Is anybody in Britain following the British Lions tour of NZ?

Its all a matter of gelling as a team. However, although i’m not a conspiracy theoriest, i have to say that the team selection process was diabolical. Ok, so your a coach selecting players. Wales has JUST won a international competition, wiping all other teams off the face of the earth. So what does Woodward do? select mostely England players. The same England players who lost against Wales and who were appalling in the series considering they were supposed to be World Champions. Who do they select? Jason Robinson, who did not run AT ALL in all the matches and who has consistantly dropped easy ball and lost it inthe tackles; Wilkinson, who has only just recovered from injuries and who has not played an international game of rugby for a year, and Deligio who retired from international rugby after the world cup. So my question is this- Had Woodward not coached England, would there be so many undeserving players in the side? Look at the results… Losing against a provincial side. The team with both world champions and 6 Nations grandslam and triple crown champions losing due to **** poor handling and a total dependance on kicking. Just watch the English players pass it to the centre, and then stop dead because they can handle running, flowing rugby. Maybe i’m a little biased being Welsh, but even in the experts opinions, the picked team is not the best it could be…
BARNOWL

Err, the New Zealand Maori team is also a mixed team who have probably had less time together than the British and Irish Lions, so that excuse doesn’t wash.

I am so impressed with how the AB’s performed against Fiji on Friday, they were amazing, the best and most cohesive AB team I have seen in a long long time, perhaps in a decade! By comparison the Lions have looked a bit lack-lustre, but it will be interesting to see how they step up the pace when it comes to the test. They still have to play Wellington yet too, and they’re a top First Division team, unlike Bay of Plenty and Taranaki.

One point that is interesting, AB coach Graham Henry must be the only man in history to have coached both the Lions and the All Blacks.

Having a mixed team like that it is going to be very difficult to gel together. It does not appear that the team is cohesive and it doesn’t seem to me that they know how to read the play of the match that well. ie common moves/set ups etc (really hope that makes some sort of sense :D)

Between the matches they really need to be studying not only their form and tactics but also their oponents. They have to know what they are up against. Lets face it the All Blacks don’t have a reputation for being the best for nothing! (yes I’d like my team to win, but they really need to pull their socks up if they are going to achieve anything!) Come on British and Irish Lions, we are supporting you!

Maybe the demands of professional rugby mean that “temporary” teams like the British and Irish Lions (to give them their proper title) just don’t have the time and space to gel together compared to the more carefree atmosphere of the past.