[2016 Super Rugby] Lions vs. Highlanders (Semi-Final 2) 30/07/2016

[TRF_heineken]

Venue: Emirates Airlines Park, Johannesburg
Time: 15:00 CAT (SA, GMT+2)

Referee: Jaco Peyper
Assistant Referees: Ben O'Keeffe & AJ Jacobs
TMO: Shaun Veldsman​

Teams

Lions: 15 Andries Coetzee, 14 Ruan Combrinck, 13 Lionel Mapoe, 12 Rohan Janse van Rensburg, 11 Courtnall Skosan, 10 Elton Jantjies, 9 Faf de Klerk, 8 Ruan Ackermann, 7 Warwick Tecklenburg, 6 Jaco Kriel (captain), 5 Franco Mostert, 4 Andries Ferreira, 3 Julian Redelinghuys, 2 Malcolm Marx, 1 Dylan Smith

Substitutes: 16 Armand van der Merwe, 17 Corne Fourie, 18 Jacques van Rooyen, 19 Lourens Erasmus, 20 Steph de Witt, 21 Dillon Smit, 22 Howard Mnisi, 23 Jaco van der Walt

Highlanders: 15 Ben Smith (captain), 14 Waisake Naholo, 13 Matt Faddes, 12 Malakai Fekitoa, 11 Patrick Osborne, 10 Lima Sopoaga, 9 Aaron Smith, 8 Luke Whitelock, 7 James Lentjes, 6 Elliot Dixon, 5 Tom Franklin, 4 Alex Ainley, 3 Josh Hohneck, 2 Ash Dixon, 1 Daniel Lienert-Brown

Substitutes: 16 Greg Pleasants-Tate, 17 Aki Seiuli, 18 Ross Geldenhuys, 19 Joe Wheeler, 20 Liam Squire, 21 Dan Pryor, 22 Te Aihe Toma, 23 Marty Banks

 

[TRF_stormer2010]

LOL, you posted these threads while I was unstickying the others. Good job I did it that way around or there'd be two matchday threads for each game. Cheers for all your work throughout the year, @TRF_heineken!

+1

Tough calls on both these SFs but I'm backing the home team in both by a whisker.

 

[Sker]

The Lions in a semi final. Four years ago we would be laughing at the idea

 

[TRF_heineken]

The Lions in a semi final. Four years ago we would be laughing at the idea

They are doing the same as what happened to the Bulls. first the laughing stock and then the team to beat...

The last time the Lions were the top team was when Francois Pienaar was playing... Could this be the start of another World Cup winning team?

 

[Kiwiwomble]

You think we'd be laughing about the lions in a semi?...how about the landers v the lion in a semi?

 

[TRF_stormer2010]

I see Jaco Peyper has been appointed to ref this match. If anything I think that is advantage Highlanders. As if this match wasn't balanced on a knive point as is. I can't call either of these semis.

- - - Updated - - -

You think we'd be laughing about the lions in a semi?...how about the landers v the lion in a semi?

That is true enough for ~4 years back but the Highlanders have had a pretty impressive backline for a good while now.

 

[WaterboySA]

I see Whiteley confirmed OUT of the Semi...

http://www.sport24.co.za/Rugby/SuperRugby/lions-blow-as-whiteley-ruled-out-20160728

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Teams:

Lions

15 Andries Coetzee, 14 Ruan Combrinck, 13 Lionel Mapoe, 12 Rohan Janse van Rensburg, 11 Courtnall Skosan, 10 Elton Jantjies, 9 Faf de Klerk, 8 Ruan Ackermann, 7 Warwick Tecklenburg, 6 Jaco Kriel (captain), 5 Franco Mostert, 4 Andries Ferreira, 3 Julian Redelinghuys, 2 Malcolm Marx, 1 Dylan Smith

Substitutes: 16 Armand van der Merwe, 17 Corne Fourie, 18 Jacques van Rooyen, 19 Lourens Erasmus, 20 Steph de Witt, 21 Dillon Smit, 22 Howard Mnisi, 23 Jaco van der Walt

Highlanders

15 Ben Smith (captain), 14 Waisake Naholo, 13 Matt Faddes, 12 Malakai Fekitoa, 11 Patrick Osborne, 10 Lima Sopoaga, 9 Aaron Smith, 8 Luke Whitelock, 7 James Lentjes, 6 Elliot Dixon, 5 Tom Franklin, 4 Alex Ainley, 3 Josh Hohneck, 2 Ash Dixon, 1 Daniel Lienert-Brown

Substitutes: 16 Greg Pleasants-Tate, 17 Aki Seiuli, 18 Ross Geldenhuys, 19 Joe Wheeler, 20 Liam Squire, 21 Dan Pryor, 22 Te Aihe Toma, 23 Marty Banks

 

[TRF_stormer2010]

I rate Ackerman (junior) but he is out of position and Whiteley is a key KEY figure in this Lions outfit. We'll see soon enough though if it'll be an all-NZ final (again).

