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1st TEST: South Africa v Lions

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Jer1cho

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So, i know most of us can't wait anymore! A MUCH improved Lions team to face an in-form South African best. Let's build it up in here! I will be posting my thoughts soon, as well as some interesting 1st test Lions vs Boks stats!

Also, please post the final Lions team here, and then we should also look at having a player vs player skit, which could be really interesting! First test is coming, and i have been waiting 12 years for it!!! :bravo:
 
The Lions scrum to crumble and BOD to have a absolute shocker......Boks by 16 points.




.....hopefully.
 
Right then, could merge the other thread but may as well confirm SA team.

Source: http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport2/hi/rugby_union/8100972.stm

South Africa: Francois Steyn; JP Pietersen, Adrian Jacobs, Jean de Villiers, Bryan Habana; Ruan Pienaar, Fourie du Preez; Tendai Mtawarira, Bismarck du Plessis, John Smit, Bakkies Botha, Victor Matfield, Heinrich Brussow, Juan Smith, Pierre Spies.

Replacements: Gurthro Steenkamp, Deon Carstens, Andries Bekker, Danie Rossouw, Ricky Januarie, Jaque Fourie, Morne Steyn.
 
Would imagine the Lions have the upper hand in the backs and the scrum but the Boks will generally dominate up front, starve the Lions of the ball and dominate up front. We'll all complain about how Brussow spent the whole game off his feet sealing the ball so the referee won it for you, before moving onto the next two tests and the altitude excuses come out in force.
 
think lions will give it a good go but boks will dominate at the breakdown and their size and bulk will ultimately win them the game.

bit pessimistic but i just can't see us doing it.

boks by 12.
 
Going to be the voice of optimism here,,

I reckon it will be a full on physical encounter with a fiercely contested breakdown,, but the Lions supprising everyone come out on top.

Lions by 10
 
<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE (Jer1cho @ Jun 17 2009, 11:29 AM) <{POST_SNAPBACK}></div>
So, i know most of us can't wait anymore! A MUCH improved Lions team to face an in-form South African best. Let's build it up in here! I will be posting my thoughts soon, as well as some interesting 1st test Lions vs Boks stats!

Also, please post the final Lions team here, and then we should also look at having a player vs player skit, which could be really interesting! First test is coming, and i have been waiting 12 years for it!!! :bravo:[/b]


At risk of starting an arguement... How do you know this? Have the Boks been playing ant warm-up games?
 
I think this first test is going to be a very good chance for the Lions to notch up a win. They go into this game match fit and six straight wins regardless of the quality of the opposition breeds confidence. I do worry about the breakdown area but if the Lions can win their share on the floor than I'm backing them to win by 10.
 
You gotta feel that if the Lions don't win this weekend, they're done for.

It's very hard to gauge just how good the Lions have been when considering the opposition. IMO they've done little to change people's predictions before they even came to SA. I said before the tour the Boks will win the series 3-0 and after seeing our team line up for this weekend, I won't be reviewing that prediction.

At the moment I'm with Intercept King on a ±16 point victory for the Boks.

Now we just gotta wait for Thursday's announcement..
 
We can at least say that the Lions have been challenged in these matches. They haven't been given easy run-ins, which is good, as it's shown that the team hasn't wilted under pressure.

On that note, I wouldn't be unhappy if ROG started. He proved himself in the first test and this last one that he's comfortable enough with the tasks he's been set.

If we can manage the breakdown, I think we'll win. The Saffas are at the start of their international season and most of the players haven't played for at least three weeks. If we don't win, then it'll be a whitewash series in favour of SA.

Francois Steyn v Lee Byrne - Byrne. No contest really.
JP Pietersen v Tommy Bowe - Bowe. Lol Pietersen.
Adrian Jacobs v BOD - BOD
Jean de Villiers v JR - JdV. The BOD - Roberts combo works better as a duo than their SA counterparts, imo, so as long as our flyhalf isn't throwing wild passes, I'm confident they'll be able to contain the SA pair.
Bryan Habana v Monye - Monye. This is close, but I hear Habana has been shite for a while, whereas Monye's been solid in defence and has done little wrong. I haven't been watching the Super 14 though so meh.
Ruan Pienaar v Jones - Jones. Could be ROG, and I still think we'd have the advantage here. Pienaar not experienced enough.
Fourie du Preez v Phillips - Du Preez. No contest really. Fourie is the best scrum half in the world and dragged the Bulls to glory this year.

Based on what I think the Lions' backline will look like. Not that our advantage here will matter if the backrow can't secure good ball.
Not going to bother with the front row, since I don't know much about Du Plessis or Mtaawawwawawaa:

Bakkies Botha v Wyn Jones - Botha. Could well be Hines playing here, though.
Victor Matfield v O'Connell - tie. The two best locks in the world. Not a lot between them.
Heinrich Brussow v Wallace - Wallace. I'm with shtove in that the referee let Brussow get away with genocide in the Cheetahs game. If the same happens in this match then God help us.
Juan Smith v Williams - Smith, for his strength, as well as his cunning which matches Williams'.
Pierre Spies v Heaslip - Spies. Think it's close though. Heaslip's a star in the making.
 
Sure, but remember we've had strong lineups vs Wales and Scotland and Australia. We won 2 of those but we played badly, I'm worried it's going to happen again.

I like Jacobs, his a good player but I feel really really bad for Fourie not getting to play, he DESERVES to start.

My prediction is: If the Bokke play well, they do their thing RIGHT. We win by 16-20 points.

If they play average (2nd and 3rd test vs Wales) we lose/win by 3-7.

If they play like they did against Aus and New Zealand (where we lost) we'll lose

That's just my 5c.

