By Rowan Birch
With the Lions squad announcement on the horizon, one of the main talking points and competitive areas are the halfbacks. The tour will be won or lost in these two positions, and Warren Gatland must have 100% confidence in whatever pairing he selects for the Barbarians game.
Sure Bets
Mike Phillips
Even though playing in the Top 14, Phillips won't have to worry about not being selected due to the league play offs as Bayonne sit only 2 places ahead of the relegation zone.
Owen Farrell
'Faz' will surely start for the Lions in Hong Kong. The 2012 world player of the year nominee was the top point scoring out and out fly half during this years 6 Nations, averaging over 10pts per game. This proves to Gatland that if he wants to keep the score board ticking, Farrells his man.
However, if selected, the coaching team must be wary of his temperament and lack of 'match control' in stages. Occasionally, the Englishman lets his temper get out of control, like during the France game in the 6 Nations at Twickenham. And even though his kicking game is almost perfect, his game plan and strategies sometimes are no where to be seen if the game doesn't go his teams way.
Decent Bets
Greig Laidlaw
The Scotsman is in fine form on the international scene. He finished 2nd top point scorer in the 6 Nations - which is a fine feat for anyone, never mind someone who played at 9 for the majority of the time. He is a world class kicker and has a cool head.
Some people could call versatility a plus point (Laidlaw can play 9-10) but Gatland may see it as a weakness - he isn't a specialist which is what the Lions may want. Also, Edinborough sit 3rd bottom in the Celtic league and are out of the Heineken cup, which may suggest the Scot isn't playing well/competitively enough to play for the Lions.
Jonny Sexton
Sexton was at one point considered to have booked his flight for Hong Kong months ago, but with the cool head of Farrell and the point scoring of Mr. Laidlaw, Sextons (at one point) 'guaranteed' place seems severely threatened. But, Sexton is world class. He kicks his goals, is a great leader and is mature enough to control a game. His performance in the 2011 Heineken Cup final optimises the type of player he is, and someone the Lions may need if they go down in the series to the Wallabies.
However, with his move to Paris in the summer and injuries during the 6 Nations, Gatland may see his poor run of form be down to distractions, not just a 'blip', and the kiwi coach wouldn't want any distractions on his tour.
No Chance
Eoin Reddan
The leinsterman was unfortunately ruled out for 3 months earlier in the year due to a broken leg picked up in the France vs Ireland game. He had an outside chance of being selected to start with, but with months off injured and a while to get back to peak fitness and form (what Gatland wants) his chances of playing in Australia are zero.
Toby Flood
Flood would seem an imposing 10 - standing 6ft 2", having 56 England caps and almost scored 1500 domestic points. But he's not. Not since the 2011 Six nations, where he kept Wilkinson out of the side, has he played with confidence of world class ability that the lions need. His kicking game has slowly deteriorated (as shown in his cameo substitute role in the 6 nations this year) and also his ability to compose and control a game has too gradually worsened (the final 10 minutes of the england/italy game showed this.) He is not the player that in 2007 was called upon to rescue England from World Cup final defeat to the hand p the springboks, but failed. He is not an England standard player any more and should not and will not be on the Lions tour this summer.
Do you agree with Rowan's choices?
11 April 2013