My prediction; Highlanders to take the lead at 50 minutes but the Lions to pull through in the end by a score.

 

[George Ford]

They are doing the same as what happened to the Bulls. first the laughing stock and then the team to beat...

The last time the Lions were the top team was when Francois Pienaar was playing... Could this be the start of another World Cup winning team?

Was thinking that exact same thing right after Saturday's matches. Transvaal was the 1st SA team to win the then Super 10 tournament in . Captained & coached by '95 World Cup winning captain & coach Francois Pienaar & (the late) Kitch Christie.

This Lions team is playing with a lot of confidence, but I still think it's premature to label them as favorites.

 

[Cruz_del_Sur]

I was thinking about the ref selection. For the play offs, or lets say from semis onwards, would it be too much to ask to have a ref from a conference other than the one the teams represent?
You can skip that rule if the two teams are from the same conference. I mean, they do that at world cups, don't they?

 

[TRF_stormer2010]

I was thinking about the ref selection. For the play offs, or lets say from semis onwards, would it be too much to ask to have a ref from a conference other than the one the teams represent?
You can skip that rule if the two teams are from the same conference. I mean, they do that at world cups, don't they?

The thing is though that then we'd have Walsh or even worse. TBH I'd rather Peyper or Jackson or whoever even if there will be the inevitable lambasting of the non-neutral referee no matter what eventuates.

 

[TRF Mr Fish]

Looks like Joubert will referee the final, which I am disappointed with. Not a fan at all.

 

[destructosmith]

I think a lot of people are writing the HIghlanders off due to the travel factor. But in all seriousness, as soon as game day rolls around, they would have been there for 8 days.

Key match ups:
Aaron Smith vs Faf de Klerk
Elliot Dixon vs Jaco Kriel
Malakai Fekitoa vs Rohan Janse van Rensburg

Best defensive side vs best attacking side. Tough to call, but Highlanders know what it takes to win knock out rugby.

 

[TRF_heineken]

I was thinking about the ref selection. For the play offs, or lets say from semis onwards, would it be too much to ask to have a ref from a conference other than the one the teams represent?
You can skip that rule if the two teams are from the same conference. I mean, they do that at world cups, don't they?

I'm in 2 minds about the referee selection. Peyper has been one of the more consistent referees this year in the tournament, and since we use referees based on performance rather than nationality, it would make sense that Peyper and Gardner would be the referees for the semi's, but I think they should have swapped them around, because we all know what a big fuss the NZ fans will make if the Highlanders lose and there was some type of bad call or 50/50 call against them.

I think a lot of people are writing the HIghlanders off due to the travel factor. But in all seriousness, as soon as game day rolls around, they would have been there for 8 days.

Key match ups:
Aaron Smith vs Faf de Klerk
Elliot Dixon vs Jaco Kriel
Malakai Fekitoa vs Rohan Janse van Rensburg

Best defensive side vs best attacking side. Tough to call, but Highlanders know what it takes to win knock out rugby.

Yeah, those match-ups will be mouthwatering indeed! Can't wait to watch this game.

 

[ManusXavi]

The return of Marty Banks allows us to place just two backs in the subs. We will sub the whole front row, a lock and two loose forwards.
James Lenjties was rested last week completely. He starts at 7. Pryor and Squire will sub 6 & 8. Wheeler was given a rest from the 23 last week and he will sub on for a lock. That means we pretty much refresh the whole forward pack in the second half.

As a Highlanders fan if it is close at the 55 min mark I will actually start to relax from there on in rather than get nervous because that will be when our game plan starts to change toward more ball in hand. We will be conserving our energy before then with a kicking game. Expect the Lions to have 60%-65% possession before the 55 min mark. I have no doubts about our forward pack after the 55 min mark due to 6 out of 8 new ones being subbed in.
I feel that a Highlanders weakness is No.12 Malakai Fekitoa. He has played pretty much non-stop. I feel that he is now vulnerable to fatigue and might be exploited when the Lions are on the attack. Could see Ben Smith play #12 in the last 20 mins if Malakai Fekitoa gets subbed by Marty Banks.
The Lions have a chance at victory with their high possession before the last half hour. Particularly in the counter-attacks from the Highlanders sky high kicking. Matt faddes #13 is also a weak link the Lions attack can exploit. He has only a 68% tackle success.

 

[destructosmith]

The return of Marty Banks allows us to place just two backs in the subs. We will sub the whole front row, a lock and two loose forwards.
James Lenjties was rested last week completely. He starts at 7. Pryor and Squire will sub 6 & 8. Wheeler was given a rest from the 23 last week and he will sub on for a lock. That means we pretty much refresh the whole forward pack in the second half.

