Rugby videos of tackles, tries, funny incidents and more: British & Irish Lions begin their African adventure

Friday, May 29, 2009

British & Irish Lions begin their African adventure - HSBC Advert

It's been twelve long years since the British & Irish Lions last toured South Africa. The 1997 Lions series is considered by many to be one of the best, and tomorrow we'll watch closely as the new breed of players look to emulate past success as they kick off the 2009 tour with a match against the Royal XV in Rustenburg.

The Lions have picked a fairly strong side, minus players who were involved in big matches recently. The match with the Royal XV should be the easiest of the tour as they'll be up against a bunch of unknown players who won't have too much cohesion.

The side was announced yesterday and they're raring to go.

"After all the preparation the match against the Royal XV on Saturday marks the start of the 2009 tour. Everyone in the tour party is looking forward to getting the playing part of the tour underway," manager Gerald Davies said.

Coach Ian McGeechan is looking forward to the occasion, and seeing some youngsters making a name for themselves.

"I think it is really exciting that we have a lot of players making their debuts. I remember my debut against Western Transvaal at Potchefstroom in 1974 and it is a career highlight.

"For young men such as Keith Earls and Jamie Roberts it will be a day to remember and they will be thrilled to get an early taste of match action on the tour. Outside these guys is the proven experienced combination of the Ospreys' back three of Byrne, Bowe and Shane Williams."

This advert, which features the HSBC Lions ambassadors Gavin Hastings, Gareth Edwards, Jason Robinson, and Brian O'Driscoll, is just a bit of fun ahead of the tour.

British & Irish Lions team:
Lee Byrne, Tommy Bowe, Keith Earls, Jamie Roberts, Shane Williams, Ronan O'Gara, Mike Blair, Andy Powell, Martyn Williams, Joe Worsley, Paul O'Connell, Simon Shaw, Adam Jones, Matthew Rees, Andrew Sheridan
Replacements: Lee Mears, Phil Vickery, Alun-Wyn Jones, Stephen Ferris, Mike Phillips, Stephen Jones, Riki Flutey

Royal XV team:
Russell Jeacocks, Egon Seconds, Deon van Rensburg, Hanno Coetzee, Bjorn Basson, Naas Olivier, Sarel Pretorius, Jonathan Mokuena, Devon Raubenheimer, Wilhelm Koch, Jacques Lombaard, Rudi Mathee, Bees Roux, Rayno Barnes, Albertus Buckle.
Replacements: Pellow van der Westhuizen, Stef Roberts, Rynard Landman, RW Kember, Jacques Coetzee, Riaan Viljoen, Jovan Bowles.

Haha! Thats pretty funny!

By Madmax, at May 29, 2009 10:31 pm
i smiled

By Anonymous, at May 29, 2009 11:05 pm
quality1

By Anonymous, at May 29, 2009 11:15 pm
Cringe*

By Jennifer, at May 29, 2009 11:28 pm
funny bt wtf aswell its so cheeesy lol.

By Joey, at May 29, 2009 11:47 pm
just for that ad, they're going to get owned big time!!

