Crusaders Vs Lions So the Lions got back to winning ways with a solid display that saw them beat the current leaders of Super Rugby the Crusaders winning a tight tussle by 12-3. Owen Farrell started at out half with Conor Murray making his first start of this tour. The Lions had been defeated on Wednesday morning by 22-16. This game was crucial for the whole tour. This win was built on solid foundations of a solid scrum and line out. These two facets of the game will mean that this group of Lions will have plenty to be positive about heading to Dunedin next Tuesday to take the Highlanders before facing the Maori All Blacks in Rotarua next Saturday. The Crusaders still at moments throughout this game showed why rugby in New Zealand is so revered. They play at a pace that even the Lions can’t live with at times. Jack Goodhue looks to be an All Black in waiting although with the talent in the centre for New Zealand he may have to wait another few months before getting a Test debut with New Zealand. Injuries to both Stuart Hogg and Jonathan Davies will rule them out of contention for the Highlanders but they will go through return to play protocols and will be hopeful of being involved against the Maori All Blacks. The combination of Murray and Farrell looked at home at half back and led the Lions around the field and when the opportunities arose the Lions took their chances by kicking four penalties. One issue that again rose its head again with the Lions is the lack of sparkle in attack and that particular issue will need to be addressed in the next two weeks before the opening Test against the All Blacks. On 6 different occasions the Lions broke through the Crusaders defence and each attack faltered with a missed pass or slow ball or poor accuracy in terms of passing. Guys who will hope to be involved with the Test side will seriously need to up their skill level. On all 6 occasions that the Lions broke through one feels that the All Blacks would take full advantage of each chance and have 6 tries scored. The game this morning could have been much easier had the Lions taken at least two of the try scoring chances they created. This aspect of play will really need to looked at to stand any chance of beating the All Blacks in two weeks time. You can also see the Test team taking shape as the games have progressed. In my humble opinion a number of players are already assured of a Test spot barring injury to strike in the next few games. Players like Murray , Faletau , Farrell and Jamie George looking very likely to be involved in the first Test. Slowly but surely the Lions game plan is evolving and you can see it beginning to take shape but Rob Howley will really need to get his players to sharpen up on the training pitch and learn on the fly how to be clinical when the chance happens. It is second nature to a New Zealander but the Lions players need to learn that it is not only a guy in a black shirt that can finish a chance off. All road now lead to Dunedin and the Highlanders where another couple of All Blacks may lie in wait namely Ben , Aaron Smith and Waisake Naholo. Only time will tell if these guys will be given an early shot at the Lions. Warren Gatland has to be happy with how this morning went but he will recognise that there is plenty of work to do in the next two weeks. By Cian Mc Gibney 10/06/2017

Lions Vs Blues

The Lions will face the Auckland Blues on Wednesday and after the 13-7 win over the New Zealand Provincial Barbarians last Saturday. Some of the players that played in the game last week have been asked to double up with a number of players getting a place on the bench and even at this early stage after only one game a number of players will need to produce a stronger display after some poor performances last weekend.

Here’s hoping that the performance last Saturday isn’t the type of performance we will be seeing over the next 6 weeks.  At times the game plan didn’t seem to be working and the tempo with which we had been told the Lions would play was severely lacking it was only when a number of changes were made that the Lions began to come up with some exciting plays and slowly but surely began to squeeze the Babas but credit to the Barbarians they stuck to a fast paced game and they caused the Lions a number of issues in defence but thanks to strong defending the Lions survived on a number of occasions.

If you have watched rugby in New Zealand in the last few years, you will know that all the teams play a very fast game that will test all defences that come up against it. The Blues for their part just beat the Queensland Reds in Super Rugby and will relish the chance to take on the very best of British and Irish Lions who will hand out 11 debuts in the match day 23.

There will be 4 Irish Lions involved in the starting XV on Wednesday namely Jack Mc Grath , CJ Stander and the Irish centre pairing of Robbie Henshaw and Jared Payne who will get a chance to impress Warren Gatland and show what they can do , like Brian O Driscoll and Rob Henderson did in 2001 when they came from nowhere to be paired in the Test team to face Australia.

Gatland has again gone for familiar partnerships with Webb and Biggar at half back and Henshaw and Payne in the centre that familiarity can only help in the quest to beat the Blues. Tana Umaga played against the Lions in 2005 and captained the All Blacks to a 3-0 win , he is currently coaching the Blues and will want to create a piece of history by playing and coaching against the Lions.

After such an underwhelming display last Saturday the Lions will really want to get into the game early and try and set down a marker but coming back to the tempo that New Zealand teams play at it will be interesting to watch how the Lions will defend against the Blues.

The pressure is on Gatland’s men after the opening game and the time is now to set down a marker and a warning that the Lions are here to win a Test Series….

By

Cian Mc Gibney

05/06/2017

Lions Tour 2017

So the first XV of the 2017 Lions Tour has been announced and now the talking can stop and all the players can now fully focus on playing games and the end game of a Test Series vs The All Blacks. Looking closely at the selection for game 1 , he has given the first bite of the cherry to all the players that have been involved over the past few weeks.

Gatland has gone for the tried and trusted in the back row with an all Welsh back row and he has gone for a Scotland / Ireland axis at half back with Greg Laidlaw and Jonathan Sexton picked to start the opening game.  He has also gone for an all England pairing of Ben Te’o and Jonathan Joseph in the centre so you can see already that Gatland is happy to pick combinations that are familiar to each other which can only bode well for the Lions in the coming weeks.

This tour has been criticised for the amount of games the Lions will play before they face New Zealand in the opening Test . I would see it as a damned if you do and damned if you don’t scenario where no matter what the Lions did before the first Test they would be criticised. Gatland as I have shown has gone for what he knows best in particular in the back row and he will hope that familiar combinations will work throughout this campaign.

