Super 15 Team Selections - Round 1

I know that it is early to start this thread - but it is going to be a tough week with the 6 Nations ongoing, the Cricket World Cup starting and the Super 15 kicking off as well.  So here is the thread to deal with the Super 15 Team selections - I will try my best to update this thread - but your help in dealing with the team selections will be sincerely appreciated.

Crusaders    vs    Rebels

Crusaders

1 Joe Moody 2 Ben Funnell 3 Owen Franks 4 Luke Romano 5 Dominic Bird 6 Richie McCaw 7 Matt Todd (c) 8 Luke Whitelock 9 Mitchell Drummond 10 Daniel Carter 11 Johnny McNicholl 12 Tom Taylor 13 Kieron Fonotia 14 Robbie Fruean 15 Colin Slade

Replacements : 

16 Codie Taylor 17 Alex Hodgman 18 Wyatt Crockett 19 Scott Barrett 20 Jordan Taufua 21 Billy Guyton 22 Ryan Crotty 23 Nathaniel Apa

Rebels 

1  Toby Smith, 2  Pat Leafa, 3  Laurie Weeks, 4   Luke Jones,  5  Lopeti Timani,  6  Sean McMahon,  7  Colby Fainga’a,  8 Scott Higginbotham,  9  Nic Stirzaker,  10  Jack Debreczeni,  11  Tom English,  12  Mitch Inman,   13  Tamati Ellison,  14  Dom Shipperley,  15  Mike Harris.

Replacements : 

16  Ben Whittaker,  17 Cruze Ah-Nau, 18  Paul Alo-Emile, 19  Sam Jeffries,  20  Scott Fuglistaller, 21  Luke Burgess, 22  Bryce Hegarty,  23  Sefanaia Naivalu.

Brumbies   vs   Reds

Brumbies

Reds

1 James Slipper (c), 2 Saia Fainga'a, 3 Sam Talakai, 4 James Horwill,  5  Marco Kotze,  6 Curtis Browning, 7  Liam Gill, 8  Jake Schatz,  9  Will Genia, 10  Karmichael Hunt (vc), 11  Lachie Turner, 12  Samu Kerevi, 13 Chris Feauai-Sautia, 14 Chris Kuridrani, 15  Jamie-Jerry Taulagi

Replacements:

16  James Hanson, 17  Ben Daley, 18 Sef Faagase, 19 Ed O'Donoghue,  20  Adam Korczyk,  21  Nick Frisby, 22  Duncan Paia'aua,  23  Campbell Magnay

Lions  vs  Hurricanes

Lions

15. Andries Coetzee , 14. Ruan Combrinck , 13. Lionel Mapoe , 12. Howard Mnisi , 11. Courtnall Skosan , 10. Marnitz Boshoff , 9. Ross Cronje , 8. Warren Whiteley (c) , 7. Derick Minnie , 6. Jaco Kriel , 5. Franco Mostert , 4. Martin Muller , 3. Ruan Dreyer , 2. Malcolm Marx , 1. Schalk van der Merwe

Replacements : 

16. Armand van der Merwe , 17. Corne Fourie , 18. Jacques van Rooyen , 19. Robert Kruger , 20. Warwick Tecklenburg , 21. Faf de Klerk , 22. Elton Jantjies , 23. Stokkies Hanekom

Hurricanes

1. Ben Franks , 2. Dane Coles , 3. Jeffery Toomaga-Allen , 4. Mark Abbott , 5. James Broadhurst , 6. Brad Shields , 7. Ardie Savea , 8. Blade Thomson , 9. TJ Perenara , 10. Beauden Barrett , 11. Julian Savea , 12. Rey Lee-Lo , 13. Conrad Smith , 14. Cory Jane , 15. Jason Woodward

Replacements:

16. Brayden Mitchell , 17. Reggie Goodes , 18. Chris Eves , 19. Callum Gibbins , 20. Victor Vito , 21. Chris Smylie , 22. James Marshall , 23. Matt Proctor

Blues  vs  Chiefs

Blues

Chiefs

1.  Pauliasi Manu, 2.  Hika Elliotm  3.  Ben Tameifuna, 4.  Matt Symons ©,  5.  Michael Fitzgerald,  6.  Johan Bardou, 7.  Sam Cane,  8.  Maama Vaipulu,  9.  Brad Weber, 10. Damian McKenzie.  11. James Lowe.  12. Sonny Bill Williams, 13. Charlie Ngatai,  14. Tim Nanai-Williams,  15. Tom Marshall

Replacements

16. Rhys Marshall,  17. Jamie Mackintosh, 18. Siate Tokolahi,  19. Michael Allardice, 20. Tevita Koloamatang,  21. Augustine Pulu,  22. Marty McKenzie, 23. Bryce Heem