By Kieth, at May 30, 2009 12:01 am
British colonialists

By Anonymous, at May 30, 2009 12:07 am
Ok my predictions! bare with me!
Im a limerick man and a diehard munster supporter. While obviously Paulie was the man to captin the team, he IS the best second row in europe, handsdown. what makes him this? his determination to be the best he can be. anyone who knows about forward play in the game must surely admire him.
The key to beating the springboks is in the front 5. they have the best secondrow partnership in the world and surely paulie must be on top of his game along with jones(i reckon) to get the better of them. to do this, they need a) a good lineout thrower, and b) good lifters. this is where the lions are lacking. the injury to fla is a disaster, no point beating around the bush he was going to start at hooker. his lineouts were like BULLETS. the pace, the precision gave o connel and donnacha for munster and indeed ireland that extra protection. if you look at props, murray and jenkins are the two form props and are odds on to start, while i agree with this, i cannot believe that john hayes hasn been picked to tour. like all props the mature with old age. im not sayin hayes is a good scrummager-far from it- but they are playin a south africa team that reportedly want to recall both van der lind and botha from leinster and ulster. this means their scrum is worrying for them. i do not think hayes would have hindered the scrum. the reason i suggest hayes and he is widely regarded as the BEST one man lifter in europe. at 6"4 and 20 odd stone, being able to FLING o connell into the air would make it easier to disrupt lineout ball.
now onto the backs, the injury to tomas was a disaster, no more for o gara. the feeling around some parts of limerick for last 7/8 months or so, is that o gara hasnt been putting in the same type of performances he has done and i cannot see him being partnered by philips. also is tackling is more than suspect and surely will be targeted.
I am sure people do not agree with the above but its my opinion, but this is where it gets more creative. Hands up who knows keith Earls? people in munster and ireland surely do. but who else? this BOY has been ripping up the heineken cup and magners league all season. now people point out the leinster game in the semi which was terribly disappointing for a munster supporter. what back do you know at 20 years of age can perform well when he doesnt have the ball? he touched the ball less than 5 times such was the measure of performance of the leinster players and he made a few good breaks. you can be rest assured the people of south africa dont know the man from young munster. I would put him up against habana, it wont faze him one bit and i think he could do more damage than bowe or halfpenney.
As you know the second and third tests are being played at altitude and the legend that is rocky elsom says that the altitude does NOT affect your rugby. he says people who are not used to it, will come down with flu like syndroms. it does affext your fitness an hour into the game. this is something the lions should be wary of.
here is my team:
1.Euan murray
2.lee mears
3.gethin jenkins
4.alun-wyn jones
5.paul o Connell
6.Tom Croft
7.David Wallace
8.Jamie Heaslip
9.Mike Philips
10.Stephen Jones
11.Shane Williams
12.Jamie Roberts
13.Brian o Driscoll
14.Keith Earls
15.Lee Byrne

What do you think, i know the majority are irish and welsh but what can i say scotland and england havent done anything in years?

By Paul Gormley, at May 30, 2009 12:07 am
Add Monye or Bowe to the wings, Earls is class but not an out and out winger. Could also freeze at such an age, although give him a few games in the Lions shirt and we'll see. Yes Hayes should be there. Watch out for Ferris, he's a rabid mongrel and will raise a few eyebrows. Dylan Hartley to get the nod at the 1st injury to hooker. Great player.

By Anonymous, at May 30, 2009 1:25 am
Only one back, called leigh halfpenny.
lol:D The team you named is awesome Paul, and good opinions:)

By Matt, at May 30, 2009 1:33 am
Paul O'Connell,

If I fucking walk and I want to hear it.

Did you scare anyone?
Did you put the fowkin' fear of God into anyone?

Did you tackle that Zebra with every out of your being?

Ask yerself, did I maul him, did I crush his babies?

By cheyanqui, at May 30, 2009 1:42 am
The whole wild animals bit yet again...yawn!! I guess Europeans will always revert back to the same old African cliches...

By Anonymous, at May 30, 2009 2:00 am
To the Anonymous above (if that is in fact your real name):

What would you rather they did? At least this was playful and humorous.

By Non-anon, at May 30, 2009 4:10 am
african cliches, or we could have them running through the townships or the governments ridden with corruption, which consistently exist throughout africa. perhaps some training sessions in somalia? its either wildlife or human violence for africa, you pick!

By blu22, at May 30, 2009 4:36 am
eeeasy blu22! Might be true but this is a rugger site
I wanted to like this ad, but couldn't
Can see the lineout malfunctioning w/out Hayes ..our own ball might be solid, bit nooo chance of picking them off Matfield/Botha without the edge Hayes gives

By Brennie, at May 30, 2009 5:04 am
Thats probably the Lions' strongest team, and for the first game of the tour?!?!
Well, I guess they are so desperate for the win that they have no choice but to put in the best players of this pathetic team.

Go Springboks!

By Anonymous, at May 30, 2009 5:10 am
btw ppl ...sign the 7s olympic petition
http://www.olympic-rugby.org/index.html

By Brennie, at May 30, 2009 5:17 am
Just a lil note, Andy powell is out, same with Ferris, so Wallace is playing 8, and Heaslip brought onto the bench.

