Lions and Ireland Summer Series

It’s an interesting time to start a rugby blog. The lions tour is well under way and well under threat by Covid, Summer internationals are happening, and young players are getting their chances to break their way through into the regular 15 and although it’s still a while away teams are thinking about the world cup. My rugby knowledge admittedly lies largely with Ulster and Ireland, but I don’t intend to stay pigeonholed here. This isn’t a supporter’s page, this is a place where I want to write about the rugby that interests me and with a bit of luck, you too.

So, let’s start with the lions. Ian Henderson captained the Lions to a mammoth defeat of the Cell C Sharks and with the Bulls game postponed due to positive Covid tests we’re looking at a Sharks rematch just 4 days later. It would be an injustice to simply call the tour chaotic, it’s been a mess. But I’m not here to dwell on the Covid side of things, we’ve all heard enough of that. Let’s get to the positives. Josh Adams, in 3 games, has scored about 300 tries and I swear that’s not exaggeration. He’s been excellent, always in the right place at the right time with playmakers he seems to gel with so easily. There’s obviously been focus on his technical skill, unstoppable try scoring instinct and evident never-ending fitness but one aspect of his game that needs recognition is indeed just that, his ability to gel with other team members. It’s no secret that Lions tours (maybe more-so in the earlier days) would include a couple of messy nights out because people bond after a few drinks. Adam’s seems to have done this almost instantly and also managed it in these odd times. He reads the kicks and chips so well that have put him through to add 5 points to the board over and over again. Then there’s Ian Henderson, I know I said this isn’t going to be a supporter’s page but it must be said that Ulster’s captain deserved the leadership role. He played fantastically, represented the Lions brilliantly after a hectic gameday but most of all let the other leaders in the team lead. It’s something I’ve loved about Henderson as an Ulster fan watching him lead the team. He is a calm presence who enables other leaders within the squad to do what they do best and there’s such massive value in that, which in my opinion served the Lions brilliantly. Particularly with names like Owen Farrell on the team sheet, it’s so important to let everyone do their bit.

Moving onto Ireland and the Summer test series. We saw Ireland come up against a fantastic, dynamic Japan who couldn’t quite clinch the win but didn’t make any aspect of the game easy for Ireland. Japan have such dangerous attacking players that it feels almost no team can be certain and secure against them, any space is exploited by a lightning fast runner with plenty of support. McCloskey of Ulster and Van Der Flier of Leinster stood out with the latter taking the Player of the Match award. It wasn’t the line up of young guns that so many fans wanted, me included, but after watching the match it’s easy to see why some seniority was needed to clinch the win. Then we move onto Ireland v USA, a match I guarantee to be fasted paced and exciting. This match brings so many notable debuts, almost everyone on the squad out there to make a statement. The 12/13 Ulster pairing in Hume and McCloskey promises to produce some exciting rugby with the powerful running style of McCloskey and Hume’s speed and tendency for breaks. In the pack we see O’Toole and Timoney of Ulster earn their first caps also. But of the four Ulster players getting their first hit out at the Aviva the one sure to make waves is Robert Balacoune. If not for a prolonged injury I have no doubt he would have already made his first start and likely a handful more. But now, fit and off the back of some fantastic games with Ulster there is no doubt he’ll be catching Andy Farrell’s eye. One player who’s name I’ve seen shouted for a call up almost more than John Cooney is Caolin Blade who finds himself on the bench for Ireland this Saturday ready to make an impression. Blade has been a loyal Connacht servant since 2014, making 132 appearances, and with the fan support and an opportunity to get a few minutes in a matchup against the USA it would be a shame not to see him given the opportunity.

So there it is, the first post of many. Hopefully over the coming months improve my writing style and learn best how to give you the most interesting news in rugby. But for now, I hope you at least enjoyed the ramblings.