not there.

[Torquemada 1420]

Just sounds like how the Barmy Army conducts themselves on every tour of Australia.

Disgraceful pond scum.....

Bollox. Barmy Army can be tedious bores, but the antithesis of hooliganism.

[Torquemada 1420]

I'm curious to know if any of the bored's Lions supporters have watched many of the Aussie Supe teams' games, and how you rate the quality of the opposiion players the tourists are likely to meet.

Think most of us stopped watching super rugby a long time ago.

That’s right, let the scorn flow through you…

He might simply be stating a fact? You know that I've always be one of the minority of NH fans to watch both Soup and NPC on a regular basis but sadly, Soup has become an irrelevancy for most. Including many in your neck of the woods. Look at the gates.

[Guy Smiley]

Soup has become an irrelevancy for most. Including many in your neck of the woods. Look at the gates.

I did.

You should.

[Enzedder]

Funny - I get more messages re the Chiefs from Brits than I do from Kiwis.

[Hugo]

2025 Soup has been exceptional. Great rugby & close games.

3/4s through the season and based on form and results impossible to predict who will win it.