By HRFC4, at May 30, 2009 11:25 am
haha,
Good old European cliche.
Somehow I think the last man standing was a far batter promotion.
Pure rugby, nice and simple

By Anonymous, at May 30, 2009 11:57 am
Thats a pretty solid team
and yes John Hayes simply has to go if you want to steal lineout from Bakkies and Victor or even make it less solid and make them worry about it. Paul O Connell is the best second row in the world its just that Bakkies and Victor have the best PARTNERSHIP. But Paul is still the best number.5 in the world
Without Fla in the team lineout is lost. But if they bring in The Bull theres a chance
but

WHAT THE HELL ARE YOU TALKING ABOUT IN THE FRONT ROW!!!!!

You obviously arent a forward because everyone around Europe will know that Gethin Kenkins is one of the finest LOOSEHEADS in the game with the ability to go tight if there is an injury and the replacement prop is a loosehead.

AND

everyone knows that Euan Murray is an out and out Tighthead and thats why he was picked and will prob start the tests there.

By Ben, at May 30, 2009 12:39 pm
haha i never said that murray and jenkins weren fit to start. read my comment again i was just stating that i cannot believe the bull wasn considered to tour! all i was saying is that if hayes had been in the team, the scrum would be weakened, but not significantly but our lineouts (the key for quality ball and if the springboks lineout is disrupted the longer it takes for the ball to get to the backs and the better chance the lions have defending. this isnt a rant about jenkins or indeed murray as i rate both of them very highly..
Back to the wings i am unsure who should play 14.. i rate monye alot very pacy. bowe is a fine player, hes really come on since his move to the ospreys.. i just think keith has the pace, the ability to beat people one on one, and the fact he has a HUGE boot on him would be my player. maybe im being a tad biased, hes nowhere experienced enough but thats what the lions is all about, players stepping up to the mark. and regarding his defence his problem is shooting up in the line, not his actual tackling. and i think that would hinder him in the centre but all you have to look at shooting up in the line as a WINGER benefits munster, it cuts off the ball to the wings, if you can cut off habana or peterson, very good chance indeed! now im going out on a limb here as the first match kicks off in an hour or so and wel see how keith plays.

so hit me what you think ben an co!
hahaha

By Paul Gormley, at May 30, 2009 1:49 pm
oh and the reason i didnt include stephen ferris who is a TANK and a savage ball carrier. im also a HUGE fan of martyn williams hes a superb link man, but the backrow iv gone for are extermely pacy and savage ball carriers to counter the superb springbok backrow. COME ON LIONS

By Paul Gormley, at May 30, 2009 1:57 pm
haha that made me laugh. they are all such nice guys.

By Anonymous, at May 30, 2009 2:01 pm
less cliche would have been the Lions taking the wives and children of the Bok team and housing them in a tent city for the next month, with limited access to water, food or medical attention.

By the second test, the Boks would have then handed their test kits over to O'Connell and surrendered.

Is that more cliche than animals?

By cheyanqui, at May 30, 2009 3:15 pm
how ugly is this advert?

By studyslave, at May 30, 2009 4:55 pm
i take back everything i said about earls making the test team!
He never recovered from an awful start and well to be frank he looked out of place.
lee byrne was the only person who really stepped up to the mark, while roberts, bowe and o gara were fairly handy, so too was martyn williams.
id like to point out the amount of times o connell who had an average game by his standards called himself in the lineouts. when the pressure was on (and it was really on in what was a SHOCKING first half) he did lead well.
much more has to be expected if they are to stand any chance of winning the series. although i am very excited at the thought of o driscoll and byrne playing together.

By Paul Gormley, at May 30, 2009 5:03 pm
does anybody not think riki flutey would be a good centre with BOD?? the mans a genius with england constantly making gaps and does not mind passing instead of taking the glory!!

i know hes played against the lions and some of ye feel very strongly about this but he is way faster than roberts or earls and knows how to preform under pressure...

just a thought??

By Anonymous, at May 30, 2009 7:29 pm
I think in the few minutes Riki flutey was on the pitch he proved how good he is, and him paired up with BOD would be a quality move.

By Toady, at May 30, 2009 8:39 pm
MAKE THE BULLS ALL BOKS!!!

By Anonymous, at May 30, 2009 8:59 pm
poor humour

By Anonymous, at May 30, 2009 11:06 pm
poor humour

By Anonymous, at May 30, 2009 11:06 pm
Maybe there were lions in the ad because its an ad for the lions ?

Or is that just a cliche ?

