Lions – 15 Andries Coetzee, 14 Tyrone Green, 13 Wandisile Simelane, 12 Dan Kriel, 11 Jamba Ulengo, 10 Elton Jantjies (c), 9 Andre Warner, 8 Len Massyn, 7 Willem Alberts, 6 Marnus Schoeman, 5 Marvin Orie, 4 Ruben Schoeman, 3 Carlu Sadie, 2 Pieter Jansen, 1 Dylan Smith.
Subs: 16 Jan Henning Campher, 17 Sti Sithole, 18 Jannie du Plessis, 19 Wilhelm van der Sluys, 20 Hacjivah Dayimani, 21 Morne van den Berg, 22 Shaun Reynolds, 23 Courtnall Skosan.

Good to see Simelane starting and the Lions going back to a 5/3 bench

Clan, Lions, Canes, Guppies, Stompies, Pumuares

Only 6 Lions players and 11 Tahs players played in the 2018 29-0 whitewash game. If the Lions can gel like they did against the Stomps AND close out the game they have a good chance of starting their tour with a win. The changes to their front row should improve their scrums

Some trivia:
– The Waratahs have lost their last five Super Rugby games against the Lions. They had won six in a row against the Johannesburg franchise prior to that run.
– The Waratahs have lost their last five games, their longest winless run in Super Rugby since losing nine in a row across the 2012 and 2013 campaigns.
– The Lions have conceded 24 penalties so far this Super Rugby campaign, fewer than any other side, while the Waratahs have conceded the second-fewest after four rounds (27).
– The Lions have spent an average of 18 minutes and eight seconds per game in possession of the ball this season, longer than any other side,
– while only the Crusaders (122) have averaged more carries than the side from Johannesburg (119).
– Lions scrum half Morné van den Berg has a gainline success rate of 82 percent, the best rate of any player to make 10+ carries this campaign.

The Lions started the season without any settled combinations and hopefully these combinations will start to gel

Only 6 Lions players were in the team that whitewashed the Tahs 29-0 in 2018. The 7th in the squad, Dillon Smit, is not on tour
The Tahs have 11 players in their squad that played in the 2018 game

Lions: 15 Andries Coetzee, 14 Tyrone Green, 13 Manuel Rass, 12 Dan Kriel, 11 Jamba Ulengo, 10 Elton Jantjies (captain), 9 Andre Warner, 8 Len Massyn, 7 Vincent Tshituka, 6 Marnus Schoeman, 5 Marvin Orie, 4 Ruben Schoeman, 3 Carlu Sadie, 2 Jan-Henning Campher, 1 Dylan Smith
Substitutes: 16 Pieter Jansen, 17 Sti Sithole, 18 Frans van Wyk, 19 Willem Alberts, 20 Wilhelm van der Sluys, 21 Hacjivah Dayimani, 22 Morne van den Berg, 23 Wandisile Simelane

Changes from the Stormers game:
Ulengo in for Skosan (not in match 23)
Warner in for van den Berg
Sadie in for du Plessis (not in match 23)
Campher in for Jansen

Bringing in Campher and Sadie should strengthen the scrums but Campher’s poor lineout skills are a worry

With both Toomua and Hodge out and the Sharks having Bosch and Mapimpi back as well as their first choice front row starting it should be an easy win for the Sharks

Bulls: 15 Warrick Gelant, 14 Cornal Hendricks, 13 Johnny Kotze, 12 Burger Odendaal (captain), 11 Rosko Specman, 10 Morne Steyn, 9 Ivan van Zyl, 8 Josh Strauss, 7 Wian Vosloo, 6.Jeandre Rudolph, 5 Juandre Kruger, 4 Andries Ferreira, 3 Trevor Nyakane, 2 Jaco Visagie, 1 Lizo Gqoboka
Substitutes: 16 Corniel Els, 17 Gerhard Steenekamp, 18 Wiehahn Herbst, 19 Ruan Nortje, 20 Ruan Steenkamp, 21 Embrose Papier, 22 Manie Libbok, 23 Divan Rossouw

Sharks: 15 Aphelele Fassi, 14 Madosh Tambwe, 13 Jeremy Ward, 12 Andre Esterhuizen (captain), 11 Makazole Mapimpi, 10 Curwin Bosch, 9 Sanele Nohamba, 8 Sikumbuzo Notshe, 7 Tyler Paul, 6 James Venter, 5 Hyron Andrews, 4 Ruben van Heerden, 3 Thomas du Toit, 2 Kerron van Vuuren, 1 Ox Nche
Substitutes: 16 Craig Burden, 17 Mzamo Majola, 18 John-Hubert Meyer, 19 Le Roux Roets, 20 Henco Venter, 21 Louis Schreuder, 22 Marius Louw, 23 Lwazi Mvovo

