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Round 3: Lions v Crusaders

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The last round the Lions beat the depleted Highlanders in what proved to be a pretty close game really while the Crusaders out distanced the Reds.
The Lions looked (last week) as if they were really struggling and the Crusaders seemed to get better as the game went on…

Can’t see how the Lions are going to win this one, the Crusaders look like they’re getting their act together and a + 40 score has to be out there soon.

Depending on injuries I’m going for the Crusaders to put a big score on the board (+15)
 
freaking hell, i have to get up at 515am to watch this game o_O

oh well sunday is going to be a long day for me :)
 
freaking hell, i have to get up at 515am to watch this game o_O

oh well sunday is going to be a long day for me :)
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See I'm the opposite of you, I'm pumped that they're in SA that way I don't have to stay up until 1:30am or 3:30am come the Australian games to watch Canterbury play. I get to watch them at a nice hour of the morning, this week 11:35am.
 
Head to Head:
Lions:
1 â€" Heinke van der Merwe
2 â€" Willie Wepener
3 â€" Brian Mujati
4 â€" Cobus Grobler
5 â€" Anton van Zyl
6 â€" Cobus Grobbelaar
7 â€" Ernst Joubert (captain)
8 â€" Willem Alberts
9 â€" Jano Vermaak
10 â€" Louis Strydom
11 â€" Jaco van Schalkwyk
12 â€" Jaque Fourie
13 â€" Jaco Pretorius
14 â€" Wylie Human
15 â€" Louis Ludik.
Reserves:
16 â€" Ethienne Reynecke
17 â€" Bertus Smit
18 â€" Franco van der Merwe
19 â€" Jacques Cronje
20 â€" Ricky Januarie
21 â€" Jannie Boshoff
22 â€" Earl Rose.

Crusaders
1 â€" Ben Franks
2 â€" Corey Flynn (captain)
3 â€" Campbell Johnstone
4 â€" Ross Filipo
5 â€" Kevin O’Neill
6 â€" Kieran Read
7 â€" Johnny Leo’o
8 â€" Mose Tuiali’i
9 â€" Andy Ellis
10 â€" Stephen Brett
11 â€" Caleb Ralph
12 â€" Rua Tipoki
13 â€" Casey Laulala
14 â€" Rico Gear
15 â€" Scott Hamilton.
Reserves:
16 â€" Ti’i Paulo
17 â€" Wyatt Crockett or Ben May
18 â€" Michael Paterson
19 â€" Jake Paringatai
20 â€" Kevin Senio
21 â€" Tusi Pisi
22 â€" Brent Ward.
 
And some people were saying that the Crusaders will struggle without Carter, McCaw et al. This Crusaders outfit is something very special, Robbie Deans has built a helluva legacy. They are extremely professional, have massive patience on both attack and defence, and are quite possibly the best defensive side in the comp- just look at last week, the opposition were getting 10th phase possession and up, but went exactly nowhere.

Sure, the Lions are on the up, and improving game by game, but just too much class in this Saders line-up for them-in fact, I still reckon that the Saders are the side to beat this year, even without the superstars for the 1st 7 rounds.

And some people were saying that the Crusaders will struggle without Carter, McCaw et al. This Crusaders outfit is something very special, Robbie Deans has built a helluva legacy. They are extremely professional, have massive patience on both attack and defence, and are quite possibly the best defensive side in the comp- just look at last week, the opposition were getting 10th phase possession and up, but went exactly nowhere.

Sure, the Lions are on the up, and improving game by game, but just too much class in this Saders line-up for them-in fact, I still reckon that the Saders are the side to beat this year, even without the superstars for the 1st 7 rounds.
 
crusaders for a massive win. the lions might hang there for the first 20 mins but then the crusaders class will shine through and they will pile on the points. stephen brett is becoming a more than handty replacment for carter and with guys like gear and tipoki in the team the tries will always come.
 
well looks like i picked this one wrong.

at least i wasnt the only one :(

i felt the ref liked his whistle to much and didnt really let the game flow. there was way to many mistakes from both sides.

that being said, i like close low scoring games cause it makes you tense, and makes the game exciting :)
 
Canterbury should have won by a large margin but they squandered opportunity after opportunity. I counted 4 blown tries. All that was needed was to hold onto the ball and it would have been an easy win. Instead the drop balls kept Canterbury from that victory. Not to mention the bonehead decision to go for the corner instead of taking the three points on offer with about 10mins to go. It was very, very frustrating.
 
Pretty intense game here, yes the scoreline suggests that it was boring, but from my perspective it was actually excellent, competitive rugby. Sure, the finishing on both sides were appaling, as was the general handling, but it was uncompromising in the forwards and on defense by both sides.

Also a big thank-you to the referee, methinks he had an excellent game all-round, with not much from either side escaping his eye. We`re generally very quick to point out some useless refereeing performances, so I`ll give some credit where I believe it`s due.

For the Crusaders, I really enjoyed Tipoki, looked damn threatening every time he touched the ball, making huge yardage, getting over the advantage line regularly, and beating quite a handful of defenders on occasion.

For the Lions, I reckon that young Heinke vd Merwe, son of former Bok legend Flip, and brother to Stormers second row Francois(who for some strange reason doesn`t get game-time in the Cape), is a sight to behold- only 23 years old and already putting the fear of God into many an opposition tighthead at scrum-time. Great things lie in store for this youngster in the post-RWC 2007, and post-Os Du Randt era for the Boks.
 

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