Lions Squad

Lions squad being announced shortly, I'd expect a sizeable Irish contingent.

POC captain, excellent choice.

I am delighted to see O' Connell getting captaincy - there was some doubt about it after his recent spat with Gatland who is on the tour as well.

What is the record for the most Irish players on previous lions tours?????

Here's the squad in full.

Backs: Lee Byrne, Rob Kearney, Shane Williams, Leigh Halfpenny, Ugo Monye, Luke Fitzgerald, Tommy Bowe, Tom Shanklin, Jamie Roberts, Brian O'Driscoll, Keith Earls, Riki Flutey, Ronan O'Gara, Stephen Jones, Mike Phillips, Harry Ellis, Tomas O'Leary.

Forwards: Jamie Heaslip, Andy Powell, David Wallace, Stephen Ferris, Alan Quinlan, Joe Worsley, Martyn Williams, Alun Wyn-Jones, Paul O'Connell (capt), Donncha O'Callaghan, Simon Shaw, Nathan Hines, Gethin Jenkins, Adam Jones, Andrew Sheridan, Phil Vickery, Euan Murray, Jerry Flannery, Lee Mears, Matthew Rees.

Some amount of Irish there!

Earls and Quinlan shocks. A few other shocks like only two no. 10's, 5 wingers but only 2 full-backs, but I suppose there's a good few flexible players there

Great representation!!! Shame for Leamy, Horan and Bull but you cant win em all!!!! Delighted

Was sure hayes would make it. Watched it on sky news. Was absolutely shocked at their appalling knowledge. Almost got the opinion they didn't have a clue who O'Connell is. No cipriani either?

Hayes never had a hope. Himself and ROG are not rated atall outside Ireland.

Cipriani? Better to only have 2 fly halfs than him a 3rd. Even though he's with the Wasps it still would have been a big shock had be been included.

Who gives a toss who is on the team?

What is the Lions tour really? It means nothing.

And ye are all worse for talking about it as if it means something.

Please someone tell me what is the fascination with the Lions tour? Or else, quit embarrasing yourselves by talking about it as if it means something to Irish sport.

That English 2nd.row Simon Shaw is full solid useless..

And bould as well....

Loyal2TheRoyal wrote:Who gives a toss who is on the team?

What is the Lions tour really? It means nothing.

And ye are all worse for talking about it as if it means something.

Please someone tell me what is the fascination with the Lions tour? Or else, quit embarrasing yourselves by talking about it as if it means something to Irish sport.

and talking about horses is so so exciting - wise up loyal you arrogant so and so - just so happens an irish man has been given the greatest honour in Northern hemisphere rugby!!!

What's so bad about discussing it Loyal? Sure it's all sport, noone saying it's the best ever sporting achievement, but if people want to talk about it why complain? It's good to see Irish players dominate the Lions for once.
This smacks of a lack of tolerance Loyal, you may just have lost a few votes here!

mid-mon man wrote:What's so bad about discussing it Loyal? Sure it's all sport, noone saying it's the best ever sporting achievement, but if people want to talk about it why complain? It's good to see Irish players dominate the Lions for once.
This smacks of a lack of tolerance Loyal, you may just have lost a few votes here!

This is where I come in-VOTE ESTHER #1-I LOVE THE LIONS TOUR!!

Liamwalkinstown wrote:Hayes never had a hope. Himself and ROG are not rated atall outside Ireland.

Surprised that Hayes didn't get the shout. He's a tremendous lifter at the line-out.
You're spot on with the view as expressed though.

when ure squad has a limit there was no way a fella would be brought on the basis he is a good "lifter". Because in that case he is only being brought to life Paulie, and therefore he would have to start the tests and the Saffer Scrum would MURDER him!

Loyal, most Irish people would rather see Paulie captain the Lions to Victory than see an Irish winner of the Gold Cup/National and thats a fact!

The Lions tour is just a few friendlies if you like. It means nothing. The amount of attention it gets is not right and not fair.

Yesterday, David McCann moved up to fifth after stage 3 of the Tour of Malaysia.

Last week, eleven Irish swimmers qualified for the world swimming championships in the summer.

