The biggest error was not selecting a specialist/ attacking outside centre like Huw Jones, Slade or Ringrose. This severely limited the Lion's ability to play expansively.
As a safa I can tell you Gatland played 2 and a bit tests (and SA A) exactly the way the boks wanted it... a slow grinding brawl... something the ABs don’t get wrong. Surprisingly naive
At the squad announcement they talked about wanting to play some rugby, move the ball, move the Boks and play out wide, hence why they picked the European Player of The year Sam Simmonds yet they played close quarter, 1 up rugby, playing off 9. If they are playing that they should had picked Billy V. Utter madness! They had no intention of playing, why didn't they take Ringrose or Slade if they wanted to play rugby? Imagine Finn hitting Sam Simmonds through the middle behind dummy runner. Imagine not using the European player of the year. Imagine trying to beat the Boks at their own game. It's Gatland's fault, yes.
I completely agree. All that you mentioned were soundbites and smokescreens to hide Gatland's conservative borefest rugby. His reputation is tarnished within the game.
and leaving out the 6N player of the tournament for the last test for players known to give away more penalties....in a decider....with fuck*ng Morne Steyn on the bench. (Just hence....not hence why)
@@andrewrobb1175 The personal wasn't the issue and certainly not the back row. Every single member of the squad is a quality player and will do a job. It's the game plan. Asking them to get into an arm wrestle with the Boks is madness. I would have liked to see Curry and Watson together though, with Simmonds at 8 but....we'll have to wait another 4 years.
Think Stuart Lancaster might be a good shout, really developed nicely as a coach. Main thing is hopefully next tour we will see more flowing rugby. Lions really needs to be on freeview too, felt like there was pretty limited interest compared with a six nations.
It'll be Eddie Jones, they won't be able to resist the seemingly obvious nature of such a choice. He got the Aussies all kinds of riled up when England last toured there and his inside knowledge of their methods and psyche will be too hard to pass up.
@@nj-ns4sb he's said he doesn't want the job, and I don't blame him; every time the Lions win a game, as far as the media and fans are concerned it's down to the brilliance of the players. Every time they lose (which is more often than not), it's the incompetence of the coach(es), and even members of the playing squad typically line up to stick the knife in. The Lions are a poisoned chalice, and I can't see a coach as image-conscious as Eddie having any taste for it.
@@Formakiwi 'more often than not' from 2013 the Lions have won 4 lost 4 drawn 1 We're better off without Eddie frankly. He himself believes in cycles and he's already done more than his own beliefs suggest a coach should do with one side. You are correct in saying players have been critical of Gatland but let's face it he has gotten quite a bit wrong
Yes, too reliant on Saracens players, too reliant on previous tourists, and a negative “ do not lose” style of rugby. For the love of god not another Garland tour with that style of rugby.
@@Quinefan the problem were not at the Lions backline mate ,their forwards were just not strong enough, case in point Etoje never were quite there physically, as the tests wore on he faded wilst Eben just grew stronger
The bokke might have been beaten with some attack No one beats SA playing their game of forward pressure, kick the ball away, wait for mistakes, go for poles. They had to attack, and offered nothing. And i live in waikato NZ
Nobody is looking for a scapegoat we're hypothesizing as to whether a different Lions side playing a different style of rugby could have won the series. People in a comments section aren't your grandchildren please don't look to quieten people down when it's a healthy back and forth
You're way out of your depth in this company Son, so go back to your Tik-Tik and leave the real Rugby chat to the folks who know what they're talking about.🤣🤣🤣
Ryan Wilson !! ......... What a sharp and smart guy !! ..... In hindsight. Its very clever to state the populist views after the event. We never heard of these amazing insightful comments from Wilson in the tour build up or selection (pre tests) from clever clogs !!!
Lions did not fire any shots! its was tight because the boks dont play expansive, so their score are never big ... but at no point did they look like they were ever threatening the bok defence
The Boks don't play, let's just leave it at that. What they do is, they put the oposition through the meat mincer, they stifle creativity, drag out the time, have constant interuptions, their physios are constantly on the field, the 2nd test was 120 mins long ffs. Rassie took gamesmanship to a new level after losing the 1st test, in that video he complained that the Boks lost every 50/50 decision, it must have worked with the officials because in the 2nd test the Boks won every 50/50 decision. I read today that the 6 Nations rugby boards and Australia are calling for Rassie to be banned for damaging the spirit of the game. I think that's a bit harsh but he should be taken in front of World Rugby to explain his actions.
@@theamazingworldofkezza5132 Definately mate, people who say that his intervention needed ro happen are all Boks supporters, he knew he did wrong himself because he offered to step down after the damage was done. If he was a premier league football manager, he would be fined thousands and suspended, so he needs to be punished in some way because the tradition of the game and it's attitude to sportmanship and the officials is at stake.
