[2016 Super Rugby] Hurricanes vs. Lions (The Final) 06/08/2016

[George Ford]

I thought for sure the Landers would end the Lions already successful run. But it appears the Lions have shifted up a gear and is oozing with confidence. Ditto for this Canes side. The mere fact that they've not conceded a single try speaks volumes of their mantra going into the play-offs.

Pretty hard to call an outright favorite for this final, both teams have dominated their opposition with so much ease in their brute force of power and physical intensity.

The Lions being 1st time contestants versus the Canes being finalist-returnees does give the latter a mental advantage in their experience for this occasion. However, i'm sure Chris Boyd's men will know of better than to underestimate their opposition in any manner, especially this Lions side who has been written off so many times.

An exciting final for neutrals to watch and silently I will be rooting for the Lions to win

 

[Nubiwan]

Given the finalists, I might be another who is silently hoping for a Lions win. So please, do not read out loud. I suspect the Lions pack might well dominate the scrum, and if it does then your man Barrett might be on his heals for half the match, and not getting great possession.

Looking forward to a close contest.

 

[Sker]

Still feels crazy that the Lions are in the final, if they win I'll be insanely happy for them and for Ackerman. If they don't, I hope it's at least a close game (though I think it will be).

Either way, way to go Lions.

 

[GoTheNaki]

Go the Hurricanes?!

 

[TRF_stormer2010]

A few interesting facts about the two teams heading into the final. I watched their game in J'burg again. Literally nothing the Lions tried came off while the 'Canes just couldn't do anything wrong on the day. One of those weird ones. I expect the scoreline to be a lot tighter though I still see the Hurricanes as odds on favorites at home.

[FONT=&amp]â€" There will be a new name on the trophy this year, meaning that five of the last six Super Rugby seasons will have seen a first-time winner.[/FONT][FONT=&amp]â€" The Hurricanes have won nine of their 10 encounters with the Lions in Super Rugby, including each of their last seven. In those last seven wins they have beaten the South African side by an average of 15.3 points per game[/FONT]
[FONT=&amp]â€" Not only will the Hurricanes be searching for Grand Final glory, but also an eighth consecutive Super Rugby win, which would set a club record.[/FONT]
[FONT=&amp]â€" The Hurricanes are yet to win a Final from two attempts, losing by seven points to the Crusaders in 2006 and by the same margin to the Highlanders in 2015.[/FONT]
[FONT=&amp]â€" This will be the first time the Lions have reached the Grand Final; they are aiming to become only the second South African side to win the ***le (Bulls in 2007, 2009, 2010).[/FONT]
[FONT=&amp]â€" The Lions have won their last three games against New Zealand opposition, scoring in excess of 40 points on each occasion. They’ve also won on two of their four excursions to New Zealand this season.[/FONT]
[FONT=&amp]â€" Not since 2012 has a Super Rugby final been decided by more than the value of a converted try (Chiefs 37-6 Sharks).[/FONT]
[FONT=&amp]â€" The Lions (25) and Hurricanes (23) have scored the second and third most tries from possessions originating in their own half respectively this season, only the Crusaders (26) have scored more.[/FONT]
[FONT=&amp]â€" This final pitches the best attack against the best defence, the Lions have averaged a competition high 36.4 points and 4.8 tries per game whilst the Hurricanes have conceded a league low 19 points per game.[/FONT]
[FONT=&amp]â€" Ardie Savea won three turnovers in the Hurricanes’ semi-final win, more than any other player across the weekend, to take his season tally to 24, thesecond most of any player, only one behind the Brumbies’ David Pocock (25). Savea has also made more tackles than any other player this season (192).[/FONT]
[FONT=&amp]â€" The final sees the most prolific kickers in the competition go head to head. Beauden Barrett (71) and Elton Jantjies (70) have kicked more goals than any other players in the competition, though the Lions’ shot-taker (74 percent) has been more accurate than his New Zealand counterpart (70 percent).[/FONT]

www.planetrugby.com

 

[austingtir]

^^ A tad surprised that the Saders top that tries from their own half stat!

 

[TRF_heineken]

Still feels crazy that the Lions are in the final, if they win I'll be insanely happy for them and for Ackerman. If they don't, I hope it's at least a close game (though I think it will be).

Either way, way to go Lions.

Agreed,

And I think the whole country is behind them, not like when the Bulls went to finals and had some naysayers from certain franchises...

 

[Cruz_del_Sur]

How does that work in other countries? I would never, ever, under no circumstances, support my rival (CASI's rival is SIC). How would that be in RSA, NZ or AUS? What takes priority, club rivalry or supporting a team from your country?

 

[Sker]

RSA is special.

Just ****in' special.

Kinda think people will support a rugby team based on the weather.

 

[TRF_stormer2010]

I'd support any SA team.. bar the Bulls or Sharks. though I would support them against the Crusaders and Chiefs.

How I 'support' currently;

Stormers
***
Cheetahs
***
Lions
Jaguares
Sunwolves
***
Highlanders
Blues
Rebels
Reds
Force
***
Brumbies
Sharks
***
Kings
Hurricanes
Waratahs
***
Bulls
Chiefs
***
Crusaders

This made me chuckle;

[video]https://www.facebook.com/wendy.johnsongardiner/videos/647544861972723/[/video]

 

[TRF_heineken]

How does that work in other countries? I would never, ever, under no circumstances, support my rival (CASI's rival is SIC). How would that be in RSA, NZ or AUS? What takes priority, club rivalry or supporting a team from your country?

I think it varies, Like for me I'd support every South African team that makes it to the final and plays against a NZ or Aussie team.

