Community and Rugby Development
  1. Blog No.40 - as yet untitled
  2. Blog No.39 - Lions fail to roar
  3. Blog No.38 - more analysis of the Lions' Tour
  4. Blog No.37 - so much for the predictions!
  5. Blog No.36 - W1L1 and another defeat coming for the Lions?
  6. Blog No.35 - learn from the Lions (and the Kiwis!)
  7. Blog No.34 - Magnificent 7s and the Wild Wild West
  8. Blog No.33 - Touch rugby
  9. Blog No.32 - winning and losing
  10. Blog No.31 - Shoulders back, chest out
  11. Blog No.30 - a quick review
  12. Blog No.29 - an impassioned plea
  13. Blog No.28 - Rugby camps
  14. Blog No.27 - a mothers day blog
  15. Blog No.26 - secondary school rugby
  16. Blog No.25 - who's all coming to easter camp?
  17. Blog No.24 - summer rugby anyone?
  18. Blog No.22 - always looking to improve
  19. Blog No.23 - big weekend ahead
  20. Blog No.21 - getting ready for training camps
  21. Blog No. 20 - who coaches the coaches?
  22. Blog No.19 - Learning from the best
  23. Blog No.18 - Rugby is an inclusive sport
  24. Blog No.17 - Player contracts, and a media star in the making
  25. Blog No.16 - Christmas. A time for friends, family, and hard-hitting rugby!
  26. Blog No.14 - need to learn some Gaelic. Fast!
  27. Blog No.13 -
  28. Blog No.12 - FAT!
  29. Blog No.15 - things in the balance for Minis fixture
  30. Blog No.11 - Girls rugby off to a great start
  31. Blog No.10 - just so much to tell
  32. Inaugural match at new Golspie rugby pitch
  33. Blog No.9 - Wise words
  34. Blog No.8 - We don't all get the tattie holidays!
  35. Blog No.7 - Basking in the glow of a great weekend of rugby
  36. Blogs 5 & 6 - two for the price of one
  37. Blog No.4 - Settling in nicely
  38. Blog No.3 - Growing the game in our local schools
  39. Blog No.2 - Another full-on week in the CaRD Team
  40. My blog – Community and Rugby Development
  41. The Rugby Apprentice - Part 2
  42. The Rugby Apprentice
  43. Tales from the East Side No.1 by Harry Mackay
  44. Mitchell's Blog - Part 2
  45. Mitchell's blog - Part 1
  46. About Community and Rugby Development
  47. What's On - October 2015
Community and Rugby Development
  1. Blog No.40 - as yet untitled
  2. Blog No.39 - Lions fail to roar
  3. Blog No.38 - more analysis of the Lions' Tour
  4. Blog No.37 - so much for the predictions!
  5. Blog No.36 - W1L1 and another defeat coming for the Lions?
  6. Blog No.35 - learn from the Lions (and the Kiwis!)
  7. Blog No.34 - Magnificent 7s and the Wild Wild West
  8. Blog No.33 - Touch rugby
  9. Blog No.32 - winning and losing
  10. Blog No.31 - Shoulders back, chest out
  11. Blog No.30 - a quick review
  12. Blog No.29 - an impassioned plea
  13. Blog No.28 - Rugby camps
  14. Blog No.27 - a mothers day blog
  15. Blog No.26 - secondary school rugby
  16. Blog No.25 - who's all coming to easter camp?
  17. Blog No.24 - summer rugby anyone?
  18. Blog No.22 - always looking to improve
  19. Blog No.23 - big weekend ahead
  20. Blog No.21 - getting ready for training camps
  21. Blog No. 20 - who coaches the coaches?
  22. Blog No.19 - Learning from the best
  23. Blog No.18 - Rugby is an inclusive sport
  24. Blog No.17 - Player contracts, and a media star in the making
  25. Blog No.16 - Christmas. A time for friends, family, and hard-hitting rugby!
  26. Blog No.14 - need to learn some Gaelic. Fast!
  27. Blog No.13 -
  28. Blog No.12 - FAT!
  29. Blog No.15 - things in the balance for Minis fixture
  30. Blog No.11 - Girls rugby off to a great start
  31. Blog No.10 - just so much to tell
  32. Inaugural match at new Golspie rugby pitch
  33. Blog No.9 - Wise words
  34. Blog No.8 - We don't all get the tattie holidays!
  35. Blog No.7 - Basking in the glow of a great weekend of rugby
  36. Blogs 5 & 6 - two for the price of one
  37. Blog No.4 - Settling in nicely
  38. Blog No.3 - Growing the game in our local schools
  39. Blog No.2 - Another full-on week in the CaRD Team
  40. My blog – Community and Rugby Development
  41. The Rugby Apprentice - Part 2
  42. The Rugby Apprentice
  43. Tales from the East Side No.1 by Harry Mackay
  44. Mitchell's Blog - Part 2
  45. Mitchell's blog - Part 1
  46. About Community and Rugby Development
  47. What's On - October 2015
Community and Rugby Development 1 of 47