As a Highlanders fan if it is close at the 55 min mark I will actually start to relax from there on in rather than get nervous because that will be when our game plan starts to change toward more ball in hand. We will be conserving our energy before then with a kicking game. Expect the Lions to have 60%-65% possession before the 55 min mark. I have no doubts about our forward pack after the 55 min mark due to 6 out of 8 new ones being subbed in.
I feel that a Highlanders weakness is No.12 Malakai Fekitoa. He has played pretty much non-stop. I feel that he is now vulnerable to fatigue and might be exploited when the Lions are on the attack. Could see Ben Smith play #12 in the last 20 mins if Malakai Fekitoa gets subbed by Marty Banks.
The Lions have a chance at victory with their high possession before the last half hour. Particularly in the counter-attacks from the Highlanders sky high kicking. Matt faddes #13 is also a weak link the Lions attack can exploit. He has only a 68% tackle success.

Our midfield is a serious concern, Fekitoa should not be playing at 12 he doesn't get enough space. I would definitely prefer Buckman and Fekitoa, or even a Rob Thompson and Fekitoa combo in th middle. Either way I think Fekitoa adds some steel to a back line that would otherwise be found wanting in the physicality departmnt. It's been thrown around a lot over the last week, but Fekitoa tops the comp for offloads, that in conjunction with the aforementioned steel he adds, the highlanders coldn't go without him, maybe that's why he has played so many games this season?

 

[ManusXavi]

Our midfield is a serious concern, Fekitoa should not be playing at 12 he doesn't get enough space. I would definitely prefer Buckman and Fekitoa, or even a Rob Thompson and Fekitoa combo in th middle. Either way I think Fekitoa adds some steel to a back line that would otherwise be found wanting in the physicality departmnt. It's been thrown around a lot over the last week, but Fekitoa tops the comp for offloads, that in conjunction with the aforementioned steel he adds, the highlanders coldn't go without him, maybe that's why he has played so many games this season?

Could end up biting us on the bum.

 

[TRF_stormer2010]

2016:[FONT=&amp] Highlanders won 34-15 in Dunedin[/FONT]
2015:[FONT=&amp] Lions won 28-23 in Johannesburg [/FONT]
2014:[FONT=&amp] Highlanders won 23-22 in Dunedin[/FONT]
2011:[FONT=&amp] Lions won 26-22 in Dunedin[/FONT]
2010:[FONT=&amp] Highlanders won 39-29 in Dunedin[/FONT]
2009: [FONT=&amp]Lions won 27-22 in Johannesburg[/FONT]
2008: [FONT=&amp]Highlanders won 29-20 in Dunedin[/FONT]
2007: [FONT=&amp]Lions won 11-6 in Johannesburg[/FONT]

If the pattern continues its the Lions' turn to win. Lions have also not lost to the Highlanders at home.

 

[Bruce_ma gooshvili]

Fantastic to see a Lions team emerge from having been relegated and reintroduced to the league to being in a semi-final. Particularly when the rest of the newer teams in Super Rugby didn't get anywhere near the playoffs. Their homefield must be a humungous advantage in the last 20 mins, 1800+ metres altitude!? Altitude is a big advantage in the NFL (Denver Broncos) and American football is far less demanding on your endurance than rugby. So I'm picking the Lions here to win big by 10+. Still shaking my head in disbelief that Ackerman didn't do everything he could against the Jaguares to secure the top seed.

On a tangent, does Marty Banks get much game time or is he a fringe player? And does he often play fullback? Totally mystified how Treviso, arguably the worst Pro side in a big league in Europe, have managed to land a player of that quality when he is in his prime at 27 years old. Particularly when they'd also signed Italian international fly half Tomasso Allan as well (who will surely hold down the number 10 shirt).

 

[Ludders93]

I love betting on home teams in contact sports playing at altitude. Denver's the other great example. They were Superbowl champions this year, and had a great defence, but had they not had home advantage through the playoffs, they'd never got close to Superbowl 50.
Altitude almost propels the home team forward, they win all the collisions.

It isn't just a question of fatigue, it's a different game. The ball travels further, the pitch is harder. I toured SA with my school a few years back, and even though the schools we played in J-berg were rubbish, the games were still close. The intensity of game just goes up with altitude. SA's win over Ireland was 100% altitude. I'm hoping Lions can win tomorrow, but the Highlanders won't be stunned by the altitude. Their whole backline has won at altitude on several occasions with the All-Blacks, often coming on strong in the final 20 minutes of games when other sides tire more. Think of 2013 and 2015. If I recall last year, Soapaga and Ben Smith were the best 2 players on the pitch, and scored a crucial try just before half time. I hope I'm wrong, but I can see the Landers nicking it by 3.