No way would Croft get in there ahead of Ferris.

Disappointing first game but i'm sure they'll gel better.

Still a long way to go !

By Third Centre, at May 31, 2009 12:37 am
Flutey is a greedy fool and cant tackle for shit. How can you english obsess so much over a guy thats not even english. Its ridiculous that hes on the tour in the first place.

By Bokke, at May 31, 2009 1:30 am
Just watched the Bulls vs Chiefs. And for that performance, the Bulls will beat the Lions, English, Scottish, Irish, Welsh any country that ends with ish EASY!!!...and in saying that so would the Chiefs :P

By Kieth, at May 31, 2009 2:21 am
@Kieth

"Just watched the Bulls vs Chiefs. And for that performance, the Bulls will beat the Lions"

Just my thoughts from todays displays, but the score was a joke. Such a score line for the final of a major rugby competition is a farce, unless Gloucester is playing.

I don´t think this score will do any good to the Super 14 or upcoming Super 15

By Jochen, at May 31, 2009 2:35 am
They didn't look to good last night. Who is number 13 for the lions he drop a lot of balls at the beginning? Maybe first game nerves.

By Hendrick, at May 31, 2009 10:25 am
Lions were ooooowned! I was pessimist but that surpasses what i thought! how poor are the brits my God!

By Anonymous, at May 31, 2009 12:24 pm
This comment has been removed by a blog administrator.

By Anonymous, at May 31, 2009 12:25 pm
This comment has been removed by a blog administrator.

By Anonymous, at May 31, 2009 12:57 pm
lol "very funny who did this in my boot?"

Where can you get those lions jerseys with the white stripe going down the ribs

By Patron, at May 31, 2009 1:40 pm
ahahaha silly :P

By Anonymous, at May 31, 2009 2:20 pm
How is it a cliche? South Africa is known for its wild life, Kruger Park is a huge tourist attraction. What next, Disneyland is cliche for the USA and the Vaitcan for Italy?

By Anonymous, at May 31, 2009 2:50 pm
I never said that either but you clearly dont have that much knowledge of the game if you dont know where to put your props. Any fool who comments on these videos giving a team putting the props in the wrong places are muppets. You have to have them right or else you dont know much about rugby.

Is that your team to start against the lions? in those positions?

i can see 4 players there who shouldnt even be considered.

Earls doesnt have a HUGE boot either.

O Connell showed that he is the finest second row in the world once again

By Anonymous, at May 31, 2009 3:05 pm
"i can see 4 players there who shouldnt even be considered."

go on elaborate. the only risk is putting in earls at 14, which if your not so stupid to follow on, i admitted i was wrong, and earls DOES have a huge boot, both o gara and mafi have stated it for munster and is quite evident when he punts the ball more than half the field you tit.

"Is that your team to start against the lions? in those positions?Is that your team to start against the lions? in those positions?"
OF COURSE IT IS, THATS WHY I SAID THIS IS MY STARTING LINE UP!

and the fact that your anonymous says it all.
and just because i didnt put them in the right order im SO sorry for offending you! christ get a life son

By Paul Gormley, at May 31, 2009 5:10 pm
You didnt put the in the wrong order. You put them outta position cos u dont know where to put them. I was wonderin was that your starting line up because it was so poor.

By Anonymous, at June 01, 2009 1:15 pm
name your "star" 15 so

By Paul Gormley, at June 01, 2009 1:59 pm
Paul Gormley, England won world cup in '03 got to final in '07 and came second in this years six nations scoring the most and conceding the least points. Not saying we're we're amazing but i do object to us having 'not done anything in years'. Well done on your narrow grandslam but without that i would say you've done nothing in years/ever.

