Lions side is out
Lions side is out
FRIDAY PREVIEW: The Lions are determined to have their destiny in their own hands during the business end of the United Rugby Championship.
With just six rounds left to play until the quarterfinals, the Lions are sitting in eighth spot with 29 points.
However, this season’s play-off race is tighter than ever as only four log points are separating the Johannesburg side from Zebre in 15th place.
Ivan van Rooyen’s side will start this crucial period of the season on tour with a match against Cardiff at Arms Park on Friday before facing Glasgow at Scotstoun Stadium a week later.
“We really want to start this tour well,” said Lions assistant coach Barend Pieterse.
“These two games are very important for us to get as many points as possible, so when we get home, everything is in our hands.
“We don’t want to be in the same position as last year when we had to wait for that last game for someone to win or lose.
“We want to know where we are with two or three games in hand.
“At the moment we do know where we are – the log is very close and everything is in our hands at the moment.”
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It won’t be easy for the Lions in Wales, especially with Cardiff getting Matt Sherratt back after his brief stint as head coach of the national team.
“This game is going to be very tough. They are a different team compared to previous seasons and their head coach was more involved with Wales,” Pieterse explained.
“They are a well-drilled team and they showed so much improvement from last season.
“If you look at the log, it is so close and every point counts. We need to win and that will be a big focus for us.”
Meanwhile, Sherratt is aware of the significance of this showdown as his team will head into the fixture just two points ahead of the Lions in the standings.
“There’s been a three-week break and that’s why you’ve got to be really mindful. It’s actually been good for me to come in after two days off and take stock, really,” said Sherratt.
“It’s not trying to come in and almost play your absolute A-standard rugby in the first 20 minutes because the players haven’t played for three weeks.
“It’s going to be key for this game, playing ourselves into it, not giving the Lions easy ins early on and making sure we get back up to speed, get the flow of the game, get the contacts back in our bodies and then try and get our A-game on the field.
“The coaches, obviously whilst I’ve been away, have done a good job on [the importance of Friday]. This game will dictate which path we go on for the rest of the season.
“It’s a key game, it’s at home, it’s against a team that is around us in the league.
“You can see it’s a tight league and you can go from third to almost 12th in a couple of weeks. So, it’s important that you pick points up at home.
“That’s what we’ll be focusing on is trying to get as many points as we can.”
Meanwhile, Friday’s other match is a mouthwatering one with Munster travelling to Glasgow.
“We’re looking forward to being back in action this weekend, as we kick off a run of three home matches in front of the Warrior Nation,” said Glasgow head coach Franco Smith.
“We know that the rivalry with Munster is known to everyone, but we’re concentrating on reintegrating everyone back into our environment after the Six Nations to help grow our continuity for the rest of the season.
“We’re also pleased to welcome Sione [Vailanu] and Kyle [Steyn] back to the line-up after their respective injuries; both men have worked hard in their rehabilitation with our medical and strength and conditioning teams and are raring to go tomorrow [Friday] night.”
Thanks BB
Finding the teams on the internet is sometimes a very problematic execize, However, I should have the teams by about 18 00 today.
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Cardiff: 15 Cam Winnett, 14 Gabriel Hamer-Webb, 13 Rey Lee-Lo, 12 Rory Jennings, 11 Harri Millard, 10 Callum Sheedy, 9 Johan Mulder, 8 Alun Lawrence, 7 Alex Mann, 6 Ben Donnell, 5 Seb Davies, 4 Josh McNally, 3 Rhys Litterick, 2 Liam Belcher (captain), 1 Danny Southworth.
Replacements: 16 Efan Daniel, 17 Corey Domachowski, 18 Keiron Assiratti, 19 Teddy Williams, 20 James Botham, 21 Thomas Young, 22 Ellis Bevan, 23 Tinus de Beer.
Lions: 15 Quan Horn, 14 Richard Kriel, 13 Manuel Rass, 12 Marius Louw, 11 Edwill van der Merwe, 10 Gianni Lombard, 9 Nico Steyn, 8 Francke Horn (captain), 7 Ruan Venter, 6 JC Pretorius, 5 Darrien Landsberg, 4 Ruben Schoeman, 3 Asenathi Ntlabakanye, 2 PJ Botha, 1 Juan Schoeman.
Replacements: 16 Franco Marais, 17 SJ Kotze, 18 RF Schoeman, 19 Ruan Delport, 20 Siba Qoma, 21 Layton Horn, 22 Jarod Cairns, 23 Henco van Wyk.
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Glasgow Warriors: 15 Kyle Rowe, 14 Sebastian Cancelliere, 13 Ollie Smith, 12 Stafford McDowall, 11 Kyle Steyn (captain), 10 Adam Hastings, 9 George Horne, 8 Jack Mann, 7 Sione Vailanu, 6 Euan Ferrie, 5 Alex Samuel, 4 Jare Oguntibeju, 3 Patrick Schickerling, 2 Johnny Matthews, 1 Jamie Bhatti
Replacements: 16 Grant Stewart, 17 Nathan McBeth, 18 Sam Talakai, 19 JP du Preez, 20 Gregor Brown, 21 Matt Fagerson, 22 Ben Afshar, 23 Duncan Weir.