Week before that, Martin Fagan from Mullingar came second in the Great Ireland Run in the Phoenix Park beating a former Olympic champion in the process. Mary Cullen also came second in the female equivalent.

Surely, these achievements mean more to Irish sport than any rugby friendly ever will. Yet how many of ye knew about any of those events? Proabaly none. By talking about this joke of a tour and ignoring all the good things our real superstars are doing is quite shameful. I find it quite embarrasing as an Irishman that the rugby gets so much more precedent over everything else. Not only that but the whole rugby thing means absolutely nothing - it is just a few meaningless challenge matches.

mid-mon man wrote:Here's the squad in full.

Backs: Lee Byrne, Rob Kearney, Shane Williams, Leigh Halfpenny, Ugo Monye, Luke Fitzgerald, Tommy Bowe, Tom Shanklin, Jamie Roberts, Brian O'Driscoll, Keith Earls, Riki Flutey, Ronan O'Gara, Stephen Jones, Mike Phillips, Harry Ellis, Tomas O'Leary.

Forwards: Jamie Heaslip, Andy Powell, David Wallace, Stephen Ferris, Alan Quinlan, Joe Worsley, Martyn Williams, Alun Wyn-Jones, Paul O'Connell (capt), Donncha O'Callaghan, Simon Shaw, Nathan Hines, Gethin Jenkins, Adam Jones, Andrew Sheridan, Phil Vickery, Euan Murray, Jerry Flannery, Lee Mears, Matthew Rees.

Some amount of Irish there!

Earls and Quinlan shocks. A few other shocks like only two no. 10's, 5 wingers but only 2 full-backs, but I suppose there's a good few flexible players there

Hey hey!!

bocerty wrote:

Loyal2TheRoyal wrote:Who gives a toss who is on the team?

What is the Lions tour really? It means nothing.

And ye are all worse for talking about it as if it means something.

Please someone tell me what is the fascination with the Lions tour? Or else, quit embarrasing yourselves by talking about it as if it means something to Irish sport.

and talking about horses is so so exciting - wise up loyal you arrogant so and so - just so happens an irish man has been given the greatest honour in Northern hemisphere rugby!!!

So captaining the Lions team is the greatest achievement any Northern Hemisphere person can ever achieve? So if your French, you can never be the best player in this half of the world?

Also what has racing got to do it? But since you bring up the topic, the racing people of Ireland are the best in the world and have been so for the last 40 years, their rugby counterparts are about eighth or ninth best in a sport where about twelve teams have actually been competitive in that time frame.

Liamwalkinstown wrote:when ure squad has a limit there was no way a fella would be brought on the basis he is a good "lifter". Because in that case he is only being brought to life Paulie, and therefore he would have to start the tests and the Saffer Scrum would MURDER him!

Loyal, most Irish people would rather see Paulie captain the Lions to Victory than see an Irish winner of the Gold Cup/National and thats a fact!

And the reason for that Liamo is because, Irish trained winners of Gold Cups and Grand Nationals take place regularly. Like I said before, if an event is rare, it is rated higher and appreciated more. So you are right with what you say but not for the reason you think.

The Lions tour is rare...only takes place every four years.

Administrator wrote:The Lions tour is rare...only takes place every four years.

So?

Loyal2TheRoyal wrote:The Lions tour is just a few friendlies if you like. It means nothing. The amount of attention it gets is not right and not fair.

Yesterday, David McCann moved up to fifth after stage 3 of the Tour of Malaysia.

Last week, eleven Irish swimmers qualified for the world swimming championships in the summer.

Week before that, Martin Fagan from Mullingar came second in the Great Ireland Run in the Phoenix Park beating a former Olympic champion in the process. Mary Cullen also came second in the female equivalent.

Surely, these achievements mean more to Irish sport than any rugby friendly ever will. Yet how many of ye knew about any of those events? Proabaly none. By talking about this joke of a tour and ignoring all the good things our real superstars are doing is quite shameful. I find it quite embarrasing as an Irishman that the rugby gets so much more precedent over everything else. Not only that but the whole rugby thing means absolutely nothing - it is just a few meaningless challenge matches.

