what are you talking about bigrich how is jones the­ better form player if he was hed be captain o connell­ hasnt played astoundingly yet but if you know o connell­ he brings his A game into the big matches guarantee to­ see him playing like a hero in the tests

Sorry Geraldine, sweetheart, but I've relly got to­ pick some serious holes in your commentry. Firstly,­ playing Wallace and Martyn Williams is a pretty good­ move. Wallace isn't just a 7, he's played a lot­ of rugby for Munster at 8 and he can do the line out­ work. Why do you need a specialist 6 when the Boks do­ not have a specialist openside and a second row at 6­ (their 7)? Secondly, Alun Wyn Jones played a lot of­ rugby at the Hairsprays at 4, especially when Ian Evans­ plays. He can do either very well thank you and is the­ form 2nd row way above O'Connell.Thirdly, on what­ basis do you select Sheridan over Gethin Jenkins -­ listening to that grey hair short arsed ex fly half,­ Stuart Barnes, who knows as much about propping as I do­ about hairdressing. Lastly, if winning Grand Slams is­ the criteria then Shane Williams, who has 2, should be­ in the team - but it's not !

sugruejames speaks the truth my english @#$%­ friends..ye should stick to watching yer cricket but ye­ seem to be losing regulary like yer rugby team haha

Donald D I think sugruejames55 has no wit!

I can't comment. I don't have Sky.

I do agree­ sugruejames55 is a half-wit though.

you criticise a comment by saying 'uve picked two­ 5s who cant work well together' , fair enuff­ comment, so why pick POC and O'Callaghan in ur XV?­
if ur slating ppls comments by rubbishin their­ combinations, then why havent u picked Nathan Hines and­ A W Jones. theyve proven themselves to be the best­ second row combo of this tour so far, whilst POC has­ only clung onto selection by merit of past form and the­ captains armband
a little bit of consistency in ur­ comment wudnt go amiss
as for not even having Gethin­ Jenkins in ur 22, well, i dont know if YOUVE just been­ picking players uve only heard of, not even seen play,­ but the guy is phenomenal, and is key to beating the­ boks when it comes to the loose and the breakdown
rant­ over

in responce to comment 8 aswell do you no anything­ about rugby or did you pick your team based on players­ names that you heard someone talk about. you have a­ possible 9 on your bench you are playing two specialist­ 7's in your backrow when clearly against a team­ like the boks you need a specialist 6 hench the number­ of blindside flankers brought on the tour compared to­ opensides. and you are playing two number fives who­ showed they cant work effectively beside each other.­ fitzgearald myt not have the pace of monye but has a­ better step better defence can field a high ball better­ and works well outside o driscal as his grand slam and­ heineken cup medals will show.

i think test team­ should be
Byrne, Bowe, O'Driscoll, Roberts,­ Fitzgearld, Jones, Phillips, Heaslip, Wallace, Croft,­ O'Connell, O' Callaghan, Murray, Mears,­ Sheridan
Bench-Vickery, Rees,AW, Jones, Williams,­ Ellis, O,Gara, Hook

captaincy usually goes to an experienced member of the­ panel and i say i was between shaw hines worsley and o­ callaghan but o callaghan is playing well so he got the­ call and the others can jus worry about there own game­ and trying to play themselves into a test side

sugruejames55: your wife didn't seem to think so,­ and when are you getting that crack on your bedroom­ ceiling fixed?

y cant an english player be captain thera as good!

Byrne, Bowe, O'Driscoll, Robert, Kearney, Jones,­ Phillips,­ Jenkins,Mears,Vickery,Jones,O'Connell,Croft,Heaslip­ ,Williams.

why is he an idiot?
Hines is being played a flanker in­ the game tomorro, and its never bad to have a back-up­ in times of injury
Croft or Worsley gets injured, and­ Hines cud be a good back-up
why not give a reason­ before u insult someone next time half-wit
btw, totally­ get ur point about phillips fraser, his distribtuion is­ 3rd behind blair and ellis, and if we were playin­ australia or a less physical team, i wud consider­ someone else, but the Boks require the extra grunt of­ the man from Camarthen
hopefully he'll have been­ workin on his pass anyway, so the whole point will be­ moot haha

One other question: Hines at flanker (again) is surely­ not a precursor to playing him there in place of Croft?

cumble52,

As a fellow Scot (I assume) I understand­ your motivation in proposing Hines and Ford. Simply­ put, however, Ford's lineout throwing just­ isn't up to scratch, and although I think he could­ be superior to Mears and Rees in the loose, he­ hasn't shown it since last year.

I love Hines and­ his physicality and constant "commentary" to­ his opponents, and think he might be a good counter to­ Bakkies Botha. But he is too similar to O'Connell­ and won't make it as long as O'C is in the­ team.

For me it's a crying shame that none of the­ Scots contingents are shoo-ins, but this merely­ reflects our current status as 6 Nations strugglers. I­ thought Hadden did well with limited resources, and­ applaud Robinson's appointment, but we have­ structural issues and will continue to fall behind­ until we can find a way of attracting more top talent­ to the game in Scotland.

I think that O'Callaghan will make a good captain­ and think that he should be on the bench in the tests.­ i think that Murray is a better prop than vickery as­ well.

You may be right re Phillips, and his inclusion seems­ to be a formality for many/most. He is a very fine­ player, but I get frustrated with his 2 steps before­ passing from the base of the ruck. If McGeechan want to­ avoid some of the difficulties experienced so far at­ the breakdown, he may seek to change the focus through­ very quick distribution. While Ellis can do this, he­ seems lacking the previous burst of pace since his­ injury. A real outside bet, I agree, but an on-form­ Blair might give him quick distribution and pose­ questions of their back row with his pace (subject to­ injury).

The Lions need Murrat to start at tighthead, he­ doesn´´t give away penalties like Vickery does. And­ Hines to start in 2nd row with POC. Keep the captain­ for the first test, pack him off if he doesn´´t come up­ to the mark after that. Ford on the bench !!

mcgeechan may have a habit of springing suprises, but­ he doesnt have a habit of dropping one of his best and­ most explosive players
Ellis has good distribution and­ will be on the bench, but the Lions need Phillips as­ the 'Extra -forward' to beat the boks at the­ breakdown and to stop a rolling maul
as for mike blair,­ well he got on the tour as a replacement and is set to­ just play a bit-part