

Indeed, a very good game to watch - although I missed the first quarter plus. A far better team selection for Australia, the forwards (especially the backrow) playing out of their skins. A huge win for Australia down to 14, despite being against a weakened French side.
VDM was always going to be there really, but no Adams?! Top try scorer and best defensively out of the 4 wingers on tour IMO..... Not even in the 23!! Remember also Williams can cover all the back three, plus Scrumhalf at a push (probably better than Murray on current form!).dtaai-maai wrote: ↑Wed Jul 21, 2021 6:04 pm In the starting XV I'm only really surprised by Hogg, and then only a bit. And maybe VDM. At no. 8... CONAN???I'd forgotten he was part of the squad!
Owens and Sutherland are a bit of a surprise among the replacements. Not sure Williams is necessary there (though perhaps he should be starting) as there are a couple of alternative fullbacks among the starting XV.
We shall see...
https://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/rugby-union/57933334The gameplan
With the brutality of the Springbok pack taken as a given, Monye believes it is essential that the Lions enforce their own authority on the game.
The Lions have a backline to challenge the hosts with the cool head of fly-half Dan Biggar, a versatile centre partnership in Elliot Daly and Robbie Henshaw and the pace of scrum-half Ali Price.
But Monye says "South Africa spook teams into thinking you have to be different".
"What you have to do is get your detail right on who you are going to be," he adds.
"We have to take them on and not get massively distracted by what South Africa are going to do, and really nail the detail of what we are going to bring."
That could call for a hell of a lot of self-restraint if the Lions win...