Loyal, first of all, just because you think that the lions tour is effectively a load of crap, doesnt mean that other people should think of it the same as you. Why are you complainning about people who like the lions tour? Arent they entitled to enjoy and watch a sporting event? Maybe they have different tastes to you? is that so hard to believe?

'hath not a rugby fan the right ot watch the Lions tour? Hath not a rugby fan preferences, ideals, tickets, rights and setanta? fed with the same supermacs, hurt by the same defeats, subject to the same terrible refereeing, healed by the same means, warmed and cooled by the same south african sun as a horse racing fan is? if they get an injury, do they not bleed? if a scuffle breaks out at the end of the field, do we not laugh? If they lose, do we not cry? And if you, loyal, ridicule us-do we not seek revenge? If we are like you in the rest, we will resemble you in that.........'

So anyway, we all like different things, if we all liked and did the same things, life would be monotonous and boring. I hope you think of this the next time before you lash out at a group of fans, contently discussing the Lions tour. Diversity is a great thing, life would be boring without it.....

Loyal2TheRoyal wrote:

Administrator wrote:The Lions tour is rare...only takes place every four years.

So?

In the rugby world It is spoken about highly because it is different and is a very competitive competition friendly or not. Its a team sport and it is nice that players from the home nations get recognised for their efforts.

Loyal, you are entitled to your opinion but I have to say I'm delighted to see so many people against you on this. As the Mayo girls know from talking to me, I LOVE rugby. I played it, now I referee it and follow it any way I can. I follow a club team in Limerick called Young Munster. Have done all my life. This happens to be the club team that Paulie O Connell comes from. To see you putting his achievement down sickens me to my stomach. He is one of the nicest blokes you'll ever meet, and still comes to as many of our club matches as he can even tho he's an Interational and a Munster player. This is a massive honour for him and all of us at the club feel a little something becuase if it. As far as I can make out, it also means a lot to all Munster men and Women, plus All Irish people. Long enough have we stood in the shadows of the English and Welsh as backstagers in this competetion. Don't dare make out that it's nothing. Fair play to all the Irish athletes on their achievments, but do you really expect us to feel guilty about enjoying the success of our rugby men. I had reservations about coming on this sie because I expected comments like yours, but I have to say, I really am delighted with other posters fair and nice comments and I think I will like it around here...!

Ya loyal, I mean the lions tour is a very important part of the rugby calendar and it's a great honour for an Irish player to be chosen to be captain. You should rejoice in the fact that Ireland is doing so well in rugby, whether you support it or not but don't be lamblasting it because it's very unfair to rugby supporters, especially to such a keen rugby fan ( and player ) as Redemption.

Redemption wrote:Loyal, you are entitled to your opinion but I have to say I'm delighted to see so many people against you on this. As the Mayo girls know from talking to me, I LOVE rugby. I played it, now I referee it and follow it any way I can. I follow a club team in Limerick called Young Munster. Have done all my life. This happens to be the club team that Paulie O Connell comes from. To see you putting his achievement down sickens me to my stomach. He is one of the nicest blokes you'll ever meet, and still comes to as many of our club matches as he can even tho he's an Interational and a Munster player. This is a massive honour for him and all of us at the club feel a little something becuase if it. As far as I can make out, it also means a lot to all Munster men and Women, plus All Irish people. Long enough have we stood in the shadows of the English and Welsh as backstagers in this competetion. Don't dare make out that it's nothing. Fair play to all the Irish athletes on their achievments, but do you really expect us to feel guilty about enjoying the success of our rugby men. I had reservations about coming on this sie because I expected comments like yours, but I have to say, I really am delighted with other posters fair and nice comments and I think I will like it around here...!

Absolutly great post Redemption!!! Ya, I dont like it when people make something great out to be something that shouldn't be liked or respected. Loyal youre entitled to your own opinion, but I think when you question somebody and what they like and then ridicule and dismiss it, I think that that's just plain rude. Have your own opinion, but dont ask people 'how can they like it?' etc. I have to say, I'm a great rugby fan, and an achievement lke this for the Irish is something to have pride in and a sense of achievement that our players have accomplished something great-which is a brilliant representation on the lions squad. It's not something to be dismissive or negative about, it's something to be positive and pleased about!! Well done Ireland!