Wouldn't have mattered; the players and the tactics weren't there; Russell was injured, Farrell was ineffectual and Biggar clearly preferred until the last test, the pack were unable to foot it with the Boks forwards, the backline couldn't find enough space and both Murray and Price underwhelmed with their service off the base of the ruck. The plain fact is, even compiling all the in-form players from the past two Six Nations, the NH teams couldn't supply sufficient talent to beat an SA squad that had been out of competition since the WC final. Folks need to accept that, stop deluding themselves, and move on.
@@Formakiwi absolutely agreed, the game Finn played in the third game couldve been played by anyone, nothing to do with selection more the tactic's that were played by those players
I feel like in the first half of the first test they played exactly the way everyone wanted and got slaughtered. They changed their plan and won the test. I think Finn wasn’t available until the last test and he was the key to the change in direction. In fairness the boks still won.
I had the impression that before the tour many thought we had to play at tempo and move the Boks around.That meant opening up the game.Wasn’t that fairly obvious? Or is Gats just too cautious by nature?
I think they are way too easy on Gatland. For me the turning point in the series was near the start of the first Test where Daley got smashed when the tried to run it off slow ball. They couldn’t get the game moving and had better luck being conservative. That changed the whole play it fast and wide approach and they tried to outdo SA at their own game in the 2nd Test and got smashed. For me, they should have gambled on Marcus Smith when Russell wasn’t fit and stuck to the original plan, just with better execution. Smith could well have been a surprise weapon. All this stuff about lack of experience - it’s only Rugby and Smith looks like he has an excellent head on his shoulders. Gatland absolutely was way too conservative and cautious. Playing fast and wide would have also been a better advert for the game. I really believe the Lions should always play positive Rugby, win or lose.
Your last point sounds right. There’s no point in putting together a special touring team - the only of its kind in the world - whose main objective is just to not lose. They must stand for something. For me the answer is in their name: lions are brave, courageous and fearsome creatures. That’s how you want the team to be.
Springboks won.. let us all move on now ..we more focused on trying to beat The All Blacks now and claim the bragging rights of being the number one team
Gatlands selections may not have helped. Thought the back row could have been changed for final test to include Watson and Bierne . I would also have started LRZ rather than VDM in final test. However, despite selection, the team ultimately blew the last test. The failure of Liam Williams to pass to Adams was inexcusable. Also, after going 10-3 up the Lions should have kicked their penalties and built a lead instead of going for the corner on two occasions. Poor captaincy. I thought the third test changed when Wyn Jones went off injured. Boks pack then got on top in the scrum and the Boks took full advantage to run out as deserved winners.
Lions had no big flair runners in the backs, the ones we did have, on the bench, I agree didn't have the experience for this level, however, def missed a manu type, Sam simmonds in the centres would have been a shout in my eyes. You need a 10 and 2 centres, not 2 10's no offence to Farrell. Zammit should have been given a shot in the final game too.
gatland chose experienced and mature players for the tests but really those younger kids like smith and zammit could have done a lot more damage and threat to the boks imo
yes he did - we found our attacking capability and thus started to not just take SA on at their game when Russell was forced to come on - Galtnad won the first test through being better at being SA than SA - who were off form, then they regain their form and brutally inflict their limited game. We only show hope in the 3rd test when russell comes on and we fundamentally changed the way we play. Gatland selected players to take SA on with pace and inventiveness but then failed to play them. His plan failed - with a whimper not a bang wonder if NZ will be quite so keen on him now.
In the end, it all comes down to small margins. And the Boks won by just 3 points in the final test. It was very close (if you take away refereeing circus of the the second test) and the Lions played well. On another day the Lions could have won. But they didn't. So credit and respect to the Boks and thanks to both sides for a great series.
Hi Gary here - Boks play to their strengths.Don't worry they will bring a mix but generally front up , speed wide even speed through the front.Great defense even scramble defense.The type of game , play , plan depends on the opposition on the day.Lev the Boks don't fiddle with a winning recipe.
Gatland generally seems to have a bit of a chip on his shoulder since he wasn't able to make an impression on the coaching scene in New Zealand. Also, playing the same strategy as the Springboks, instead of playing to your own strengths, seems a bit strange to me. They should have moved the Springboks around the park a bit more. Especially since they, the Springboks, hadn't played international rugby for two years and lacked match fitness. Instead they played right into their hands, and then had the audacity to talk about "boring" rugby, when they themselves played the same "boring" rugby in the first place. Was really disappointing.
Will finn be able to fire for 3 tests in a row? What a clown. Do you think Racing pay him circa 900k to fire one in three games. This finn Russell is inconsistent myth is so stupid. He's class.
It's not that Gatland got alot wrong it's just that SA is that good. Not much he could have really done, Bok defence is best in the world. Let's give Gatland a break it's SA they were playing not Fiji or something like that
Gats probably got it 90 percent right. But as a coach, you can only do so much. The players still have to execute. The Lions could have won the third test any number of ways but just lacked the edge to see it through. I don't think that should be on the coach.