Sharks  vs  Cheetahs

Sharks

15. SP Marais , 14. S'bura Sithole , 13. Waylon Murray , 12. Heimar Williams , 11. Lwazi Mvovo , 10. Patrick Lambie , 9. Cobus Reinach , 8. Tera Mtembu , 7. Renaldo Bothma , 6. Marcell Coetzee , 5. Pieter-Steph du Toit , 4. Mouritz Botha , 3. Jannie du Plessis , 2. Bismarck du Plessis (C) , 1. Tendai Mtawarira

Replacements :

16. Kyle Cooper , 17. Dale Chadwick , 18. Matt Stevens , 19. Marco Wentzel , 20. Jean Deysel , 21. Conrad Hoffmann , 22. Fred Zeilinga , 23. Odwa Ndungane

Cheetahs

15 Willie le Roux, 14 Clayton Blommetjies, 13 Francois Venter, 12 Michael van der Spuy, 11 Raymond Rhule, 10 Joe Petersen, 9 Sarel Pretorius, 8 Willie Britz, 7 Oupa Mohoje, 6 Jean Cook, 5 Francois Uys (c), 4 Lodewyk de Jager, 3 Coenie Oosthuizen, 2 Torsten van Jaarsveld, 1 Danie Minnie

Replacements: 

16 Stephan Coetzee, 17 BG Uys, 18 Maks van Dyk, 19 Carl Wegner, 20 Boom Prinsloo, 21 Tian Meyer, 22 Willie du Plessis, 23 Cornal Hendricks

Bulls  vs  Stormers

Bulls

15. Jurgen Visser, 14. Bjorn Basson, 13. JJ Engelbrecht, 12. Jan Serfontein, 11. Francois Hougaard, 10. Handre Pollard, 9. Piet van Zyl, 8. Arno Botha, 7. Lappies Labuschagne, 6. Deon Stegmann, 5. Victor Matfield (c), 4. Jacques du Plessis, 3. Werner Kruger, 2. Adriaan Strauss, 1. Trevor Nyakane.

Replacements

16. Callie Visagie, 17. Morne Mellet, 18. Dayan vd Westhuizen / Neethling Fouche , 19. Grant Hattingh, 20. Pierre Spies, 21. Rudy Paige, 22.Jacques-Louis Potgieter, 23.Jesse Kriel

Stormers

15. Cheslin Kolbe, 14. Johnny Kotze, 13. Juan de Jongh, 12. Damian de Allende, 11. Dillyn Leyds, 10. Demetri Catrakilis, 9. Nic Groom, 8. Duane Vermeulen (captain), 7. Michael Rhodes, 6. Rynhardt Elstadt, 5. Ruan Botha, 4. Jean Kleyn, 3. Vincent Koch, 2. Scarra Ntubeni, 1. Steven Kitshoff

Replacements 

16. Bongi Mbonambi, 17. Oli Kebble, 18. Wilco Louw, 19. Jurie van Vuuren, 20. Nizaam Carr, 21. Louis Schreuder, 22. Kurt Coleman, 23. Huw Jones

Waratahs  vs   Force

Waratahs

1. Benn Robinson 2. Tatafau Polatanu 3. Sekope Kepu 4. David Dennis 5. Will Skelton  6. Jaques Potgieter 7. Michael Hooper 8. Wyclaf Palu 9. Nick Phipps 10. Bernad Foley 11. Rob Horne 12. Kurtley Beale 13. Adam Ashley-Cooper 14. Taque Naiyaravoro 15. Israel Folau

Replacements

16. Tolu Latu 17. Jeremy Tilse 18. Paddy Ryan 19. Sam Lousi 20. Mitchel Chapman 21. Stephan Hoiles 22. Brendon Mckibben 23. Matt Carraro

Force

15 Dane Haylett-Petty, 14 Luke Morahan, 13 Kyle Godwin, 12 Junior Rasolea, 11 Marcel Brache, 10 Sias Ebersohn, 9 Alby Mathewson, 8 Ben McCalman, 7 Chris Al[removed], 6 Angus Cottrell, 5 Adam Coleman, 4 Sam Wykes (c), 3 Tetera [removed]ner, 2 Nathan Charles, 1 Pekahou Cowan.

Replacements: 

16 Heath Tessmann, 17 Francois van Wyk, 18 Oliver Hoskins, 19 Steve Mafi, 20 Brynard Stander, 21 Ian Prior, 22 Zack Holmes, 23 Luke Burton.

Looks like the Canes may give the Lions a hiding .

