Sharks vs British & Irish Lions 2: Electric Boogaloo

[TRF_Olyy]

​

 

[Ferrari333SP]

I'm just glad we get to see a game on Saturday

 

[Don't Skip Leg Day]

I've still got the other one recorded I might just rewatch it.

 

[Oliver Madden]

Lions by 50. The standard of the SA provincial sides has really affected my enjoyment of the tour. I haven't enjoyed the games so far. It's the lack of a genuine contest that is annoying me. You only play the Lions once every twelve years and yet can't be bothered to put your first 15 out. To me that should be part of the contract with Sanzaar. The provincial teams should be able to pick their best available side and if you can't do that then to me the Lions shouldn't play them. These warm-up games are a waste of time, they're not testing the Lions at all.

 

[Which Tyler]

I've still got the other one recorded I might just rewatch it.

gods! it wasn't worth watching through the first time!

 

[Ferrari333SP]

Lions by 50. The standard of the SA provincial sides has really affected my enjoyment of the tour. I haven't enjoyed the games so far. It's the lack of a genuine contest that is annoying me. You only play the Lions once every twelve years and yet can't be bothered to put your first 15 out. To me that should be part of the contract with Sanzaar. The provincial teams should be able to pick their best available side and if you can't do that then to me the Lions shouldn't play them. These warm-up games are a waste of time, they're not testing the Lions at all.

Aren't all their best players currently in the Boks camp?

 

[Oliver Madden]

Aren't all their best players currently in the Boks camp?

Yes they are but I remember in NZ the Kiwi teams in the first 3 tour matches were allowed to have their All Black players. So at a similar point in the tour 4 years ago, the club sides had their international players playing. Why is it different this time?. Covid?. I just think it makes a mockery of the purpose of warm-up matches. Warm-up matches are supposed to be a chance for the Lions to get the combinations working against some reasonable opposition which put them under pressure. The Lions are sauntering through these games, winning by 50 without even hitting 3rd gear, as a spectacle it's poor. I think it diminishes the tour.

 

[Ferrari333SP]

Yes they are but I remember in NZ the Kiwi teams in the first 3 tour matches were allowed to have their All Black players. So at a similar point in the tour 4 years ago, the club sides had their international players playing. Why is it different this time?. Covid?. I just think it makes a mockery of the purpose of warm-up matches. Warm-up matches are supposed to be a chance for the Lions to get the combinations working against some reasonable opposition which put them under pressure. The Lions are sauntering through these games, winning by 50 without even hitting 3rd gear, as a spectacle it's poor. I think it diminishes the tour.

It's absolutely because of covid; no way would they release the Boks players to leave camp, go play a club match somewhere else, and then go back to the Boks camp/bubble. Yeah it sucks they can't use their Boks, but we've known this for a long time. We have no choice, so not sure why this is a concern for you now

 

[Dean Cooperfield-West]

Ideally all the regions would be in the one massive bubble with the Boks.

However, the warmups in 2013 were hardly competitive...

 

[TRF_Olyy]

It's absolutely because of covid; no way would they release the Boks players to leave camp, go play a club match somewhere else, and then go back to the Boks camp/bubble.

They just let them out once a week to allow members of the public to cough directly into their mouths in time for the next round of testing

 

[General Melchett]

The Lions should play Townsend at 10 and Jenkins at 15 to even things up a bit.

 

[rugby rulz]

I think the Lions tour has highlighted a rather uncomfortable truth with regards to the South African franchises.

You might say that you are shocked that the South African franchises aren't putting up a proper fight etc etc. And yes, they probably aren't. But what I have come to realise is that except for the South African based Springboks, the rest of the players in the country aren't that great with the exception of a few scattered players here and there.

The reality is that there are many other South Africans currently playing for European clubs, that would easily walk into the Starting XV of any big South African franchise. Yet, how many of the players in the SA franchises can walk into the starting XV of a European team ?

We have become so used to playing and beating our fellow country men for the past year, that it lulled us into a false sense of confidence, when in actual fact, our product has regressed and so have our players. The reality is, many of the starting players in our franchises will most likely have been deployed mainly in the Vodacom Cup (basically a league for the reserves and up and coming juniors) if that was still running. Now we are stuck in a situation where some of the players in our teams that we thought of as being good, is actually just pretty average.