Gatland stuffed up for sure. No one beats the Boks by trying to out play them at what they do best. To beat them you just match them on the physical side and set peices, then attack them hard. You run around their big men, tire them out and beat them with skill and flair. Nations who've had the best success against the Boks are NZ and Aust. Every win against them comes from an expansive running game. Hold them in the set pieces, rucks and mauls, minimise kicking and beat them with pace and skill. Gatland played to their strengths and the whole series was an apppalling spectacle. Less said about this disaster of a series the better imo
💯 in fairness Gatland has had the most European success against the Boks, but he should have realised in the RWC the Rassie is not a typical rugby thinker, the whole Bomb squad still to be tested against the 🥝 and the Aussie s
Yep, fine margins. It's a bit silly that one decision on field is the difference between success and failure. In reality the Lions were best in 2/3 tests and should have won the series. But if you make mistakes at this level you get punished.
@@johnjames6620 i'm over the series at this point. SA won and that's all that matters. the Lions will be extremely disappointed that they didn't win the third test, though.
Can't we just agree that South Africa outclassed the lions and a different squard or tactics wouldn't have changed the outcome... I mean South Africa are the world champions afteral
He took a bunch of players who had never player together before, and came within 4 points of beating the world champions in a 3 year series. Also note, a world champion team that, unlike all previous winners, is pretty much the same XV.
Think it was a lack luster performance all round. Some of the best players in the country who were lacking, to say the least . The situation in south Africa did not help. Perhaps the lions could do more of a world tour incorporating other teams prior to going onto a big team .
Ugly play can only be justified it the end result is winning. Unfortunately, losing by playing such poor quality rugby just means losing on both fronts. Just left me feeling deflated watching the Lions play that way with little imagination and then when they lost, I cared very little as I didn’t enjoy what I was watching.
Is Garland to blame, is AWJ to blame for going for touch instead of penalties. Truth is their the world champs and on home soil. Anyone could of won that last test. It was very disappointing but the Lions still did well
Truth. It's almost like trying to weld together four different countries with vastly different styles of rugby, playing mentalities and levels of skill for a one-off tour is a doomed enterprise composed mainly of arrogance and hype.
Pretty difficult to make such a summary when the test series was decided on 3 incorrect dropped scrum penalties against the Lions by the Springbok scrum - 1 to level the game, 1 to win the game and 1 to end the game preventing any potential attack from the Lions on the final play! Again a referee deciding a contest while World Rugby are introducing new stupid rugby laws!!!
Eh, no. The Lions played cruddy Northern Hemisphere rugby against the reigning world champions and it wasn't enough. No great conspiracy, just inferior ability.
@@Formakiwi we played boks game against them and thats what lost us it. No creativity, we essentially gifted them it by giving them a comfortable series where they were stronger at every physically challenging moment of the match (carries, scrums, rucks). If we played a series reliant on the wings and the set kicking and passing tactics that Finn implemented (biggar, farrell and smith all capable of doing this too) than we would've been too fast for them and scored multiple tries (Its what we did in every warm up game including Japan and totally rid of it in the series, not sure why). Instead we stuck to the awful implementation of warren ball which has lost us at least one game every series Gatland has coached, not to mention his chiefs season and the multiple welsh wc's and 6nations he was in charge for.
He didn't know his best side from day 1. Awful rugby, take your 3 points as the Boks are not explosive like NZ and Aus, they are grinders. We've lost to them in the last 2 world cups by a total of 7 points. Always take the points. Finn Russell showed what we should have been doing from the start. Gareth Davies for me should have started as Connor Murray's box kicking was useless as we weren't good under the high ball, Davies is cheeky, we would have tried more expansive rugby with him.
@canvas bed As a professional who has worked in demanding conditions that require performing well publicly for a couple hours at a time...you gotta bring the energy or else you will fail. If your dog died or your girlfriend broke up with you, you still need to man up and do your job professionally. If they can't get their head space clear for a rugby match, then they are not playing the right sport. They struggled to focus and adapt and Gatland was a little too rigid...Lions made 2 try-scoring errors in the final match that cost them the series.
@@chris5240 well.said , I mean these guys are paid and have a crazy support system around them , they have everything they need and more.... no excuses
@@africanmamba1021 I wouldn't blame the players, the attack coach seemed very basic and confined. They had the potential to play alot more dangerously but were compacted to warrenball
I cant understand all these vids and stuff about it, isnt if it was thec1st time sboks won b i lions, and i got the feeling b i lions think its supposed to be won by b i lions... B i l, came on tour they lost ok normal stuff, now it's a big issue??? If we sa lost, ok we cry for few days get over it get on wait for next 12y....the only thing for me out of itvis rassie who did enormous job shows the word the tollerating against sa which we complained so many years already now, and b i l, supposed to lose 1st test aswel so its supposed to be 3/0..series..
Lions are a overhyped and overrated team that couldn’t beat a Springbok team that hadn’t played for 2 years, had players injured and didn’t play at altitude. Northern hemisphere just isn’t that good at rugby. Learn to cope.