1 Joe Moody 2 Ben Funnell 3 Owen Franks 4 Luke Romano 5 Dominic Bird 6 Richie McCaw 7 Matt Todd (c) 8 Luke Whitelock 9 Mitchell Drummond 10 Daniel Carter 11 Johnny McNicholl 12 Tom Taylor 13 Kieron Fonotia 14 Robbie Fruean 15 Colin Slade

Replacements : 16 Codie Taylor 17 Alex Hodgman 18 Wyatt Crockett 19 Scott Barrett 20 Jordan Taufua 21 Billy Guyton 22 Ryan Crotty 23 Nathaniel Apa

...Good luck to the Canes carrying the flag for NZ in SA ...they will need it starting with four away games on the trot..

 1. Ben Franks, 2. Dane Coles, 3. Jeffery Toomaga-Allen, 4. Mark Abbott, 5. James Broadhurst, 6. Brad Shields, 7. Ardie Savea, 8. Blade Thomson, 9. TJ Perenara, 10. Beauden Barrett, 11. Julian Savea, 12. Rey Lee-Lo, 13. Conrad Smith, 14. Cory Jane, 15. Jason Woodward. Reserves: 16. Brayden Mitchell, 17. Reggie Goodes, 18. Chris Eves, 19. Callum Gibbins, 20. Victor Vito, 21. Chris Smylie, 22. James Marshall, 23. Matt Proctor.

Good to see Arno Botha starting. Sad to see old man Matfield selected.

Big pity young Liebenberg, the promising 19 year old 8 losing out to Spies on the bench.

Hougaard on the wing is a stupid move. I can understand wanting Hougaard and v/Zyl on the field but it would have made more sense having impressive Jessie Kriel on the wing with Hougaard at 9.

Baby Bok v/d Westhuizen would have been a far better bet than useless Werner Kruger at 3  

Queensland Reds

1. James Slipper (C) , 2. Saia Fainga'a , 3. Sam Talakai * , 4. James Horwill , 5. Marco Kotze * , 6. Curtis Browning , 7. Liam Gill , 8. Jake Schatz , 9. Will Genia , 10. Karmichael Hunt (VC) * , 11. Lachie Turner , 12. Samu Kerevi , 13. Chris Feauai-Sautia , 14. Chris Kuridrani , 15. Jamie-Jerry Taulagi

16. James Hanson , 17. Ben Daley , 18. Sef Faagase * , 19. Ed O'Donoghue , 20. Adam Korczyk * , 21. Nick Frisby , 22. Duncan Paia'aua * , 23. Campbell Magnay *

(* Reds/Super Rugby debut)

7 debuts could be too many

 Waratahs:

1. Benn Robinson 2. Tatafau Polatanu 3. Sekope Kepu 4. David Dennis 5. Will Skelton 6. Jaques Politigeiter 7. Michael Hooper 8. Wyclaf Palu 9. Nick Phipps 10. Bernad Foley 11. Rob Horne 12. Kurtley Beale 13. Adam Ashley-Cooper 14. Taque Naiyaravoro 15. Israel Folay

16. Tolu Latu 17. Jeremy Tilse 18. Paddy Ryan 19. Sam Lousi 20. Mitchel Chapman 21. Stephan Hoiles 22. Brendon Mckibben 23. Matt Carraro

Reserves: Ben Whittaker, Cruze Ah-Nau, Paul Alo-Emile, Sam Jeffries, Scott Fuglistaller, Luke Burgess, Bryce Hegarty, Sefanaia Naivalu.

Rebels - DUPLICATED

15. SP Marais , 14. S'bura Sithole , 13. Waylon Murray , 12. Heimar Williams , 11. Lwazi Mvovo , 10. Patrick Lambie , 9. Cobus Reinach , 8. Tera Mtembu , 7. Renaldo Bothma , 6. Marcell Coetzee , 5. Pieter-Steph du Toit , 4. Mouritz Botha , 3. Jannie du Plessis , 2. Bismarck du Plessis (C) , 1. Tendai Mtawarira

Replacements : 16. Kyle Cooper , 17. Dale Chadwick , 18. Matt Stevens , 19. Marco Wentzel , 20. Jean Deysel , 21. Conrad Hoffmann , 22. Fred Zeilinga , 23. Odwa Ndungane

Oh my goodness, Williams ahead of Esterhuizen.......old Gary and co are not starting well are they. That is a pretty average centre combination for the Sharks

It should have been 12. Esterhuizen 13. Tyler Fisher....wake up Gary and Venter.

There appears to be a clear political slant to the selection of the SA sides  

15. Cheslin Kolbe, 14. Johnny Kotze, 13. Juan de Jongh, 12. Damian de Allende, 11. Dillyn Leyds, 10. Demetri Catrakilis, 9. Nic Groom, 8. Duane Vermeulen (captain), 7. Michael Rhodes, 6. Rynhardt Elstadt, 5. Ruan Botha, 4. Jean Kleyn, 3. Vincent Koch, 2. Scarra Ntubeni, 1. Steven Kitshoff