Quinlan, what were you thinkin! Lets not all be naive­ enough to think that this doesn't happen with other­ players, I just cant believe he was stupid enough to do­ it out in the open like that. Don,t get me wrong it was­ unacceptable but I'm just surprisedhe got caught.­ He's cost himself his last shot at the big time. 12­ weeks is a fair ban.

Quinlan did this on purpose knowing he would get cited­ and banned. He wanted to save him self the­ embarrassment and possible injury on what will be a one­ sided tour.S.A will win tests 3-0 The Lions will be­ lucky to win 1 or 2 of the mid week games.

Quinlan hasnt been done been done for gouging hes been­ done for making contact with the eye area , if it had­ been gouging he would have got 6 months . His hand was­ in contact with Cullens face for long enough how hard­ it was remains between Cullen & Quinlan but his­ hand was there so he gets what he deserves . Anybody­ who says Jones should go over Croft is talking @#$% ,­ Jones has been garbage all year & Croft has been­ outstanding . Ive been reading comments like the Boks­ will bitchslap him , people forget hes played in the 6­ nations against big forwards, in the Heineken cup­ against big forwards , in the GP against big forwards­ yet nearly everytime he comes up with a man of the­ match performance so to think the Boks are going to­ throw him around is also @#$% , bet everyone thought­ the same about Backy on the 97 tour & look what­ happened there.

Ryan Jones is a world class player. The choice back row­ forward in the Northern Hemisphere.As a package, he has­ it all. Size, strength, aggression, but above all,­ intelligence. Ask New Zealand players from the team­ that he embarrased in 2005.

Great player sadly missed on tour..croft is just a kid­ south africans will tear him to pieces lets hope he­ doesent make it

Quinlan was stupid and i do feel sorry for him ,but­ gouging is not acceptable the sport is hard enough­ without resorting to eye gouging. Now the door is open­ for someone else to make a name for himself so take it­ with both hands TOM CROFT.

I didnt think it was that bad to be honest. Not­ condoning it but you will see much worse in most games.­ The camera caught him though ... and with slow motion­ it looks worse than it was.

nah, he wont. too long not playing. disregard last­ comment

has corry finished his ban yet? If he has he'll be­ in the running

This is one gauging Quinlan will regret for­ life........this was his big chance and he blew­ it!
Silly boy!
The Lions will miss him though as he­ does tend to win the ball on the ground.
He is a­ bl00dy good worker!
Croft should be chosen for being on­ form; my only worry is though, is he tough­ enough??????
If not, then Ryan Jones should be chosen!

You know, I feel really sorry for Croft. I really hope­ he goes and I think he would deserve his place. In­ fact, I think he should have been picked in the initial­ squad. However, imagine how it must have felt to have­ everyone; your family, your friends, your team, the­ media saying how you should be in the Lions test team,­ let alone the squad and then not get picked. I know as­ a professional athlete, you can't listen to the­ media etc, but with all of that, it had to have crept­ into his head that he had a realistic chance of being­ picked. And then not to get picked and be talked about­ by everyone. Now Quinlan's out, it starts again­ with the same hope and the same worry. I do hope he­ gets picked. I would feel beyond sorry for him if he­ missed out again.

It is a great shame that it has come to this but­ ultimately gouging is completely unacceptable and­ quinlan got what he deserved and cant have any­ complaints. McGeechan has said time and time again, and­ proved with his initial team selection, that form is­ his sole basis for picking players, so I think there is­ absolutely no doubt that Tom Croft deserves his place­ and will be picked.

At present Ryan Jones is not the replacement . Has­ played out of position most of the season and as a­ result form and his captaincy has suffered . Best for­ him a short Wales tour , to play at No. 8 and regain­ his leadership qualities .
Croft is big and fast at­ blindside and and can cover the second row as well .­ Other candidates are available .

( Ospreys fan )

I'm a Welshman, and looking through one eye, I­ would love to see Ryan Jones get his place. But the­ fair side of me says Croft should get it. He has had a­ really good season, certainly better that the average­ season Jones has had. If they are picking 'horses­ for courses', then I would much prefer to see Croft­ on the field against the Boks. In yer face, and much­ quicker to the breakdown than Jones. Truly in the Neil­ Back mould. I can not wait for these Lions matches to­ get under way. I think this is going to be one of the­ best Lions tours in many years, and the Boks always­ tend to bring the best out of the Lions. So physical,­ so strong. Come on the Lions!!!!

"barely touched his eye area..."??? If, by­ that, you mean the bit connecting his eye to his brain,­ you might be right...he had a fair old grope and you­ make it sound like he was wiping a bit of dirt from his­ kid's eye...if you watched it, you were not­ watching the same game as me...his only defence could­ have been he was doing it unsighted but you simply do­ not do that in a game of rugby...if you have a gripe,­ there are plenty of legal means of dishing out­ retribution...whatever you think of Cullen, it was not­ him acting like a "scumbag"...boy, they must­ be nice where you're from if that sort of act is­ fair game...