I'm extremely interested. I relive every moment of the Boks winning the third test and watch the Lions hang their heads at the end. Very similar to England losing the world cup final. Moping around looking like they were all going to have a collective sob. In fact Jones did have a sob
Gatland is overrated and he is squarely to blame for losing the South African series. He is a cautious by nature, hence, his teams always play with the handbrake on. N.Z. were there for the taking a in 2017 but again, his conservative approach meant the series was drawn. Also, apparently, he did not see eye to eye with Townsend, who wanted a more open and athletic style. Give the 2025 Aussie tour to Townsend
Although I don't think he should've started the tests based on form compared to biggar or russell, Sexton should have gone on that tour. Whether he plays or not, his organisational skills in the backline are pretty much unrivalled and he is very good at pulling a team together that is unfamiliar. He has shown this when he is absent from the Ireland team because the team doesn't play as well without him. I also really don't think Gatland deserves to be the coach for the tour. The strategies and tactics that h e used are outdated and his squad selection has been very questionable. In reality, half of the English players shouldn't have gone on the tour. Of course Itoje, Cowan-dickie, Curry, Watson and maybe a few others deserved it, but c'mon 5th in the six nations shouldn't mean 11 players picked in a 37 man squad. If I've missed anything or if you disagree with my points, just drop a comment. These are just a couple of my opinions on the tour.
He lost the series, he picked the teams and chose the tactics...but no, it is not at his door..? And you got dull bore fests to boot. The Gatland period has to be over unless you want to kill the Lions off..
The arrogance of the Poms is breathtaking. They think it is divinely ordained that they should beat the Springboks and a lose to them is an inexplicable error - "What went wrong" - gasp! shock! Get over it Rooinekke, you were soundly thrashed three times out of four in Cape Town by the World champions who whipped your butts in Tokyo. Your behaviour at the medal presentation, when SA collected the gold, was despicable -especially Itojo a d Farrell.
I will never ever want to see the Boks play. Forget about opposing teams willing to play expansive Rugby. Boks are absolutely boring to watch. Fine, they are effective - but OMG totally boring. Like watching soccer and having one team with 11 players parked behind the 10M. To be even more contentious - the Lions should NEVER play SA again. There may be a financial benefit - But only to the money companies, etc. . With regard to the spectators - What a WASTE OF TIME!!! The MOST BORING RUGBY EVER INFLICTED ON THE PAYING PUBLIC - DISGRACE!!!
So why didn't the Lions thrill the crowds like the All Blacks play. Let the Boks play 'boring' rugby. It doesn't stop the Lions play running rugby. But they didn't
Then you probably don’t understand rugby. Sure, the Bok game isn’t always pretty to watch but they gave us the best RWC final by far when they pulverised the English in the first 30 mins after they failed to convert 30 phases of play into a try. When the two teams walked off at the end of the first half you could see the English were already beaten
its the way we utilised them. we played a duplicate of bok's game instead of any creativity, if we played our wings and set play kicking (what Finn did in the third test) then we would have gotten a few tries. if we had used our faster tactical players rather then just our physical and strong one's then we would have exhausted the boks
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The biggest error was not selecting a specialist/ attacking outside centre like Huw Jones, Slade or Ringrose. This severely limited the Lion's ability to play expansively.
As a safa I can tell you Gatland played 2 and a bit tests (and SA A) exactly the way the boks wanted it... a slow grinding brawl... something the ABs don’t get wrong. Surprisingly naive
Yeah mate, spot on.
@S MM How could anyone pick Biggar above Russell!
@S MM but then one big game for the lions and now pundits are calling him Dan Carter ...
At the squad announcement they talked about wanting to play some rugby, move the ball, move the Boks and play out wide, hence why they picked the European Player of The year Sam Simmonds yet they played close quarter, 1 up rugby, playing off 9. If they are playing that they should had picked Billy V. Utter madness!
They had no intention of playing, why didn't they take Ringrose or Slade if they wanted to play rugby?
Imagine Finn hitting Sam Simmonds through the middle behind dummy runner. Imagine not using the European player of the year.
Imagine trying to beat the Boks at their own game.
It's Gatland's fault, yes.
I completely agree. All that you mentioned were soundbites and smokescreens to hide Gatland's conservative borefest rugby. His reputation is tarnished within the game.
Complete agree, hence my comment that they did not fire any shots, they brought the weapons but never loaded or used them ... Gatland failed!
and leaving out the 6N player of the tournament for the last test for players known to give away more penalties....in a decider....with fuck*ng Morne Steyn on the bench. (Just hence....not hence why)
@@andrewrobb1175 The personal wasn't the issue and certainly not the back row. Every single member of the squad is a quality player and will do a job. It's the game plan. Asking them to get into an arm wrestle with the Boks is madness. I would have liked to see Curry and Watson together though, with Simmonds at 8 but....we'll have to wait another 4 years.
Agree
I mean he brought Townsend as the attack coach and didn't use his attack plan. Why bring him at all?
Who said that wasnt his attack plan?
@@callum1971 every single team he's ever coached before the Lions
Because he never ever plays like that!!??
An elaborate smokescreen. Townsend was clearly undermined by Gatland.