Our teams would've been more competitive if they had like a "game of origin" where SA players in Europe and not in the Bok mix could've been allowed to play for their previous franchise against the B&I Lions. Someone like Tyron Green, Esterhuizen, Akker vd Merwe, etc. Those players will have made a massive difference.

Unfortunately, this comes down to bad planning and coaching in our franchises and to an extent the decision of players to leave the country sooner and younger is starting to show its negative effect.

We will just have to make do with what is at our disposal I guess.

 

[LeinsterMan (NotTigsMan)]

In Europe you have non international SA players of
Loosehead: F.Van Wyk, Venter, Hencus van Wyk
Hooker: Akker van der Merwe, du Toit, Cooper, Willemse, Els, Dweba, Bismarck du Plessis, Franco Marais,
Tightheads: Wilco Louw, Jonker, Scholtz, Marcel van der Merwe, de Bruin, Pierre Schoeman, Botha, Adriaanse, van der Westhuizen,
Lock: JP Du Preez, Wiese, Lewies, Ribbans, Snyman, Herbst, Wegner, Grobler, Oosthuizen, Marais, Jandré Marais, Jordaan, Pieterse, Nico Janse van Rensburg, Jacques du Plessis, Jan de Klerk, Kobus van Dyk, Hattingh, Ruan Botha, Bulbring, Erasmus, Jenkins,
Back Row: Kristen, Vermeulen, Ross, Hanro Liebenberg, Wiaan Liebenberg, Brink, Coetzee, Carr, Ackermann, Cloete, Britz, Paul,
Scrum Half: Hougaard, Schreuder, Duvenage, Hall, Reinach
Fly Half: du Preez, Schoeman, Goosen, Jean-Luc du Plessis, Stander, Cronjé
Centre: Janse van Rensburg, Esterhuizen, Taute, Benhard Janse van Rensburg, Venter, Smith, Lee, Sadie, Vorster, Serfontein,
Back 3: Van Wyk, Green, Immelman, Coetzee, Rhule, Leyds, Robinson, SP Marais, van den Heever, Mahuza, Vermaak,

All I think played in the South African development system. (Prob missed a lot also)
No nation in the world could deal with that kind of volume of loss without ruining their depth.

 

[TRF_Olyy]

Plus there's more than a handful playing for Scotland/France/Italy

 

[LeinsterMan (NotTigsMan)]

Yep
You split up all those players amongst 4 franchises, and I bet the lions would certainly feel it.

But I don't blame the players for moving at all.

 

[Vieux Talonneur]

In Europe you have non international SA players of
Loosehead: F.Van Wyk, Venter, Hencus van Wyk
Hooker: Akker van der Merwe, du Toit, Cooper, Willemse, Els, Dweba, Bismarck du Plessis, Franco Marais,
Tightheads: Wilco Louw, Jonker, Scholtz, Marcel van der Merwe, de Bruin, Pierre Schoeman, Botha, Adriaanse, van der Westhuizen,
Lock: JP Du Preez, Wiese, Lewies, Ribbans, Snyman, Herbst, Wegner, Grobler, Oosthuizen, Marais, Jandré Marais, Jordaan, Pieterse, Nico Janse van Rensburg, Jacques du Plessis, Jan de Klerk, Kobus van Dyk, Hattingh, Ruan Botha, Bulbring, Erasmus, Jenkins,
Back Row: Kristen, Vermeulen, Ross, Hanro Liebenberg, Wiaan Liebenberg, Brink, Coetzee, Carr, Ackermann, Cloete, Britz, Paul,
Scrum Half: Hougaard, Schreuder, Duvenage, Hall, Reinach
Fly Half: du Preez, Schoeman, Goosen, Jean-Luc du Plessis, Stander, Cronjé
Centre: Janse van Rensburg, Esterhuizen, Taute, Benhard Janse van Rensburg, Venter, Smith, Lee, Sadie, Vorster, Serfontein,
Back 3: Van Wyk, Green, Immelman, Coetzee, Rhule, Leyds, Robinson, SP Marais, van den Heever, Mahuza, Vermaak,

All I think played in the South African development system. (Prob missed a lot also)
No nation in the world could deal with that kind of volume of loss without ruining their depth.