I don't think our scrums will do well, but if the bokke play well as a team, we have this one in the bag. Heinrich Brussouw to be awesome and a try by bismark,centre, Du Preez and Habana.

That's just guessing though :D
 
JDV to score two tries, one brilliant line-break(but with his luck he might break something else :p ) and one intercept ^_^ .
 
<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE (Logorrhea @ Jun 17 2009, 12:33 PM) <{POST_SNAPBACK}></div>
Would imagine the Lions have the upper hand in the backs and the scrum but the Boks will generally dominate up front, starve the Lions of the ball and dominate up front. We'll all complain about how Brussow spent the whole game off his feet sealing the ball so the referee won it for you, before moving onto the next two tests and the altitude excuses come out in force.[/b]


How do you work out that the Lions have better backs :huh:

Du Preez>Philips
Pienaar>Jones
Habana>Monye
JDV>Roberts
Jacobs<Bod
Pietersen/Bowe about the same
Byrne>Steyn
 
<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE (Sir. Speedy @ Jun 17 2009, 05:48 PM) <{POST_SNAPBACK}></div>
We can at least say that the Lions have been challenged in these matches. They haven't been given easy run-ins, which is good, as it's shown that the team hasn't wilted under pressure.

On that note, I wouldn't be unhappy if ROG started. He proved himself in the first test and this last one that he's comfortable enough with the tasks he's been set.

If we can manage the breakdown, I think we'll win. The Saffas are at the start of their international season and most of the players haven't played for at least three weeks. If we don't win, then it'll be a whitewash series in favour of SA.

Francois Steyn v Lee Byrne - Byrne. No contest really.
JP Pietersen v Tommy Bowe - Bowe. Lol Pietersen.
Adrian Jacobs v BOD - BOD
Jean de Villiers v JR - JdV. The BOD - Roberts combo works better as a duo than their SA counterparts, imo, so as long as our flyhalf isn't throwing wild passes, I'm confident they'll be able to contain the SA pair.
Bryan Habana v Monye - Monye. This is close, but I hear Habana has been shite for a while, whereas Monye's been solid in defence and has done little wrong. I haven't been watching the Super 14 though so meh.
Ruan Pienaar v Jones - Jones. Could be ROG, and I still think we'd have the advantage here. Pienaar not experienced enough.
Fourie du Preez v Phillips - Du Preez. No contest really. Fourie is the best scrum half in the world and dragged the Bulls to glory this year.

Based on what I think the Lions' backline will look like. Not that our advantage here will matter if the backrow can't secure good ball.
Not going to bother with the front row, since I don't know much about Du Plessis or Mtaawawwawawaa:

Bakkies Botha v Wyn Jones - Botha. Could well be Hines playing here, though.
Victor Matfield v O'Connell - tie. The two best locks in the world. Not a lot between them.
Heinrich Brussow v Wallace - Wallace. I'm with shtove in that the referee let Brussow get away with genocide in the Cheetahs game. If the same happens in this match then God help us.
Juan Smith v Williams - Smith, for his strength, as well as his cunning which matches Williams'.
Pierre Spies v Heaslip - Spies. Think it's close though. Heaslip's a star in the making.[/b]

Habana has actually been very good this season and was the second top tryscorer in the S14, to say Monye is better is really an insult, granted hes a decent player but nothing more. Also everyone knows Matfield is the worlds premier lock, O'Connell is good as well but nobody dominated like by Victor at lineout time. Other than that i pretty much agree with everything, Pienaar is a better player than old Jones'y but he has been injured for a while for fair play there.

Dont underestimate the Bok midfield though, Jacobs although many dont rate him was the second top linebreaker in international rugby last year.
 
Jenkins - Smit = Jenkins
Mears - Du Plessis = Du Plessis
Vickery - Beast = Beast

Wyn Jones - Botha = Botha
O'Connell - Matfield = Matfield

Wallace < Smith = Smith
Williams = Brussouw
Heaslip = Spies

Phillips - Du Preez = Du Preez
Jones = Pienaar

Roberts - JDV = de Villiers
BOD - Jacobs = O'Driscoll

Monye - Habana = Habana
Bowe - Pieterson = Bowe

Byrne - Steyn = Byrne

SA 8-4 Lions


Before any Spies fan goes mental at me he has done nothing yet, and when the going gets tough he will disappear. Has unbelievable ability, but Heaslip was the standout player of the six nations.
 
<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE (Teh Mite @ Jun 17 2009, 05:50 PM) <{POST_SNAPBACK}></div>
At risk of starting an arguement... How do you know this? Have the Boks been playing ant warm-up games?[/b]
I meant we have players that have hit form at the right time. Not necessarily an in form team as a whole. Most of the bok team hit their best form in the super 14. Whether or not they can continue that form as a team remains to be seen. I think that we have the better individuals, but i think the lions will be better as a unit. Its like i said in the podcast. Its individual moments, vs team play. If the springboks cant work as a unit, they will lose, regardless of who shines. The lions are an incredible team this year, and if they work as the unit they have been playing to become, they will win. I must say, being a passionate bok fan, even i have gained a soft spot for the lions. I like them.
 
I guess SA confidence has to be based on what the Bulls did in the S14. Amazing, but it's not the Boks.

Two great players on the pitch - du Preez and BOD. Habana is in very good form, so is Bowe. Frans Steyn is one of my favourites, so I'd like to see him play with his head. POC v Matfield has had a lot of attention, so might be a sideshow in the end.

I go with the Lions. Phillips will take on the backrow, and ROG to slice open the underbelly with his kicks after the doe-eyed Saffers have been scrummed and mauled to death.

Cruel world. It makes me weep... with laughter.
 

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