I think Gats straight up ignored him. Don’t think Townsend would want to play that attacking game plan with the talent available
Think Stuart Lancaster might be a good shout, really developed nicely as a coach. Main thing is hopefully next tour we will see more flowing rugby. Lions really needs to be on freeview too, felt like there was pretty limited interest compared with a six nations.
Agreed
Agreed
It'll be Eddie Jones, they won't be able to resist the seemingly obvious nature of such a choice. He got the Aussies all kinds of riled up when England last toured there and his inside knowledge of their methods and psyche will be too hard to pass up.
@@nj-ns4sb he's said he doesn't want the job, and I don't blame him; every time the Lions win a game, as far as the media and fans are concerned it's down to the brilliance of the players. Every time they lose (which is more often than not), it's the incompetence of the coach(es), and even members of the playing squad typically line up to stick the knife in. The Lions are a poisoned chalice, and I can't see a coach as image-conscious as Eddie having any taste for it.
@@Formakiwi 'more often than not' from 2013 the Lions have won 4 lost 4 drawn 1
We're better off without Eddie frankly. He himself believes in cycles and he's already done more than his own beliefs suggest a coach should do with one side. You are correct in saying players have been critical of Gatland but let's face it he has gotten quite a bit wrong
Yes, too reliant on Saracens players, too reliant on previous tourists, and a negative “ do not lose” style of rugby.
For the love of god not another Garland tour with that style of rugby.
Blame nobofy except the strength of South Africa. One team had to win, and the Boks were the better team. Stop looking for scapegoats !
The point is, they could have fielded a different team.
@@Quinefan the problem were not at the Lions backline mate ,their forwards were just not strong enough, case in point Etoje never were quite there physically, as the tests wore on he faded wilst Eben just grew stronger
The bokke might have been beaten with some attack
No one beats SA playing their game of forward pressure, kick the ball away, wait for mistakes, go for poles. They had to attack, and offered nothing. And i live in waikato NZ
Nobody is looking for a scapegoat we're hypothesizing as to whether a different Lions side playing a different style of rugby could have won the series. People in a comments section aren't your grandchildren please don't look to quieten people down when it's a healthy back and forth
You're way out of your depth in this company Son, so go back to your Tik-Tik and leave the real Rugby chat to the folks who know what they're talking about.🤣🤣🤣
The springboks have had 4 boring games since Rassie and Jacques took over, 1 vs Wales and 3 vs the Lions. What's the common denominator?
Nail hit firmly with that observation
The common denominator is Wales!
Rassie should coach the next Lions team.
Ryan Wilson !! ......... What a sharp and smart guy !! ..... In hindsight. Its very clever to state the populist views after the event. We never heard of these amazing insightful comments from Wilson in the tour build up or selection (pre tests) from clever clogs !!!
Lions did not fire any shots! its was tight because the boks dont play expansive, so their score are never big ... but at no point did they look like they were ever threatening the bok defence
They threatened their defence from minute 11 to minute 40 in 1st half of 3rd test
The Boks don't play, let's just leave it at that. What they do is, they put the oposition through the meat mincer, they stifle creativity, drag out the time, have constant interuptions, their physios are constantly on the field, the 2nd test was 120 mins long ffs. Rassie took gamesmanship to a new level after losing the 1st test, in that video he complained that the Boks lost every 50/50 decision, it must have worked with the officials because in the 2nd test the Boks won every 50/50 decision. I read today that the 6 Nations rugby boards and Australia are calling for Rassie to be banned for damaging the spirit of the game. I think that's a bit harsh but he should be taken in front of World Rugby to explain his actions.
@@speak_your_truth. and still lost
@@peteryoungpeteryoung965 considering how he effected the fate of the series, it sounds pretty fair to me
@@theamazingworldofkezza5132 Definately mate, people who say that his intervention needed ro happen are all Boks supporters, he knew he did wrong himself because he offered to step down after the damage was done. If he was a premier league football manager, he would be fined thousands and suspended, so he needs to be punished in some way because the tradition of the game and it's attitude to sportmanship and the officials is at stake.
Losing 3 times to SA ..the coaches didn't get it right selection wise..
Wouldn't have mattered; the players and the tactics weren't there; Russell was injured, Farrell was ineffectual and Biggar clearly preferred until the last test, the pack were unable to foot it with the Boks forwards, the backline couldn't find enough space and both Murray and Price underwhelmed with their service off the base of the ruck. The plain fact is, even compiling all the in-form players from the past two Six Nations, the NH teams couldn't supply sufficient talent to beat an SA squad that had been out of competition since the WC final. Folks need to accept that, stop deluding themselves, and move on.
@@Formakiwi absolutely agreed, the game Finn played in the third game couldve been played by anyone, nothing to do with selection more the tactic's that were played by those players
@@theamazingworldofkezza5132 utter codswallop - Farrell and Biggar aren’t capable of playing the wide game like Finn Russell could have.
I feel like in the first half of the first test they played exactly the way everyone wanted and got slaughtered. They changed their plan and won the test. I think Finn wasn’t available until the last test and he was the key to the change in direction. In fairness the boks still won.