1. Blog No.40 - as yet untitled



Yet again my prediction was off… thank god, I’m not a betting man!

But a much improved and much needed improvement from the Lions. The conditioned where a big factor in the decreased number of handling errors and we finally got to see some width on the attack and the Lions second try was pure class. You could be a pessimist and talk about the fact they were playing a depleted Chiefs side, but in all seriousness, this was not a test Lions team. Not to mention, that nearly every play on the bench had only been in the Lions camp for 2-3 days.

Now for the biased Scottish opinion. Laidlaw played his best game of the tour, he was faster at the breakdown, passing was sharp and most impressive was his first line break in what feels like a decade. Dell came onto the pitch as yellow card replacement for Marler and his first action in the famous red jersey, winning a penalty at the scrum! That maybe his Lions tour over but at least he can say he was an impact player.

Seymour, didn’t get much game time but the one line-break me made was superb! But what summed up his tour was after doing the hard work, he could get away the two-meter pass to put his team mate in for the try.

Now, the game we have been waiting four years for. The first test against the All Blacks. Neither team will be named until Thursday, however after the Lions selection today you could more than likely guess more than two thirds of the starting team. The biggest question mark though is the fitness of one Owen Farrell. He has been the outstanding first five on tour so far and his presences on the pitch never goes un noticed. When you listen to how the other Lions talk about him, he has incredible high standards for myself and the team he plays for. He demands perfection from everyone in the team and leads by example. The best quality he has brought to the tour so far has been his variety in attack. Yes, Sexton played well against the Maori and people keep suggestion that Gatland is still going to play them both at first and second five, but in my opinion if the Lions don’t play Farrell at ten, they won’t have any chance in winning. Well, there is always the wildcard of Russell….

As for the Kiwis, their squad is a little more open. If the selection for the Samoa game is anything to go by, it’s going to be a traditional European fixture. Both teams with big packs, first receivers that like to kick the ball, midfields that are happy to take the ball up the guts and a back three that can chase ball all day and have a certain amount of security in the air. However, knowing Shag he is going to have a couple tricks up his sleeve and having so many Barrett and Savea brothers on the pitch, is a recipe for untold amounts of excitement.

Time for my prediction, I have checked the weather forecast and it is supposed to be pouring down. Without knowing the teams, I am going to be a bit more conservative with my score line but give a more fuller explanation why. I am going to go for Lions 15-29 All Blacks. Assuming either Halfpenny or Farrell are playing, the Lions will have a world class kicker and aim to take any points on offer. They may score a try but this most likely come from the set piece and not open play. The all Blacks will take points when on offer too, but after watching their warm up game and how the super rugby teams have been attacking all season, I can’t help but think they will score at least three tries.

Chur
John Mann, Community and Rugby Development