Where did Lions & Wallabies fall short?

The B&IL Lions tour to Australia is almost over, and I find myself a bit disappointed by the way things unfolded this time. Both teams seemed toothless for vast periods of the game, and some of the tries scored ("eye candy" as they were) were result of really sloppy defense or some basic errors. I found this series sterile compared to the one with the Boks -- even though the Boks of 2009 were not a team that would set the world alight with their attacking prowess, they did put together a rock solid forward showing that was a delight to watch.

I had expected the Lions to catch the Wallabies off guard, as their previous games give them some preparation time. However, those games (except the Brumbies game) were devoid of the intensity and technicality the Lions were met with when they faced the SA teams in 2009. Massive injury blows (Pocock) and the whole Q. Cooper drama would further hinder the Wallabies from grasping the full potential of their backline.

So mates, what do you think both teams did wrong?

I am quite critic of the way Warren Gatland has handled Wales and the Lions in the last years. And having analysed the last games over and over, I feel his "Rugby DNA" has somehow eroded the Lions gameplay -- not to mention some player selections that left me confused.

On the other hand, the Wallabies have somehow resorted to a forward oriented game for most of the series. James O'Connor has had some issues marshalling the backline and controlling the flow of the game. The Aussie forwards have been performing well IMO (especially Hooper, Douglas and Horwill), but they are not suited to this kind of strategy. The constant pick and goes and forward pods have caused the Wallabies forwards to be spread out and thus leaving the breakdown unattended, which has proved a costly mistake in the second game.

I'd be tempted to give Beale a go at 10. If Jesse Mogg is fully fit, then I'd start him at fullback. His kicking and counterattacking skills surely should not be overlooked? I thought Palu was quite ineffective for long periods of the series, aside from some strong carries. Hooper's been immense IMO -- and combined well with Mowen. But I feel the Wallabies could use somebody else at eightman, like Ben McCalman.

As for the Lions, the inclusion of Roberts should give them some hard-nosed straight running. They've been averaging 47% of positive gainline carries this series. Jonathan Davies is a good carrier, but not in the same league as Roberts or Tuilagi. Plus his distribution skills (or lack thereof) are more suited to outside centre.

The Lions are missing big ball carriers in the forwards. Sean O'Brien will look to change that in the absence of Sam Warburton. I vouched for the inclussion of Dan Lydiate ahead of Tom Croft, as the latter is more suited to carrying in the loose. I feel the Lions are missing a good lock to accompany AW Jones. Geoff Parling is an excellent lineout operator and has a great workrate, but I think he lacks the physical presence in the tight. Reminds me a bit of Sam Whitelock when he broke into the test scene. Having said all this, I feel the Lions shortcomings in terms of gameplay have more to do with the coaches developing a predictable pattern and some flimsy selections than just poor performances.

What say you? ;)

 Cruz, its hard for me as a neutral to compare this series to the one against the boks, as I wasn't neutral in that series and it was 4 years ago. What I can say is that for me there was always an element of barbarian like rugby in Lions  tours,  mostly due to the tour being so long and players really getting to know each other well. I get the same feeling this time around. The high pace rugby takes its toll with injuries and errors creeping in, but all in all I found it quite exciting. We shall only be able to really judge how good they are once Australia has played New Zealand and the Boks. I expect Ozz to do well in the RC though.  I shall be supporting the Argies when not playing the Springboks and a really hope they can take a scalp this year. Last year was sooo close for them on a few occasions. 

Not sure why the Lions are playing Jonathan Davies...Roberts and Tuilagi have the real prospect of dominating the midfield. 

Davies has been the best Lions centre this tour and always been good for Wales. But I like Tuilagi as well. Tuilagi should have been in the match 23 in all the tests. Certainly ahead of Maitland for instance. North has been their only standout back and none of the forwards have really stood out. Its not a great group of players to be fair, some are past their prime.

For Oz, they lack clout at prop and the injury to Higgenbottom has been huge as has the snubbing of Cooper at 10. O'Connor is a great player but flyhalf is his least effective position. Cooper has the ability to create space, they have lacked that at 10.

I think Davies was abysmal in the second test. He just lacked the tactical awareness. Countless times I saw Brian O'Driscoll signaling a pivot move or a loop, or timing a run -- just to see Davis run sterile lines or throw weak passes. BOD himself was nowhere near his best, but I feel he tried hard to outsmart the Wallabies defense, whereas Davies was overly predictable in his execution.

James O'Connor stood way too deep to effect on any sort of gainline dominance. Quade Cooper -- as was pointed out above -- has the ability to lure defenders in and put others into space. The few times that JOC run at the ball and fixed the defensive line before passing, the Wallabies looked more dangerous (Ashley-Cooper's try, for example).

Roberts over Tuilagi is a bit of a strange call for me. Jamie Roberts is one of the strongest centres in world Rugby, but he relies heavily on gaining momentum to break the line. Tuilagi has better footwork and does offload the ball in contact (he's still developing that skill, though).

The two teams are pretty evenly matched. Lions perhaps a slight edgein the forwards and Oz in the backs.

The defence of both sides has been very good and so to some extent the teams have simply cancelled eachother out.

I see George Smith has replaced Hooper and Deans has gone with 6 forwards on the bench - obvioulsy thinking this will be a huge pack confrontation.

I think Oz could just win it it.Lions carrying a passenger in warped button - is he still in the team?

Go Oz!

@olecruz

its a matter of opinion i guess, but i thought both wallabies/lions tests were super exciting and IMO a lot more exciting then the Boks/lions series.
test one the lions defence held strong a aginst what IMO was the more dominant team the wallabies, beales penalty which made the final score 23-21 with 10mins to play wwas edge of the seat stuff, so imagine what it was like for the lions and wallabies fans, we all know that feeling cos weve faced it with our own teams many times before.
the second test was like if u thought the first one was edge of ur seat, then u aint seen nothing yet, leilafano kicking the conversion over to give the wallabies the lead with 4 mins to play and then halfpennys penalty atempt after the 80, o_O
holy guacamole, how can anyone be disappointed at how its unfolded???

what makes the lions australia tour better or should i say more exciting then the SA and even NZ tour is that were heading into test 3 and the series is up for grabs, a winner take all and thats pretty meke stuff.

i think gatland has made a mistake in the midfield too, roberts/tuilagi would have been a better option then the wlesh combo, i would have even had tuilagi on the wing over bowe but i dont mind bowes selection too much TBH, 6ft 3 and 95 kgs and north 6ft4 and 110 are good answers for the wallabies monster wingers.

cliche as it may sound, the forwards is where the battle will be won and IMO george smith is going to make a world of difference.
if the wallabies can keep simple fundamentals in check and not have a case of the dropsies, that will go along way to helping them win and win coomfortablly as im expecting, but im hoping for another thriller like the first two tests.