I had the impression that before the tour many thought we had to play at tempo and move the Boks around.That meant opening up the game.Wasn’t that fairly obvious? Or is Gats just too cautious by nature?
I think they are way too easy on Gatland. For me the turning point in the series was near the start of the first Test where Daley got smashed when the tried to run it off slow ball. They couldn’t get the game moving and had better luck being conservative. That changed the whole play it fast and wide approach and they tried to outdo SA at their own game in the 2nd Test and got smashed. For me, they should have gambled on Marcus Smith when Russell wasn’t fit and stuck to the original plan, just with better execution. Smith could well have been a surprise weapon. All this stuff about lack of experience - it’s only Rugby and Smith looks like he has an excellent head on his shoulders. Gatland absolutely was way too conservative and cautious. Playing fast and wide would have also been a better advert for the game. I really believe the Lions should always play positive Rugby, win or lose.
Your last point sounds right. There’s no point in putting together a special touring team - the only of its kind in the world - whose main objective is just to not lose. They must stand for something. For me the answer is in their name: lions are brave, courageous and fearsome creatures. That’s how you want the team to be.
Agreed!
Springboks won.. let us all move on now ..we more focused on trying to beat The All Blacks now and claim the bragging rights of being the number one team
We are still the no 1 team according to the current rankings
Well said chomma👍
Gatlands selections may not have helped. Thought the back row could have been changed for final test to include Watson and Bierne . I would also have started LRZ rather than VDM in final test. However, despite selection, the team ultimately blew the last test. The failure of Liam Williams to pass to Adams was inexcusable. Also, after going 10-3 up the Lions should have kicked their penalties and built a lead instead of going for the corner on two occasions. Poor captaincy. I thought the third test changed when Wyn Jones went off injured. Boks pack then got on top in the scrum and the Boks took full advantage to run out as deserved winners.
We're🇿🇦 starting a havoc in the world of rugby. The springbok are going to take all the cups🏆🏆🎖️🥇
The ABs will beat them again this year.
by havoc you mean tedious boring yawn havoc
@@theamazingworldofkezza5132 I mean winning until you stop being sore losers
@@Quinefan bring it on. The AB better have their game on
Lions had no big flair runners in the backs, the ones we did have, on the bench, I agree didn't have the experience for this level, however, def missed a manu type, Sam simmonds in the centres would have been a shout in my eyes. You need a 10 and 2 centres, not 2 10's no offence to Farrell. Zammit should have been given a shot in the final game too.
gatland chose experienced and mature players for the tests but really those younger kids like smith and zammit could have done a lot more damage and threat to the boks imo
yes he did - we found our attacking capability and thus started to not just take SA on at their game when Russell was forced to come on - Galtnad won the first test through being better at being SA than SA - who were off form, then they regain their form and brutally inflict their limited game. We only show hope in the 3rd test when russell comes on and we fundamentally changed the way we play. Gatland selected players to take SA on with pace and inventiveness but then failed to play them. His plan failed - with a whimper not a bang wonder if NZ will be quite so keen on him now.
Gatland won the first test with the help of the REFS!
Definitely
In the end, it all comes down to small margins. And the Boks won by just 3 points in the final test. It was very close (if you take away refereeing circus of the the second test) and the Lions played well. On another day the Lions could have won. But they didn't. So credit and respect to the Boks and thanks to both sides for a great series.
Unfortunately, yes.
Hi Gary here - Boks play to their strengths.Don't worry they will bring a mix but generally front up , speed wide even speed through the front.Great defense even scramble defense.The type of game , play , plan depends on the opposition on the day.Lev the Boks don't fiddle with a winning recipe.
Gatland generally seems to have a bit of a chip on his shoulder since he wasn't able to make an impression on the coaching scene in New Zealand.
Also, playing the same strategy as the Springboks, instead of playing to your own strengths, seems a bit strange to me. They should have moved the Springboks around the park a bit more. Especially since they, the Springboks, hadn't played international rugby for two years and lacked match fitness. Instead they played right into their hands, and then had the audacity to talk about "boring" rugby, when they themselves played the same "boring" rugby in the first place. Was really disappointing.
Will finn be able to fire for 3 tests in a row? What a clown. Do you think Racing pay him circa 900k to fire one in three games. This finn Russell is inconsistent myth is so stupid. He's class.
It's not that Gatland got alot wrong it's just that SA is that good. Not much he could have really done, Bok defence is best in the world. Let's give Gatland a break it's SA they were playing not Fiji or something like that
Gats probably got it 90 percent right. But as a coach, you can only do so much. The players still have to execute. The Lions could have won the third test any number of ways but just lacked the edge to see it through. I don't think that should be on the coach.
90% right? 2nd test selection was poor, tactics overall were too limited.
Why don’t you use British coaches. It’s a bit sad that you lot aren’t developing coaches of any note.