Munster: 15 Ben O’Connor, 14 Seán O’Brien, 13 Tom Farrell, 12 Alex Nankivell, 11 Andrew Smith, 10 Tony Butler, 9 Paddy Patterson, 8 Gavin Coombes, 7 John Hodnett, 6 Alex Kendellen, 5 Tom Ahern, 4 Fineen Wycherley, 3 Stephen Archer, 2 Diarmuid Barron (captain), 1 Jeremy Loughman.
Replacements: 16 Danny Sheahan, 17 Josh Wycherley, 18 John Ryan, 19 Brian Gleeson, 20 Ruadhán Quinn, 21 Ethan Coughlan, 22 Gordon Wood, 23 Rory Scannell.
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Sharks: 15 Henry Immelman, 14 Yaw Penxe, 13 Jurenzo Julius, 12 Ethan Hooker, 11 Makazole Mapimpi, 10 Jordan Hendrikse, 9 Jaden Hendrikse, 8 Siya Kolisi (captain), 7 Vincent Tshituka, 6 Phepsi Buthelezi, 5 Emile van Heerden, 4 Jason Jenkins, 3 Vincent Koch, 2 Bongi Mbonambi, 1 Ox Nche.
Replacements: 16 Fez Mbatha, 17 Ntuthuko Mchunu, 18 Hanro Jacobs, 19 Corné Rahl, 20 James Venter, 21 Bradley Davids, 22 Francois Venter, 23 Andre Esterhuizen.
Zebre:15 Geronimo Prisciantelli (captain), 14 Scott Gregory, 13 Fetuli Paea, 12 Filippo Drago, 11 Gesi Alessandro, 10 Giovanni Montemauri, 9 Alessandro Fusco, 8 Davide Ruggeri, 7 Luca Andreani, 6 Giacomo Ferrari, 5 Matteo Canali, 4 Francesco Ruffolo, 3 Juan Pitinari, 2 Tommaso di Barolomeo, 1 Luca Rizzoli.
Replacements: 16 Giampietro Ribaldi, 17 Muhamed Hasa, 18 Ion Neculai, 19 Leonard Krumov, 20 Bautista Stavile, 21 Jacopo Bianchi, 22 Thomas Dominguez, 23 Enrico Lucchin.
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Benetton: 15 Rhyno Smith, 14 Ignacio Mendy, 13 Tommaso Menoncello, 12 Ignacio Brex, 11 Paolo Odogwu, 10 Jacob Umaga, 9 Andy Uren, 8 Toa Halafihi, 7 Manuel Zuliani, 6 Alessandro Izekor, 5 Eli Snyman (captain), 4 Scott Scrafton, 3 Simone Ferrari, 2 Bautista Bernasconi, 1 Thomas Gallo.
Replacements: 16 Agustin Creevy, 17 Mirco Spagnolo, 18 Giosué Zilocchi, 19 Federico Ruzza, 20 Riccardo Favretto, 21 Michele Lamaro, 22 Alessandro Garbisi, 23 Tomas Albornoz.
Edinburgh: 15 Wes Goosen, 14 Matt Currie, 13 James Lang, 12 Mosese Tuipoluto, 11 Ross McCann, 10 Ross Thompson, 9 Ben Vellacott (captain), 8 Magnus Bradbury, 7 Hamish Watson, 6 Ben Muncaster, 5 Sam Skinner, 4 Marshall Sykes, 3 Paul Hill, 2 Ewan Ashman, 1 Boan Venter
Replacements: 16 Paddy Harrison, 17 Robin Hislop, 18 D’Arcy Rae, 19 Glen Young, 20 Freddy Douglas, 21 Ali Price, 22 Cammy Scott, 23 Jack Brown
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Scarlets: 15 Ioan Nicholas, 14 Macs Page, 13 Joe Roberts, 12 Eddie James, 11 Ellis Mee, 10 Ioan Lloyd, 9 Gareth Davies, 8 Taine Plumtree, 7 Josh Macleod (captain), 6 Vaea Fifita, 5 Sam Lousi, 4 Alex Craig, 3 Sam Wainwright, 2 Marnus van der Merwe, 1 Alec Hepburn
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Replacements: 16 Ryan Elias, 17 Kemsley Mathias, 18 Henry Thomas, 19 Jarrod Taylor, 20 Dan Davis, 21 Archie Hughes, 22 Charlie Titcombe, 23 Tomi Lewis.