That's astonishing. But also part of the reason why I sometimes get a bit arsey about the number of overseas players in domestic leagues.

The shop window of the international game is one thing, but it's all smoke and mirrors if built on a foundation of domestic sand.

That said, it's a professional game and you can never blame an individual for doing the best for themselves and their family. Difficult.

As for the Lions tour it's just a predictable shambles and what's happening in these 'warm up' games is irrelevant. Gatland knows his test team already….he won't be influenced by Adams scoring shed loads of tries against weak opposition. About the only interesting thing to have happened is the 100% predictable exposure of Mako's selection as folly.

 

[TobesHodges]

In an ideal world you would have all SA Provincial teams and Lions in one place then once they have played, players would either leave or stay on with the SA Team, like an 'Olympic park' setup for 3-4 weeks, I can't imagine this hasn't been thought of before the tour, i can only imagine there isnt the funds or maybe venue the house something like this. Like people have said above, the standard of provincal teams is because of Covid which seems to be rife in SA at the moment. I hope this idea was thought of, because it would have made the most logical sense in terms of making a full tour bubble and seeing every team using the best players and having the best tour possible?

 

[Groundhog]

In Europe you have non international SA players of
Loosehead: F.Van Wyk, Venter, Hencus van Wyk
Hooker: Akker van der Merwe, du Toit, Cooper, Willemse, Els, Dweba, Bismarck du Plessis, Franco Marais,
Tightheads: Wilco Louw, Jonker, Scholtz, Marcel van der Merwe, de Bruin, Pierre Schoeman, Botha, Adriaanse, van der Westhuizen,
Lock: JP Du Preez, Wiese, Lewies, Ribbans, Snyman, Herbst, Wegner, Grobler, Oosthuizen, Marais, Jandré Marais, Jordaan, Pieterse, Nico Janse van Rensburg, Jacques du Plessis, Jan de Klerk, Kobus van Dyk, Hattingh, Ruan Botha, Bulbring, Erasmus, Jenkins,
Back Row: Kristen, Vermeulen, Ross, Hanro Liebenberg, Wiaan Liebenberg, Brink, Coetzee, Carr, Ackermann, Cloete, Britz, Paul,
Scrum Half: Hougaard, Schreuder, Duvenage, Hall, Reinach
Fly Half: du Preez, Schoeman, Goosen, Jean-Luc du Plessis, Stander, Cronjé
Centre: Janse van Rensburg, Esterhuizen, Taute, Benhard Janse van Rensburg, Venter, Smith, Lee, Sadie, Vorster, Serfontein,
Back 3: Van Wyk, Green, Immelman, Coetzee, Rhule, Leyds, Robinson, SP Marais, van den Heever, Mahuza, Vermaak,

All I think played in the South African development system. (Prob missed a lot also)
No nation in the world could deal with that kind of volume of loss without ruining their depth.

Can also add from Ireland Knox, Cloete, Bolton, Milasinovich for example and obviously a bunch of now internationals for other countries.

 

[MikeTheNative]

Sharks did have some nice touches in attack to be fair but too often the final pass went astray or it was last gasp rip/turnover from the Lions saved them.
Defence was all over the place though, players often completely out of position leaving acres of space in the back field but they were also often way too narrow in defence. Lions are currently playing with quite a lot of width so if they got past that middle blitz, which they did too often, there was many metres to be made on the outside.

 

[unrated]

Sharks names almost a completely new team. Getting some bigger forwards involved for that collisions and adapting to the three day turnaround. Some of our remaining pedigreed players such as Marius Louw, Curwin Bosch, Jeremy Ward, James Venter drops out. They should have kept Venter In the team IMO. But we will see how it goes.

[h2][/h2]15 Anthony Volmink, 14 Marnus Potgieter, 13 Werner Kok, 12 Murray Koster, 11 Thaakir Abrahams, 10 Lionel Cronje, 9 Jaden Hendrikse, 8 Phepsi Buthelezi (captain), 7 Mpilo Gumede, 6 Dylan Richardson, 5 Reniel Hugo, 4 Le Roux Roets, 3 Wiehahn Herbst, 2 Kerron van Vuuren, 1 Ntuthuko Mchunu