Lukhanyo Am – rested
Sanele Nohamba gets his first start at 9

Returned:
Ox Nche, Thomas du Toit, Curwin Bosch, Makazole Mapimpi

SA, NZ, Oz and Arg are shareholders of SANZAAR and contribute through sharing their TV monies. Japan isn’t and keep their tv monies afaik, which is why they had to pay for participation
Maybe Geoff has more info on the finances

Saders, Rebels, Chiefs, Sharks, Brumbies, Lions, Jaguares

Sure thing: The Lions will try and run the slow and heavy Stormers forwards off Ellis Park

Lions

15 Andries Coetzee, 14 Tyrone Green, 13 Manuel Rass, 12 Dan Kriel, 11 Courtnall Skosan, 10 Elton Jantjies (captain), 9 Morne van den Berg, 8 Len Massyn, 7 Vincent Tshituka, 6 Marnus Schoeman, 5 Marvin Orie, 4 Ruben Schoeman, 3 Jannie du Plessis, 2 Pieter Jansen, 1 Dylan Smith

Substitutes: 16 Jan-Henning Campher, 17 Sti Sithole, 18 Carlu Sadie, 19 Wilhelm van der Sluys, 20 Willem Alberts, 21 Hacjivah Dayimani, 22 Dillon Smit, 23 Wandisile Simelane

Stormers

15 Dillyn Leyds, 14 Sergeal Petersen, 13 Ruhan Nel, 12 Jamie Roberts, 11 Seabelo Senatla, 10 Damian Willemse, 9 Godlen Masimla, 8 Juarno Augustus, 7 Pieter-Steph du Toit, 6 Johan du Toit, 5 Chris van Zyl, 4 Salmaan Moerat, 3 Wilco Louw, 2 Scarra Ntubeni, 1 Steven Kitshoff (captain)

Substitutes: 16 Chad Solomon, 17 Ali Vermaak, 18 Frans Malherbe, 19 JD Schickerling, 20 Cobus Wiese, 21 Ernst van Rhyn, 22 Paul de Wet, 23 Jean-Luc du Plessis

I see the Lions were back in Joburg on Monday. And they have been accommodating the time lag by staying in the SA time zone during their trip to Argentina. They’ll be okay.

I know you Stormers fans hate Elton since he didn’t save your rugby back in 2013 but he’ll will be okay back in Joburg as long as the Lions move back to their traditional ball-in-hand game instead of this hybrid Bok/Lions game they tried to play against the Pumuares

This could be an interesting game with both teams featuring a number of youngsters, the Reds more so than the Lions. I expect the game to be fast, probably with a lot of mistakes from both sides

Lions: 15 Andries Coetzee (29), 14 Tyrone Green (21), 13 Duncan Matthews (25), 12 Dan Kriel (25), 11 Courtnall Skosan (28), 10 Elton Jantjies (29) (captain), 9 Morne van den Berg (22), 8 Len Massyn (22), 7 Vincent Tshituka (21), 6 Marnus Schoeman (30), 5 Martin Orie (26), 4 Ruben Schoeman (23), 3 Jannie du Plessis (37), 2 Pieter Jansen (24), 1 Dylan Smith (25)
Substitutes: 16 Jan-Henning Campher (23), 17 Sti Sithole (26), 18 Carlu Sadie (22), 19 Wilhelm van der Sluys (28), 20 Ruan Vermaak (21), 21 Dillon Smit (27), 22 Manny Rass (21), 23 Shaun Reynolds (24)

Reds – 15 Bryce Hegarty (27), 14 Jock Campbell (24), 13 Jordan Petaia (19), 12 Hamish Stewart (21), 11 Henry Speight (31), 10 James O’Connor (29), 9 Tate McDermott (21), 8 Harry Wilson (20), 7 Liam Wright (22) (c), 6 Angus Scott-Young (22), 5 Lukhan Salakaia-Loto (23), 4 Izack Rodda (23), 3 Taniela Tupou (23), 2 Alex Mafi (23), 1 JP Smith (29).
Subs: 16 Sean Farrell (21), 17 Dane Zander (20), 18 Josh Nasser (20), 19 Angus Blyth (21), 20 Seru Uru (23), 21 Moses Sorovi (24), 22 Isaac Lucas (20), 23 Hunter Paisami (21).

