Likely Lions: Props

I think its impossible to disagree in this area, we migth also considerjust taking 4 to provide greater coverage elsewhere - e.g scrum half, where the Lions migth be weak

While i dont disagree with you folks, i would certainly ponder the question of how Mike Ross took Jenkins to school on this past weekend. Now if you didn't see the game between leinster and Cardiff dont comment. If you did. then you saw Jenkins being mashed by Ross. So again while i rate him very very highly, how can that be ignored?

Ding, there's not much to argue. It's hard to argue that his scrummaging prowess is a fading force compared to his talents earlier in his career. Whether that's due to opposition props improving their scrummaging abilities quicker than Gethin, or a side-effect of his increased efforts around the park.

As an interesting extra, and I should state it's solely theoretical as I didn't watch the game (combination of not having sky, and anticipating a drubbing so didn't want to make alot of effort and spend money to watch the Blues get steamrollered), but the scrum performance may have been symptomatic of the overall Blues performance. Gethin hasn't single-handedly destroyed many props on the international level recently, but has been capable of holding his own at the very least. The Blues are a team in turmoil. Rumours of low morale are rampant. Whether an individual would be affected as such in his scrummaging performance I couldn't say, even if I did see the game. But maybe indirectly, when the whole team is afflicted with low morale, it could impact on how the scrum fares and so cast a worse light on the two props. Or more simply, the rest of the Blues pack aren't as good at scrummaging as the rest of the Wales pack. Likewise, the reverse may be true for the Irish/Leinster props.

Anyway, I am not glad to see him go, but I would hope at least in France he will get closer scrutiny on his scrummaging and come back the better for it.

Corbs he really burst onto the scene in the last year or so, a beast in the scrum and handy in the loose, and given he is still only 12, imagine what he will be like once he has completed his GCSEs!

Gecko
From a lions perspective i guess the prob choice is not such a big deal. Australia just don't have anything special in the scrum so it will probably be the last place they will test us.
We have to assume that the conditions in OZ will be sunny so handling errors will be less and with less handling errors come less scrums.

In that vain i think we could choose a pretty mobile front row, not necessarily the out and out best scrummagers but better around the park. Cien Healy for example. Good loosehead, But the best running prop in Europe.

The Welsh boys are in pole position, but both are starting to pick up niggly injuries, especially Geth. Hope the can both stay fit. As for the other Welsh man on that list I think he would only get in if one of the others was injured.

I rate Healy

I suppose gents, that it depends on how Gatland want them to play. He's not the stuff it up the jumper type so hopefully we will see an exciting style. And with the prop list availible to him, i seriously doubth any team in the world could live with the possibilities we will have.

If Gats wants to smash the opposition scrum he has the personnel, and if he wants to have mobile lads around the park he has that too.

Also and this Goes back to SARS' lions article a few weeks back. But now Brian O'Driscoll has returned and is playing fantastic. The center partnerships are all up in the air again. not to mention the captaincy of the lions.

However, Gats has bad history with Ireland, so not only do i see a surprise coming, but i reckon O'Driscoll could be left out in the cold...

I would imagine, given Oz don't have a brilliant scrum, that the plan would be to batter them for an hour with Jones and Corbisiero and then bring on Healy to run at them.
Jenkins and Cole to go too.

The Welsh and English lads have this tied up.

An area where AUS will really battle to compete. But when have they ever had a great from row?

They will avoid scrums, cheat when they have to....but if the game is well reffed at scrum time.....shame poor Australia!