Stormers: 15 Warrick Gelant, 14 Ben Loader, 13 Wandisile Simelane, 12 Dan du Plessis, 11 Leolin Zas, 10 Sacha Feinberg-Mngomezulu, 9 Herschel Jantjies, 8 Evan Roos, 7 Marcel Theunissen, 6 Deon Fourie, 5 Ruben van Heerden, 4 Salmaan Moerat (captain), 3 Frans Malherbe, 2 Joseph Dweba, 1 Ali Vermaak.
Replacements: 16 André-Hugo Venter, 17 Brok Harris, 18 Sazi Sandi, 19 Gary Porter, 20 Willie Engelbrecht, 21 Dewaldt Duvenage, 22 Jurie Matthee, 23 Damian Willemse.
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Bulls: 15 Willie le Roux, 14 Sebastian de Klerk, 13 David Kriel, 12 Harold Vorster, 11 Stravino Jacobs, 10 Keagan Johannes, 9 Embrose Papier, 8 Cameron Hanekom, 7 Jannes Kirsten, 6 Marcell Coetzee (captain), 5 JF van Heerden, 4 Ruan Vermaak, 3 Wilco Louw, 2 Akker van der Merwe, 1 Alulutho Tshakweni.
Replacements: 16 Johan Grobbelaar, 17 Jan-Hendrik Wessels, 18 Mornay Smith, 19 Reinhardt Ludwig, 20 Marco van Staden, 21 Nizaam Carr, 22 Zak Burger, 23. Devon Williams.
Leinster: 15 Jimmy O’Brien, 14 Tommy O’Brien, 13 Hugh Cooney, 12 Jordie Barrett, 11 Andrew Osborne, 10 Ross Byrne, 9 Luke McGrath (captain), 8 James Culhane, 7 Will Connors, 6 Max Deegan, 5 Diarmuid Mangan, 4 RG Snyman, 3 Rabah Slimani, 2 John McKee, 1 Jack Boyle.
Replacements: 16 Stephen Smyth, 17 Ivan Soroka, 18 Thomas Clarkson, 19 Brian Deeny, 20 Alex Soroka, 21 Scott Penny, 22 Fintan Gunne, 23 Ciarán Frawley.
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Dragons: 15 Huw Anderson, 14 Rio Dyer, 13 Joe Westwood, 12 Aneurin Owen, 11 Ashton Hewitt, 10 Will Reed, 9 Rhodri Williams, 8 Aaron Wainwright, 7 Harrison Keddie, 6 Shane Lewis-Hughes, 5 George Nott, 4 Matthew Screech, 3 Chris Coleman, 2 Elliot Dee, 1 Rodrigo Martinez
Replacements: 16 Brodie Coglan, 17 Dylan Kelleher-Griffiths, 18 Paula Latu, 19 Steve Cummins, 20 Taine Basham, 21 Dane Blacker, 22 Josh Thomas, 23 Jared Rosser
Ulster: 15 Stewart Moore, 14 Michael Lowry, 13 James Hume, 12 Stuart McCloskey, 11 Jacob Stockdale, 10 Jack Murphy, 9 Nathan Doak, 8 James McNabney, 7 Nick Timoney, 6 David McCann, 5 Matthew Dalton, 4 Alan O’Connor (captain), 3 Tom O’Toole, 2 Rob Herring, 1 Callum Reid.
Replacements: 16 John Andrew, 17 Sam Crean, 18 Scott Wilson, 19 Kieran Treadwell, 20 Reuben Crothers, 21 John Cooney, 22 Aidan Morgan, 23 Zac Ward.
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Ospreys: 15 Jack Walsh, 14 Dan Kasende, 13 Evardi Boshoff, 12 Keiran Williams, 11 Keelan Giles, 10 Dan Edwards, 9 Kieran Hardy, 8 Morgan Morris, 7 Justin Tipuric (captain), 6 Morgan Morse, 5 Adam Beard, 4 James Ratti, 3 Tom Botha, 2 Sam Parry (captain), 1 Garyn Phillips
Replacements: 16 George McGuigan, 17 Steffan Thomas, 18 Ben Warren, 19 James Fender, 20 Tristan Davies, 21 Reuben Morgan-Williams, 22 Phil Cokanasiga, 23 Iestyn Hopkins
Connacht: 15 Piers O’Conor, 14 Finn Treacy, 13 Hugh Gavin, 12 Cathal Forde, 11 Shayne Bolton, 10 Josh Ioane, 9 Caolin Blade, 8 Paul Boyle, 7 Shamus Hurley-Langton, 6 Josh Murphy, 5 Joe Joyce (captain), 4 Darragh Murray, 3 Jack Aungier, 2 Dave Hefferman, 1 Denis Buckley
Replacements: 16 Dylan Tierney-Martin, 17 Temi Lasisi, 18 Sam Illo, 19 Oisin Dowling, 20 David O’Connor, 21 Matthew Devine, 22 JJ Hanrahan, 23 Sean Jansen