Gatland stuffed up for sure. No one beats the Boks by trying to out play them at what they do best. To beat them you just match them on the physical side and set peices, then attack them hard. You run around their big men, tire them out and beat them with skill and flair. Nations who've had the best success against the Boks are NZ and Aust. Every win against them comes from an expansive running game. Hold them in the set pieces, rucks and mauls, minimise kicking and beat them with pace and skill. Gatland played to their strengths and the whole series was an apppalling spectacle. Less said about this disaster of a series the better imo
💯 in fairness Gatland has had the most European success against the Boks, but he should have realised in the RWC the Rassie is not a typical rugby thinker, the whole Bomb squad still to be tested against the 🥝 and the Aussie s
If Williams had let that pass go Adams would have got a try, the Lions would have won and Gatland would be a genius.
Yep, fine margins. It's a bit silly that one decision on field is the difference between success and failure. In reality the Lions were best in 2/3 tests and should have won the series. But if you make mistakes at this level you get punished.
Lions were the best? Good one!
@@prrquaa most of the points were kicks in all three games so ... yes ...
@@Demondoink1 If that makes you happy. How come you ignore Itoje kneeling on a Springbok for an overturn and the 2 tip tackles?
@@johnjames6620 i'm over the series at this point. SA won and that's all that matters. the Lions will be extremely disappointed that they didn't win the third test, though.
They got beat by the better team end of story, in fact they were extremely lucky to win the first
partly..
Can't we just agree that South Africa outclassed the lions and a different squard or tactics wouldn't have changed the outcome... I mean South Africa are the world champions afteral
He took a bunch of players who had never player together before, and came within 4 points of beating the world champions in a 3 year series. Also note, a world champion team that, unlike all previous winners, is pretty much the same XV.
Lemme guess before watching. Finn Russel?
No blame it on the ref. If the last scrum penalty was reversed this discussion would never happen.
Think it was a lack luster performance all round. Some of the best players in the country who were lacking, to say the least . The situation in south Africa did not help. Perhaps the lions could do more of a world tour incorporating other teams prior to going onto a big team .
Bring on Eddie for originality
Garland is a
Gats is a paint by numbers guy, always played the same. Effective for wales not in the Southern Hemisphere
😂😂😂 was he really expecting to win the series?
😂😂😂😂 Co. Ask
yes
They offered nothing on attack, simple
Boks ate too strong for the Cubs
Get Sir what’s his name from England
Ugly play can only be justified it the end result is winning. Unfortunately, losing by playing such poor quality rugby just means losing on both fronts. Just left me feeling deflated watching the Lions play that way with little imagination and then when they lost, I cared very little as I didn’t enjoy what I was watching.
Is Garland to blame, is AWJ to blame for going for touch instead of penalties. Truth is their the world champs and on home soil. Anyone could of won that last test. It was very disappointing but the Lions still did well
Shouldnt the coach for a Lions series be a coach from one of the 4 countries? Howcome that isnt the case?
Are there no English, Irish,Scottish,Welsh coaches available to coach a lions side?
The Lions never win the series, 1 series win in the last 6 so not sure why anyone is surprised they lost this time
Truth. It's almost like trying to weld together four different countries with vastly different styles of rugby, playing mentalities and levels of skill for a one-off tour is a doomed enterprise composed mainly of arrogance and hype.
The Lions did not lose, the Springboks won.
?
I thought you had established Rassie and his naughty video caused the Lions demise. Blaming Gatland sounds racist 😂😂😂😂😂
Na , their average players are to blame
I Blame Rassie
Pretty difficult to make such a summary when the test series was decided on 3 incorrect dropped scrum penalties against the Lions by the Springbok scrum - 1 to level the game, 1 to win the game and 1 to end the game preventing any potential attack from the Lions on the final play!
Again a referee deciding a contest while World Rugby are introducing new stupid rugby laws!!!
Eh, no. The Lions played cruddy Northern Hemisphere rugby against the reigning world champions and it wasn't enough. No great conspiracy, just inferior ability.
@@Formakiwi we played boks game against them and thats what lost us it. No creativity, we essentially gifted them it by giving them a comfortable series where they were stronger at every physically challenging moment of the match (carries, scrums, rucks). If we played a series reliant on the wings and the set kicking and passing tactics that Finn implemented (biggar, farrell and smith all capable of doing this too) than we would've been too fast for them and scored multiple tries (Its what we did in every warm up game including Japan and totally rid of it in the series, not sure why). Instead we stuck to the awful implementation of warren ball which has lost us at least one game every series Gatland has coached, not to mention his chiefs season and the multiple welsh wc's and 6nations he was in charge for.
He didn't know his best side from day 1. Awful rugby, take your 3 points as the Boks are not explosive like NZ and Aus, they are grinders. We've lost to them in the last 2 world cups by a total of 7 points. Always take the points. Finn Russell showed what we should have been doing from the start. Gareth Davies for me should have started as Connor Murray's box kicking was useless as we weren't good under the high ball, Davies is cheeky, we would have tried more expansive rugby with him.
Noooooo he got it right
No , the lions are to blame.for.playing kak.
