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Force vs Lions highlights: Super Rugby live scores, blog

Roar Guru
29th April, 2017
Referee: Angus Gardner (Australia)
Assistant referees: Ben O'Keeffe (New Zealand), Amy Perrett (Australia)
Television match official: Damien Mitchelmore (Australia)

Force: 15 Marcel Brache, 14 James Verity-Amm, 13 Curtis Rona, 12 Bill Meakes, 11 Alex Newsome, 10 Luke Burton, 9 Ian Prior, 8 Isi Naisarani, 7 Matt Hodgson (c), 6 Brynard Stander, 5 Ross Haylett-Petty, 4 Lewis Carmichael, 3 Tetera Faulkner, 2 Tatafu Polota-Nau, 1 Pek Cowan

Replacements: 16 Heath Tessmann (vc), 17 Ben Daley, 18 Shambeckler Vui, 19 Onehunga Havilli, 20 Richard Hardwick, 21 Mitch Short, 22 Jono Lance, 23 Peter Grant

Lions: 15 Andries Coetzee, 14 Sylvian Mahuza, 13 Lionel Mapoe, 12 Harold Vorster, 11 Courtnall Skosan, 10 Elton Jantjies, 9 Faf de Klerk, 8 Warren Whiteley (captain), 7 Ruan Ackermann, 6 Kwagga Smith, 5 Franco Mostert, 4 Andries Ferreira, 3 Ruan Dreyer, 2 Malcolm Marx, 1 Jacques van Rooyen

Substitutes: 16 Robbie Coetzee, 17 Corne Fourie, 18 Johannes Jonker, 19 Lourens Erasmus, 20 Cyle Brink, 21 Dillon Smit, 22 Jacques Nel, 23 Anthony Volmink
The Western Force have had their Super Rugby license discontinued. (AAP Image/Richard Wainwright)
Roar Guru
29th April, 2017
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4137 Reads

The Force and the Lions will face off on Saturday night at nib stadium. Join The Roar for live scores from the game and a live blog of the match, starting from 9:55pm AEST.

The Force have never lost to the Lions. The Lions have not lost to an Aussie Rugby team since May 2015. One of those streaks will surely end tonight.

The Force are known for playing things tight and forcing their opponents to fall into their defensive “Venus flytrap”. The Lions’ pride comes from their fast-paced 15-man attack.

A player to watch – 22-year-old Isi Nasairani from the Force is the probably the best Australian conference blindside flanker right now, and probably the best player name Isi or Izzy.

The battle between the two Test hookers will be good viewing. 31-year old Tatafu Polota-Nau and 22-year old and 2016 Springboks debutant Malcolm Marx will vie for set-piece supremacy.

Do not let Marx’s youth and inexperience fool you. He is one of the reasons for the Lions’ formidable winning record.

The Lions are tearing towards a strong finals run. Along with the Hurricanes and the Chiefs, they have an impressive 7-1 win-loss ratio. The Force sit third in the Australian Conference, their noses barely ahead of the Waratahs.

While the Force have had a run of losses, almost all have been single digit margins. This includes a nine-points loss against the Chiefs in their last match.

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However, the pundits are forecasting that the Lions will deliver a double digit scoring winning result. I suspect they are right this time, and should break their losing drought today.

Join The Roar for live scores from the game and a live blog of the match, starting from 9:55pm AEST.

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