Stormers – 15 Dillyn Leyds, 14 Sergeal Petersen, 13 Ruhan Nel, 12 Jamie Roberts, 11 Seabelo Senatla, 10 Damian Willemse, 9 Herschel Jantjies, 8 Johan du Toit, 7 Pieter-Steph du Toit, 6 Jaco Coetzee, 5 Chris van Zyl, 4 Salmaan Moerat, 3 Frans Malherbe, 2 Scala Ntubeni, 1 Steven Kitshoff (c).
Subs: 16 Chad Solomon 17 Ali Vermaak, 18 Wilco Louw, 19 Cobus Wiese, 20 Ernst van Rhyn, 21 Juarno Augustus, 22 Godlen Masimla, 23 Jean-Luc du Plessis.

Bulls: 15. Warrick Gelant, 14. Cornal Hendricks, 13. Johnny Kotze, 12. Burger Odendaal (C), 11. Rosko Specman, 10. Morné Steyn, 9. Ivan van Zyl, 8. Josh Strauss, 7. Abongile Nonkontwana, 6. Jeandré Rudolph, 5. Juandré Kruger, 4. Andries Ferreira, 3. Trevor Nyakane, 2. Jaco Visagie, 1. Lizo Gqoboka.
Replacements: 16. Johan Grobbelaar, 17. Gerhard Steenekamp, 18. Wiehahn Herbst, 19. Ruan Nortje, 20. Wian Vosloo, 21. Embrose Papier, 22. Manie Libbok, 23. Divan Rossouw.

The Lions game plan last week was confusing. It’s almost as if Cash van Rooyen tried a hybrid between Rassie’s Bok game and the traditional Lions game and in the end nothing really worked.

Hopefully they go back to their roots this week

Lions: 15 Andries Coetzee, 14 Tyrone Green, 13 Duncan Matthews, 12 Dan Kriel, 11 Courtnall Skosan, 10 Elton Jantjies (captain), 9 Morne van den Berg, 8 Len Massyn, 7 Vincent Tshituka, 6 Marnus Schoeman, 5 Martin Orie, 4 Ruben Schoeman, 3 Jannie du Plessis, 2 Pieter Jansen, 1 Dylan Smith
Substitutes: 16 Jan-Henning Campher, 17 Sti Sithole, 18 Carlu Sadie, 19 Wilhelm van der Sluys, 20 Ruan Vermaak, 21 Dillon Smit, 22 Manny Rass, 23 Shaun Reynolds

Glad to see the Lions back to a 5/3 bench. Interesting start for Krappies van den Berg ahead of Dillon Smit. Still no Simelane?

Tricky weekend

Are the Rebs, Tahs, Canes and Lions really as poor as their scores of last week indicate? We’ll see.

I’d have felt more comfortable going with the Sharks if they started with Nohamba at 9 instead of Schreuder. They need their Bok backline to spark.

Interesting fact – Last week the Stormers stopped scoring once Peyper decided to balance out the penalty count after about 30 minutes, apart from one 2nd half penalty and Willemse’s intercept try of course.

Why the Lions went with a box kick/up-and-under game plan against the Jaguares only the coach will know. And the 6/2 bench didn’t work as their set pieces fell apart once the bench forwards came on.

Sharks, Ponies, Chiefs, Tahs, Lions, Stomps, Pumuares

Reds – 15 Bryce Hegarty, 14 Jock Campbell, 13 Jordan Petaia, 12 Hamish Stewart, 11 Henry Speight, 10 James O’Connor, 9 Tate McDermott, 8 Harry Wilson, 7 Liam Wright (c), 6 Angus Scott-Young, 5 Lukhan Salakaia-Loto, 4 Izack Rodda, 3 Taniela Tupou, 2 Alex Mafi, 1 JP Smith.
Subs: 16 Sean Farrell, 17 Dane Zander, 18 Josh Nasser, 19 Angus Blyth, 20 Seru Uru, 21 Moses Sorovi, 22 Isaac Lucas, 23 Hunter Paisami.

