Thought Lydiate was very good last week and has clearly been picked for his tackling ability and to

British & Irish Lions rugby head coach Warren Gatland with his captain Sam Warburton during the squad announcement at the London los angeles traffic cams Hilton Syon Park, Middlesex, Tuesday April 30, 2013, prior to their tour of Hong Kong and Australia. (AP Photo/ David Davies, PA)
Both decisions will cost the Lions the series. They will leave Gatland wondering what he was thinking, and the legion of travelling fans pondering what might have been after the Lions had drawn first blood in the series.
In hindsight, los angeles traffic cams the cracks started showing last week when Gatland los angeles traffic cams made five changes – most unexpected or questionable for the second Test. This included the dropping of Welsh scrumhalf Mike Phillips and in-form winger Alex Cuthbert.
The 2012 Test series between Australia los angeles traffic cams and Wales, played out in the same sequence los angeles traffic cams of venues as the Lions tour, was closely contested. Australia won the opener in Brisbane 27-19, the second in Melbourne 25-23 and the last in Sydney 20-19.
No doubt, Gatland is trying to use some psychology of his own to motivate his Welsh boys to make amends for 2012, but he has forgotten that they represent a broader rugby constituency. That is his fatal flaw.
My initial thoughts were that while this was the right decision of the head, it wa the wrong decision of the heart. los angeles traffic cams O Driscoll has been struggling los angeles traffic cams for his best form, while Davies-Roberts is a recognised quality partnership for Wales.
BOD leading the Lions to a series vitory in his final swan-song. There s a nice story there. Of course, it may not, probably wouldn t have happened anyway. los angeles traffic cams But it would have been a feel-good moment seeing BOD lead the Lions out.
TBH I thought BOD has played pretty well and if the Captaincy selection had gone the way I expected, then I was looking forward to seeing him lift his game and lift the others around him. Not good for us I know but bloody good for the game.
Maybe because that tam halfway down the fall short of expectations simply because they rely on their individual abilities in stead of creating constructive synergy by merging their talents with the rest of the group. los angeles traffic cams But for national team those half merge their talents with the rest of the group thus performing better as a team
Halfpenny, Adam Jones, los angeles traffic cams North and Alun-Wyn Jones were probably among the first names on the teamsheet. Hibbard, Philips and Faletau have obviously been picked for specific reasons. Hibbard for his bulk at scrum-time, Phillips for his aggresion and Faletau for his ball-carrying ability. The Youngs brothers and Heaslip never really stamped their authority in the first two tests so whilst they (Tom Youngs especially) had a case for selection they weren t exactly los angeles traffic cams overwhelming.
Thought Lydiate was very good last week and has clearly been picked for his tackling ability and to try and stifle Genia breaking around the blindside. I m a fan of both Croft and O Brien but ultimately the main job of a blindside flanker is to police the blindside and stop the scrum-half/Number 8 exploiting that area.
Personally, I would have picked O Driscoll, however, since the first game of the 6 Nations this year his form has not been brilliant and pre-tour there was a lot of talk of him not making the test team. However, aside from this none of the selections are exactly controversial in my opinion.
That said the biggest issue is the game plan. You may as well dress the lions up in green and gold. Big pack of bruisers and ball runners with crash test dummies at centre and a rolling maul. Good skillful wings that need individual brilliance to score. Its a classic Bok game plan. Something the Wallabies have seen for years. They know how to beat it.
Jake White stuns the Brumbies with early departure (402) SPIRO: James Bimbo , yellow cards and Wallabies facing a Boks storm (319) ARU bash O Connor with a feather (281) Time to ring in the Wallaby changes (253) Point me in the direction of rock bottom (173) O Connor thrown out of Perth airport for being drunk (169) SPIRO: I see some light in the Wallabies dark tunnel (168)