AFTER SEVEN practice games, culminating with the decidedly docile Rebels as well as a test match, you’d have thought that the battle for the back-row would be all but resolved.…
Owain Jones
Lions 2013: 5 Things We’ve Learned. Australia v Lions – First Test
THE LIONS secured an agonisingly narrow, but vitally important 23-21 win in the opening test against the Wallabies. It was a game full of heart-stopping drama which ended Warren Gatland’s…
Lions 2013: The first Test is here and nothing prepares you for it
MOVIES ABOUT sports invariably get it wrong. It’s the montage. Athletes are shown muddied and broken, scuttling around performing seemingly impossible tasks over and over until the actions actually become…
Summer tours: After some bum notes, Scotland can end on song
WHEN SCOTLAND’S head coach and soon-to-be director of rugby says: "We have no-one else," when the team’s No.8 goes down, it can send a shiver down Scots spines. That one…
Lions 2013: Five First Test matchups to get excited about
WHEN SATURDAY comes, it comes with hand grenades in its pockets and it is looking for a hug. You’ll embrace it. Undoubtedly you will feel every blow and every collision…
Summer tours: All Blacks set to end Philippe Saint-Andre’s terrible year
IT'S NOT much fun being a French fan at the moment. Humiliated last Saturday against the All Blacks, France have already lost the three Test series and are playing for…
Lions 2013: Warren Gatland’s Test selection and what the stats say
HEAD COACHES never have it easy, but the selections are made now and we know who will be facing off between the Lions and the Wallabies. Was it the right…
Lions 2013: It’s all just a little case of history repeating
HEADING TOWARDS the first Test, the British and Irish Lions have an encouraging win against the Waratahs and a lacklustre loss against the Brumbies as inspiration for the first shot…
Lions 2013: How do you solve a problem like the lineout?
THE STATS don’t make good reading after the British and Irish Lions 14-12 loss to the Brumbies. Despite their win the Brumbies carried 23 times less than the Lions, with…
Lions 2013: Flattery gets you everywhere
WHEN MIND games start it is hard to know which tact to take. Overuse of saccharine sweet compliments, describe the opposition as clueless or just call everyone cheats? Well, when…