Plus your team is shit

By Andy, at June 02, 2009 3:38 pm
England did deservedly win the world cup in 2003. But since then you cannot argue that ye are world beaters! ye got progressivly worse since then, apart from what was a lucky 2007. Iv lost how many managers yev had in the last 6 years, and thats the reason the lions lost the test series 3 nil in 2005. yes the all blacks were awesome but woodward relied on players who peaked in 2003.
also the population of ireland is 4.5 million? how many in england? nearly 51 million. so i think its rather embarrassing that england are not winning world cups and 6 nations whenver they occur, of the 4.5 million people in ireland, rugby is the 4th most popular game after soccer, gaelic football and hurling. the pool of players is so small its remarkable that we can even compete. you name every trophy in the northern hemisphere there is in rugby that ireland are involved in? 6 nations, triple crown, heineken cup, magners league. where are they? thats right in IRELAND.
so yes you can sit back and be delighted that england finished runners up (on points difference, easily could have finished 4th.)
To further my point how many english players would get into the irish team? maybe the props. would mears be ahead of flannery? NO
would kennedy and borthwick be ahead of o connell and donnacha? NO.
would worsley,croft and easter be ahead of ferris, wallace, and heaslip? NO
would ellis be ahead of o leary? NO.
would flood be ahead of o gara? NO
flutey would edge darcy.
i dunno who would start 13 but they wouldn get ahead of o driscoll.
would cueto get ahead of fitzgerald? NO.
would sackey get ahead of bowe? NO
would armitage get ahead of kearney? NO.

YOUVE BIN THROUGHLY SCALDED SO PUT UP OR SHUT UP, MY STARTING LINE UP AND THE FIRST TEST WILL BE VERY MUCH THE SAME. SO GO FUK YOUR QUEEN

By Paul Gormley, at June 02, 2009 9:32 pm
Paul Gormley

You have the Rugby equivalent of 'Little Man Syndrome'. What a sad little insecure anti-English thing you are.

You could say that the population of virtually ever other rugby playing country is dwarfed by England's. But population has no real affect on a nation's sporting performance. New Zealand and Australia have proved that and have also proved to be ungracious winners like yourselves and and even worse losers. Take note of Martin Johnson after his mistake and team's loss to Australia for how to behave.

We don't need to gloat but we are considerably richer,more-decorated in all aspects of life and don't go round blaming whole countries for the actions of a few narrow minded people a long time ago.

When the Paddies win a world cup or even get to a final this century then you can talk. Until then sit down and put a potato in it!

C'mon you Lions! All Irish, Welsh , Scots or English, who cares as long as we play with passion - and win!

By The Queen, at June 03, 2009 1:33 am
wowww!!! they trained next to real lions!!! weren´t they afraid????

By john, at June 03, 2009 6:33 am
Paul Gormley, I think you're missing the point. You are trying to claim England have done nothing in years. Which isn't true. I did state in the post that I wasn't claiming we are amazing/world beaters. We have just done a hell of alot more than you.

I think, as the person above implies, that the problem here is you have some sort of dislike for the English. Which is fine but you would need to get your facts straight when slating us.

By Andy, at June 03, 2009 11:57 am
first of all i couldnt be less anti england!
in response to the queen?
"Take note of Martin Johnson after his mistake and team's loss to Australia for how to behave."

is this the very same martin johnson who in 2003 in landsdowne road disrespected the whole of ireland when he would not move to let our president pass? great behavior martin..

also in new zealand rugby is the number one sport it is a religion over there. so of course they have a much better chance of winning something something substantial.

also ye cannot claim to have progressed since 2003, otherwise ye are the most deluded people iv ever come across? ye went on such a losing streak immediately after the world cup it was record equaling for ye. ye went from number one to number 7 in the world rankings. and if im correct in 2007 ye lost 36 nil in the group stages to south africa but managed to get through because of the poor standard in your group, ye met a fairly poor australia side with no scrum in the quarters, ye beat a french team who had done ye 2 favours 1) beating the allblacks and 2)sucumbing to the national expectation. Having said that where am i to say anything when we didnt get out of our group of death? and this isnt a slight on england it is asll factual whether ye believe it or not.

p.s regarding andy when he told me my lions team was shocking id like to point out that 15. lee byrne was man of the match on saturday. 14. tommy bowe has scored 3 tries in two games. 13. o driscoll was brilliant.
12. roberts was outstanding.
11. monye scored 2 great tries
10. jones was unreal
9. phillips was my man of the match
8 heaslip played very well
7. wallace was outstanding
6. croft was very very good.
5. o connell is a certainty
4. jones cemented his place
and jenkins was was superb.
so again youv bin SCALDED

By Paul Gormley, at June 04, 2009 7:58 pm
Paul Gormley you seem to be missing the point but lets leave it shall we as i don't think you're going to get it anyway.

By Andy, at June 09, 2009 1:18 pm