@canvas bed As a professional who has worked in demanding conditions that require performing well publicly for a couple hours at a time...you gotta bring the energy or else you will fail. If your dog died or your girlfriend broke up with you, you still need to man up and do your job professionally. If they can't get their head space clear for a rugby match, then they are not playing the right sport. They struggled to focus and adapt and Gatland was a little too rigid...Lions made 2 try-scoring errors in the final match that cost them the series.
@@chris5240 well.said , I mean these guys are paid and have a crazy support system around them , they have everything they need and more.... no excuses
@@africanmamba1021 I wouldn't blame the players, the attack coach seemed very basic and confined. They had the potential to play alot more dangerously but were compacted to warrenball
I cant understand all these vids and stuff about it, isnt if it was thec1st time sboks won b i lions, and i got the feeling b i lions think its supposed to be won by b i lions... B i l, came on tour they lost ok normal stuff, now it's a big issue??? If we sa lost, ok we cry for few days get over it get on wait for next 12y....the only thing for me out of itvis rassie who did enormous job shows the word the tollerating against sa which we complained so many years already now, and b i l, supposed to lose 1st test aswel so its supposed to be 3/0..series..
No ... the team let themselves down ... that last game was atrocious... so many players went missing !
You cant expect to beat the world champs just because you got 4 different countries representing you .
Nz and Ozzie’s do all the time
Lions are a overhyped and overrated team that couldn’t beat a Springbok team that hadn’t played for 2 years, had players injured and didn’t play at altitude. Northern hemisphere just isn’t that good at rugby. Learn to cope.
The lions team are just a charity thing, not a real team.
Yes! Warrenball failed completely
The tour is done, nobody's interested. Everyone has discussed this enough, move on.
I'm extremely interested. I relive every moment of the Boks winning the third test and watch the Lions hang their heads at the end. Very similar to England losing the world cup final. Moping around looking like they were all going to have a collective sob. In fact Jones did have a sob
Gatland is overrated and he is squarely to blame for losing the South African series. He is a cautious by nature, hence, his teams always play with the handbrake on.
N.Z. were there for the taking a in 2017 but again, his conservative approach meant the series was drawn. Also, apparently, he did not see eye to eye with Townsend, who wanted a more open and athletic style. Give the 2025 Aussie tour to Townsend
Although I don't think he should've started the tests based on form compared to biggar or russell, Sexton should have gone on that tour. Whether he plays or not, his organisational skills in the backline are pretty much unrivalled and he is very good at pulling a team together that is unfamiliar. He has shown this when he is absent from the Ireland team because the team doesn't play as well without him.
I also really don't think Gatland deserves to be the coach for the tour. The strategies and tactics that h e used are outdated and his squad selection has been very questionable. In reality, half of the English players shouldn't have gone on the tour. Of course Itoje, Cowan-dickie, Curry, Watson and maybe a few others deserved it, but c'mon 5th in the six nations shouldn't mean 11 players picked in a 37 man squad.
If I've missed anything or if you disagree with my points, just drop a comment. These are just a couple of my opinions on the tour.
He lost the series, he picked the teams and chose the tactics...but no, it is not at his door..?
And you got dull bore fests to boot.
The Gatland period has to be over unless you want to kill the Lions off..
Rugby would be nothing without the Lions, from an Aussie.
The arrogance of the Poms is breathtaking. They think it is divinely ordained that they should beat the Springboks and a lose to them is an inexplicable error - "What went wrong" - gasp! shock!
Get over it Rooinekke, you were soundly thrashed three times out of four in Cape Town by the World champions who whipped your butts in Tokyo. Your behaviour at the medal presentation, when SA collected the gold, was despicable -especially Itojo a d Farrell.
I will never ever want to see the Boks play. Forget about opposing teams willing to play expansive Rugby. Boks are absolutely boring to watch. Fine, they are effective - but OMG totally boring. Like watching soccer and having one team with 11 players parked behind the 10M. To be even more contentious - the Lions should NEVER play SA again. There may be a financial benefit - But only to the money companies, etc. . With regard to the spectators - What a WASTE OF TIME!!! The MOST BORING RUGBY EVER INFLICTED ON THE PAYING PUBLIC - DISGRACE!!!
Strange that I have never found the Springboks boring while on a winning streak. Especially over the Lions. 12 years.
So why didn't the Lions thrill the crowds like the All Blacks play. Let the Boks play 'boring' rugby. It doesn't stop the Lions play running rugby. But they didn't
Why did the lions copy their game plan and come out with a b grade version 🤔
The Springboks play such boring rugby but here we are still dissecting the BIL/BOK games.
Then you probably don’t understand rugby. Sure, the Bok game isn’t always pretty to watch but they gave us the best RWC final by far when they pulverised the English in the first 30 mins after they failed to convert 30 phases of play into a try. When the two teams walked off at the end of the first half you could see the English were already beaten
Nah bro, it’s your guys players😂
its the way we utilised them. we played a duplicate of bok's game instead of any creativity, if we played our wings and set play kicking (what Finn did in the third test) then we would have gotten a few tries. if we had used our faster tactical players rather then just our physical and strong one's then we would have exhausted the boks