If only the Lions had beaten the Jaguars.

. I would back the Lions to win the final against any team, if at home.The problem is that the same thing is  true for the Hurricanes. 
 It is going to be difficult for the Lions playing the Hurricanes. 
The Jaguars had a nightmare first year in the tournament- but could have ruined the party for the Lions. 
If the Lions pack can dominate- they could win.  Barrett is the dangerman banana peel. He heeds to be taken out of the game, illegally if need be...

The Hurricanes vs Lions game was very similar to their Chiefs win today. Less possession,  but fewer mistakes and more clinical finishing. The Canes deconstructed the Lions attack with tremendous line speed, something they also did to the Chiefs today, with defensive players in between the Chiefs runners.....the Barrett intercept came from such a moment.
But some positive keys also emerged eg the scrum where the starting Chiefs dominated the Canes starting scrum....the ref was very lenient with collapsed scrums. The Chiefs were also regularly able to break the Canes line with more  than double the clean breaks and 50% more tackles beaten. With cleaner finishing the Chiefs should have been very close.....the Lions have been nothing if not clinical.

It's likely Ackerman's decision to sacrifice the Jags game will come back to haunt him....but I'm giving the Lions a 30% chance.

 The Lions should be favourites, the Hurricanes will be up against it this week. If the Lions were at home.. You might as well hand them the trophy, no one is going to beat them with that much support and motivation. The Canes set piece could struggle against the Lions, the Lions are good at beating defenders as well. Barrett will have to very sharp this week guiding the team around. Its 50/50 who will win, just comes down to who want its more.

 We have a shot ... even down under ... 
Don't write us off just yet!!!
I hear the conditions will be our greatest challenge. 
Jantjies was absolutely brilliant. Really enjoyed the tears running down his face. What a time to show us his magic. Keep it up, Mr Jantjies.
Goooo Lions!!!!!!!

 Jantjies is fast becoming one of the best. The Canes coaches have a lot of homework to do coming up with a game plan to beat the Lions.

 Just hope the weather doesn't spoil the spectacle.
Would be great to finish the season off with a cracker.

CC, weather be damned, the Canes beat the wee stormers in a hurricane & I've seen the ABs play the same sort of rugby in the same conditions. 
Nope, we are in for a good game even if the weather is bad. These two teams have fantastic skills. If we had to pick the two teams to give us the best final we couldn't have picked any better than Canes vs Lions. Go Canes!!

 Surprise, surprise ........ Wellington's weather forecast for Saturday ......   rain & 7c .

I don't think anyone would have complained if Ackerman had rested Jantjies, Faf and maybe Kriel for the trip to Argentina but to keep everyone behind and send the entire CC team was shortsighted. . . . and the Lions will more than likely pay for that on Saturday. I give them a 20% chance in Wellington but would have given them 60% or 70% chance in Jo'burg.

Oh well, I did take a nice bet on the Canes before the tournament kicked off so it's not all doom and gloom for me if the Lions pay the price for losing to the Jaguares.

 Yes ... I too thought it madness to leave the entire team at home ... and would have gone about it differently ... however ... it was a gamble he took ... and this after much thought ... and in all honesty it could have worked out in our favour. 
Win some, lose some. What's done is done.   
The task now is to travel over there and beat them in their own back yard. We are a well rested side ... a confident side ... without injury ... and have a lot of belief. 
We know that the odds are stacked against us and that drives us on even further ... making us more determined to deliver our very best.  
We have nothing to lose and that's the attitude we're taking into the match. If we are beaten by the Canes while giving it our best then so be it. That's good enough for me. Can't ask any more than that.   
However ... the Hurricanes had better bring their A game ... cause that's what we're bringing. 
I'm rather curious to see how Acker adapts his game plan to a what could be a wet, muddy, forward dominated match, spoilt by the elements. 
Gooooooo Lionsssssssss!!!!!!!

@CC Exactly. They got nothing to lose and everything to gain. I remember posting to you after the first game of the season against the Chiefs "Hey knuckle head our team won!!!???" I hope to do the same this weekend :) The last game the Lions played in muddy conditions was against the Blues. For a long time on here, some of us have been saying that coaching in SA is the problem, not player talent. The Lions have drawn a red line under that idea this year with their bunch of nobodies. So much of what they do doesn't rely on the opposition's skill level. Their speed, commitment, fitness etc etc are all factors within their power to control and they bring 100% of that every Saturday. And it makes other variables much more controlled for them. I'm just very happy that the Bok selectors hands will now be forced. And that Coetzee will be under huge pressure to follow their game plan, and thus probably drag the other SA Unions along too. Funny, seems the revolution is being televised after all :)

 I think from a playing perspective Ackerman did the right thing.  Lets look at the Hurricanes first - they now have had five tough games in a row since 1 July.   The Lions only had two tough games in the quarters and semi.   Saturday would be the sixth tough game for the Hurricanes  and only the third tough game for the Lions.   The Lions as a team would to my mind be fresher than the Hurricanes - but the home town advantage could count in favour of the Hurricanes - but I still doubt whether they could win the final.    

I was one of those who questioned whether the Lions could turn around the hammering they got from the Hurricanes earlier in the season but someone at my office has pointed out something quite interesting and relevant.

The Lions only lost 4 games during the regular season and if you ignore the Currie Cup team losing to the Jaguares then those losses were to the Hurricanes, the Crusaders and the Highlanders.

Well, so far in the playoffs, the Lions have extracted revenge for two of those losses against the Crusaders and the Highlanders. Saturday is their opportunity to set the record straight against the Hurricanes as well.

Come on Lions!

 

Rooinek

I actually have identified why the Lions lost against the Hurricanes.  They had to use their third and fourth choice props in that game and they never got decent balls from their forwards.   The very next weekend the Sharks beat the Hurricanes by a distance when they had forward parity.  

I also took a look at the results of the Hurricanes against the other NZ franchises compared to the Lions  facing the same  franchises and came up with the following:-

Hurricanes

Chiefs           -      2 wins, 1 loss

Crusaders    -       1 win, 1 loss

Highlanders  -     1 win, 1 loss

Blues             -      2 wins

The Hurricanes won their two games against the Blues with some real difficulty – they struggled against the Chiefs as well – bar in the semi, where the travelling issue to my mind did play a role.  Same with the Highlanders.   Their outstanding games were  against the Crusaders in the round robin game and against the Chiefs in the semi.

 Lions  

 Chiefs           -      1 win

Crusaders    -       1 win, 1 loss

Highlanders  -     1 win, 1 loss

Blues             -      1 win

Unlike the Hurricanes – who battled to beat the Blues – the Lions wiped the floor with the Blues   Their best games were against the Crusaders and the Highlanders – where they beat both sides with ease.   The scores in those two games are rather misleading – the Lions were so far ahead of the relevant two games  – they toned down their intensity and allowed them  to score easy tries in the death – when the matches were already won.   

Based  on the games played I am not convinced the Hurricanes are really all that much favoured to beat the Lions.

 Keep on believing CleverMike, dreams to come true... sometimes... it has been known to happen

 JW - Not dreams - I deal with facts only.  I  think it will be a hard game for both sides - but do not buy into it that the Hurricanes are overwhelming favourites in the game.

 The Hurricanes are overwhelming favourites in the game

 And your point is, Poef?