Jaguares: 15. Santiago Carreras, 14. Bautista Delguy, 13. Matias Moroni, 12. Juan Ceuz Mallia, 11. Emiliano Boffelli, 10. Joaquin Diaz Bonilla, 9. Tomas Cubelli (c), 8. Tomas Lezana, 7. Marcos Kremer, 6. Francisco Gorrissen, 5. Lucas Paulos, 4. Guido Petti, 3. Santiago Medrano, 2. Julian Montoya, 1. Mayco Vivas

Subs: 16. Agustin Creevy, 17. Nahuel Tetaz Chaparro, 18. Joel Sclavi, 19. Javier Ortega Desio, 20. Rodrigo Bruni, 21. Felipe Ezcurra, 22. Domingo Miotti, 23. Matias Orlando

Joel Sclavi
Born → 24 June 1994 (25 yo)
Position → Prop
Height → 1.9 m
Weight → 144 kg

Stormers: 15 Dillyn Leyds, 14 Sergeal Petersen, 13 Ruhan Nel, 12 Jamie Roberts, 11 Seabelo Senatla, 10 Damian Willemse, 9 Herschel Jantjies, 8 Siya Kolisi, 7 Pieter-Steph du Toit, 6 Jaco Coetzee, 5 Chris van Zyl, 4 Salmaan Moerat, 3 Frans Malherbe, 2 Bongi Mbonambi, 1 Steven Kitshoff
Substitutes: 16 Scarra Ntubeni, 17 Ali Vermaak, 18 Wilco Louw, 19 David Meihuizen, 20 Ernst van Rhyn, 21 Johan du Toit, 22 Godlen Masimla, 23 Rikus Pretorius

Lions tour squad to Argentina
Fullbacks: Tiaan Swanepoel
Wings: Courtnall Skosan, Tyrone Green
Centres: Dan Kriel, Duncan Matthews, Manuel Rass
Flyhalves: Elton Jantjies, Shaun Reynolds
Scrumhalves: Morne van den Berg, Andre Warner
Loose Forwards: Hacjivah Dayimani, Len Massyn, Marnus Schoeman, Vincent Tshituka
Locks: Marvin Orie, Ruben Schoeman, Wilhelm van der Sluys, Ruan Vermaak
Hookers: Jan-Henning Campher, Pieter Jansen
Props: Jannie du Plessis, Carlu Sadie, Sti Sithole, Dylan Smith, Frans van Wyk

Possible Match 23:
15. Tiaan Swanepoel (0), 14. Tyrone Green (9), 13. Duncan Matthews (8), 12. Dan Kriel (20), 11. Courtnall Skosan (72), 10. Elton Jantjies (133), 9. Andre Warner (7), 8. Hacjivah Dayimani (24), 7. Len Massyn (2)/Vincent Tshituka (9), 6. Marnus Schoeman (36), 5. Marvin Orie (43), 4. Ruben Schoeman (0), 3. Jannie du Plessis (143), 2. Pieter Jansen (4), 1. Dylan Smith (46)
Reserves: 16. Jan-Henning Campher (8), 17. Sti Sithole (27), 18. Carlu Sadie (24), 19. Wilhelm van der Sluis (16), 20. Vincent Tshituka (9)/Len Massyn (2), 21. Morne van den Berg (0), 22. Shaun Reynolds (12), 23. Mannie Rass (0)

Bold = New/rookies
SR caps in brackets

Lions:
An interesting year with a new and young coaching team and more than half the squad 23 years or younger and more than half the squad with less than 10 Super Rugby Caps (not necessarily the same half)

Former captain Warren Whiteley has been appointed lineout coach, new defence coach Sean Erasmus, an experienced schools coach and former SA Schools coach, has brought in a new defensive system while former wrestler and forwards coach, Philip Lemmer, is the Collisions and Rucking coach and is teaching the Lions players wrestling techniques to improve their dominance at collisions, both on defence and attack

Coaches:
Ivan v Rooyen: Head Coach
Sean Erasmus: Defence
Neil de Bruin: Attack, Backs & skills
Julian Redelinghuys: Forwards – Scrum
Warren Whiteley: Forwards – Line-Out
Philip Lemmer: Collisions & Rucking

I don’t expect the RWC win to directly impact on racial integration but it is up to the administrators to piggyback on to the goodwill that was created and to utilise it. Whether they will remains to be seen

11.1m viewed the RWC final on the public broadcaster compared to 2.3m on the paid channel who has the monopoly on broadcasting rugby games. It’s time for SARU to find ways of getting the game to the wider public who cannot afford the paid channel’s subscriptions, to reach the Ams, the Mapimpis, the Kolisis, the Kolbes and the Marxs in SA

Excellent and interesting article Harry. Thanks

And a Merry Christmas to all

FdP was past his best when he initially retired from test rugby in 2011. So too Matfield

Talking from experience this isn’t a simple issue.

I was young for my standard, u16 in matric. I played u14 for 3 years as I just wasn’t physically “hard” enough although I was the same size as my classmates. I tried to move up with them but got injured too easily so I stayed until I caught up with my age group.

After school I played club rugby against grown men as an u17 and just couldn’t hack it so I gave up playing.

You might have gathered I was no James O’Connor 🙂