Looking to the bench , you have some real quality to come in and improve the team as the game enters the second half . Guys like Owen Farrell and Rhys Webb will be chomping at the bit to get stuck in and see how they get on.  The one thing this bench will offer is impact in open play and one feels that the Lions will need to show from Saturday that they can play a number of ways and they can’t just play one way and think that will be enough to get past all 5 Super rugby teams and the two International sides they face namely New Zealand and the Maori.

The New Zealand Barbarians have selected Bryn Gatland at 10 and he will need to be at the peak of his powers to deal with an onslaught from the Lions back row who I am sure will be hell bent on denying him time and space on the ball.

He has been selected alongside the very experienced Dwayne Sweeney who will play at number 12. An ex Irish schoolboy player will be at Tighthead for the New Zealand Babas Oliver Jager left Ireland at 17 and has been playing in New Zealand since then , he is in the Crusaders set up and will relish his battle with Joe Marler .

Looking to what is to come over the next 6 weeks , it is going to be a hell of a white knuckle ride for players , coaches , support staff , media , supporters and anybody else connected to the tour so sit back and enjoy what may come your way over the next few weeks. We can only wait and see can Gatland’s class of 2017 emulate John Dawes crew of 71 and win a Test Series in the land of the long white cloud……

By

Cian Mc Gibney

01/06/2017

Saracens have been crowned European Champions for the 2^nd season in a row after they defeated Clermont Auvergne 28-17 in the Final at Murrayfield. Saracens beat Munster 26-10 in the Semi Final in Dublin and Clermont defeated Leinster 27-22 in France.

Heading into this Final, Saracens were favourites going into to this game and if with the power of the Clermont squad Saracens always backed themselves in the tight contests and so it proved this past Saturday with Clermont facing them in their 2^nd straight Final. They were crowned Champions after dismantling Racing 92 in the Final. The squad that won that game was kept together with a key addition in the form of Schalk Burger.

All of their heavy hitters have been available for each game in this year’s campaign and they cruised through there Pool and the Quarter Final against Glasgow and although they were level at 6 all at half time in the Semi Final they still managed to find a way to grind out that result to set up the meeting with Clermont.

Mark Mc Call let Paul Gustard join the England coaching ticket alongside Neale Hatley and Steve Borthwick and moved Alex Sanderson onto the Defence coaches’ role. He also added Kevin Sorrell and Adam Powell to his staff and these men have been in and around the squad over the last few years and that made their transition to the coaching team much easier.

This Saracens side has been build up over the last 7 years where Brendan Venter started the turn around and before him current England boss Eddie Jones spent time at the helm of Saracens. This club has worked hard to put the building blocks in place to succeed and since Mark Mc Call took control the rewards have come thick and fast. They won the Premiership crown first and now they have added two European Cup’s to the trophy cabinet. The team is backboned by high quality England talent like Owen Farrell and the Vunipola brothers.

They are only the 2^nd team after Leicester Tigers in 2001 and 2002 to win back to back titles and on the evidence of the last two years there is no reason why Saracens can’t win three titles in a row or even go a step better than Toulon and Leinster and win 4 European Cups.

Mark Mc Call has done great work with this team and now has the Premiership title in his sights as he prepares his charges for the Premiership Semi Final this Saturday. Mark Mc Call in my opinion has added to his coaching repertoire and will only enhance that in the coming years if he can keep this group together and add one or two more quality players to an already well stocked squad.

For Clermont , It is yet more Final heartbreak but they can have no complainants on this occasion. They were well beaten by a far hungrier side who could have beaten them several ways had they chosen to do so. Clermont have been here before but they seemed to have learned the lesson of previous campaigns in the Semi Final win over Leinster but they again met a far superior team in terms of how to get over the winning line in a Final… Clermont have only one French Championship win in the last 17 years. They have been second best in numerous Finals at home and in Europe.

 For Clermont its back to the drawing board and for Saracens the sky is the limit……

By

Cian Mc Gibney

15/05/2017

Mom, since you passed away I have tried my best to get on with life not get held back by the fact you are not here anymore but the more I am told “It’s What Your Mam Would have Wanted “ the more  I have wanted to just have the ground swallow me up.

Even after three months of counselling there are still days and moments where all you want to do is scream and wake up from the nightmare that has been the last 8 months but you then realise that these feelings are normal and you begin to relax and see more clearly.

I am sure people are sick and tired of hearing my Mam’s name and I have done my best not to bring her name into conversations. I can actually feel myself taking on some of her traits and I am far more up front and honest with people which has been quite refreshing at times.  

Since last September I have changed as a person and I am far more in control than I ever have been which has been a huge help and I am really starting to be far more assertive with people. It still hurts me every day and people say it will get easier with time and that once the first anniversary rolls around you can move on and draw a line in the sand.  That is a load of rubbish….

 Given the relationship I had with Mam I have found it easy on certain days and then very testing on other days. I have spent days walking around like a broken man and then more days I am on top of the world but I suppose that is just way life is. Yes I realise Mam would not want me moping she would want me to go out and enjoy life.  I am for the first time in 27 years happy enough with my life. I will hopefully in time find things much easier and the impact of what happened will lessen as the years go by…

I personally have received so much help and support and I will never be able to thank people for all the kindness shown to me. I have so many people who genuinely care about me. That fact was lost on me for so many years It is only in the past few months that I have woken up to all the support and love.

 I thank each and every one from the bottom of my heart for the continued support and also a special thank you to all of those people who have let me hop in with them over the years aswell. I won’t name them because I would take up so many pages I’d be here for the night…. Thank You All

By

Cian Mc Gibney

11/05/2017