Round 8. Lions v Hurricanes

[Dumbo]

The Lions return home and take on the Hurricanes.
Both teams have been struggling, however in this one the Hurricanes can field, Andrew Hore, Jason Eaton, Chris Masoe, Jerry Collins, Rodney So'oialo and Piri Weepu.
That’s a total of six changes available, think it will be a sad for the Lions home crowd after the game.

 

[BokMagic]

I`ll attempt to play Nostradamus here- big Rod So`oialo will be welcomed back to the Highveld with open arms. First, in approx. the 30th minute, Pretorius will kick the ball into the Canes 22, and big Rod will get the pass. He`ll then proceed to have his 1st moment of brain-freeze, throwing a pass straight into the hands of a very surprised Wylie Human, for a 7-pointer under the sticks.

Then, in approx. the 50th minute, with the Canes less than a metre from the Lions line, he`ll have brain-freeze moment no.2, obstructing a defender and causing teammate Hore to lose out on what should have been a perfectly legitimate try.

Finally, in the 78th minute, with the Canes leading 18-20, he`ll have brain-freeze moment no.3- joining the ruck from the side, presenting Pretorius with a 35m shot at goal from straight out in front.

Oops, sorry, that was last year, and in Rustenburg, not Ellis Park! Seriously though, if the Canes can field all of their 1st-choice AB`s for this one, the Lions` back row will be put under tremendous pressure, and I just can`t see the youngsters stopping them big boys for the full 80 minutes. Could be closer than a lot of people may think, the Lions youngsters have certainly not been afraid to put their bodies on the line this season, but there`s just too much class in the Canes side. Unless of course big Rod can recapture his highveld form of last year......

 

[Juggernaut]

:lol: :lol: Good one BokMagic.

This is where the Hurricanes nightmares stops. The Lions bubble has been busted by the Blues and they will fail to recover.


Canes by 10.

 

[Dumbo]

Really funny, I just had a quick word with Jesus and he's convinced that Jerry Collins is going to put Fourie on his ass in the first 5 minutes. He's also wearing Canes colours this week... wonder what that means?

 

[The TRUTH]

Really funny, I just had a quick word with Jesus and he's convinced that Jerry Collins is going to put Fourie on his ass in the first 5 minutes. He's also wearing Canes colours this week... wonder what that means?
[/b]

He thinks the Force are playing away this week?










TAXI!

 

[Dumbo]

:lol:

Didn't think of that

 

[THE CHIROPRACTOR101]

this is the part of the year all the teams barring the canes were NOT looking forward too...

win or lose..some ones gonna get knocked the f*** out with rodney,chris and jerry on the field at the sametime!

GO THE CANES!

 

[mimic]

This is tough to pick.

Even though the Canes are getting their loosies back, I'm not so sure about their 1st five.

This is crucial for the Canes. If they lose this, they will struggle to keep up with the pace

 

[BokMagic]

this is the part of the year all the teams barring the canes were NOT looking forward too...

win or lose..some ones gonna get knocked the f*** out with rodney,chris and jerry on the field at the sametime!

GO THE CANES!
[/b]

Imagine if the one to get the stuffing knocked out of them is Masoe himself, as Tana sneaks a handbag onto the field......

Sorry, really can`t help myself, can`t see the Lions back row being able to stand toe to toe with the Canes big boys, so I`m going with bad humour.

 

[danny_bullen]

With the loose trio back the canes should be on the front foot all night and in turn will allow our backs to score at will, i reckon 3 for David Smith for starters.

Canes by 25pts

 

[BokMagic]

Can`t help but think of one thing- yes, sure the Canes have got that massive ball-carrying back row, but the Lions have got a couple of pretty big hitters in their back row too, with big, ugly units Jacques Cronje and Ernst Joubert, and a very good fetching openside in Baywatch Grobbelaar. Maybe, just maybe Baywatch could have a big impact on this game, as he`s probably the most recognised fetcher of both back rows.

The Canes will definately go into the game as the favourites, heck they`ll even have jet-lag in their favour with the Lions returning from their tour leg, but don`t write off the Lions just yet- they`re a well-coached side, with plenty of talent. Very light on experience, sure, but very much an improving side, who can only improve with experience.

Now, if only they could get OJ Simpson at openside, that guy can get away with murder at the breakdowns, and Chuck Norris at blindside- I`m sure old Chucky boy might be able to stop Jerry. Can`t think of too many others who could....

 

[Dumbo]

I'd go for Bruce, Bruce Lee that is to stop Collins.

More going on here than meets the eye... Smith (David) is OUT.
They've gone for Gear and Fa'atauon the wings with Smith not even making to the bench, which is a big shame - the guy can play 9 as well as any wing.

Lions I think are going to be in for a shock up fornt, plus getting killed in the lossies and are going to get dominated by a backline that has quality ball.

Canes all the way.

 

[danny_bullen]

With David smith ruled out - i pick Hosea Gear to pick up the hat-trick this game.

Go the Canes!

 

[esoj]

canes with their abs back will be a bit of a different team and should have even more potency in attack and ball for guys like umaga and co to do their stuff. the lions may match them for awhile carried on by home support but in the end the class of the canes will shine and they should win by about 12 points

 

[aussie1st]

AB's didn't make much difference Lions smashed the Canes 30-7.

 

[danny_bullen]

Yep canes looked terrible, just didnt seem to meld together - on a good note i thought Cory Jane had a decent run and Rodney was right back into his usual role, is it just me or is he always at the bottom of every ruck, just noticed him all game long getting up last with a dumbfounded look at the ref.

Did anyone notice that conradie(halfback for lions) didnt actually force the ball down over their own goal line yet was awarded a dropout still - and still no replay of it to show the public.

Well done the Lions, backline looked very structured and dangerous.

 

[ozzy]

3 words. Fire the coach.

 

[mimic]

Well, to the Canes credit, they only let 2 tries slip past them. It was the penalties that made the score look much worse.

 

[riders of the storm]

Great work from the Lions. They just drove the Hurricanes nuts from what I saw. Just lots of ****le at ruck time, making the ball sloppy and they took the points when they could off the boot of Andre Pretorius. Full credit to them, even more credit after their two losses on tour.

 

[THE CHIROPRACTOR101]

.....good bye canes for 2007...better luck next year when you lose david smith back to auckland blues ala ice toeava...

the sad thing is they have an abundance of talent but havent been able to get the fullest potential out of them..for example...if david smith was playing for the blues he would have a boatload of easy tries due to the opportunities that are created by the blues forwards...he wouldnt have to work as hard in the game..but i guess that will make him a better player

**** you guys had faatau who was arguebly the best winger last year..and you use him once then drop him from one bad game only because the staff dont put enough trust in him..yet he was the best winger in last years tourney...and you bench tana halfway through a game which has proberly costed you 2 games in the seaon..i dont know...very dissapointing season...welly have had it hard without their power players in the back 3...but the talent you guys had already you shouldve knocked up atleast 2 of your losses with victories

meh...GO BLUEZ!