But during the Round Robin stages I want every team who plays against the Stormers to beat them. But other than that, I'm very patriotic to my country's teams.

After that I'll support NZ teams (in no specific order), and then the Jaguares and Sunwolves, and dead last the Aussies, and especially the Waratahs at the bottom. I hate them.

 

[saulan]

How does that work in other countries? I would never, ever, under no circumstances, support my rival (CASI's rival is SIC). How would that be in RSA, NZ or AUS? What takes priority, club rivalry or supporting a team from your country?

I guess I'm the odd one then based on the other two that have commented. I will always support the South African team playing non-SA opposition unless that SA team winning negatively effects the Stormers' ability to make playoffs.

After SA teams I generally want the Jaguares, Sunwolves and the Force to win (The Force because shame and also because they have a strong SA contingent playing for them). After that, I generally support the team with the least log points if there are clashes between the two Australasian groups.

 

[Nubiwan]

Been intriguing to watch all the different finalists and winners over the years from the tahs, highlanders, Bulls, brumbies, and the crusaders etc. All worthy champions and for different reasons in their time. Interesting also to see the Cru perhaps coming to the end of their dynasty, so to speak. How dominant have they been?

I watch the games from the NH and frankly pick and choose those games I want to see. Usually, they will involve a NZ team, as I simply don't have time to watch an entire round of games. The wife would cut my balls off.

Also interesting to see the effects travelling can some times have on performances, and at others, no impact at all. It is very strange, and results this year have been no different. When you consider the canes were blasted in their opener, then lost their 2nd at home, I wonder how many would have bet on them being favoured in a home final. Other results in the competition have been eye opening in the grand scheme of things.

The lions playing home Quarter and semis against two NZ teams they lost to, and beating them quite convincingly. How much was due to the lions being that good? How much was it to travel, certainly for the unfortunate highlanders?

final wil hopefully live up to expectations, and perhaps the canes will now sell out a home match.

 

[SomeOke]

I'll always support any SA team against any foreign team with a few exceptions, I was planning on supporting the Jags as well this year but was put off by their tactics in the first couple rounds. After that I have a soft spot for the Brumbies and the Highlanders and despise the Crusaders (and the Hurricanes more recently) mostly for their fans in South Africa more than anything else.

Anyway Lions team has been announced:
Lions: 15 Andries Coetzee, 14 Ruan Combrinck, 13 Lionel Mapoe, 12 Rohan Janse Van Rensburg, 11 Courtnall Skosan, 10 Elton Jantjies, 9 Francois de Klerk, 8 Warren Whiteley (captain), 7 Warwick Tecklenburg, 6 Jaco Kriel, 5 Franco Mostert, 4 Andries Ferreira, 3 Julian Redelinghuys, 2 Malcolm Marx, 1 Dylon Smith.
Replacements: 16 Armand Van Der Merwe, 17 Corne Fourie, 18 Jacques Van Rooyen, 19 Lourens Erasmus, 20 Ruan Ackermann, 21 Ross Cronje,, 22 Howard Mnisi, 23 Jaco van der Walt

Good to see Whitley back, Ackermann is not bad at all but it's a pretty big improvement, not just because WW is the better player but because the Lions get their season long captain back.

 

[WaterboySA]

That's a full strength team? It's going to be nail biting stuff......

 

[SomeOke]

That's a full strength team? It's going to be nail biting stuff......

Other than Dylon Smit, pretty much.

 

[TRF_stormer2010]

As a Stormers supporter I keep marvelling at how other teams (invariably the teams at the top end) manage to keep fit rosters. Jantjies, Coetzee and Whiteley have missed a few but that's about it from what I can remember (other han a few players missing something like 1 or 2 matches). Oh, Vorster basically out the whole season but then you get a guy like Rohan Janse van Rensburg going from nowhere and getting a crack at a tail end half of the season to being named in the Bok training squad. Massive year for the lad and the team as a whole.

 

[Cruz_del_Sur]

Thanks for the input guys. Insightful stuff.

[video]https://www.facebook.com/wendy.johnsongardiner/videos/647544861972723/[/video]

Brilliant! Thanks for sharing.

 

[Cruz_del_Sur]

As a Stormers supporter I keep marvelling at how other teams (invariably the teams at the top end) manage to keep fit rosters. Jantjies, Coetzee and Whiteley have missed a few but that's about it from what I can remember (other han a few players missing something like 1 or 2 matches). Oh, Vorster basically out the whole season but then you get a guy like Rohan Janse van Rensburg going from nowhere and getting a crack at a tail end half of the season to being named in the Bok training squad. Massive year for the lad and the team as a whole.

Luck plays a role, course, but management has a huge impact on that. Recovery raining, travel management, etc.

The game against the stormers comes to mind. Think SARU has a rule that prevents SR players from playing more than 5 games on a row.
I remember our games against the Stormers in BsAs (Round 5), we gave two key players (Petti and Cordero) a break to prevent fatigue, after we've had a bye in round 3.
That speaks volumes. We didn't get an injury but that's the prelude of them.

 

[Bruce_ma gooshvili]

Pardon my ignorance but how have the Lions managed to:

i) keep their players (when teams like the Kings and Cheetahs seem to lose them more regularly to the big SA teams, who presumably also have deeper pockets than the Lions)
ii) promote open, attacking NZ style rugby (when the other SA teams and Springboks are not exactly well known for that and seem more concerned about the set piece)
iii) be a success relatively soon after relegation (when every other newer team in the league (possibly barring the Rebels) languishes at the bottom and seems to struggle to make any sort of improvement)

Are there lessons for teams like expansion sides like the Cheetahs, Force etc? Or even for the established SA sides?